Research on everyone from millennials to senior citizens shows how learning is tied to happiness. So those who prioritize picking up new skills (shout out to those learning CX right now!) or just enjoy learning in general, tend to be happier, more satisfied people.
Those who continue to focus on their own education also understand the world is changing at an incredibly rapid pace. This means the skills or principles learned a few years ago may not apply. Keeping up is not a choice, it’s an absolute necessity.
With options like webinars and online video courses, learners can go at their own pace. So the world is at your fingertips, quite literally, if you care to learn!
I love the options we have now to learn on demand. I use audiobooks to keep up with business reading when I ride the train. Video courses have come a long way, so I’m always tapping into at least one to make sure I’m keeping up. But, it can also feel daunting – there is always something to learn!
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What does lifelong learning have to do with customer experience?
A lot!
The best companies offer resources to encourage and support the lifelong learning of their employees. As a result, these employees are more capable and happier.
Those who don’t focus on their own learning and help employees learn? Well, here are a few ways their lack of learning might negatively impact their customer’s experience. Off the top of my head…
- Have you ever felt like you had to educate a customer service agent or salesperson when you were the customer? It’s frustrating and immediately makes us think “this guy doesn’t know much!”
- Have you ever had that moment in a meeting when you realize you don’t understand the latest technology/business trend that EVERYONE is discussing? It’s not a good feeling, and by then you are already behind!
- Have you ever heard of a way to tackle a problem in a way that makes you sit up and think “that’s it!” but have no idea HOW to actually do it?
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Regular job training doesn’t count. Sorry!
Learning on the job should not be limited to a training session on expense reporting in your first 30 days. Learning should be about expanding ideas, allowing for more innovation, and helping your team stay ahead of the curve. Customers should not feel like they are dealing with someone less knowledgeable than they are. And everyone should have the options to choose learning paths that work for them as individuals.
I’ve seen really exciting ways to weave learning into the very DNA of customer-centric organizations. In fact, offering education to customers and employees is a direct way you can influence the customer experience.
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- A large financial services organization began an e-learning program to improve financial literacy as part of their customer experience mission.
- A healthcare provider offered free classes with chefs and nutritionists to help patients with diabetes.
- A retailer leveraged customer online service training and required every manager and in-store employee to take the “required” service courses plus something that would help each person’s “soul soar.” Whatever that was was completely up to the individual. One store manager took a mural painting class! Guess who landed the side job of painting a mural on the store’s outside wall?
Education and enrichment of all kinds help us become better versions of ourselves – at work or wherever we are!
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Video courses are getting REAL.
I’ve always found the link between learning and customer experience fascinating. I facilitate workshops and train in-person programs all the time without a second thought. In fact, now I’m offering coaching for leaders, too.
But video learning is different, and I wasn’t sure I knew enough about it to tackle it on my own. So I took my own medicine and did everything I could to learn about it. And that’s why I was so thrilled to work with LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) to develop a course all about something I’m passionate about – customer experience, of course!
LinkedIn Learning hosts a vast library of video courses of all kinds from experts across an array of industries and topics. Need to understand a software program? You can find a course on that. What about navigating office politics? Yep, that’s available, too.
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The learning is never ‘done.”
The education continues. Those of us who embrace that challenge of keeping up in today’s world are wise enough to know what we don’t know. So keep learning and sharing, because we’re all better for it.
