Reimagining Enterprise Research Through Holistic Engagement
In the rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape, traditional research methodologies often fall short of capturing the nuanced complexities of customer interactions. During my tenure as Director of Insights and Research at AT&T, my team embarked on a strategic transformation that would redefine how we understand and enhance customer experience.
Our approach began with a fundamental shift in perspective. Instead of viewing research as a siloed activity, we developed an integrated omnichannel research ecosystem that connected multiple touchpoints across the organization. By establishing deep, meaningful relationships between call centers, retail channels, and digital teams, we created a comprehensive discovery framework that captured the entire customer journey with unprecedented depth and a more holistic understanding of the experience.
To do this, I established partnerships with retail anc centers channel leaders, developing ways for our team to go to work with selected call center reps and visit retail markets (both AT&T corporate stores, and authorized retail stores). Given labor constraints, we worked with legal to ensure the research we did worked well for our business while also allowing us to gather the insights we needed to build better products, and better customer experiences.
Austin Design Studio and Lab: A Hub of Human-Centered Innovation
The cornerstone of our research strategy was the establishment of a specialized design studio and human factors lab. These weren't merely research spaces; they were innovation hubs designed to provide authentic, immersive insights into user and employee experiences.
We meticulously crafted three distinct laboratory environments. Two customer-centered labs precisely replicated home settings, enabling researchers to observe and analyze user interactions in natural contexts. Our groundbreaking omnichannel lab represented a leap in research capabilities, integrating frontline employee perspectives with customer experiences simultaneously. This end-to-end approach allowed us to develop more empathetic, comprehensive product and service solutions that truly resonated with our customers' needs.
By prioritizing human factors and creating environments that mimicked real-world scenarios, we transformed enterprise research from a reactive process to a proactive, strategic capability. Our design studios became catalysts for innovation, bridging the gap between user experience, product development, and organizational strategy.