In this episode of the Ipsos Experience Perspective Podcast, host Rob Rose converses with Andrew Firth, the Head of Advisory and Analytics at Ipsos, to delve into the intricacies of mystery shopping and the crucial role played by the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA).

Andrew, holding the position of president for the MSPA's Europe Africa chapter, sheds light on the association’s mission to maintain high standards across the mystery shopping sector through collaboration and raising the bar by establishing industry standards.

We also explore how the MSPA’s activities contribute to growing the industry, exploring how the MSPA support organisations in their push to achieve operational excellence and through championing the significant technological advancements of recent years.

Despite the pace of change in this area, a final topic covered focuses on the continued importance of human interaction and assessment in ensuring accountability and compliance.

In today's fast-paced and competitive business environment, the ability to excel in customer experience is not merely a choice but a necessity for sustainable success. The latest episode of the Ipsos Experience Perspective Podcast provides an in-depth exploration of cutting-edge strategies and insights centred around the role of customer advocacy as a key driver in the acquisition of new customers.

Host Helen Bywater-Smith chats to Lorraine Rough and Jean Francois Damais about the recent R&D and paper they have authored “Advocacy Ripple Effect” which found:

- Emotionally connected customers recommend brands 4x more often

- Recommendations directly influence 1 in 3 new customer acquisitions

- Referred customers have a higher lifetime value and refer more new business

The podcast redefines the scope of Customer Experience (CX) by emphasising its crucial position not only in retaining existing customers but also in creating advocate-driven growth.

CX leaders will benefit from understanding how to leverage moments of service recovery and effective onboarding to foster moments of loyalty and advocacy.

Listen to the full episode and embark on a journey to reshape your customer experience initiatives into a catalyst for growth.

In this Employee Experience episode of The Experience Perspective, Bhavna is joined by Albrecht Küfner, Team Lead for Employee Experience at Deutsche Bahn, to explore what it really takes to move from running employee surveys to becoming a genuinely insight-led employee experience professional, while successfully operating in a highly unionised, works-council-led environment.

Drawing on his journey from academic psychology into large-scale organisational research, Albrecht reflects on how his role evolved from being highly operational to becoming deeply strategic, political, and people centred. Together, they unpack what “insight-led” means in practice, particularly within a complex, state-owned organisation, where unions and works councils play a critical role in shaping employee experience programmes.

The conversation goes beyond theory, offering a candid look at trust-building, stakeholder partnership, and the realities of designing and running employee listening programmes in environments shaped by strong external influence and competing priorities. Albrecht explains why operational excellence is necessary but not sufficient, how letting go of the “survey manager” identity creates space for strategic impact, and why genuine connection (across hierarchy levels, functions, and perspectives) is the foundation of effective employee experience.

Key takeaways from the episode:

1. Operational excellence is essential, but impact comes from translating employee data into insight that leaders understand, trust, and act on.

2. Insight-led practitioners must connect shop-floor realities with C-suite priorities, acting as interpreters rather than just analysts.

3. Early involvement, honesty, and shared ownership turn works councils into ambassadors rather than blockers of EX programmes.

4. Long-term success depends on open dialogue, clear boundaries, and the willingness to say no, while maintaining respect and transparency.

This episode is essential listening for anyone running employee listening or experience programmes in complex, unionised organisations and for EX professionals looking to elevate their role from execution to strategic influence.

Happy New Year! And welcome to Season 9 of The Experience Perspective Podcast!

For the first episode of our new season, join Rob Rose as he explores the many different roles that Mystery Shopping can play for businesses and organisations, in the company of Craig Bradley, Global Service Line Leader for Channel Performance at Ipsos.

In this episode, Craig shares how ‘Real people, going to real places, to deliver real impact’ sits at the heart of the work Ipsos do, and provides insights on the Ipsos ‘Better Promise’.

Learn how these approaches not only help the clients we partner with to identify and measure the ‘moments of truth’ within their customer interactions, but also how this data enables clients to develop strategies to further improve their performance and elevate their levels of customer service.

Please use the link below to learn more:

Channel Performance | Ipsos

At Ipsos, we combine research excellence with deep CX expertise. We know the quality of insight depends on the quality—and the experience—of the questions you ask, and that real impact comes from the governance that surrounds your listening ecosystem.

In this episode, we reset survey programmes for 2026 by treating surveys as a designed service and a true part of the customer journey. Host Helen Bywater‑Smith is joined by Mariam Nabilsi, SVP, Ipsos CX Canada. Together they apply a service design mindset to the entire survey micro‑journey—from invite timing and value exchange to mobile‑first flow, thank‑you and follow‑up—so your measurement drives action, not fatigue.

Tune in to learn how to blueprint your survey experience, visualise from the customer perspective, set smart KPIs, and streamline questions to improve response, completion, and trust. Reset your CX programmes for 2026, kick off the year right and unlock the Experience Advantage.

Join Bhavna Sawnani in conversation with Ena Rivera, Chief People Officer for Asia Pacific at Ipsos, as they explore what it takes to transform people teams into strategic, future-focused partners. Drawing on insights from Ipsos 2025 Empowering People Teams report, they discuss the shift from transactional HR to influencing organisational priorities and shaping long-term success.

Ena and Bhavna talk about the importance of turning culture into observable behaviours, and why financial fluency and strategic courage are essential for earning credibility at the decision-making table.

The conversation also looks at today’s talent landscape, from the rise of skills-based hiring to the need for building capability within existing teams and creating meaningful, growth-oriented work environments that attract high performers.

They touch on future readiness, the growing role of AI and the powerful combination of artificial and human intelligence in elevating impact across organisations.

This episode provides strategic depth, practical guidance and a bold vision for how HR and People teams can lead organisations into the future: stronger, smarter and more human.

Join Rob Rose as he shares recorded highlights from the Automotive Event hosted by Channel Performance in the UK entitled “Rev up your Revenues with Data Analytics”.

At the event held at the Silverstone International Grand Prix Circuit, special guest Verity Mercer, Head of Customer Experience and Quality at Renault Group held a Q&A session alongside Ipsos Channel Performance Head of Client Success in the UK, Kendra Jones.

As a result of the questions and the discussions that followed, insights were shared on a number of key topics, from how Renault Group use Mystery Shopping alongside other research initiatives to create a full picture of how dealerships operate, through to the bold and innovative steps they have taken to achieve buy-in and position their Mystery Shopping activity as a valuable insight and learning tool.

At a time in the industry where changes such as the growth in demand for electric vehicles are shifting the requirements customers have in a dealership environment, the conversation also highlights how key priorities have been developed and acted upon.

Join Bhavna Sawnani as she explores a crucial aspect of employee experience surveys: driving high participation and engagement, in conversation with Chrystal Kennedy, Head of People Partnering at Mitre 10 New Zealand.

Together, they unpack how Mitre 10 achieved exceptional participation rates across a highly operational and decentralised organisation, even while transitioning to new platforms. The discussion dives into the vital role of senior leader buy-in, effective communication and promotion from boardroom to frontline, and how embedding the ‘why’ behind the survey can inspire action and trust.

Listen to gain practical tactics for promotion and mobilisation, the power of networks and local champions, and ways to remove friction so people can and will respond. Discover what messages resonate, when and how to target communications, and how closing the loop builds trust for the next cycle.

This episode offers actionable insights and practical tips to help organisations boost survey participation and build a culture of listening that drives long-term impact.