Not burying the disclosure or softening it with a vague persona name and hoping no one asks. Actually telling customers upfront that they’re talking to an AI and giving them an immediate way out if they’d prefer a human.

The result, according to practitioners who attended our latest Virtual Executive Roundtable who’ve deployed this at scale? The vast majority of customers stay and engage.

In an era of debate about whether AI can match human service quality, organizations that lead with full transparency find that only a small fraction of customers opt out. And those who stay report customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores that, while not yet at parity with human agents, are closing the gap fast. Some deployments are seeing AI-handled interactions score 93% compared to 98% for humans.

What Actually Frustrates Customers

Most organizations approach AI deployment with a reasonable-sounding concern: if we tell customers they’re talking to a bot, they’ll disengage, they’ll demand a human, or they’ll leave frustrated. This instinct is understandable.

A Gartner survey found that 61% of consumers want the ability to toggle AI interactions on or off, reinforcing that customers don’t reject AI; they just want agency over it.

What actually frustrates customers isn’t AI; it’s deception. It’s filling out a form, expecting a live agent, only to discover mid-conversation that you’ve been talking to a bot the whole time. It’s being transferred without context, left waiting, or handed off to a human who has no idea what was already discussed.

Transparency short-circuits all of that. When customers know from the start what they’re dealing with, and know they can leave if they want to, they calibrate their expectations accordingly. And when the AI delivers, they’re satisfied.

What Transparency Looks Like

In practice, the organizations seeing these results aren’t just slapping a disclaimer at the bottom of a chat window.

They’re doing a few things deliberately:

• A named AI persona. Not “our virtual assistant,” an actual character with a name that sets clear expectations. This gives customers something concrete to interact with, rather than an ambiguous blob of automation.
• An immediate opt-out. From the very first message, without a maze of options or having to express frustration to trigger a transfer. Just a clear path to a human, available at any point.
• Continuity through handoff. When a customer does choose to transfer, the human agent receives the full conversation history. Nothing is repeated, nothing is lost. The handoff feels seamless rather than punitive.

Salesforce’s 7th edition State of the Connected Customer report, surveying 16,500+ individuals, found that trust in businesses to use AI ethically dropped from 58% in 2023 to just 42% in 2024, a 16-point decline in a single year.

From the same Salesforce report: 89% of customers say it’s important to know when they’re communicating with AI rather than a human, yet most brands still don’t consistently disclose it.

The low opt-out rates practitioners are seeing aren’t a sign that customers are trapped. They’re a sign that the experience is good enough that customers don’t feel the need to leave.

Some Interactions Shouldn’t Be Handled by AI

These findings challenge something deeper than an operational assumption. They challenge a C-suite narrative that has framed AI deployment as an inherently delicate act of customer management, to be introduced gradually, carefully disguised, and constantly hedged.

That framing has it backward. Customers are not fragile or universally hostile to AI. What they are is perceptive. They know when they’re being misled, feel the friction when a bot pretends to be something it isn’t, and they reward honesty with engagement.

There’s also an important exception worth noting: some interactions should never be handled by AI, full stop. Pet loss. Genuine financial hardship. Emotional escalations. These are human moments, and the organizations getting this right have been explicit about drawing that line. Transparency isn’t just about telling customers what they’re talking to; it’s about knowing, as an organization, where your AI should never go.

Are You Solving for the Wrong Problem?

If your organization is still in the pilot phase, debating how visible to make your AI deployment and nervous about customer backlash, the data suggests you may be solving the wrong problem. The question isn’t how to introduce AI without customers noticing. The question is how to build an AI experience good enough that customers don’t mind.

Transparency is the foundation of that. Not because it’s the right thing to do (though it is), but because it’s what works. It sets accurate expectations, builds trust, and creates the conditions under which customers will give your AI a fair chance — and, as practitioners are finding, most of them will decide it earns one.

The brands that will lead in AI-powered CX over the next few years won’t be the ones that hid their AI the longest. They’ll be the ones who trusted their customers enough to be honest and built something worth being honest about.

These are exactly the kinds of candid, leader-level conversations happening inside our Virtual Executive Roundtables. If you want to hear how your peers are thinking through the opportunities and tradeoffs ahead, and contribute your own perspective to the discussion, join us at a future Virtual Executive Roundtable. It is a chance to step into a smaller, high-value conversation with fellow CX leaders navigating many of the same questions in real time.

Join our mailing list to receive event invites.

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Across industries, CX leaders are now facing a familiar tension: strong momentum in adoption, uneven results in execution. AI is embedded in more contact center workflows than ever before, yet achieving consistent, enterprise-wide impact remains difficult. The technology is advancing faster than most operating models can absorb it.

According to our 2026 CX Leaders Trends & Insights: Corporate Edition Report, two-thirds of contact centers now operate with some form of AI in their workflows, more than double the rate in 2022. But only 7% of CX leaders describe themselves as very effectively meeting their AI objectives. Nearly half say they are only somewhat effective.

