What happens when you bring together experience leaders from healthcare and elite sports education? You discover powerful insights that transcend industries and reveal universal truths about creating exceptional experiences.

Meet Heather Brace, Chief People Officer at Intermountain Healthcare with its 68,000 employees across six states, and Mike Milliron, Chief Operating Officer at IMG Academy, the world-renowned training ground for elite athletes. Both leaders share a remarkable commitment to turning feedback into action. Our host, Jeannie Walters, had the privilege of interviewing them at the X4 conference hosted by Qualtrics in Salt Lake City in March of 2025. 

Their organizations have rejected traditional annual surveys in favor of frequent, targeted listening programs that capture real-time sentiment. As Heather explains, "What does an employee remember? Probably what happened in the last 30 days." Both have created what they call "closed-loop" feedback systems where they not only collect insights but transparently communicate the actions they'll take as a result.

The most compelling revelation? Their data shows that employee engagement hinges on surprisingly simple human elements. At Intermountain Healthcare, they discovered that employees who stay past the four-year mark typically remain for ten years or more. This insight drove them to map the complete employee journey, identifying critical moments where intervention could improve retention.

Meanwhile, IMG Academy has developed highly personalized approaches that align students, parents and staff around individualized development plans. As Mike powerfully states, "We've found you can do more damage than good if you ask for insights and then just sit on it."

Ready to transform your organization's approach to experience? Listen now and discover how these leaders have built cultures where feedback drives meaningful change, accountability matters, and experiences are designed around authentic human needs.

Follow Heather Brace on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-brace/
Follow Mike Milliron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-milliron-6a234713/

Resources Mentioned:
Qualtrics -- https://www.qualtrics.com/
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)