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.