That gap tells its own story. This is a question of translation, moving from isolated use cases to reliable, repeatable performance inside complex service environments.

Turning AI into Operational Impact

The reality is that AI in CX is no longer a pilot conversation. It is an operational one. And in operational terms, success depends less on what the technology can do in theory and more on how it behaves under real-world constraints: legacy systems, fragmented data, shifting customer expectations, and frontline teams who must integrate new tools without losing service quality.

The same research underscores the tension:

• 67% of contact centers now use AI (up from 31% in 2022)
• 49% cite customer frustration with AI quality as a growing concern
• AI virtual assistants still resolve only ~60% of interactions, compared with 87% for phone-based service

These are not signs that AI is failing. They are signals that scale is harder than adoption. What separates progress from stagnation is rarely the model or platform itself. It is the clarity of the use case, the discipline of implementation, and the willingness to confront what happens after deployment when customers begin to interact with the system in unpredictable ways.

In many organizations, early AI wins are real but isolated. A reduction in handle time here, a deflection improvement there, or a successful pilot that performs well under controlled conditions. The challenge emerges when leaders try to extend those results across channels, geographies, and volumes without losing performance and customer trust.

That is where the conversation is shifting now: from “what can AI do?” to “what does it take to make it reliable and scalable?”

From AI Possibility to AI Proof

This is precisely the value of examining AI through structured use cases, not as abstract innovation stories, but as operational decisions. What problem was being solved? What trade-offs were made in design? What changed in the workflow? And what happened when the system met real customer behavior?

Our upcoming event, From Investment to Impact: Rapid-Fire AI Use Cases for Customer Experience, is built around that premise. It brings together real implementations from across CX environments, each grounded in a defined business challenge, a specific execution approach, and measurable outcomes.

Facilitated by Chad McDaniel, President of Execs In The Know, the format is intentionally direct. Solution providers present concrete use cases, and CX leaders respond in real time with questions grounded in their own operational realities: what works, where it works, and why.

For leaders navigating AI strategy today, the value is not in another overview of what is possible. It is in seeing what is already working under real constraints, and understanding what it actually takes to replicate it.

Join us and learn how leading organizations are applying AI in real CX environments, the challenges they’ve encountered, and the results they’re achieving.

This session is exclusively for end-user corporate CX leaders responsible for customer experience strategy, operations, and technology decisions.

If you are a vendor interested in participating as a solution provider, please contact Scott Moberly at Scott@execsintheknow.com.

The post What AI Use Cases Are Really Delivering in CX Today appeared first on Execs In The Know.

A new research report from Execs In The Know, CX Agent Insights: Perspectives from the Front Line, changes that. Based on a 33-question survey of 107 contact center agents across internal and outsourced environments, it delivers something rare: an unfiltered, data-driven look at what agents actually experience, what motivates them, and what’s holding them back.

A Workforce That Genuinely Wants to Succeed

Here’s the good news: your agents care. A lot.

An overwhelming 88% of agents surveyed report being passionate about the brands they represent, and 82% say they’re satisfied in their roles. Nearly 9 in 10 believe their organization is committed to putting the customer first. This isn’t a disengaged workforce waiting for the clock to run out; it’s a motivated group of professionals who want to do meaningful work and do it well.

In fact, 67% of agents say they plan to stay and grow within the contact center industry in the long term. That’s a workforce with real tenure potential, and a real appetite for investment. So if agents are engaged and aligned, what’s the problem?

Tools, systems, and technology that simply aren’t keeping up with job demands.

Your Agents Want Faster, More Reliable Tools

When agents were asked what area of their contact center operation most needed improvement, technology ranked first, cited by 24% of respondents. Only 40% say they’re very satisfied with the technology they use day-to-day. Just 50% report that their systems integrate well and work seamlessly together. And when asked what single technology improvement would make the biggest difference in their work, the answer wasn’t AI or fancy new features; it was faster, more reliable tools, named by 54% of respondents.

The picture that emerges is of a capable, committed workforce operating with one hand tied behind its back. Agent performance isn’t capped by motivation; it’s capped by the operational environment around them.

The Hidden Risk: Career Clarity

There’s another gap that the research surfaces that deserves attention. While 67% of agents plan to grow in the field, only 47% feel their organization provides clear career paths and advancement opportunities. For a workforce that’s experienced (45% have five or more years in the role), that disconnect is a retention risk hiding in plain sight.

Agents are willing to commit. Organizations need to show they’re willing to invest in return.

What This Means for CX Leaders

The research is clear on one thing: improving CX outcomes starts with improving the agent experience. Not through perks or culture programs alone, but through faster systems, better integration, clearer career frameworks, and feedback loops that actually lead to visible change.

Ready to see the full picture? The complete CX Agent Insights: Perspectives from the Front Line report is packed with data, analysis, and actionable insights across hiring, satisfaction, technology, and operational strategy.

Read and Download the Full Report →

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A keynote speaker at Customer Response Summit (CRS) in Clearwater Beach, Florida, Edmond took the stage to discuss change, not just in shifting consumer behaviors or advancing technologies, but the kind that redefines an entire industry.

