The Experience Perspective: An Ipsos Podcast

In this episode of Ipsos Experience Perspective, Helen Bywater-Smith is joined by Oliver Sweet, Head of Ethnography at Ipsos and author of The Rules That Make Us: How Culture Shapes the Way We Act, Think, Believe and Buy. Together, they explore a question that sits at the heart of both customer and employee experience: how much of what we do is shaped not by individual psychology, but by culture itself? And in turn how does CX and EX influence culture itself?

From Disney parks and airports to workplaces, brands and AI, the conversation examines how identity, community and belief systems influence behaviour, expectations and the experiences we value most. Oliver shares insights from his Cultural Trinity framework and discusses why symbolism, ritual and belonging may matter just as much as convenience and efficiency in shaping meaningful experiences.

Whether you're a CX leader, EX practitioner or simply curious about how culture influences the choices we make every day, this episode offers a fresh perspective on the forces shaping modern experience design.

Join Bhavna Sawnani as she explores the critical role of internal communications in shaping the employee experience with Tsara Smith, Senior Consultant in the Internal Communications team at Ipsos UK.

In a world of hybrid working, constant change and information overload, simply communicating more isn’t the answer. Bhavna and Sarah explore what effective internal communication really looks like, from building trust through honesty and authenticity, to making communication more relevant, purposeful and human.

Together, they unpack the crucial role leaders and managers play in helping employees make sense of organisational messages, why choosing the right channel starts with understanding the outcome you want to achieve, and how organisations can better reach frontline and non-desk employees. They also explore the growing role of AI and why technology will never replace the need for genuine human connection.

Listen to discover practical ways to move beyond one-way communication and create an internal communications approach that helps employees understand where the organisation is going, why it matters and what it means for them.

This episode offers practical insights for organisations looking to strengthen internal communications, build trust and use measurement to focus their efforts on the communication that truly makes a difference.

We regularly update our phones, laptops and software to keep pace with changing demands. Yet many organisations are still trying to deliver customer experiences using operating systems designed for a different era.

As customer expectations evolve and organisations progress in their customer experience maturity, businesses must continuously adapt the way their people, processes, measures and culture work together. The organisations that succeed won't simply have the best products or services. They'll have the strongest customer-centric foundations.

In this episode of The Experience Perspective, Helen Bywater-Smith speaks with Mickael Subileau , Global Customer Experience Manager, Janice Kaiser, Customer Experience Project Manager, and Eva Rodriguez, Customer & Organisational Excellence Manager at Jungheinrich, a leading global provider of material handling equipment, warehouse technology and automated intralogistics solutions. Together, they share how they are transforming a traditionally product-centric organisation into one that places customers at the heart of decision-making, leadership and culture, with a clear ambition: to Transform Customers Into Fans.

Their story is not about launching another CX initiative. It's about creating the governance, sponsorship, accountability and organisational alignment needed to embed customer centricity across a global business. From connecting customer experience with employee experience, to breaking down silos, improving responsiveness, and turning customer feedback into meaningful action, they reveal what it takes to drive lasting change at scale. Recognising that customer emotions are a key driver of loyalty, they also share how they have used the Ipsos Forces of CX framework to better understand customer needs and inform business decisions.

This conversation makes one thing clear: customer centricity is more than a dashboard, programme or project. It's an organisational operating system. The invisible infrastructure of behaviours, processes and decisions that shapes every interaction and every outcome.

The organisations that thrive in the future won't necessarily be those with the best products. They'll be the ones that place customer experience at the centre of how the entire organisation operates.

Join Bhavna Sawnani as she explores the realities of generations in the workplace with Emily Cooke, Director in the Global Employee Experience team at Ipsos.

As workplaces become increasingly age-diverse, it can be tempting to explain differences in employee expectations, behaviours and experiences through generational labels. But how much of what we think we know about different generations at work is actually true?

