Looking at things we are trying to measure in customer surveys and #VOC #NPS etc then we must ask ourselves how much change has there been to people's daily lives, and how would we characterise peoples mood in general?
Let's start by talking about peoples lives. Across the globe, everyone's life has changed a little, a lot, or completely. Although everything around you may seem familiar it is still totally different a few months ago. All of your senses are working at a heightened rate as you process what you see and hear around you. Almost no cars on the roads, restrictions on your behaviour (and the behaviour of everyone around you) nature itself is adapting quickly to the lack of human activity.....and inside isolation fear and uncertainty have your brain working overtime.
Just navigating down the average street requires more mental effort than it did before the crisis started. Everything seems different and everyone is potentially carrying an unseen threat.
And that's before we start thinking about you and your customer experience. Your colleagues have been through a rapid change to processes. They are more uncertain.
Each of us will handle all of this very differently but being surrounded by uncertainty has a peer pressure impact. If you put a person in a room full of people who are scared they will start to feel scared as well. Remember this basic video about people in a lift?
My work on emotions is about recognising patterns of affect (the external signs) and using those signs as the basis for changing effect (how you change them). I can, therefore, state the common sense and obvious fact that emotions are more active in everyone. Good or bad, naughty or nice - whatever the feelings there are more of them. Fear pride self-love, self -loathing, happiness and sadness have moved up at least 2 levels of effect (in our emotional metrics) over the last 3 months.
Leading the battle #NHS and other #frontlineworker across the globe are using that increased emotional energy to become heroes. To go above and beyond. One the other side of the coin domestic abuse and selfish behaviour is increasing as well. People once seen as heroes like Richard Branson have been exposed for their attempts to be first in line for the help needed by everyone and he has become a hated icon to many of the worst sort of behaviour. And in the USA gun sales are up!
So if there is all this change understanding our metrics have changed and the current output you are getting has less relevance to past data.
What can you do to understand your customers better in these times? Obviously make changes to questions timings and even colours in your survey experiences. This will give you more accurate data and make people feel better.
In part 3 I will talk about those changes and give you some of the tips we give people and have learned from watching how the best organisations are adapting globally.
For today stay safe, socially distance and I hope you all can find moments of calm in every hour you are awake.
Thanks for reading
M