A Childhood Rooted in Change

“I want to start by telling you a little bit more about myself,” she began.

Edmond’s journey in hospitality started beside her grandmother, making hotel beds. The repetition, the attention to detail, the care taken with every tucked-in corner—these weren’t just tasks; they were lessons in pride, service, and resilience.

Change wasn’t just a professional necessity for Edmond; it has always been a way of life. She’s lived in 10 different cities in 30 years, moving between Hilton and Marriott, adapting, evolving, and learning along the way. It was never just about climbing the corporate ladder; it was about deeply understanding the guest experience, leading with empathy, and building something bigger than herself.

As she stood on that stage, she didn’t just speak about transformation. She embodied it.

A Career Built on Evolving

Edmond’s career began at the Boston Quincy Marriott Hotel, where she first learned the nuances of on-property operations. From there, she rose through the ranks, taking on corporate roles that gave her a panoramic view of hospitality, from the frontlines to the executive suite.

One of her defining moments? Leading the historic merger of SPG^® and Marriott Rewards^® into Marriott Bonvoy^®, a transformation that impacted 6,900 hotels and millions of loyalty members worldwide. This wasn’t just a branding exercise. It was a massive operational and emotional shift for travelers who had built their routines, rewards, and brand trust around these programs.

The challenge was enormous, but Edmond saw it as an opportunity to reimagine what loyalty could mean. The results spoke for themselves: a 7% increase in Elite Appreciation among top-tier guests, proving that intentional change, when done right, fosters deeper guest loyalty.

Then came the introduction of a $235M Property Management System, a transformation designed to streamline operations without sacrificing personalization. Because, as she emphasized, innovation in hospitality isn’t about replacing the human touch. It’s about enhancing it.

Leading Transformation at Marriott International

Many companies wait until an economic downturn forces their hand. Marriott doesn’t believe in waiting. Under Edmond’s leadership, Marriott’s CEC has undergone a strategic realignment, ensuring the company isn’t just reacting to change but anticipating it.

Hospitality is evolving at breakneck speed. The industry is larger, more complex, and more technology-driven than ever before. But Edmond’s philosophy is clear: The best time to reimagine the future isn’t when you’re forced to; it’s when you have the strength and stability to do so on your own terms.

The Power of Human Connection

At its core, travel is deeply personal. A weary business traveler stepping off a red-eye flight, a honeymooning couple arriving at a beachside resort, a solo adventurer checking into a boutique hotel—each guest carries a story. The question is: how does your brand become a meaningful part of it?

For Edmond, the answer lies in the power of human connection, a principle woven into Marriott’s DNA. Technology is a tool, but it’s not the solution.

It’s the warmth of a front desk associate who notices a guest’s exhaustion and offers a complimentary late checkout. It’s the housekeeping team that arranges a child’s stuffed animal just so, making a hotel room feel like home. “Being human is the ultimate competitive advantage,” she said.

This resonated deeply. In an industry often focused on efficiency, cost-cutting, and automation, Edmond reminded us that true hospitality isn’t transactional; it’s emotional.

Lessons in Leadership & Change

Edmond has learned that change isn’t something to fear; it’s something to embrace. She has led through economic downturns, the rise of digital-first travelers, and an industry-wide shift toward sustainability. “Never find yourself standing still; if you stand still, you die. Keep moving,” she explained.

She also reminded attendees of something simple yet powerful: never underestimate the power of asking for help because sometimes, that one ask can change the trajectory of your career.

It’s easy to get lost in the mechanics of hospitality, like room rates, occupancy numbers, and service recovery metrics, but Edmond brought the conversation back to what truly matters: people. As leaders in the customer experience space, our challenge is clear: We must be architects of change and relentless in our pursuit of human-centered innovation.

Because in hospitality, the best experiences aren’t just designed. They’re felt. And that’s exactly what Edmond left us with: a feeling that the future of hospitality isn’t just about where guests sleep, dine, or relax. It’s about how we make them feel.

A special thank you to Frid Edmond and the entire Marriott International team for sharing their insights and leadership with us at Customer Response Summit. Your dedication to innovation, service, and human connection continues to set the standard for the hospitality and CX industry. We appreciate your time, expertise, and the inspiration you brought to the stage!

Ready to continue the conversation? Join us at the next CRS, September 30-October 2, 2026. Connect with fellow CX leaders, hear from trailblazing brands, and explore the strategies shaping the future of customer experience. Learn more and reserve your spot.

The post Marriott International’s Frid Edmond on Leading Transformational Change in Hospitality appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Todd brings over three decades of operational leadership experience to his keynote, along with a willingness to draw on his own personal journey. His session, Mental Athlete: Leadership in a Dysregulated World, explores the connection between a leader’s mental health and their effectiveness on the job, and offers a framework for thinking about self-regulation as a professional practice.

