Businesses Are Missing The Training Necessary For CX And Employee Satisfaction

Forbes

13-05-2025

Employee training improves customer experience results, but also improves employee satisfaction.
When our team at Nextiva recently examined the state of customer experience efforts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, we discovered a gaping hole. Virtually every customer experience leader we surveyed told us their company invested in employee empowerment, teaching them to maximize the power of AI. But only half of respondents called those investments 'significant.'
The incentives to fix this are clear. Not only does better training improve results, it also improves employee satisfaction. Of those who made significant investments in this kind of training, 88% told us they believe that their employees are satisfied with the company's use of AI; just over half (51%) even said they're extremely satisfied.
As Nextiva's study explains, 'When employees feel knowledgeable and in control, they're more likely to remain at their positions. Positive perception of AI also improves the likelihood of long-term success—when teams are on board, change adoption goes more smoothly and changes are more likely to be embraced.'
In my work helping all kinds of organizations transform by using an AI-powered unified customer experience management platform, I've seen why training is so important -- and why the current education gap is massive.
Often, leaders think AI tools will be so intuitive that much training isn't necessary. Employees, meanwhile, can be resistant. Many fear, either consciously or subconsciously, that AI will replace them. Some managers fear they'll lose headcount or budget for their departments if AI proves too efficient.
Consequently, levels of training and comfort with AI are all over the place. On one end, you have skeptics and late adopters who only use AI for small tasks like grammar checks in messaging. On the other end, some early adopters have fully integrated AI tools across their workflows.
But just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a system is only as efficient as its slowest performer. When an organization does not adopt AI uniformly across all functions and help every employee gain the comfort and confidence to use the technology, it moves at the pace of late adopters.
This is especially problematic given how quickly AI is changing. It's vital to stay on the cutting edge, exploring and experimenting with new functionalities as they become available. The longer you lag, the further behind you fall.
Train the trainers
Often the root of the problem is that the trainers aren't up to speed on the use of AI themselves. L&D (learning and development) personnel need time and resources to learn, discover, and develop comfort with AI tools. Some may not feel comfortable acknowledging that they're not yet knowledgeable enough to teach others. They need a safe environment in which they can be honest about what they still need to learn.
Once you have a team ready to train others, have them start at the most practical levels. They should teach staffers how AI can accelerate internal tasks like building proposals, analyzing quality assurance (QA), evaluating vendors, and preparing for strategic meetings. People need to see it in action, ideally in group settings in which prompts are shared and outcomes are immediately visible.
Training should also emphasize to personnel how important they are, and why their human skills serve an essential role. A study published recently in the Chinese Science Bulletin, by professor Jack Ng Ng Kok Wah of Multimedia University in Malaysia, noted that, 'Employees should be trained to work alongside AI tools, focusing on tasks that require emotional intelligence, empathy, and creativity.'
People in different functions should receive specific training to understand how AI can complement their daily work. For example, workers in call centers need to know how to use AI and balance it with human intervention.
Creating a successful training regimen takes work. 'Even the best-conceived CX strategies can fail without effective execution,' writes J. Christopher Westland, professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, in a recent study published by the Journal of Logistics, Informatics and Service Science. 'Managers need to ensure that all aspects of the implementation process are meticulously planned and executed, from training employees to integrating new technologies seamlessly. Investment in employee training and fostering a customer-centric culture.'
It's worth it. Looking at the case of Starbucks, he wrote, these efforts 'can significantly enhance the quality of customer service and overall experience.'
The good news is that, often, solution providers work with your company to help your staff learn to get the most out of their technologies. It's a win-win.
I've seen what a profound difference proper training makes. It dramatically improves the ROI of your investments, and helps you catch up -- or even surpass -- the competition. In this era, a workforce skilled to use AI to maximize CX is one of the biggest competitive advantages you can have.