Why the Godfather of CX Says Employees Matter More Than Customers with Bruce Temkin

Voice Activated: Tuning Employee Insights At Work

Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Activated: Tuning Employee Insights At Work. Our host Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of TalentMap is joined by Bruce Temkin, Chief Humanity Catalyst at Temkinsight and the host of the Humanity at Scale podcast, to discuss how organizations can create more meaningful employee experiences through better leadership practices and systematic listening.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to transform HR from an administrative function to a strategic driver of employee potential
• Why middle managers are crucial for scaling human experience management across organizations
• The "Catch and Redirect" technique for leaders to build more collaborative, empowering conversations
• Why vulnerability in leadership matters and how to balance it with executive presence
• The "Measure, Incentivize, Celebrate" framework for driving lasting behavioral change in organizations
  

Bruce Temkin is the Chief Humanity Catalyst at Temkinsight and the host of the Humanity at Scale podcast Known as the "Godfather of Customer Experience," he is a pioneer in experience management with an extensive background in strategy and operations. As founder of the Temkin Group and former leader of the XM Institute at Qualtrics, Bruce has shaped how organizations approach both customer and employee experience management. His work has revolutionized how companies measure and manage stakeholder experiences, developing foundational frameworks including competency models for customer experience and voice-of-customer programs.

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Highlights and YouTube Chapters:

• [00:00] Introduction
• [02:10] Becoming the Godfather of CX
• [04:20] The Hidden Link Between EX and CX
• [07:22] Why HR Change Lags
• [09:36] How to Actually Start Listening
• [13:03] Measure, Incent, Celebrate
• [17:58] Small Rituals, Big Shifts
• [22:16] The Delta Airlines Story
• [32:38] The AI-Integrated Employee
• [41:03] Bruce’s Simple Listening Tour
• [42:05] Bruce’s Secret Leadership Habit
• [42:53] One Thing to Take Back to Your Team

Episode Resources:

• Bruce Temkin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucetemkin/
• Temkinsight on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/temkinsight/
• Humanity At Scale: Redefining Leadership Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humanity-at-scale-redefining-leadership/id1798239022
• Sean Fitzpatrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-j-fitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=ca
• TalentMap Website: https://talentmap.com/