Drawing on Ipsos research, Bhavna and Emily unpack some of the most common generational myths: from assumptions about younger employees and technology, to what different age groups really want from work and how they perceive one another. They explore why differences attributed to generation may instead be shaped by factors such as tenure, life stage, career stage and role.

Listen to discover what this means in practice for organisations and leaders, from challenging assumptions and creating more open dialogue, to designing employee experiences around what people actually need rather than the labels we assign to them.

This episode offers practical insights for organisations looking to better understand their workforce, rethink how they segment their people and build a more inclusive and personalised employee experience.

In this episode of The Experience Perspective, host Helen Bywater-Smith, Global Head of CX Advisory at Ipsos, is joined by Andrea Marsales, Associate Vice President, Client Experience Practices at TD Bank, and Mario Caceres, Client Partner at Ipsos Canada, for a conversation on the evolving role of customer experience in financial services.

As competitive pressures grow, in a challenging context and digital-first challengers reshape customer expectations, Andrea shares how TD Bank is pursuing its ambition to become the “undisputed leader” in customer experience. The discussion explores the bank's shift to journey-led thinking, the importance of understanding customers' life moments rather than products and channels, and how TD is bringing its brand promise of being “Remarkably Human, Refreshingly Simple” to life.

Together, Helen, Andrea and Mario discuss the growing importance of emotional connection, the balance between AI and human interaction, and why the future of banking will belong to organisations that combine technology, trust and empathy to help customers navigate an increasingly complex world. A must-listen for CX leaders looking to create meaningful differentiation through experience.

In this episode, host Helen Bywater-Smith sits down with two leading experts to explore an underutilized yet deeply powerful sensory touchpoint: scent.

• Dan Terry Jacobson, Founder of Oola Lab, a craft neuroscent studio that designs fragrances to influence mood, cognition, and emotional balance.

• Annamaria Foldes, Head of Mystery Shopping and MSU at Ipsos Switzerland, an expert in retail and luxury execution.

Together, they unpack the fascinating science behind olfaction, revealing how bypassing the rational brain to trigger immediate emotional connections can dramatically improve advocacy, satisfaction, and your Return on CX Investment.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The Neuroscience of Memory & Emotion: Discover why humans process scent directly within the limbic system, allowing us to recall sensory memories from early childhood with vivid, mouth-watering clarity.

• Sensory Branding in Action: Go behind the scenes of real-world experience scripts, including translating Singapore's "Garden City" identity into a signature orchid scent for Changi Airport, using fragrance to truncate the perceived travel time for public transit commuters, and crafting intentionally terrifying aromas for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights.

• Elevating Healthcare, Retail, and the Workplace: Learn how sectors are shifting from clinical sanitisation to holistic wellness; such as how a private hospital successfully utilized outdoor fragrance profiles to transition its brand image from a clinical space to a restorative, hotel-like environment.

"When it’s designed well, scent doesn’t shout. It becomes a natural part of the experience, of the environment. And it becomes a brand asset." — Dan Terry Jacobson

Whether you are a customer experience professional, an employee experience leader, or a retail design expert, this episode offers vital insights into creating authentic, collaborative, and human-centric spaces that resonate on a biological level.

Join Bhavna Sawnani in conversation with James Tarbit, Ipsos’ Global Head of Employee Experience, as they explore how organisations can elevate their employee listening strategies and move beyond simply measuring engagement.

James reflects on how listening has evolved from the traditional annual engagement survey into a broader ecosystem of pulse surveys, lifecycle listening, always-on feedback, passive listening, people analytics and conversational AI. Together, they discuss why the annual census still has a role to play, but why organisations need to be more intentional about matching their listening approach to their maturity, decision-making cadence and ability to act.

The conversation explores the shift from listening as a measurement exercise to listening as a strategic business capability. James shares why the greatest value comes when organisations connect employee experience data to customer, operational and commercial outcomes, and why listening should start with the question: “What decision are we trying to make?”

They also unpack the future of employee listening, including lifecycle listening, AI-enabled insights, synthetic personas, passive signals and the growing importance of testing, experimentation and evidence-based practice in HR.

