The CX Chasm Between C-Suite Executives And Managers

Forbes

15-04-2025

CX leaders need to be on the same page more than ever in order to impact performance.
To build the most successful customer experience strategies for the year ahead, people across an organization need to be on the same page. But are they? A new survey suggests there's a big gulf between executives and managers.
The Leader's Guide to CX Trends in 2025 from Nextiva (my company) surveyed 1,058 decision makers at businesses with more than 100 employees in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. We found broad agreement that CX is a key driver of business outcomes -- even more so than certain other, more traditional factors. But when we asked people how well versed they believe the executive leadership is in this, we got strikingly different responses.
Two-thirds of C-Suite executives said people at their level have an excellent understanding of specific contributions CX makes to profit margins. As we looked further down the ranks, that figure dwindled. Sixty percent of folks at the VP level agreed that executives' knowledge on this is excellent, as did 54% of director level employees. When it came to team managers, the figure plummeted to only 30%.
These findings may highlight that 'while leaders at the manager level generally believe the executive team values CX, they don't have enough regular exposure to executives and their thinking,' the survey explains. 'There's an opportunity here for better communication. Regular meetings or updates can increase visibility and recognition of CX impact and expose lower level leaders to executive insights, while choosing a CX platform with flexible reporting and analytics ensures everyone has access to the data.'
This problem is especially urgent because communication inside organizations could get even worse in the near future, according to a recent study. Three researchers (Mustafa Dogan of Istanbul Technical University, Alexandre Jacquillat of MIT Sloan School of Management, and Pinar Yildirim of Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) found that the more businesses turn toward automation, the less informative 'intrafirm communication' becomes.
'As more tasks are automated in divisions facing uncertainty, the quality of communication between executives and managers may deteriorate,' Knowledge at Wharton explained in discussing the study. 'This can lead to a less informed decision-making process, ironically undermining the very efficiency gains that automation is supposed to deliver.'
Embracing collaborative leadership
Not only is it essential to forge robust communication between managers and the C-Suite, it's also important to demonstrate to the entire staff that these kinds of improvements are taking place. The more leaders at different levels are seen as working together, the more they foster an environment in which people get out of silos and collaborate.
Another recent study, by independent researcher Sunil Kumar Suvvari, looked at senior leaders and managers at different levels inside their organization. It found that greater communication and collaboration were keys to making the business more agile.
So as organizations work to improve direct communication between different strata, they should also work to actively expand collaboration across functions. This leads to some of the most innovative steps a business can take to improve CX.
A centerpiece of the solution to all this is establishing a single platform that pulls together all the information about customers and their experiences. The platform should be replete with benefits of AI, such as the ability to provide instant insights based on the latest information. And everyone must know to add to the platform as they gather new information.
'With so many teams involved, it's extremely important to have a unified system of record for CX interactions and internal collaboration,' our survey explains. Only this way can an organization ensure everyone has 'complete context on each customer's journey, avoiding data silos that harm the customer experience.' This is also one of the keys for any organization to increase its AI maturity, our survey explains.
It's up to leaders at all levels, from team managers up to the C-Suite, to make this happen. When an organization acts with a unified voice, customers can feel the difference. It delivers them the kinds of experiences they seek. And it keeps them coming back.