His central premise is that self-regulation (how a leader manages their own mental and emotional state) is a meaningful and often overlooked dimension of professional performance. He draws on the analogy of an elite athlete, for whom mental conditioning is as deliberate and structured as physical training, and asks what it might look like for leaders to bring that same intentionality to their own well-being.

The post CRS Scottsdale Keynote Preview: Mental Athlete — Leadership in a Dysregulated World appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Consumers Still Favor Live Agents, but the Gap Is Closing

When consumers were asked to compare their interactions with live agents versus AI-powered agents, the preference for humans was clear: 68% rated live agent interactions as “Better” or “Much Better.” By contrast, only 53% said the same about AI-powered agents when compared to their human counterparts.

That’s a meaningful gap. But here’s what’s equally telling: 71% of consumers said they feel neutral or better about AI as their first point of contact when seeking customer care help. Consumer openness to AI isn’t just growing; it’s accelerating.

So what’s driving that tension between preference and openness? It comes down to expectations.

Performance Over Personality

One of the most striking findings in the research is what consumers actually want from AI. While live agents are expected to bring warmth, empathy, and a human touch, AI is held to a different standard entirely.

Consumers ranked “Being Highly Knowledgeable and Accurate” (14%) and “Being Efficient/Quick” (13%) as the top areas where AI-powered agents perform best. Empathy and fairness? Those lagged significantly behind.

The message is clear: consumers aren’t asking AI to act human. They’re asking it to work.

Complexity Changes Everything

Where consumers draw the line most sharply is around issue complexity. For simple tasks (paying a bill, updating account information), the preference split between live and AI agents is nearly even (52% vs. 48%). But when the issue gets complicated?

58% of consumers prefer a live agent for complex issues, and a striking 81% say access to a live agent is “Extremely Important” or “Somewhat Important” in those moments.

This isn’t just a preference; it’s a signal. When the stakes are higher, consumers want a human who can exercise judgment, show empathy, and navigate nuance. AI’s current capabilities in problem-solving simply haven’t earned that level of trust yet.

What Live Agents Need to Get Better At

The research doesn’t let live agents off the hook either. When consumers were asked which soft skills are most critical for human agents to provide excellent care, “Effective Problem-Solving” (16%) and “Being Highly Knowledgeable” (15%) topped the list.

Here’s the catch: those same skills ranked near the bottom when consumers were asked where live agents are currently performing best. That gap between expectation and reality is an opportunity, and a warning, for any brand investing in contact center training.

The Bigger Picture for CX Leaders

The research makes one thing unmistakably clear: the future of customer experience isn’t human or AI. It’s human and AI working together in ways deliberately designed around what consumers actually need at each stage of their journey.

AI excels at speed, availability, and accuracy. Live agents excel at judgment, empathy, and complex resolution. The organizations that figure out how to orchestrate these strengths (matching the right interaction type to the right resource at the right moment) will be the ones that win on customer experience.

The full report goes deep on soft skill differentials, consumer comfort with AI mimicking human qualities, the impact of language and accent barriers, and specific action items for CX leaders.

Download the Full Report →

The post What Consumers Really Think About Live vs. AI-Powered Agents appeared first on Execs In The Know.

But there is a particular kind of conference experience that senior CX leaders tend to describe when you ask them what they are actually looking for. It’s not about the biggest audience or the longest speaker list. It’s about something harder to engineer: a conversation that changes how you think, a CX peer who has wrestled with the exact problem sitting on your desk right now, and relationships that are still paying dividends years later.

When is the last time you left a conference having learned something that actually changed how you work? When is the last time you met someone in a session who became a genuine thought partner, not just a LinkedIn connection? When is the last time a conference sent you home thinking differently about your job function?

That is what CRS is built around.

At CRS Scottsdale (September 30–October 2, 2026), the format is intentionally intimate, designed to foster real conversations, share knowledge, and build relationships that outlast the event itself.

Here’s what sets it apart from other CX conferences.

Leaders Learning from Leaders

At most conferences, you learn from a stage. At CRS, you learn from the person sitting across from you at dinner. The insights come from the CX executive who just cracked a problem you have been wrestling with for months, or the C-suite keynote speaker who is willing to share not just what is working, but what isn’t. There is a candor in the room that is rare because it is composed of people who have actually done the work.

“This is the only event where true CX leaders can learn from other leaders.”

— Ebrahim Hyder, Vice President of Customer Service, Michael Kors

That peer-to-peer dynamic changes everything about how knowledge moves through an event. You aren’t passively absorbing presentations. You are actively exchanging hard-won experience with the people who understand your challenges most deeply.

Intimate by Design

CRS is intentionally small. And that is the whole point. You are not navigating a convention center floor hoping to catch five minutes with someone meaningful. The smaller scale is a deliberate structural choice that shapes every aspect of the event, from the session format to the way the agenda is built, with dedicated connection time woven throughout.

Collaboration at scale is a contradiction in terms. Real collaboration, the kind that surfaces new ideas and shifts your thinking, requires enough space for a genuine conversation. CRS is built around that insight.

