The challenge “This is CX, so CX team is responsible”

CXpro.me
Mar 30
6 min read

Updated: May 15

A classic CX silo problem!

30/03/2025; 6 min to read

The truth is, CX is everyone’s job, and this fundamental principle is crucial for the success of any organization. However, getting other departments to buy into this idea can be quite challenging. Many times, teams within a company operate in isolation, focusing solely on their specific objectives without considering how their actions influence the overall customer experience. This disconnect can lead to inconsistent messaging, fragmented customer journeys, and ultimately, dissatisfaction among customers.

Here’s how you can break that mindset and make CX a shared responsibility across the organization:

1. Align CX to Business Goals (Make It Their Problem Too)

Many departments see CX as a “nice-to-have,” not a business driver. Connect CX to revenue, churn, and efficiency metrics that matter to them—e.g., show Sales how CX impacts retention, or how better service reduces support costs.

2. Embed CX in KPIs & Incentives

If teams don’t have CX-related goals, they won’t care. Work with leadership to integrate customer satisfaction metrics (NPS, CSAT, churn rate) into everyone’s performance reviews.

3. Make Data Visible & Unignorable

Use dashboards and reports to expose customer pain points in a way that affects them. Example: Show Engineering that 30% of support tickets come from one buggy feature, or show Finance that poor CX is increasing refund requests.

4. Cross-Functional CX Workshops & Ownership

Run short CX-focused sessions where each department owns a part of the customer journey. E.g.,

• Marketing: Consistency between brand promises and actual experience

• Product: UX and feature frustration points

• Operations: Speed of service and fulfillment issues

• Finance: Billing friction

When they feel accountable instead of just informed, attitudes shift.

5. Celebrate CX Wins Across Teams

Publicly recognize and reward non-CX teams when they contribute to a better customer experience. People like credit!

In most organizations CX sees the biggest resistance in Sales, Product, Risk and Operations according to my personal experience.

Let’s break it down by department and how you can get them on board.

Sales: “We just close deals, CX is post-sale.”

In the fast-paced world of business, the sales team often operates under the impression that their primary responsibility lies solely in the act of closing deals. This perspective emphasizes the notion that once a contract is signed or a sale is finalized, their job is essentially complete.

However, this viewpoint can be somewhat limiting and may not align with the broader goals of the organization. In reality, the customer journey does not end with the completion of a sale; rather, it is just the beginning of a more extensive relationship.

How to engage them:

• Show them how bad CX kills renewals and referrals (lost revenue = their problem).

• Give them real customer feedback that highlights friction in the sales process.

• Create a simple “CX Playbook for Sales”—things like setting the right expectations, avoiding overpromising, and ensuring smooth handoffs to onboarding/support.

• Celebrate when good CX drives upsells or renewals (they love commission boosts).

Product: “We build features, CX just deals with complaints.”

This is a common sentiment within many organizations, particularly in tech-driven industries, where the focus is often placed heavily on product development and feature enhancement.

The split of job between the product development team and the customer experience (CX) team, suggesting that while one group is dedicated to innovating and creating new functionalities, the other is relegated to managing and responding to customer complaints. This perspective, however, can lead to a disconnect between the product's design and the actual user experience.

How to engage them:

• Share real customer quotes, videos, or heatmaps that show UX pain points. Data is hard to ignore.

• Make them feel ownership—frame CX issues as product improvements, not just complaints.

• Involve them in a “customer listening session” so they hear frustrations directly.

• If they love efficiency, highlight how fixing CX bottlenecks reduces support tickets (fewer distractions for them).

Risk: “We’re Here to Protect the Business, Not Make Customers Happy.”

Usually Risk resist as they see CX as a threat to security, compliance, or financial stability. Risk focuses on minimizing losses, not customer happiness and their work is measured on preventing risk, not customer satisfaction.

To achieve a balanced approach, it is essential for organizations to promote collaboration between risk and CX teams, ensuring that both objectives are met without compromising the other.

How to engage them:

• Show how transparent policies and smoother processes reduce fraud and legal risk.

• Instead of strict refund denials, create clear refund guidelines that protect both customers and the business.

• Show them CX improvements that reduce operational risks (e.g., better KYC flows can cut fraud while improving onboarding).

• When they approve a policy that balances CX and security, highlight it company-wide.

• Make them feel like they helped improve CX, rather than just blocked things.

Operations: “We just process, CX is responsible for the customer side.”

Quite often, while operations focus on internal processes and efficiency, the CX team is dedicated to fostering a positive relationship with customers. Both functions are integral to the success of the organization, and their collaboration can lead to a seamless experience for customers, driving growth and sustainability in the competitive marketplace.

How to engage them:

• Show how better CX reduces inefficiencies (e.g., fewer escalations, smoother workflows).

• Make their life easier—find quick CX wins that make processes less frustrating for both customers and employees.

• Create a CX feedback loop where Ops teams share internal pain points that also affect customers.

• Frame CX improvements as cost savings (e.g., faster resolution times = lower operational costs).

The Big Move: Make CX Everyone’s KPI

If leadership isn’t already pushing this, work with them to set department-specific CX goals. If their bonus or performance review depends on it, they’ll start caring real fast.

If it’s a mindset issue, then the goal is to make CX feel like everyone’s job—not just something they can push off. Here’s how you can shift that thinking:

1. Reframe CX as “How We Work,” Not Just a Department

People resist CX because they see it as an extra task rather than a natural part of their role. The trick? Show them how they already do CX work without realizing it.

• Sales? They set customer expectations.

• Product? They define how customers interact with the service.

• Risk? They contribute to the first impression of the customer with the company.

• Ops? They determine how smooth the experience is.

If they see CX as integrated into their daily work, they’ll stop seeing it as someone else’s problem.

2. The “Customer in the Room” Trick

A simple hack: In every meeting, ask, “How does this impact the customer?” If they can’t answer, they’ll start realizing how disconnected they are from CX. Bonus: Put an empty chair in meetings and say, “That’s the customer’s seat.” Sounds cheesy, but it works—Amazon does this.

3. Make CX Pain Personal

If teams only see CX through reports, they won’t care. Instead:

• Share real customer complaints (especially if they call out a department).

• Play actual customer service calls so they hear the frustration.

• Have them shadow support for a day to experience problems firsthand.

People take action when they feel emotionally connected to the problem.

4. Make Helping Customers Feel Like a Win for Them

People are naturally self-motivated. So instead of saying, “We need you to care about CX,” show them:

• How better CX makes their jobs easier (e.g., fewer customer complaints mean fewer fires to put out).

• How good CX makes them look good (publicly recognize non-CX teams when they make improvements).

• How bad CX makes their jobs harder (e.g., “This product issue is creating 50+ support tickets a week—want to fix it so you don’t hear about it again?”).

5. Quick Wins: Make CX Changes Super Easy to Adopt

People resist change if it feels like extra work. Make CX improvements frictionless for them.

• Automate small CX fixes (e.g., pre-written responses for Sales to set better expectations).

• Create “CX Cheat Sheets” so they don’t have to think too hard about it.

• Show them tiny changes they can make today that immediately improve CX.

Final Trick: Get Leadership to Set the Tone

If all else fails — use Leadership pressure. If other teams still don’t care, get leadership to publicly set CX expectations. When CX is a top-down priority, team buy-in follows:

• Get leadership to set CX-focused KPIs.

• Publicly recognize teams that improve CX.

• If needed, have an executive sponsor and CX champion across departments.