These range from increased job satisfaction and performance from well-trained and developed employees to a more competitive business, and even to better-quality candidates who apply to a role seeking opportunities to grow.

If any more persuasive evidence was needed in favour of the benefits of investing in learning, Econsultancy’s ‘Experience Index: 2020 Digital Trends‘ report, produced in association with Adobe, found that companies who lead on customer experience (CX) are far more likely to invest in a wide variety of learning resources than mainstream (non-CX-leading) organisations.

According to responses from nearly 4,000 global respondents across a range of sectors, organisations that lead on customer experience are most likely to provide face-to-face training for job specialities, with two fifths (39%) of CX leaders saying they provide this versus 27% of mainstream organisations.

The second-most prevalent type of training offered by CX leaders is on-demand training for job specialities, which they are seven percentage points more likely to offer than mainstream organisations – 35% of CX leaders offer this versus 28% of mainstream organisations.

Source: Experience Index: 2020 Digital Trends

Other types of training that CX leaders are significantly more likely to provide include face-to-face training for understanding wider business concepts (30% of CX leaders, versus 20% of mainstream organisations) and on-demand training for understanding wider business concepts (27% of CX leaders, versus 20% of mainstream organisations).

CX leaders are clearly willing to make the investment not just in any kind of training resources, but in both face-to-face and on-demand training, offering both specialised training and training that contributes to a wider understanding of business concepts. As the report author points out, “CX leaders understand that people learn differently and not every topic lends itself to digital-only training, so they’re more likely to offer both face-to-face and on-demand options.”

Mainstream organisations edge out CX leaders in offering third-party information on trends, best practices, etc. (offered by 34% of mainstream organisations) and corporate intranet or learning platforms (offered by 35% of mainstream organisations) – but these types of learning are still offered by a significant percentage of CX leaders: 30% and 34%, respectively. Overall, CX leaders rank well across the board when it comes to the various types of learning that they provide.

What are the advantages of investing in organisational learning when it comes to customer experience? Aside from the aforementioned benefits to job satisfaction, performance, competitive skills and so on, having highly-trained talent in-house allows CX leaders to take full advantage of first-party data, which is increasingly viewed as a key strategic asset when it comes to customer experience.

As the report author points out, CX leaders have also built a culture which allows them to react to developments within their industry at speed:

“Speed is the most powerful attribute of the modern marketing organisation. CX leaders are able to react to changes in their customers and markets more quickly than their peers because their culture reduces barriers. They invest in the capabilities to deliver digital experiences and emphasise continuous learning.”

Econsultancy’s 2019 report, ‘How Marketers Learn’, underscored the importance of learning when it comes to reacting to industry developments: 89% of marketing executives said that their organisation’s growth depends on rapidly evolving their skills and capabilities to meet emerging consumer market needs – but only 28% of marketers who responded to the survey said that they receive ongoing learning and development that is matched to how their market or business is evolving.

Clearly, when it comes to organisations who aspire to be leaders in customer experience, making that investment in learning and development more than pays off.

More on Customer Experience

Econsultancy also offers a range of digital and in-company training options – browse our full training page or get in touch to find out more.