“One of the things I really love about these conferences is how intimate it is. The smaller environment allows for a lot more collaboration.” 

— Dima Cichi, Global Customer Success & Service Transformation Leader, Microsoft 

An Openness You Won’t Find Anywhere Else

Something happens when you put the right people in a room together. The attendees who come to CRS are not there to pitch or to perform. They are there because they genuinely care about the customer experience and want to get better at it, alongside others who share this. That shared purpose creates a culture of openness that is hard to manufacture and impossible to fake.

“What keeps me coming back year after year are the friendships you make and the people you trust.” 

— Lisa Oswald, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Member Services, Travelzoo

When the people in the room trust each other, conversations go deeper. Problems get examined honestly. Advice is given and received in good faith. That is the environment CRS creates and protects.

Relationships That Last Beyond the Event

A conference that leaves you with a stack of business cards is forgettable. A conference that leaves you with a network of genuine partners is something else entirely. Attendees describe the connections they have made at CRS as those that have made them better leaders, strategists, and people. Relationships that did not end when the event did.

“I have developed relationships from coming here over many, many years that transcend work. They’re my partners. And I think that’s very unique in the conference space.There’s no other community like that in the industry.”

— Dave Pitsch, Vice President of Guest Services, Arc’teryx

That word, community, is what separates CRS from everything else. An event happens once a year. A community is always there.

Come Experience CRS for Yourself

We are at a complex moment in customer experience, trying to figure out how to harness AI while doubling down on the human connection that still defines great brands. The tension between those two imperatives is real, and the organizations navigating it best are the ones learning together in rooms like the ones CRS creates.

There is no better place to work through that challenge than alongside the leaders doing it in real time. If you have not been to CRS before, this is the year to find out what everyone keeps coming back for.

Learn More  

Register Today 

The post What Makes CRS Different from Other CX Conferences appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Uber decided to do something different.

The company’s Global Digital Experience team, the group sitting at the crossroads of customer support operations and engineering, started asking a harder question: what if you could infer how every single customer felt, even the ones who never filled out a form?

The answer became an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that analyzes the full universe of support interactions in real time, surfacing satisfaction signals that traditional surveys simply can’t see. No waiting for voluntary feedback, no sampling bias, and no blind spots.

The Three Measuring Levers 

The model is built around three pillars: Resolution, Effort, and Sentiment.

Resolution is the foundation. Did the customer’s problem actually get solved? Effort is the friction audit. How hard did the customer have to work to get there? And Sentiment is the hardest piece: tracking the emotional arc of an interaction from first message to final reply, measuring whether someone left feeling better or worse about the brand than when they arrived.

None of these is new in isolation. What’s new is the synthesis, such as weaving together transactional data, real-time trip telemetry, conversation logs, turn counts, and tone signals into a single, coherent picture of what a support experience actually felt like.

The Lessons Were Hard-Won

Building this wasn’t a clean sprint. Uber’s team quickly discovered that years of CSAT data had given them a false sense of understanding. Once they started peeling back layers to define more nuanced sub-metrics, they found complexity that legacy surveys had been quietly papering over all along.

Aligning stakeholders across different business lines, languages, and markets on one shared definition of “satisfaction” required iteration after iteration. Teaching an AI model not just that it failed, but why, within a specific cultural or operational context, turned out to be genuinely hard work.

It’s the kind of friction that only makes the output more valuable.

What’s Next for Digital Experience at Global Scale

The near-term unlock is significant: for the first time, Uber can compare performance across fundamentally different support technologies (legacy automation and modern conversational AI) using a normalized metric. Apples to oranges, finally made comparable.

But the longer-term vision is more ambitious. The team sees a future where AI doesn’t just measure satisfaction; it anticipates friction before customers feel it, resolves issues without a single click, and transforms every support interaction from a transaction into a trust-building moment.

That future isn’t fully here yet. But the infrastructure being built now is what makes it possible.

Want the full story?  Access the complete case study, including how Uber’s team structured the cross-functional build, what broke along the way, and how they see AI reshaping customer experience on a global scale.

The post What Happens When You Stop Waiting for Customer Feedback? appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Since 2021, Execs In The Know’s Leading with Impact program has focused on raising awareness surrounding mental health. Our aim is to continue working to break past the stigma often associated with mental health issues and address these issues head-on. Our actions, no matter how big or small, can provide hope to those who are struggling. We’re working alongside organizations to help companies and individuals move down a stigma-free path, where those affected by mental health challenges can seek support without fear of judgment.

That context becomes especially visible in the day-to-day reality of work, where experience is shaped not only by what is measured, but also by what is felt beneath those measures.

Behind the Metrics

In the rhythm of a typical workday, especially in customer-focused environments, much of the attention is directed outward toward performance metrics, service levels, and the consistency of the experience being delivered. Dashboards update in real time, targets are tracked, measured, and optimized, and every interaction is an opportunity to reinforce trust, solve a problem, or strengthen a relationship.

