The CX Emperor’s New Clothes: Why Most Organisations Are Naked When It Comes to Customer Experience – Laura Savell, CX Business Consultant at Sabio Group, discusses.
There’s an uncomfortable truth lurking in boardrooms across Europe: whilst executives confidently discuss their “customer-centric strategies” and boast about their “CX transformation journeys,” the reality on the ground tells a starkly different story.
Recent data from Sabio’s comprehensive CX Maturity Assessments reveals that many organisations — particularly in the insurance sector — are essentially operating with their CX clothes off, believing they’re dressed for success whilst customers see right through the illusion.
The evidence is compelling and, frankly, concerning. Across dozens of assessments we’ve carried out spanning insurance companies of all sizes, from nimble start-ups to established giants, we’ve uncovered patterns that should make any chief executive pause before their next customer experience presentation to the board.
The People Problem That’s Crushing CX Dreams
Perhaps the most startling revelation from our assessments is where organisations are failing most dramatically: their own people. The biggest capability gaps consistently emerge in employee-focused areas — tools, engagement, and workforce optimisation. It’s a cruel irony that companies investing millions in sophisticated AI systems and omnichannel platforms are fundamentally failing to equip, engage, and optimise their frontline teams.
Think about it: every customer interaction ultimately comes down to a human moment, whether it’s a claims handler navigating a complex system or a customer service representative trying to resolve a policy query. Yet our data shows these critical employees are working with outdated tools, struggling with disengaged workflows, and operating within systems that seem designed to frustrate rather than facilitate excellent customer service.
This isn’t merely an operational issue — it’s a strategic blind spot that undermines every other CX investment. You can deploy the most advanced chatbots and predictive analytics in the world, but if your people can’t seamlessly step in when technology reaches its limits, your CX will crumble at the crucial moments that matter most.
The Platform Paralysis Phenomenon
Another striking pattern emerges around technology modernisation. Organisations are caught in what we’re calling “platform paralysis” — desperately wanting to leverage AI, enhance self-service capabilities, and deliver seamless omnichannel experiences, yet anchored to legacy systems that make meaningful progress glacially slow.
The insurance companies we’ve assessed demonstrate strong aspirations around cutting-edge technologies. They understand the competitive necessity of intelligent automation and predictive capabilities. However, without fundamental platform modernisation, these ambitions remain precisely that — aspirations gathering dust in PowerPoint presentations whilst competitors with modern foundations race ahead.
It’s similar to trying to build a smart home on Victorian plumbing. The vision is admirable, but the infrastructure simply cannot support the weight of modern expectations.
The Insight Paradox: Rich Data, Poor Customer Journeys
Perhaps the most frustrating trend we’ve identified is what we term the “insight paradox.” Insurance companies are increasingly sophisticated in their data collection and analysis capabilities. They possess remarkable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and predictive inicators. Many have invested heavily in knowledge management systems and emerging AI technologies.
Yet despite this wealth of intelligence, they consistently struggle to translate insights into coherent,
seamless customer journeys. It’s as though they’ve become expert meteorologists who can predict the weather with remarkable accuracy but somehow cannot figure out how to dress appropriately for the conditions they’ve forecast.
This disconnect between insight and action represents one of the most significant missed opportunities in modern CX. Organisations are drowning in data whilst their customers are thirsting for simple, intuitive, and consistent interactions.
The Assessment Advantage: From Diagnosis to Transformation
The organisations that commission Sabio’s CX Maturity Assessments are taking a crucial first step that many of their competitors avoid: honest self-examination. These assessments, which typically require just three to four hours of leadership time across a fortnight, provide a comprehensive benchmark across 17 critical capability areas.
What makes these assessments particularly valuable isn’t just the diagnosis — it’s the roadmap they provide for genuine transformation. Rather than generic recommendations, organisations receive specific, prioritised guidance tailored to their unique circumstances and constraints.
The assessment process reveals not just where organisations stand today, but more importantly, it illuminates the path forward. It transforms abstract CX ambitions into concrete, actionable strategies that can meaningfully impact customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and ultimately, business performance.
Beyond Insurance: A Universal Challenge
While our most recent data that we’ve referenced above draws heavily from insurance sector assessments, the fundamental challenges transcend industry boundaries. Whether you’re in financial services, retail, telecommunications, or any other customer-facing sector, the core tensions between ambition and execution, between insight and action, remain remarkably consistent.
The organisations that will thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape are those brave enough to confront their CX reality honestly and systematically address the gaps that prevent them from delivering the experiences their customers deserve — and their competitors are already planning to provide.
The question isn’t whether your organisation has CX challenges — it’s whether you’re prepared to discover what they are and do something about them.
Laura Savell is CX Business Consultant at Sabio Group.
Sabio Group is a global digital experience transformation services specialist with major operations in the UK (England and Scotland), Spain, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and India.
The Group delivers solutions and services that seamlessly combine digital and human interactions to support brilliant customer & employee experiences (CX & EX).
Through its own technology, and that of world-class technology leaders such as Amazon, Avaya, Genesys, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twilio and Verint, Sabio helps organisations optimise their customer journeys by making better decisions across their multiple contact channels.
The Group specialises in contact centre, AI, CRM and data insight technologies and works with major brands worldwide, including Aegon, AXA Assistance, BBVA, BGL, Caixabank, DHL, loveholidays, Marks & Spencer, Rentokil Initial, Essent, GovTech, HomeServe, Sainsbury’s Argos, Telefónica and Transcom Worldwide.
For additional information on the Sabio Group view their Company Profile
