Michael Hill Australia embarked on an experience transformation journey leveraging Qualtrics software to enable the jewellery retailer to keep pace with company growth while ensuring employee engagement and brand equity.
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed both the customer and employee experience landscapes overnight. More than ever, organisations rely on emerging technologies to stay abreast of the fast-evolving consumer behaviours and market dynamics as well as employee expectations and workforce trends.
In a report by global business data platform Statista, 58{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} of organisations worldwide perceived customer experience (CX) as a primary competitive differentiator, with 58.2{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} stated that data management, visualisation, and analytics will reshape their customer experience in the next five years. On the other hand, despite moderniSation efforts of many organisations, in a recent Gartner poll, only 16{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} leverage technology to track employee progress and engagement. Some of the methods employed are virtual clocking in and out, tracking work computer usage, and monitoring employee emails or internal communications/chat.
Qualtrics, leading Experience Management (XM) provider and creator of the XM category, ensures to deliver breakthrough experiences for customers and employees amidst the unprecedented and long-lasting impacts of the pandemic. Michael Hill, known as Australia’s legacy in Jewellery master crafting, is one of the global organisations that have selected Qualtrics XM solutions to help them redesign experiences for their customers, employees, products, and brands.
Qualtrics Software Enabling Experience Transformation
Leveraging Qualtrics Experience Management Operating System, the international multi-channel jewellery brand aims to accelerate the launch of new initiatives supporting Michael Hill’s transformation into a modern, differentiated, omnichannel retailer. The company recognises that equally important with carrying out excellent in-store and digital execution and visual merchandising standards is adapting to the ever-changing customer and employee expectations.
Joanne Matthews, Chief People Officer at Michael Hill, explained how Qualtrics supports the jewellery retailer in delivering its commitment to both its people and customers. She said:
“Michael Hill’s People Promise – enabling you to realise your potential – and our culture is what sets us apart as an employer of choice and aspirational brand to our teams and customers. Delivering this Promise is critical to our ongoing transformation, and Qualtrics is central to achieving it.”
“The technology selected will provide us with insights to inform our decision making and gives us the ability to frequently capture and act on feedback in real-time to design new or improve existing team member initiatives, while also ensuring our workforce have the support they need to deliver a great in-store experience,” Matthews added.
Engaging Employees
The company has selected Qualtrics EmployeeXM, an IT solution that enables organisations to improve employee technology experiences for a more engaged and productive workforce. Through the Qualtrics software, the company intends to redesign its engagement strategy for its 2,200 members to ensure Michael Hill attracts, develops, and retains competent talents as the company advance in the dynamic retail industry.
Qualtrics EmployeeXM will provide Michael Hill regular qualitative and quantitative feedback from team members across key stages in their employment lifecycle and after significant business moments, including the brand’s annual team member engagement program–allowing the leaders in the organisation to analyse and act on feedback in real-time.
Matthews shared that Michael Hill has seen the following immediate outcomes from deploying the Qualtrics EmployeeXM:
- Almost 90{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} of team members responded to their first interaction through the operating system
- Achieved an engagement score that is 13{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} greater than the retail industry average
“These in-depth insights combined with our new abilities provide the strong foundation for our people experience transformation,” she stressed.
Adapting to the changing workforce needs, Qualtrics added to its Qualtrics EmployeeXM portfolio the Experience Design for Hybrid Work and Workplaces solution to support the need for an enhanced employee experience framework all-encompassing hybrid workplace and ensuring talent recognition and retention.
Establishing Brand Equity
To provide visibility on the brand’s performance in markets they are competing in and to identify key drivers for growth, Michael Hill will utilise Qualtrics BrandXM. The platform allows enterprises to capture and act on real-time feedback from every touchpoint – from advertising and social media through to customer experience. Qualtrics BrandXM facilitates integration of brand, customer, and employee experience data with operational data from across the business to uncover key business drivers.
Having quick access to consumers’ feedback on new initiatives and offerings will enable Michael Hill to improve and take action on targeted critical issues. As part of the company’s experience transformation. This capability will enable Michael Hill to achieve its vision of becoming the most-loved jewellery destination.
“For us to effectively and consistently position Michael Hill as an aspirational jewellery brand it is essential that we are able to rapidly and regularly track market dynamics, brand perception, and the competitive landscape in each market we operate in. With regular access to market insights captured by Qualtrics, Michael Hill will be able to make data-driven decisions that give us a significant competitive advantage by ensuring we align our brand with insights from our customers, and by optimising our marketing investments and strategies,” said Jo Feeney, Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Hill.
Jason Laufer, Managing Director Australia & New Zealand, Qualtrics, highlighted that many organisations are embarking on an experience transformation to respond to evolving behaviours, expectations, and preferences among their customers, employees, and the broader market. He stated:
“In this environment experience management is critical, equipping organisations such as Michael Hill with the insights and ability to continually design and improve the experiences people want with confidence and precision.”
Qualtrics has been supporting over 13,500 organisations around the world, including 85{8bf2b29f36318f0ac46ab1cc03d7035abce669a1cea16c9ed62389a818fa22fd} of the Fortune 100, to help them design new ways of working based on employee feedback and use customer feedback to design products and experiences that attract and retain loyal customers. Some of the leading organisations that invested in Qualtrics software for experience management during the second quarter of 2021 include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., eHealth, Prince Hotels, Inc., Virgin Cruises, Circle K Stores, Financial Times, and Merck KGaA.
