A Recap of the Altair Global XM Panel at WERC GWS 2023

Altair Global’s commitment to experience management (XM) technology was prominently featured at WERC‘s Global Workforce Symposium (GWS) in Boston from October 17-20, 2023 (read all about it here!). One of the highlights was the XM panel session held on Wednesday, October 18th.

Moderated by Brian Potts, EVP of The Americas, at Altair Global, this session brought together industry experts across corporate mobility, supply chain, relocation management, and experience management to discuss how XM technology can revolutionize mobility programs and enhance the overall experience for all stakeholders. Among the panel was:

• Matthew Eschrich, VP of Client Services at Altair Global
• Kelechi Anyanwu, Regional Head of Solution Strategy, Customer Experience at Qualtrics
• Tricia Sirois, Senior Manager of Global Mobility at Adobe
• Rob Burns, Owner & CEO at IOR Global Services

Unlocking customer insights from experience data was a central theme throughout this session, exploring how Altair leverages technology and experience insights to enhance global mobility.

“XM is a multi-disciplinary field that involves psychology and data.”
— Kelechi Anyanwu, Regional Head of Solution Strategy, Customer Experience at Qualtrics

In essence, XM is about understanding and improving the experiences individuals have with a product or service.

From a corporate mobility perspective, Rob then shared what XM means as a supplier within the mobility ecosystem, and how receiving the data from X-checks (or pulse surveys) helps them provide better experiences in the moment.

Matthew elaborated on Altair’s approach to XM. Altair has woven XM into its core by focusing on four key audiences: Client Partner Experience, Customer Experience, Supplier Partner Experience, and Team Member Experience. These pillars, integrated with technology, operational excellence, and innovation, drive the success of Altair’s XM model.

For further insights, you can explore Altair’s XM model, here.

Kelechi delved into the technology that powers XM, particularly how Qualtrics enables their clients to set up and execute an XM model – and process data at scale. She highlighted the importance of listening, remembering, processing, understanding, and fostering a culture of action, and reminded us, “When anyone is working with you, they expect you to act on the feedback they’re giving you.” XM software serves as a vital component of an organization’s technology stack, enabling the collection of valuable experience-related data and insights. She advised, “Any XM program should include X and O data and be tied to actual business objectives.” For instance, this could be to drive down costs or to improve post-relocation survey satisfaction scores.

The panelists emphasized the significance of X data, which focuses on experiential insights. Unlike traditional O data (operational data), X data captures, analyzes, acts on, and monitors data that reflects people’s experiences with and sentiments about products and services. By leveraging X data and marrying it with the O data we all already have, organizations can transform programs and policies, predict employee attitudes and behaviors, and enhance overall experiences. Matthew shared that “predictive analytics is the next frontier for mobility.”

Further, Matthew noted how having X and O data allows mobility professionals to understand fundamentally what kind of investment to put forward in their program and policies, and bring that insight to internal stakeholders to talk about evolving talent management.

Altair utilizes pulse surveys called X-checks, segmented around key moments that matter throughout a relocation journey. The panel discussed the profound difference between managing experiences with and without XM. XM enables real-time course corrections before the next experience in the relocation journey.

Rob stated, “pulse checks directly correlate to better post-program surveys,” thanks to the ability to catch any potential or current problems right as they start and course-correct before the relocation has even been completed. He shared a story about how on the first day of home finding for a relocating employee, the check-in with the destination consultant went seemingly well. Later, however, IOR received a call from Altair that they had gotten a negative pulse survey response, and that—from the relocating employee’s perspective—it hadn’t gone well. After further discussion, it was determined that it was simply a personality mismatch between the employee and the consultant, and they felt more comfortable putting a note in the survey rather than saying that directly to the consultant. IOR were able to assign the employee a new consultant and later received an email saying how pleased they were with the service and home they could get. Rob concluded, “Having the ability to communicate through the survey led to positive action. Maybe the customer’s experience would have been fine, but it would not have been exceptional.”

Tricia added that that’s the beauty of XM; it helps find those smaller problems, like Rob’s story, that aren’t surface level, saying, “It’s not just the big things—you’ll hear about those—but to know the small things, you can correct and create a great experience and build trust.”

Matthew highlighted Altair’s Customer Journey Map, which is structured around key attributes: Decide, Prepare, Depart, Arrive, Settle, and Beyond. This journey map captures the expectations and experiences of Altair’s customers throughout their mobility journey. From the initial decision to settle and beyond, Altair aims to provide a smooth and positive experience for all.

In a highly competitive landscape in 2023, collecting and understanding conversations at scale has become paramount. The panel stressed the importance of listening as an essential practice. With an abundance of unstructured customer feedback available today, organizations have the opportunity to tap into valuable insights that can drive improvements.

Tricia emphasized, “We want to keep our employees, we’ve invested time and money to relocate them. And that’s all in building trust, and what a great way to do that in meeting them where they are.”

This panel session at WERC GWS 2023 showcased Altair’s deep commitment to XM. By integrating technology and customer insights – both experiential and operational, Altair aims to provide superior experiences to clients, customers, supplier partners, and team members. The XM journey is evolving, and Altair is at the forefront of driving positive change.

As we look ahead, Altair remains dedicated to its XM initiatives and eagerly anticipates the next steps in the mobility industry, from advancements in AI to a focus on a better, more sustainable mobility future.