CX Education 13: From focusing on the basics to successful digital transformation with Shameem Smillie from AlwaysTheOther Limited

Key insights

• Gender imbalance in the technology industry and leadership positions in CX

  Women are a minority in the tech industry – they’re also a minority in leadership positions. Many organizations and individuals are working to address these issues and promote greater diversity and inclusivity in tech. One of them is Women in CX, a community of over 7,000 women from 50+ countries collaborating globally. As a founding member of Women in CX, Shameem explains why she decided to join this community. "In 2023, there's a huge gender imbalance in the tech industry. And even when you think about customer experience, according to the National Center for Women and Informational Technology, as well as the Office of National Statistics, women represent over 70% of the workforce in customer experience, but when you move up and start to look at leadership positions, they're less than 30%. And I want to be part of the solution to make that number more favorable and make it more equitable for both men and women in all the different industries that represent women in tech — all technology and customer experience." 

• Increasing use of technology in customer service

  Customer service varies depending on the industry, company, and customer experience, but each has its challenges. One major trend is the increasing use of technology in customer service. According to Shameem, the pandemic has led companies to expand their customer service offerings beyond traditional phones and email to chatbots and social media. "What these channels do is they're supposed to allow customers to interact with companies in a way that's convenient and accessible, and what that should then do is lead to increased satisfaction, increase loyalty; the customer will stay with that business. And I think that's the promise, for the most part, of a lot of organizations." 

• Companies should focus on the basics while going through digital transformation

  Digital transformation involves using technology to streamline processes, automate tasks, and improve the customer experience. Omnichannel customer service is critical in digital transformation because it combines all the channels and touchpoints that customers use to interact with a company. However, embracing omnichannel is difficult for many companies. Shameem notes that many organizations fail from the start. "Where customers or brands and businesses should be looking at is looking at the bottom line and how they can optimize, streamline, and remove friction from that customer experience; that should be the very first thing. I also want to add that voice remains very important to a customer. If you’re implementing and pushing digital channels, there needs to be a mechanism in place so that if something goes wrong, and the customer wants to escalate, they should be able to pivot to a voice interaction - which is where omnichannel comes in."