“SLAs and XLAs, how do they work together? SLAs are vertical, experience is horizontal. And experience is cumulative, it’s happening all the time. We need to look at that collection of moments and think, is experience generally going up? Is experience going down? Or is experience staying the same?”
In this episode, Richard Pharro, CEO of APMG International, speaks to Neil Keating, founder of Experience Collab, to delve into the world of Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) and their significance in the IT industry. To begin, Neil distinguishes XLA’s and SLA’s and outlines how they can help improve the overall experience for IT customers, consumers and employees.
Neil then emphasises the importance our emotions play in consumer and employee experience. He explains Affective Science; how emotions are a physical factor that can be measured, for example experiencing a faster heartbeat, hairs standing up on your arms etc. However, feelings (which derive immediately from the initial emotion) are more logical and are the pinnacle factor that drive us to reach certain conclusions about an experience.
Neil emphasises that our experiences with a service are usually cumulative; our feelings and beliefs often build up over time. Next, Richard and Neil discuss how such beliefs can often establish loyalty to a particular brand, or conversely, can cause customers to stray. Neil stresses that this is why creating a comfortable customer experience is paramount to the success of a business and is what will keep customers returning.
Richard and Neil further discuss the rise of AI & automated services, and the impact this has on user experience. They discuss how AI has created a new demand to balance efficiency with personalised experiences, particularly because some people may prefer human interaction over automation, and vice versa. By understanding how people feel about their experience as a user - customer or employee - organisations can drive productivity and create a supportive work environment.
Listen in to discover how XLA’s can positively impact your network’s experience, as this week’s episode delves into the ever-evolving landscape of customer experience.
