Building a Successful XM Program: Ask the Expert with Isabelle Zdatny!

Hi Isabelle! I’m currently working on strengthening our EX program and am curious about how to best measure the impact of employee experience on other areas like customer experience.

• How many surveys or touchpoints would you recommend for capturing meaningful EX insights without causing survey fatigue?
• Do you have any advice on how to combine EX and CX data to understand the effect of one on the other?
• Are there any best practices or frameworks for structuring this kind of cross-domain analysis?

Thanks so much for your guidance!

Hi Isabelle, 

I lead our CX and newly relaunched EX practices for a regional bank. We are currently going through a merger and there is a new set of executives who have never been exposed to XM programs in their previous experience. I am looking for some best practices on:

• How to engage these new C-suite leaders, while there is so much change occurring concurrently?
• What are some strategies to deliver insights without overwhelming their capacity to learn or their attention spans?
• We don’t have established ROI models in place for XM practices (yet). How should we navigate the financial value question that will likely come from these new leaders? 

Appreciate any assistance you can provide!

Hi ​@PeeyushBansal -- these questions get at such a fundamental challenge we run into in XM, so thanks for asking! Here’s what I’d say:

How many surveys or touchpoints would you recommend for capturing meaningful EX insights without causing survey fatigue?

I asked my amazing EX expert colleagues here at Qualtrics, and they said that in their experience, both employees and HR leaders are comfortable doing relational surveying 3-4 times a year. However, a few key points to keep in mind:

+ The more frequent the relational/pulse measure, the more challenging it is for managers to drive action. So 3-4x a year allows for meaningful tracking while giving managers adequate time to implement changes between measurements. Which is critical because...
+ As my colleague Ben Granger put it, “Survey fatigue is real, but survey inaction fatigue is realer.” Employees will feel more fatigue if they feel like they are answering questions without the organization taking any action on their feedback. This is one for the reasons we include an item on this in the EX25.

+ Additionally, survey fatigue (response quality depreciation, drop off, etc.), appears to be more prominent within surveys than between surveys. In other words, a monster 80 or 90 item survey is almost certainly going to influence survey fatigue. Shorter surveys that are spread out are less likely to create survey fatigue. This is especially true if they feel relevant to employees. This is one of the reasons some of our EX experts really like lifecycle measures vs. spread out relational measures such as frequent pulses.
+ And on that note, remember, survey length really matters! We generally recommend no more than roughly 40-45 items to avoid survey fatigue  -- even shorter if employees are using mobile devices.

Do you have any advice on how to combine EX and CX data to understand the effect of one on the other?

Are there any best practices or frameworks for structuring this kind of cross-domain analysis?

To answer both these questions, I strong recommend checking out XM Institute’s Comprehensive article, 'Six Analytical Pathways That Link Employee and Customer Experience' by Cecelia Herbert and Bruce Temkin. It provides a detailed framework for analyzing the connection between EX and CX metrics, including six specific analytical pathways and practical advice from XM professionals who have successfully implemented these approaches. The article walks through everything from identifying the right metrics to creating actionable insights, based on real-world analysis across five organizations.

Hope this helps!

Hi ​@KentPenicook -- you’ve put your finger on some extremely meaty topics! Here’s what I’d say:

How to engage these new C-suite leaders, while there is so much change occurring concurrently?

In our recent State of CX Management report, we found that the number one obstacles CX practioners cited to their success is “other competing organizational priorities (63%)” -- so you’re not alone! The key here is to position XM not as another initiative, but as a critical tool for merger success. Here are some recommendations:

+ Focus first on what keeps your new C-suite up at night during the merger: customer retention, employee flight risk, integration challenges, and operational disruption. Don't lead with XM concepts -- lead with their concerns!

+ Frame your XM capabilities as an early warning system that protects merger value. For example, your listening programs can identify customer defection risk before it impacts revenue, detect employee flight risk before losing key talent, surface integration friction points before they become problems, etc.
+ Rather than requesting additional meeting time, embed brief, relevant insights into existing merger steering committees and integration planning sessions. Brief, action-oriented updates that directly inform decisions are most effective. I’ve also seen strategies like sending executives short emails summarizing key insights every week at the same time (like first thing Monday morning while they have their coffee) work really well. Get them in the habit of reviewing them on a regular cadence.

+ New executives typically understand merger risks better than XM opportunities, so focus on risk mitigation opportunities. Share specific, data-driven insights like industry benchmarks on customer attrition during similar mergers, early warning indicators from your employee listening programs, specific areas of customer or employee risk requiring immediate attention, etc.
+ Focus on quick wins first. Aim to provide 2-3 actionable insights within your first 60 days that help solve immediate merger-related challenges. This builds credibility and demonstrates the value of XM before requesting broader program investment.