Key takeaways from the episode:

- Listening is not the goal, action and improvement are the goal.

- More frequent listening only creates value when organisations have the capability to respond.

- The biggest risk is not survey fatigue, but inaction fatigue.

- Employee listening should be linked to business priorities, customer outcomes and workforce planning.

- AI and synthetic personas could help organisations test messages and interventions before rolling them out more widely.

This episode offers practical advice for anyone looking to build a more mature, strategic and impact-led employee listening programme.

In this enlightening podcast episode join host Rob Rose as he talks with Andrew Firth, Head of Advisory and Analytics at Ipsos Channel Performance UK, to delve into the critical elements to consider when designing an effective mystery shopping programme.

The conversation emphasises the importance of starting with clear business objectives to create questionnaires that yield actionable insights, and frames how mystery shopping uniquely excels in providing objective assessments of store and employee performance.

With this type of data being well suited to comparisons alongside other commercial metrics, Andy explores the other key considerations, from how to develop robust sample sizes through to the importance of meticulous shopper preparation - all outlining how elements such as these contribute to reliable and impactful mystery shopping outcomes.

In this thought-provoking episode of The Experience Perspective, host Helen Bywater-Smith sits down with Sue Phillips, Ipsos's Global Lead for ESG, and James Bland, Commercial Director for Travel, Hospitality and Leisure, to explore the critical intersection of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and customer experience.

Why ESG Matters for CX

Despite headlines suggesting companies are retreating from sustainability commitments, the reality tells a different story: 87% of companies actually increased their ESG investment in 2025. Meanwhile, 78% of customers agree we're heading toward environmental disaster without rapid change. The challenge? Customers feel overwhelmed and expect brands to take the lead. This creates a powerful opportunity for CX leaders to differentiate through meaningful ESG integration that enhances, rather than compromises, the customer experience.

Three Key Insights

1.Mind the Say-Do Gap

While public ESG communication has quietened, private action continues. But be aware: if you promise sustainable practices, you must deliver consistently. Misaligned frontline incentives can break promises and erode trust through cognitive dissonance.

2.ESG is the Tiebreaker That Pays

Sustainability won't override core experience factors, but it decides close calls. Research shows that customers, particularly those in luxury tiers, will pay up to 30% more for genuinely sustainable experiences. And the Ipsos CX Force "Belonging”, doing good for people, society, and planet, directly drives advocacy and retention.

3.Shift From Morality to Materiality

Move beyond "it's the right thing to do" to "it's a business imperative." Frame sustainability around customer benefits, adopt a service mindset "we'll do it for you" beats "you should do it", and remember: even climate sceptics adopt sustainable behaviours when they save money.

On the podcast we discussed our CX paper on ESG https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/embedding-esg-experience

If you’d like to reach out and discuss how Ipsos can help to connect your CX strategy with ESG goals, reach out to Helen, Sue and James.

Join Helen Bywater-Smith, Global Head of CX Advisory, Francisco Acuña, Head of CX in Latin America, Maura Howley, Senior Vice President, CX & EX in North America and Cyrille Dagorn, CX Service Line Leader, Ipsos BVA in France as they delve into the exclusive insights from our recent Global Voices survey. Where only 57% of organisations report consistently delivering customer experiences aligned with their brand promise.

They explore the shifting landscape of customer and employee experience (CX & EX) and discover how well you’re keeping pace in a rapidly evolving world.

What’s Inside This Episode:

• Fresh Insights: Uncover the newest trends and changes in experience priorities from our extensive global research.

• Global Perspectives: Gain insights from our Ipsos experts in France, Latin America, and the US as they share regional differences and common global themes.

Whether you’re addressing employee experience challenges, refining customer journeys, or simply seeking an understanding of the current and future experience landscape, this podcast episode provides actionable insights.

'Want to check out some additional insights from our Global Voices of Experience 2026 survey?' Download the survey report: What keeps CX and EX leaders up at night? | Ipsos