Behind those measures, however, are individuals navigating competing priorities, constant interaction, and the expectation to remain responsive, steady, and engaged. The pace can be dynamic, at times unpredictable, and often shaped by variables outside anyone’s control. And within that pace, there is an ongoing balance between output and capacity, between responsiveness and recovery.

Mental health, in this context, is rarely a single moment or a clearly defined event. It is cumulative. It reflects how work is structured, how communication flows, and how individuals move through their day. It is influenced by the volume of interactions, the complexity of customer needs, and the degree of autonomy individuals have in managing both.

It also shows up in ways that are not always immediately visible. In the tone of a conversation, the patience within a customer interaction, and in the ability to remain present through complexity, to listen fully, and to respond with clarity. Over time, these small moments shape the overall experience for both employees and the customers they serve.

A Different Kind of Visibility for Leaders

For leaders, this creates a different kind of visibility. Not one rooted solely in outputs, but in patterns. How teams are pacing themselves across a week or a quarter. How often can they reset between periods of intensity? How consistently they are supported in maintaining both performance and well-being over time.

These patterns are not always captured in traditional reporting, yet they influence many of the outcomes organizations care most about: engagement, retention, service quality, and consistency. They also indicate how sustainable those outcomes are over longer periods.

Where Employee and Customer Experience Meet

Across many organizations, there is a growing awareness of these dynamics. Conversations around flexibility, workload, and support systems have become more integrated into how teams operate. In some cases, this includes more deliberate approaches to scheduling and staffing. In others, it shows up in how leaders communicate expectations, set priorities, and create space for focus.

Rather than existing in isolation, employee experience and customer experience are increasingly understood as interconnected parts of the same ecosystem. The conditions in which employees work (how supported they feel, how clearly they understand expectations, or how manageable their workload is) can influence how consistently they deliver for customers. The relationship is not always explicit, but it is observable.

How It Shows Up in the Work

When employees have the space to focus, recover, and feel supported in their roles, it often carries over into how they engage with each other and with customers. Interactions may feel more measured. Problem-solving can become more collaborative. Consistency, which is central to many customer experience strategies, becomes easier to sustain.

At the same time, the absence of that support can also surface in subtle ways. A slight delay in response, shorter interaction, or a missed opportunity to fully resolve a concern. These are not necessarily indicators of intent or capability, but reflections of the broader environment in which work is taking place.

Moments like May offer an opportunity to notice these connections more clearly. Not as a departure from day-to-day operations, but as a lens through which to view them. A way to reflect on how systems, expectations, and support structures are aligning with the realities of the people within them. It is a chance to observe what is working well and where there may be opportunities to adjust.

Small Shifts, Meaningful Impact

In practice, this reflection can take many forms. For some organizations, it may involve revisiting how workloads are distributed across teams or how demand peaks are managed. For others, it may include examining how communication flows, whether priorities are clear, whether feedback is timely, and whether individuals have the information they need to do their work effectively.

It may also include a closer look at how time is experienced throughout the day. The spacing between meetings, the ability to focus without interruption, or the presence of natural pauses allows individuals to reset before moving into the next task or interaction. These elements, while operational, contribute to the overall work experience. Over time, they shape how sustainable the experience feels and how consistently individuals can bring their full attention to their work.

For customer-facing teams, this is particularly relevant. The nature of the work often requires continuous engagement: listening, responding, solving, and adapting in real time. It is work that draws not only on technical knowledge, but also on emotional awareness and communication skills.

Sustaining that level of engagement over time is influenced by more than training or process. It is shaped by the environment in which the work takes place: the clarity of expectations, the availability of support, and the extent to which individuals can recharge between interactions.

An Ongoing Perspective

As organizations continue to evolve their approaches to both employee and customer experience, there is an increasing opportunity to consider these elements together. To view them not as separate initiatives, but as interconnected aspects of how value is created and sustained.

This perspective does not require a single model or a defined endpoint. Instead, it is an ongoing process of observation and adjustment. A willingness to look at how work is experienced in practice and how that experience aligns with the outcomes organizations are aiming to achieve. Within that process, awareness plays a central role.

So as May unfolds, the opportunity is not limited to acknowledgment. It is an opportunity to notice and observe how teams are operating, how individuals are engaging, and how the conditions of work are supporting, or at times challenging, the ability to sustain performance over time. It is also an opportunity to remain curious and to explore where small adjustments might create meaningful shifts. To consider how clarity, capacity, and support are experienced across different roles and teams.

Not as a one-time focus, but as part of an ongoing approach to building environments where both people and performance can be sustained. Because at the center of every interaction, every metric, and every outcome are individuals, bringing their attention, their energy, and their perspective to the work in front of them.

And in that sense, Mental Health Awareness Month serves less as a standalone initiative and more as a moment of clarity, a reminder of the conditions that support sustained performance, thoughtful engagement, and the kind of customer experiences that feel both effective and human over time.

Take Action

Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been a driving force in addressing the challenges faced by millions of Americans living with mental health conditions, and this year, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is calling on everyone to take action, raise their voice, and help change the conversation around mental health.

