I answer the question: What can I do with my CCXP?
This article is part of our Customer Experience Hub — a collection of articles that explore the architecture, practices, and mindset behind great CX, all grounded in real-world teaching and consulting experience.
“Dan, I have earned my CCXP — but I’m not sure what to do with it.”
That’s what a Participant who had attended our CX training course told me.
And I thought that it was a fair question. So I’ve written this personal post to discuss and answer that question.
CCXP stands for the Certified Customer Experience Professional credential.
Earning a Professional Credential like the CCXP
I think that the biggest benefit to earning a professional credential is the journey you take and the people you meet along that journey.
Not just getting that piece of paper or digital badge.
If you’re just after putting a few letters after your name, then you’re missing out on the most important part. The growth, development & socialization that go along with earning those letters.
Bu with that said, getting that piece of paper is a milestone accomplishment. It deserves to be celebrated.
I still keep my university graduation photo in my office because I remember that day fondly and how happy my parents were for me.
But that piece of paper doesn’t have magic properties. I have to proactively do something with it.
The Role of Leadership
I often get to work with leaders in workshops.
When we’re covering the topic of leadership, I like to use this definition –
Leadership is the combination of skills, knowledge and experience that enable a person to inspire others to accomplish a shared goal.
Leadership is the combination of skills, knowledge and experience that enable a person to inspire others to accomplish a shared goal.Begin by first defining the shared goal or goals.
Because if you aren’t sure what you’re trying to achieve it’s going to be hard to get there.
Once we answer the shared goal question, we work backwards and brainstorm the specific skills, knowledge & experience we would nee.
In order to inspire people around us to achieve that shared goal.
Why Do I Bring Up Leadership?
If you’ve earned your CCXP credential, I think it matters that you see yourself as a leader.
Regardless of what your job title is or what your work function is, you’re in a terrific position to inspire other people to achieve Customer Experience goals.
And with the CCXP credential, you’ve demonstrated that you have an essential level of required know-how.
Because people don’t go to school to learn the Customer ecosystem. And trying to learn this stuff on the job isn’t enough when you’re working to deconstrucut and reconstruct the Customer ecosystem.
What Can I Do with my CCXP?
Whether it’s an MBA, a university degree or a professional certification like the CCXP, I think you can look at three categories of doing:
1. What can I do in my own job function?
One of the principles of Customer Experience management is that you maintain an ongoing pipeline of CX related projects to work on.
And given the breadth and depth of the topic, it’s unlikely that you’d ever run out of ways to apply what you learn about CX to your job.
Creating new rituals, rewriting job descriptions, looking at how performance is measured, earning Employee engagement, considering specific ways to improve VOC results, designing new experiences or using strategy to prioritize decision making.
The list of opportunities is nearly endless.
One of my favourite descriptions of Customer Experience is ‘thoughtfulness made visible’. You’ll never run out of things to do when you see things this way.
2. What can I do with other job functions?
The famous leadership expert, John C. Maxwell writes,
“The true measure of leadership is influence — nothing more, nothing less.”
That’s such a powerful statement.
A big part of Customer Experience involves working across functional boundaries.
But what about if you’re in a more specialized function such as Tech, Marketing or Finance?
Is it still appropriate to work across functional boundaries? If the true measure of leadership is influence then the answer is a big ‘yes’.
Early in my career when I was in Finance, my big boss asked me to conduct some ‘How to Read a Financial Statement’ sessions for all the department heads.
When I wrote the content for those sessions, my intent was not to just teach the department heads how to read financial statements.
But to influence the important department heads to rethink about the Finance function in general.
When I was managing large Customer Service operations, I regularly asked our company department heads across legal, marketing, finance & tech to come in and teach our Agents what they did in their jobs and how it impacted Customers.
But I was also giving these departments heads a platform to positively influence our Agents about our company and our shared goals.
Don’t underestimate your ability to positively influence those around you.
3. What can I do outside of my organization?
I think every industry professional has a responsibility to write, speak and share their learnings, mistakes & perspectives.
And as a CCXP you have demonstrated that you’re an industry professional. You serve as a role model for the industry. It’s an integral part of who you are and what you do.
I know that writing and speaking takes time. But through the process you find your voice. You establish a perspective.
And your writing and speaking improve. These are important life skills. And they enhance your ability to inspire and influence as well.
Why I Keep Writing — And Why You Might Too
My Favorite John F. Kennedy Quote
Perhaps because I grew up in a proud military family I’ve always loved this quote from President John F. Kennedy.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
For me this quote embodies what it means to serve. To look outside yourself to others.
As a CCXP, or MBA or degree holder or receipient of any number of professional certifications that are out there, I think that looking to this quote can help.
I believe that:
It’s not what the credential can do for you. It’s what you do with that credential for others.
And when you look at things this way, you’ll never run out of ideas or opportunities to serve.
Thank you for reading!
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe via our website.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
