Total sales growth is the third of five ways to measure customer experience. Although they are not obligated to do so, private companies can benefit from sharing financial information with their employees.
Employees feel more engaged and empowered when they have access to company financial data.
Companies should explain the information and offer context, so it is not overwhelming to employees.
A growing number of employers are no longer leaving their staff in the dark on the company’s financial performance, new research finds. A study from Robert Half Management Resources revealed that 56% of private organizations provide at least some employees with regular updates on the company’s financial performance, up from 32% in 2014.
So-called “open-book management” offers several benefits. The main benefits are:
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Accountability.
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Increased sales. Studies show boosts of 1–2% in companies that open their books to employees.
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Enhanced understanding.
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Empowers employees. Employees will be on the lookout for ways they can improve operations.
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Gives the sense of being a stakeholder. Employees who are trusted with vital financial information feel that they are part of the team.
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Increased job satisfaction and better performance. Employees who feel trusted and valued are more loyal and more engaged and feel a part of the end-to-end customer experience.
One of our clients, a plastics manufacturer recently told me, when referring about ‘numbers transparency’ as I like to call it, “I don’t have just employees anymore. I have entrepreneurs who are looking to find ways to make more money.”
Most of the employers surveyed believe employees want to learn more about how their company is faring financially.
But there’s another interesting correlation that Forrester’s Customer Experience index research uncovered. The top performing brands, including USAA, Barnes & Noble, Etsy, QVC, and Zappos.com, “achieved a 17% compund average growth–which is no small feat with
This metric tracks the bottom line of a company and looks to see if the number of sales has increased over a certain time period or since a customer experience initiative began. Companies that focus on customer experience tend to make more sales, so this number should ideally increase with more emphasis placed on the customer experience. It is, however, fairly elusive as a definitive measurement because there are so many factors that can affect sales numbers. It is just a great KPI that everyone can be a cheerleader for.
“Customers who had the best past experiences spend 140% more compared to those who had the poorest past experiences”
– Peter Kriss, Harvard Business Review
Essentially, as CX rises, so does revenue growth.
But there’s another interesting correlation that Forrester’s Customer Experience index research uncovered. The top performing brands, including USAA, Barnes & Noble, Etsy, QVC, and Zappos.com, “achieved a 17% compound average growth–which is no small feat with a y of them already in the top revenue percentiles in their respective industries (Salemove.com)
Compared with the brands at the bottom, who only saw a compound average growth of 3%, that is a very wide gap. To put a possible dollar amount on this, consider “a one-point score improvement in the CX index can lead to an increase of $85 million in revenue in the upscale hotel industry.” according to Forrester’s Harley Manning.