Whether you share your personal journey, raise awareness on social media using #MyMentalHealth, or simply show up for someone in need, every action helps break stigma and build a more supportive world. If you or someone you know is struggling, the NAMI HelpLine offers free, nationwide peer support — available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET — by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), texting “HelpLine” to 62640, or visiting nami.org.

The post Mental Health Awareness Month: Building Healthier, Stronger Workplaces appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The people asking it are doing their jobs; they are trying to justify spending, demonstrate ROI, and connect investment to outcome. But the question itself is built on the premise that events are solely a direct-response channel, and that their value can be measured the same way you measure a paid search campaign or a targeted email sequence. 

Measurement is not the problem. The measurement framework is. CROs and CMOs are right to demand accountability for event spend, but the metrics that reveal event value are fundamentally different from those that reveal campaign value. The argument here is not that events should escape scrutiny. It is the right measurement approach that reflects what events actually do: deepen relationships, accelerate expansion, and drive retention. When organizations hold events to the wrong standard, they systematically undervalue them, cut them first under budget pressure, and lose one of the most powerful long-term growth drivers available to them. 

At Execs In The Know, we have spent 15 years convening the customer experience (CX) community of executives, practitioners, and the partners who support them. And one of the clearest patterns we have observed is this: the partners who show up with a relationship mindset almost always win. It is worth saying plainly: events are not for leads. And understanding what they actually are for changes everything about how you approach them. 

The 97% Problem 

At any given moment, roughly 97% of your potential customers are not in an active buying cycle. They are not comparing vendors, not requesting demos, not reading RFPs. They are running their organizations, managing priorities, and building mental models of the landscape in which they operate, including who is worth paying attention to when the time comes. 

That remaining three percent? They are in the market. They will talk to sales, respond to outreach, and show up in pipeline reports. Direct-response marketing (email sequences, retargeting campaigns, SDR outreach) is optimized for that three percent. You need to reach people who are ready to buy. 

But events reach everyone. They reach the VPs who are two years away from a major platform decision or the COO who is three months from a budget cycle that will open up new discretionary spend. These are not leads. They are relationships in formation. And the only way to reach them (the only way to exist in their consideration list before they are ready to consider anyone) is to show up consistently, add value without an agenda, and build the kind of familiarity that makes you the obvious call when the moment finally arrives. 

Events, when done well, are the most efficient mechanism organizations have for doing exactly that. 

What Trust Requires 

Trust, in a business context, is a very specific thing. It is the accumulated belief that you understand someone’s problems, that you are competent to address them, and that your interests are sufficiently aligned with theirs that working together makes sense. Trust is not built through a 30-second elevator pitch or a well-designed landing page. It is built through repeated exposure to evidence; evidence that you know what you are talking about, that you are genuinely interested in their success and not just their budget, and that you will still be there tomorrow. 

Events are the trust infrastructure. They are the venue where that evidence is transmitted and accumulated at scale. Consider what actually happens at a well-run conference, briefing, or executive dinner. Your people sit across from CX leaders, and conversations take place that have no agenda. You learn something about their business that no amount of market research would have surfaced, and they learn something about your thinking that no white paper would have conveyed. You are no longer a vendor, a logo, or a line item in someone’s evaluation matrix. You are a familiar voice with a perspective they have encountered before and found worth remembering. 

Why does that matter? When the buying moment arrives, and it always does, CX leaders do not start from scratch. They call the organizations they already know. They shorten the list before the formal process begins, and they use trust as a filter. And organizations that have been showing up consistently and adding value without demanding anything in return find themselves on the short list. 

The Six Things Events Actually Do 

If events are not primarily lead-generation tools, what are they? Across the hundreds of events Execs In The Know has hosted and the thousands of conversations we have had with CX leaders and their partners, we have observed six things that events do exceptionally well (none of which are captured in a badge-scan report). 

1. Brand building at depth. There is a difference between awareness and recognition, and a further difference between recognition and resonance. Events create resonance. When a CX leader has heard your perspective in a session, had a genuine conversation with your team in a hallway, or sat at a dinner your organization hosted, they carry a richer and more durable mental model of who you are than any ad impression or email sequence could create. That depth compounds over time. After showing up to multiple events, you are no longer a vendor; you are part of the fabric of the CX community. 

2. Relationship deepening with existing accounts. The most underappreciated return on micro event investment is not new business; it is retention and expansion. Bringing a key customer into a thoughtfully curated experience, or creating the conditions for a genuine conversation between your leadership and theirs, does something that quarterly business reviews simply cannot replicate. It signals investment and conveys that you consider their success even when no immediate transaction is at stake. That signal carries significant weight when renewal conversations arrive. 

3. Account expansion. Micro events create the conditions for conversations that do not happen in formal sales motions. The customer who joined for one reason discovers that you do three other things directly relevant to problems they have been trying to solve for months. That discovery rarely happens through outbound outreach. It happens through the organic, unhurried conversation that only events make possible. 

