July 30, 2025
The CX Revolution Starts Inside the Company
Customer experience gets the spotlight, but what about the people delivering it?
A standout trend in this year’s Gulf Customer Experience Awards is the growing number of companies rethinking how they engage and support their employees. In a region where traditional hierarchies still dominate, this marks a notable cultural shift, and it’s starting to show results.
One global tech firm introduced a local employee engagement framework with six core pillars: from growth and wellbeing to trust in leadership. The programme is co-led by internal ambassadors who work across departments to shape meaningful initiatives. It’s already credited with boosting retention and unlocking new levels of employee participation.
Elsewhere, a major bank made its employees central to a broader CX transformation. With new service behaviours rolled out across branches and call centres, the bank saw clear improvements in Net Promoter Scores and customer satisfaction.
In retail, a health and wellness chain brought pharmacists from across the kingdom into monthly discussions on everything from marketing to IT, generating over 200 actionable ideas in a year. Over 75% have already been implemented or are in progress. Even employee families were invited to weigh in on work-life balance.
Meanwhile, a UAE telco launched a people-led initiative to foster stronger connections between employees and leadership. More than a culture campaign, it helped push employee NPS to an all-time high of 80.
These examples show a deeper shift taking hold in which companies treat employee experience not as an afterthought, but as a core business strategy.
👉 Download the full Gulf CX Awards Trends Report for more insights from this year’s most people-focused finalists.
