Ask a customer experience (CX) team leader what makes their teams stand out, and they’re likely to list all-star attributes like creativity, ingenuity and technical proficiency. They’ll boast about their team’s ability to solve problems, think differently and adapt quickly. But they’ll likely also say that it takes empathy and dedication to their customers to deliver remarkable experiences.

We asked four executives to tell us how their CX staff, including agents and developers, use their strengths to provide next-level experiences that help build customer loyalty.

Here are their stories.

Empathy and Endurance at InspiriTec

When we asked Gordon Clinkscale, Chief Project Officer at InspiriTec, what sets his team apart in delivering exceptional customer experiences, he doesn’t hesitate to reach for the imagery of comic book heroes Professor X and Captain America. The former embodies empathy — and the latter personifies endurance and loyalty.

InspiriTec is a contact center and IT support services company that empowers disabled Americans and military veterans through employment opportunities and other services. The majority of the organization’s agents (about 85%) are individuals with disabilities. This shared lived experience is the foundation for a unique and powerful ability to connect with callers — especially those facing hardship.

“We’re here to serve and help people with disabilities,” said Clinkscale. “What better example than Professor X to represent our team’s empathy superpower? He’s known for his empathizing capabilities, but also he represents our community as he’s disabled.”

Agents at InspiriTec are exceptionally empathetic, added Clinkscale.

He shared one example of an agent who went to great lengths to help a nurse who was at risk of having to stop working because of a delayed license renewal. Though InspiriTec doesn’t control the licensing process, the agent’s patience and empathy helped guide the nurse through the system and ensure her license was renewed before its expiration date.

The nurse was so grateful that she showed up in person at the contact center to deliver flowers and a thank-you letter to the agent who had helped turn her anxiety into relief. 

These moments aren’t rare, noted Clinkscale. Whether it’s assisting callers with signing up for medical assistance or supporting those seeking CHIP benefits, InspiriTec agents frequently turn difficult situations into human-centered, positive ones.

“Many of our agents come from situations where they were marginalized because of their disability,” he said. “They truly understand the situations that callers are facing. That helps them empathize with our callers and help make them feel comfortable discussing uncomfortable issues, which provides a better experience.”

The Strength of Loyalty

The second superpower? Longevity and dedication — Captain America style.

“In the call center world, turnover is usually high,” said Clinkscale. “But our turnover rate is significantly lower than industry standard — because they’re stakeholders in our mission. Many have found not just a job, but a community and a purpose.”

Clinkscale shared the story of an employee who was a former US Air Force member. He joined InspiriTec; rose through the ranks; and recently retired after a long, fulfilling career.

“He’s a shining example of career pathing and loyalty,” said Clinkscale. “He started as an agent, moved into leadership and then retired. That kind of tenure means we retain institutional knowledge — and more importantly, we retain happy employees.”

Happiness and tenure go hand-in-hand at InspiriTec, which has been named a Philadelphia Inquirer “Top Workplace” for nine consecutive years. Together, those attributes represent loyalty that helps to enable remarkable customer experiences.

Together, deep empathy and lasting commitment form the heart of how InspiriTec approaches customer experience. With the help of Genesys tools to analyze sentiment and quantify outcomes, Clinksale and his team continue to blend mission-driven service with data-driven insights.

“In every interaction, our agents bring their whole selves,” said Clinkscale. “That’s where empathy and loyalty come together. That’s our CX superpower — and it’s working.”

Empowerment at Bon Secours Mercy Health

A true sign of empathy is using what you have — and your natural gifts — to help others. Empathy is at the heart of the patient experience at Bon Secours Mercy Health (BCMH). For the team at BCMH, this means empowering patients and staff at its medical practices by simplifying interactions and journeys.

BCMH comprises hospitals and clinical practices across the US and in Ireland. Known for its compassionate, high-value healthcare service, the ministry continually looks for ways to improve the experience for patients and clinicians.

Using empathy in every customer experience interaction means “looking at ways that we would want to be served and using that to guide us,” said Adam Kirkendall, Director of Technology and Analytics Medical Group at BCMH. In this case, empathy isn’t just about person-to-person interactions. It’s also about transforming the healthcare experience across every channel into something more human, responsive and efficient for everyone involved.

“We use empathy to guide us in empowering our clinical teams and patients — enabling them to use technology and AI on their respective interaction channels,” said Kirkendall. “It’s about allowing patients to manage their healthcare on their time — and giving the clinical staff the tools they need to have better, more informed conversations. And it improves their experience while increasing efficiency.”

Transference of Power

At the heart of this empowerment is self-service — especially through initiatives like integrating MyChart (from Epic Systems). In less than two years, Bon Secours Mercy Health jumped from 4.5% of appointments being scheduled through MyChart to 20%.

That shift didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of intentional investment in user-centric design and AI-powered systems that make it easier for patients to take control of their care.

“Scheduling a physical or follow-up appointment shouldn’t require calling a practice,” explained Kirkendall. “By moving those basic services to self-service tools, we free up our staff to help patients with more complex needs — like understanding insurance or navigating a referral.”

These changes are making a clear impact on the patient experience. Patient satisfaction scores — such as Net Promoter Score and Press Ganey ratings — have improved as these tools have been rolled out.

But the Patient Access Team that Kirkendall is a part of isn’t just building better patient experiences. They’re using empathy to deliver a better employee experience, too.

With tools like Genesys Cloud Agent Copilot, frontline agents are now equipped with real-time information when a call comes in. This reduces the need to guess why a patient is calling; now, they’re ready to help immediately, with context and confidence.