4. Customer retention. At a time when switching costs are lower and competitive alternatives are more numerous than ever, the organizations that hold on to their best customers are usually the ones that have built genuine relationships, not just good contracts. Events are one of the most reliable mechanisms for making customers feel genuinely valued rather than merely managed. 

5. Product and market intelligence. A well-run event will surface more actionable insight in two hours than six months of survey data. The candid, peer-influenced conversation that happens in a room of CX practitioners reveals what people actually care about, what is genuinely broken, and what the next generation of challenges looks like. That intelligence has compounding organizational value that almost never gets attributed back to the event budget. 

6. Strategic positioning. Where you show up and what you contribute when you get there shape how the market categorizes you. Organizations that consistently convene meaningful conversations around the right topics become associated with those topics. They are seen as credible, forward-thinking participants in the community, not vendors seeking transactions. That positioning is extraordinarily difficult to purchase through advertising and nearly impossible to manufacture. It has to be earned over time through a consistent and generous presence. 

The Lead Measurement Trap 

If events do all of these valuable things, why does the “how many leads” question persist? Because it is genuinely difficult to measure what events actually produce, organizations default to what they can count. 

Badge scans are countable. Meetings booked are countable. A pipeline attributed within a 30-day window is countable. These three things do not fit neatly into a marketing dashboard: The brand equity accumulated over 18 months of consistent community presence, the retention driven by a customer who felt genuinely valued, or the upsell that was won years later but began as a conversation over dinner before there was ever a deal. 

This creates a systematic bias toward undervaluing events. The costs are visible and immediate; the returns are diffuse and delayed; and when budget pressure hits, the line items with the most ambiguous ROI are the first to be cut, even when they quietly do some of the most consequential work in the organization. There is also a cultural dimension. Many organizations have reinforced a specific kind of short-term accountability for so long that their event teams have internalized the lead-generation framing without questioning it. The badge scanner becomes a security blanket. The count of “qualified contacts” becomes the number that justifies the budget. And slowly, the event program begins optimizing for the metric rather than the mission: collecting contacts rather than building relationships, filling a funnel rather than building a community. 

The result is an event program that is not effective as a direct-response channel. Why? Because events are simply the wrong tool for that job and not an effective trust-building channel. 

The solution is not to abandon measurement. It is to measure what events actually produce. That means tracking relationship depth, not just contact volume, over time. It means monitoring how many initiate conversations that eventually enter the pipeline and tracing expansion and retention outcomes back to relationship touchpoints, even when the timeline is long, and the path is not linear. A CRO who insists on event accountability is not wrong, and how they measure over time for their particular business parameters is critical to realizing the true value of event participation.  

What Better Looks Like 

Reorienting an event program around trust rather than leads requires changes at multiple levels in how success is defined and how the function is understood internally. A panel that exists to showcase your executives is not the same as a conversation that helps a CX leader solve a problem she has been wrestling with for months. A sponsored session that serves as a product demo is not the same as a peer exchange that provides practitioners with new language and frameworks to bring back to their organizations. The test is straightforward: would people come to this event if your brand were not attached to it? If the answer is no, the event is built for you, not for them. 

The partners who extract the most value from events have developed frameworks that account for longer time horizons and less tidy signals. They track relationship quality alongside contact volume, monitor re-engagement, including how many people from a given event remain active in the community over the following year, and they trace closed deals, noting when the first meaningful relationship touchpoint occurred, not just when the opportunity entered the CRM. And they are honest about the limits of attribution, accepting that some of the most valuable things events produce will never be cleanly measurable and that this is acceptable. 

This is the measurement shift that matters most: moving from reach to depth, from pipeline-in-X-days to lifetime customer value influenced, from contact count to relationship continuity. When the measurement approach reflects what events actually do, the business case for sustained investment becomes far clearer, and the connection to long-term revenue growth becomes undeniable. Event strategy, properly measured, is not a cost center. It is a driver of the retention, expansion, and trusted-partner status that compound into durable growth. 

A Final Thought: The Real Value of CX Events 

The partners who win the long game in CX are the ones leaders reach for when building teams, evaluating platforms, or benchmarking their programs, and are almost never the ones who showed up most aggressively in a given quarter. They are the ones who showed up most consistently over the years. 

Consistency communicates something that no single event, no matter how well executed, can convey alone. It says: we are here because we are genuinely invested in this community, not because we need something from it right now. It says: we will be here next year, and the year after that, because our commitment to your success does not depend on your readiness to buy. 

That signal (durable, repeated, credible) is what builds the kind of trust that converts when the moment finally arrives. Not the badge scans, meeting requests sent 24 hours after the conference ends, or the 30-day attribution window. Events are not for leads. They are for something harder to measure and far more valuable: the accumulated credibility that makes you the obvious choice when the 97% finally become the 3%. 

That is worth investing in. 

Ready to show up where it matters? Connect with Scott Moberly, Vice President, Partner Advocacy, at Scott@execsintheknow.com or explore our 2026 Media Kits to find your next opportunity. 

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