Brilliant customer engagement starts with a strong employee experience

Blair McVicar’s journey through the world of retail may have started in a familiar place—working on the shop floor of a department store—but his trajectory since has been anything but typical. Now the Global Head of Customer Success at Proximity, McVicar initially juggled retail work with studying US politics at university. “I  thought I was going to change the world,” McVicar jokes. Yet, what began as a way to pay the bills soon turned into a passion for the industry, driven by his love for people—both his colleagues and the customers.

McVicar’s experience at David Jones, one of Australia’s most iconic department stores, was transformative. At just 23, he became the youngest store manager in the company’s history. Blair McVicar’s early promotion to store manager at David Jones wasn’t just a milestone; it was a crash course in leadership, customer experience, and business operations. “I was 23 when I got my first store manager gig, which was exciting and overwhelming at the same time,” McVicar says. Leading a department store with hundreds of staff and tens of millions of dollars in turnover meant learning on his feet. “Department stores are big box retailers and you can have 300-400 people working under you… that was definitely one to dive into the deep end with,” he reflects. Yet McVicar thrived in this environment, driven by his passion for creating exceptional customer and employee experiences.

His approach was simple: success in retail relies on people, both customers and employees. “I was super passionate and that helped me drive my teams and ultimately drive the success of my store,” McVicar says. But it wasn’t just about hitting sales targets. “I loved the feeling of being able to make a customer really happy,” he adds, emphasising how he worked to inspire the same mindset in his team. For McVicar, great leadership was about building genuine connections and fostering a positive environment for both his employees and customers.

McVicar spent a decade at David Jones, with six of those years in-store and four in head office roles that further deepened his understanding of retail. After his stint managing stores, he moved into roles focused on customer loyalty and experience. His final position at David Jones was part of the customer experience strategy team, where his challenge was to create consistency across the company’s 50 stores. “We had the objective to really look at what does that experience look like in our stores… and what do we want it to look like?” McVicar says. The insights he gathered during his years on the shop floor proved invaluable.

But McVicar’s biggest revelation in this role wasn’t just about the customer—it was about the employees. “In order to drive an exceptional customer experience, you first have to start with driving an exceptional employee experience,” McVicar explains. The team focused most of their efforts on improving the experience for David Jones’ staff, realising that without making it easier and more rewarding for employees to do their jobs, customer satisfaction would never reach its full potential. “We can’t touch the customer experience until we improve and remove a lot of the friction points that exist for our team members to deliver that experience,” McVicar says.

This focus on employee engagement led to changes in incentive programs and recognition structures. “Of course everyone wants a financial incentive, but I think more importantly, there are a lot of people who are actually more driven by the business recognising them in some way,” McVicar notes. His team worked to understand what different teams valued, whether it was monetary rewards, acknowledgment from managers, or other forms of recognition. This approach helped boost morale, and, in turn, had a noticeable impact on customer satisfaction metrics, including significant improvements in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) across the stores.

McVicar’s time at David Jones left him with a strong belief that a business’s success depends on the symbiotic relationship between employee experience and customer experience. “If you make it easier for the employee, no doubt it’s delivering a better experience for your clients,” he says, reflecting on the projects that brought about real improvements in store operations and customer interactions.

This perspective naturally led McVicar to his next challenge—moving to the UK and joining Proximity, a tech company that provides solutions to help retailers build stronger relationships with their customers. “Much to my family’s dismay, I made the decision to move to the UK,” McVicar says with a laugh. His timing wasn’t ideal—COVID-19 hit just as he was planning his move—but the opportunity to continue working at the intersection of customer and employee experience was too tempting to pass up.

While Proximity is a tech company, McVicar still sees himself as a retailer at heart. “I often lament that I’m not a tech person that works with retailers; I’m actually a retailer that works for a tech company,” McVicar says. His role as global head of Customer Success at Proximity allows him to bring his years of retail experience to the table, helping the company’s clients, which span over 30 countries, deliver more personalised and seamless customer experiences. “The solution is completely device agnostic… it basically taps into their CRM system and allows associates on the floor to be able to connect with their clients in a really personal way,” McVicar says. He emphasises that the app isn’t meant to be the star of the show but rather a behind-the-scenes tool that enables employees to provide better service. “Our tool is not there to take centre stage in the store… it’s designed to be barely noticeable to the customer because what we’re doing through it just makes their experience so seamless and so efficient,” he explains.

One of the key challenges McVicar is helping retailers tackle is the changing expectations of consumers in a post-COVID world. “Consumer expectations… have really evolved over the last few years, particularly since COVID,” McVicar says. Personalised service is no longer just for luxury brands—mainstream retailers are also expected to build those relationships. “We’re seeing a real trend in high street retailers who are finding the need for that,” McVicar observes, noting how important it is to deliver tailored experiences regardless of the price point.

At the same time, retailers are becoming more aware of how critical it is to support their employees. “The more difficult you make it for a team member in-store… all of that is hindering the experience of their clients,” McVicar says, echoing the lessons he learned during his time at David Jones. Proximity’s technology aims to strip away these inefficiencies, enabling store associates to focus on delivering the kind of personalised service that customers increasingly expect.

McVicar is proud of the impact Proximity is having in helping brands adapt to the evolving retail landscape. “We have a couple of clients who were really keen to understand how to better connect with clients in a way that doesn’t necessarily have to be in-store,” he explains. The company’s app has helped retailers bridge the gap between digital and in-person interactions, allowing associates to engage with customers via video calls, WhatsApp, and other channels. This omnichannel approach not only builds relationships but also drives sales, particularly for customers in remote locations.

As the retail industry continues to evolve, McVicar remains focused on one constant: the human connection. Whether it’s the customers walking into a store or the employees working on the shop floor, the power of personal interaction is at the core of his philosophy. Reflecting on a recent experience as a customer on a flight where things went wrong, McVicar recalls how a single crew member transformed his negative experience into a positive one simply by taking the time to listen and empathise. “He didn’t do anything groundbreaking… but he empathised and connected with me in a way that I felt was really genuine,” McVicar says. It’s this kind of interaction that keeps McVicar passionate about the work he does at Proximity, ensuring that brands are equipped to build meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers.

McVicar’s advice to retailers is clear: support your teams, listen to what they need, and the rest will follow. “They are the experts. They are the ones working with your customers every single day. The more you can connect with those team members and understand what’s getting in the way of delivering a great experience… the bigger success you’ll drive,” he says. For McVicar, the secret to success in retail isn’t found in technology alone—it’s found in people.