In many organizations, internal systems are the last to get the customer-centric treatment. While external customer experience (CX) strategies mature, internal digital experiences can remain fragmented, under-resourced, or simply ignored. But for Jason Bloomfield, global head of change and experience design at Ericsson, that blind spot was an opportunity to design something better - from the inside out!
Bloomfield's background spans IT, operations and commercial leadership, meaning he brings a cross-functional lens to employee experience. His team sits within HR, but their remit touches everything from digital tool usability to employee satisfaction and, ultimately, customer outcomes. In an exclusive interview at the CCW UK Summit, Bloomfield said “I’ve always been passionate about technology and design thinking. When you’ve worked across multiple functions, you see how decisions in one area ripple across the entire experience. At Ericsson, I’m focused on improving not just what digital tools do, but how they feel to use.”
Closing the internal feedback gap
For all its strength in external customer insight, Ericsson faced a critical shortfall internally: no structured feedback loop for its own people.
“We had frustration, but no data. We had emotion, but nothing actionable,” Bloomfield recalls. “Externally, we were world-class. Internally, we were guessing.”
To close that gap, Bloomfield’s team launched a comprehensive, anonymous, global feedback loop. It now captures both quantitative and qualitative input across a workforce of 94,000 people. They also implemented role-specific reference groups and issued randomized surveys to 20,000 employees, followed up by targeted focus groups.
The result is a major shift from frustration to conversation and from anecdote to action.
Turning voice into velocity
One of the foundational programs to emerge was “Your Voice, Our Action.” The premise: if an employee says something is broken, the company acts, then communicates that action clearly and visibly.
“It’s about causality,” Bloomfield explains. “We don’t just collect data. We create an end-to-end loop - listening, acting and reporting back. That transparency is what builds trust.”
That trust has translated into measurable gains. Ericsson’s internal Net Promoter Score (NPS) - initially as low as -82 - has sustained big gains. But Bloomfield is quick to clarify: the number wasn’t the point.
“In our second NPS survey, we hadn’t made big tech changes yet from the first. But the score improved just because people saw we were listening,” he says. “That’s the power of being heard.”
Redesigning experience in a distributed world
With teams in 175 countries, Ericsson was remote-ready long before remote work became the global default. But creating a consistent, scalable feedback experience in that environment required a different mindset.
“We made the system asynchronous and omnichannel,” Bloomfield says. “People can engage when and how it works for them. Cultural preferences vary too - some teams prefer the office, others never stopped being remote. The key is adaptability.”
It’s a model that doesn’t just collect feedback, but respects the context in which it’s given.
Internal experience, external impact
At Ericsson, employee experience is no longer viewed as a back-office function - it’s a lever for growth. Bloomfield draws a direct line between how employees feel and how customers are served.
“I don’t draw a line between internal and external customers,” he says. “If an employee has to jump between nine systems just to solve a problem, that friction shows up in customer interactions too.”
That insight is reshaping how Ericsson approaches value creation. Instead of starting with product, the company is starting with needs.
“We’re moving away from ‘look what we built’ to ‘we know what you need,’” Bloomfield adds. “That’s where true value lives.”
Sustaining change through iteration
Rather than chasing spikes in engagement or short-term metrics, Bloomfield is focused on building daily, embedded and systemic habits.
“Every 90 days, we check in with communities,” he explains. “We ask things like: ‘Should we kill this meeting?’ or ‘Do you understand your role?’ It’s not a campaign - it’s operational hygiene.”
That approach has helped maintain high NPS scores and keep momentum moving in the right direction. “I don’t believe in finish lines. Just continuous improvement,” he says.
Post-UI and the AI frontier
So what’s next for UX? For Bloomfield, the answer lies beyond the screen. “We’re heading into a post-UI world,” he says. “Today, experience is about layout. Tomorrow, it’s about logic.”
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more embedded in enterprise systems, Bloomfield sees a future where users type a prompt and the system executes in the background - no navigation, no menus, no visual interfaces.
“It’s like going back to DOS but with brains,” he laughs.
This evolution doesn’t eliminate UX roles, but rather it transforms them. Designers must now guide how AI responds, presents and refines actions. The tools may get smarter, but the need for thoughtful human design won’t go away.
“AI won’t replace designers,” Bloomfield says. “But designers who don’t adapt may be replaced by those who use AI better.”
Listening as a competitive advantage
Ultimately, Bloomfield believes the future of experience isn’t about tools, but about trust.
“Feedback shouldn’t be annual or reactive. It should be constant,” he says. “When you build listening into the rhythm of the organization you build a culture where people know they matter.”
Considering how often employee experience lags behind CX, Ericsson’s approach stands out. By treating employees as internal customers and designing with intention, they’ve created not just better tools, but a better workplace.
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