Remember, you're not competing for attention during the merger -- you're providing the organizational agility that helps ensure merger success through continuous learning, rapid insight sharing, and fast adaptation to changing conditions!


What are some strategies to deliver insights without overwhelming their capacity to learn or their attention spans?

I’d say:

+ Follow the "GPS principle.” Like your GPS, only give them the next turn they need to make, not the entire route at once. Break insights into small chunks that connect to immediate decisions they're making this week - if they're deciding on branch closures, share employee sentiment from those locations.

+ Use the "3x3 rule.” Limit yourself to 3 key insights, each supported by no more than 3 pieces of evidence. I've learned that executives remember one thing well rather than three things poorly.

+ Start with the business impact, not the data. Instead of "23% of customers are concerned," try "We're seeing early signals that could put $2M in revenue at risk - here's what we're hearing..." Use their language, not XM language (e.g., "clients are confused about account management" rather than "customer sentiment is declining").

+ Make it visual and scannable. Lead with a clear "so what?", use simple visual hierarchy, include clear data visualizations, and highlight recommended actions in a different color.

+ Create a consistent delivery cadence: Weekly one-page pulse reports with 3 key findings, monthly deeper dives on emerging trends, quarterly strategic summaries. Consistency builds trust.

+ Always include a "North Star metric" that connects directly to merger success. Customer retention, employee engagement, or another KPI your executives care about. This gives them a consistent anchor point across all updates.

The key is making your insights feel like answers to questions they already have, not additional information they need to figure out what to do with!


We don’t have established ROI models in place for XM practices (yet). How should we navigate the financial value question that will likely come from these new leaders? 

This is incredibly common -- our research shows only 17% of CX practitioners can identify specific monetary benefits that budget holders recognize. Here's how to navigate it:

+ Partner with your Finance team early to identify which business KPIs your XM activities can influence and how your organization calculates their cash flow impact. This builds credibility and ensures you're speaking their language from day one.

+ Focus on business KPIs, not experience metrics. Don't lead with NPS or satisfaction scores. Instead, focus on things like customer retention rates, employee turnover costs, operational efficiency gains, compliance risk reduction, etc. Make the metrics you use are aligned to the ones budget holders already track and care about.

+ Propose a 90-Day pilot with a treatment vs control group to track ROI. Without a control group, you can't prove your XM program caused the results - only that they happened at the same time. During a merger, dozens of variables are changing simultaneously, so executives will ask "How do you know those improvements came from your program?" Set up your pilot with treatment groups (getting your XM interventions) and control groups (status quo), then compare business KPIs between them. Example: "We'll implement enhanced listening in 10 branches while 10 similar branches continue current processes. After 90 days, we'll compare retention rates - the difference is what we can confidently attribute to XM." This gives you bulletproof ROI data that even skeptical CFOs can't dispute. (Check out Value Chain below for more details!).

+ Use concrete financial language, e.g., instead of "customer satisfaction is declining," say "we're seeing early signals that could put $X million in revenue at risk based on similar merger situations." Frame everything in terms of dollars protected or gained. (Also check out the Value Chain below for guidance).

Here are some relevant resources that might help you do all of this! 
- How to Develop a Business Case for XM Investments
- Template: Value Chain Framework
- Continuously Manage XM Value with the Realize Competency (includes 5 business value categories)
- How Do You Explain Experience Management to Senior Executives? (Oldie, but still good framework!)
- Worksheet: Stakeholder Mapping

Coming late to the conversation -- ​@Isabelle_Zdatny is one of my favorite people and I always appreciate your insight!

With more than 5 years of data collected in our CX program and the need to refresh our program a bit, I appreciate hearing that 3 or 4 touchpoints a year seems to be the “sweet spot” for surveys. We always want to meet our patrons where they are, and while some do visit our sites frequently, survey fatigue is always real and resources, sadly, are not infinite!

Hi Isabelle

We always meet managers who want to “prepare” their employees/organisation for the upcoming engagement survey. They aim to explain the scale or address specific issues, such as significant changes. 

What are my strongest arguments to persuade them to avoid preparing people and instead seek their honest feedback?

Thanks!

All the best

Anja Jensen

Head of Leadership & Development

Hi Isabelle

We always meet managers who want to “prepare” their employees or organisation for the upcoming engagement survey. They aim to explain the scale points and address current issues, such as significant changes that have occurred. 

What are my strongest arguments to persuade them not to prepare people but to seek their honest feedback?

All the best

Anja

Hi Anya, Isabelle is out on leave at the moment but hopefully others in the community can share their ideas. Otherwise hopefully Isabelle can come back when she returns. 

Thanks

Pete