“We’re empowering our teams to have better conversations,” said Kirkendall. “Instead of transferring a call around, they can better serve the patient the first time.”

A Team That Leans Forward

What makes empathy so powerful at BSMH is the mindset behind it. Kirkendall’s team doesn’t settle.

“We’re always looking forward,” he said. For example, the ministry skipped basic bots in favor of AI assistance to have a greater impact.

And recently, his team took the initiative to develop and roll out a voice AI solution for orthopedic practices at BSMH. “They figured it out, built it and it’s launching in June,” said Kirkendall. “They’re learning, growing and seeing their work directly impact the ministry and patient experience.”

From outbound SMS campaigns to AI-driven conversations, the team isn’t waiting to be told what to do — they’re leading the way and using empathy as a guide. “They’re running with ideas, solving real problems and helping to shape the future of patient care.”

Ultimately, the changes at BSMC show what can happen when a company uses empathy to harness technology that empowers people — patients and providers alike — to connect more meaningfully, act more confidently and spend time where it matters most.

Communication and Commitment at Bci Bank

When a team operates across countries, time zones and cultures, chaos might seem inevitable. But at Bci Bank, that complexity — coordinating over 100 CX employees, 30 departments and multiple technology platforms — has become a strategic advantage, thanks to the team’s unique ability to truly understand one another.

For Cristian Vejar Rodríguez, Chief Customer Service Project Officer at Bci Bank, this skill is more than communication. It’s a deeply ingrained competence that helps to bridge languages, disciplines and perspectives.

“We act as the orchestrator,” he explained. “The technical team speaks in code; the CX teams use customer-centric terms; IT has its timelines; and the business teams have their requirements. We connect it all through a CX and project-oriented vision.”

This bridge-building capability helped Bci carry out a massive transformation to the Genesys Cloud™ platform. The team didn’t just migrate systems — they reimagined operations across three main business areas (Retail CCSS, Brokerage and Wholesale), two countries (Chile and Colombia), and multiple customer service centers.

The scale of the project was extensive: more than 850 employees across 12 sites and coordinated across about 30 internal departments. Vejar’s team collaborated with a team of both internal and external stakeholders, integrating the three business units — each with an empowered leader, accountable responsibilities and technical expertise. Despite the magnitude, the team remained aligned and focused on a single goal — delivering the best possible customer experience.

What made all that possible? Their team is committed to customers.

“Everyone gives their best, with excellence. If someone doesn’t know something, they ask — and that’s another reason why communication is our strength,” said Vejar. “We’re all committed to the goal, and that goal is the customer.”

Open Communication Fosters Shared Commitment

These communication skills and commitment directly translate into customer benefits. For example, when Bci adopted Genesys, the bank used an experimental environment to conduct tests before going live. Internal and external users from both countries — including executives — participated in “friends and family” style testing to identify issues in advance.

And when launch day arrived, the team was ready. With over 50 training sessions delivered across the three areas for various roles, the team was prepared to address questions on the ground — even the simplest ones like “How do I hang up a call?” — by embedding real-time support teams.

“We coordinated regularly with the implementation provider and the brand through multiple weekly syncs. For escalations, we reached out via WhatsApp to the Genesys project manager, the commercial team or others, if needed. That’s how tight the timeline was — and that’s how connected we were,” added Vejar.

The CX transformation at Bci Bank proves what’s possible when a team not only works together but truly understands one another.

Because when everyone is committed — and everyone speaks the shared language of customer care — the outcome isn’t just a successful implementation. It’s a better experience for everyone.

Transformation and Time Travel at Conduent

At Conduent, improving experiences isn’t just about technology — it’s about transformation.

“Our strength is our ability to navigate transformation that modernizes our clients’ operations and pivots them toward a digital-first approach,” said DeJon Gaines, CIO, Customer Experience Management, at Conduent. “We’ve spent years honing our skills in cloud migration and modernization.”

But Gaines doesn’t stop at platforms or tools. For him, the real magic lies in something more human that enables transformation: perspective and insights.

Gaines and his team attain perspective by looking back so they can inform on how to move forward strategically. It underlies the way they use transformation to blend previous experiences with forward-thinking design. Those insights are drawn from years spent assisting organizations across industries to help transform their customer experience and evolve the technology that powers it.

“Every time a client engages us,” said Gaines, “we metaphorically step into a time machine to journey back to their CX beginnings — the legacy systems, the missed opportunities, the pain points that led them to us. We then coauthor a new future; one that’s digital-first, cloud-powered and insight-driven.”

The Power of Perspective

“We don’t just lift and shift our recommendations and counsel. We rewind and reimagine,” he explained. “We embed analytics from Day One, capturing the Voice of the Customer across every channel. That becomes the foundation for a customized roadmap. It’s not one-size-fits-all. It’s smarter, faster and deeply humanlike.”

One powerful example comes from a healthcare client that had adopted Genesys Cloud but struggled to maximize the value of the platform’s capabilities. Initially, the company brought in Conduent to support the “people and process” elements of the “people, process, technology” equation. But the client quickly realized the benefits of Conduent handling the technology, too.

His team’s experience meant they didn’t need to ramp up or figure things out as they went. They delivered a more seamless, cost-effective migration and accelerated adoption.

“When it comes to transformation, we know what works best,” he said. “Clients love that we’re proactive and forward-thinking. It’s just what we do.”

At the heart of this is a deep respect for both legacy and innovation. “We listen to the voice of the customer,” said DeJon. “We use data to shape the journey. And we do it with empathy, insight and a sense of what’s possible.”

Building better relationships with your customers starts with employees. Read more stories about how leading brands worldwide are making CX their competitive differentiator by starting with exceptional employee experiences.