End-to-End Customer Experience
VP and Director-level User Experience leaders oversee all aspects of user experience. They align the UX team and advocate the value of the UX team to the rest of the organization. UX leaders ensure great customer experiences through intentional design at all customer touch points. They are responsible for the end-to-end customer experience, which ultimately contributes to the organization’s overall revenue. As organizations transition towards digital transformation, the user experience aspect of business is becoming increasingly significant. Here are the top three things to consider when hiring your next VP of User Experience:
1. Well-Defined Vision and Strategy for User Experience
Designers need a leader who can align their teams and advocate for the contributions of great user experience design. A User Experience leader must possess and communicate a well-defined vision and strategy for the organization’s user experience.
This well-defined vision and strategy will align efforts across the organization. Hence, it’s important that the leader’s vision aligns with organizational needs. What specific outcomes should great user experience design accomplish for your organization? Great customer experiences lead to increased customer engagement and ultimately, increased revenue.
A UX leader must have a broad lens and a multifunctional perspective. They must work productively with professionals from numerous other disciplines. In essense, they must effectively implement their well-defined vision for the organization’s user experience strategy.
2. Experience in Executing User Experience Strategy
A User Experience leader needs to have more than just a well-defined vision. They also need to successfully implement their design strategies. Positive customer experiences are an important component of an organization’s overall success. Above all, the value of great user experience design relies heavily on great execution of UX strategy.
This role tends to be very hands-on. It often requires ‘soft skills’ that can only be gained through adequate experience in implementing successful UX strategy. You aren’t searching for a manager, you’re searching for a leader.
A leader in User Experience requires practical knowledge of successful execution of UX strategy. The role of user experience design in attracting and retaining customers is becoming more critical in the digital sphere. Your next User Experience leader should successfully effectuate their strategies in order to realize organizational goals.
3. Ability to Provide Measurable Progress
User experience refers to the complete series of interactions an end user has with your organization. A UX leader develops and implements an organization’s user experience strategy. As a result, a User Experience leader must continually evaluate and reevaluate the effectiveness of their strategy. A UX leader measures, estimates, and forecasts positive end-user interactions. A successful UX leader connects the business to the product, and then to the user experience.
Measuring user experience is key to measuring the success of a UX leader. A successful User Experience leader effectively communicates the progress achieved by their user experience strategies. They determine key performance indicators. A successful UX leader reports on their progress in reference to organizational goals.
In Conclusion
Growing and developing user experience is an essential part of an organization’s digital transformation journey. A User Experience leader should be fully dedicated to these intentional design efforts. When searching for your next VP of User Experience or Director of User Experience, ensure they have three things. Firstly, your UX leader must have a well-defined vision and UX strategy. Secondly, your UX leader must have experience in successfully executing UX strategy. Finally, your UX leader must provide measurable progress towards the fulfillment of organizational UX goals. Contact us for more information about hiring a successful User Experience leader.
