Get Your CFO To Say: 'Our Strategic Goal is User Obsession'
Summary
In 2018 Adel Du Toit was approached by her CIO with a request: Figure out how to measure the level of dissatisfaction that BCG’s internal employees were experiencing using the digital tools and services provided by the organization. Due to the data-driven nature of BCG, Du Toit knew she would have to provide quantitative data to support any recommendations. This is how the E-SAT program was born. Instead of measuring customer satisfaction, they measured employee satisfaction. In the four years since that initial request from the CIO, BCG has consistently run the E-SAT program quarterly. And, by listening, acting and responding to feedback, the organization has seen an improvement on the E-SAT from 75% in 2019, to 85% in 2021. During their December Annual Business review for all Agile Orgs, BCG’s CFO spotlighted their E-SAT program, declaring that he wanted every single Agile squad member to become "user obsessed". Today BCG is using their E-SAT program to make strategic and investment decisions across our 13 Agile Tribes.
Key Insights
-
•
Using a quarterly digital employee satisfaction survey to prioritize product improvements fosters transparency and accountability.
-
•
ESAT focuses specifically on employee-facing digital products, distinct from typical HR surveys centred on happiness or health.
-
•
Only products used by more than 50% of employees are surveyed, creating a focused dataset over 96 digital products.
-
•
Combining quantitative survey data with qualitative user research enables targeted and effective UX improvements.
-
•
Swapping the remote conferencing solution increased employee satisfaction dramatically from 69% to 92%.
-
•
Embedding experience designers within agile tribes across the organization requires empowering non-designers with design thinking.
-
•
Publicly sharing digital product priorities and actions with employees builds trust and supports continuous feedback loops.
-
•
User obsession was adopted as a strategic goal in the organization after CFO approval driven by transparent data.
-
•
UX Champion Awards are used to encourage teams beyond the core design group to maintain and improve product experiences.
-
•
Managing information overload especially on platforms like Slack requires active channel curation and focus efforts.
Notable Quotes
"My team’s focus is to make sure employees have all the digital products and services they need to work effectively and have a great user experience."
"I wanted to make sure that we don’t lie with the data but give product teams raw ingredients so they can transform the products the right way."
"This is not just a typical HR survey; it focuses deeply on the products and experiences employees use daily."
"We only include products used by more than 50% of our employees in the quarterly survey to keep focus relevant."
"After swapping our remote meeting solution in early 2020, ESAT went from 69% to 92%, a huge improvement."
"We enable employees to provide unlimited comments which we analyze with Amazon Comprehend for sentiment."
"We share the ugliest experiences transparently with every employee along with what we are doing to fix them."
"User obsession became a strategic goal after making data available and showing progress to leadership including our CFO."
"Our ESAT survey collects about 2.8 million data points allowing product teams to slice and dice data for insights."
"Managing Slack channels requires continuous gardening and removing excess channels to reduce noise and focus users."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Community-rooted wisdom like the Mexican 'guana' practice reduces postpartum depression without traditional research."
Victor UdoewaBeyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion
March 26, 2024
"I started thinking of the UI layer as the experimentation layer."
Bill ScottLean Engineering: Engineering for Learning and Experimentation in the Enterprise
May 14, 2015
"Design teams need diverse perspectives because our own experiences cloud our judgment about user needs."
Lija HoganContexts of Use: A Framework for Connection
December 9, 2021
"Design managers need predictable roadmaps and healthy teams to meet project goals and timelines."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022
"Cameras on in Zoom meetings is a small act with a powerful impact against isolation."
Jilanna WilsonDistributed DesignOps Management
February 26, 2019
"Think of the context window like an intern's briefing document: would the intern be able to answer the question with this information?"
Peter Van DijckBuilding impactful AI products for design and product leaders, Part 3: Understand AI architectures: RAG, Agents, Oh My!
July 30, 2025
"UX research often becomes tactical and siloed, limiting its strategic influence and risking burnout."
Nicole Aleong Michaela Mora Prayag Narula Brianna SylverWhat UX research can learn from other research practices [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 14, 2023
"The number of crossings between intention and generation is increasing faster than our ability to examine what happened between them."
Beth ChappellLeading through ambiguity: Supporting a design team relearning their craft
June 9, 2026
"Today’s speakers come from real world companies facing real consequences for their choices about AI."
Llewyn PaineDay 1 Using AI in UX with Impact
June 10, 2025
