Whether you’re relaxing at the beach or the mountains, taking a trip with family and friends, or simply enjoying a quiet day at home, a good book is the perfect summer companion. And we wanted to see what you’re reading this season.

We surveyed Genesys Customer Advocacy Program (GCAP) members to get their recommendations for our CX Summer Reading List. Take a look at what your peers are reading — and why.

Uncover CX Best Practices

Conducting a Contact Center Assessment — Evaluating the efficiency of contact center operation is a key to success. In his book, Michael Cusack highlights how to use key metrics for process improvement, customer relationship management, knowledge management and more.

 “This book can be helpful to reduce your abandoned calls, improve agent retention, etc.”
– Joseph Ysmael Tan, Accenture

Contact Center Management: From Complaint Department to Value Center  —  Customer Care professional Jan Smets addresses the stereotypically impersonal nature of contact centers and educates readers on how to combat it by creating real value for customers and employees.

 “For me, it asks the right questions and then goes on to give you the Jan Smets answers which I found enlightening and enjoyable….”
– Matt Calton, Grove & Dean

Enable Better Service: A Customer Service Contact Center Story of Breaking Away from the Norm Through Creativity, Technology and Innovation — Do you know what your customers expect? They don’t all enjoy calling into a contact center. This book by Aarde Cosseboom looks at how you can change the narrative to transform your customer service team into a high-performing function within your thriving business.

“You can learn about best practices in enabling a powerful and agile contact center using modern technologies. Examples from the author’s personal life make it a grasping read!”
– Stanislav Ilev, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services

The Cult of the Customer: Create an Amazing Customer Experience That Turns Satisfied Customers Into Customer Evangelists — In “The Cult of the Customer,” author Steph Hyken demonstrates how companies can mold their strategies to put their customers first in every aspect of their journeys. And how that, ultimately, leads to great customer experiences.

“Really great walkthrough of CX and instructions pointing to how to get the ‘wow effect.’”
– Krzysztof Ciąpała, Bank Millennium

The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty — If you’re looking to journey deep into customer experience to uncover what makes a customer loyal (or disloyal), pick up this book for some insights from authors Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick DeLisi have to share.

What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You — Get a deep understanding of behavioral economics to improve your customer experience from Author Melina Palmer. You’ll learn the skills needed to thrive in a leadership role as you look to market your brand effectively to your customers.

Sharpen Your Skills in CX and Life

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — There’s a science behind the habits we build over time. Knowing the “Why” behind your “What” can help you move ahead in career and your life. Pick up this book by author Charles Duhigg to learn how to apply this theory now.

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life — Design thinking impacts your life in ways you might not have imagined. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans dig into how the same design thinking that goes into building technology and products can be used to build a rewarding career and a fulfilling life.

Get Tech-Savvy

Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice — Everyone deserves to be understood. This book will teach you how to design conversations that are useful, ethical and human-centered.

“Excellent book! Can’t recommend it more! A must read for CX design.”
– Simon Kingaby, Deloitte

Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy — Living in a world of algorithms, Cathy O’Neil sheds light on how various big data algorithms in fields like education, insurance, advertising and more reinforce pre-existing societal inequalities like racism and social injustice.

“It showcases that not all use cases are appropriate for AI solutions and provides real world examples where this approach has failed those intended to serve.”
– Aaron Lael, State of Utah

Data-Driven Alexa Skills: Voice Access to Rich Data Sources for Enterprise Applications — Pick up this book to learn best practices for building your Alexa skills and how to integrate them with online APIs. Plus, this book is authored by one of our GCAP Member Simon Kingaby.

Python Tricks: A Buffet of Awesome Python Features — If you’re looking to write clean and Pythonic code, dive into this book to pick up some best practices to compliment your knowledge of Python.

Think Beach Experience, Not Customer Experience

You’re likely thinking about how to provide the best customer experiences — day in and day out. But vacation is a time to unplug and recharge. Our GCAP members shared some fun reads that will transport you from CX  to another place and time. And maybe you’ll uncover a new favorite beach read from one of these recommendations.

Engross yourself in a futuristic utopia with nightmarish and ridiculous happenings on any street corner with Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong.

Or dive into a mystery thriller with the Leviathan Wakes series, authored by James S.A. Corey. If you get hooked, you can also check out the TV Series “Expanse” which is based on the Leviathan Wakes series.

Maybe you’re interested in something more on the “science” versus “fiction” side. If so, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is just the book you need.

One GCAP Member recommends the fiction read, Dark Eagle by John Ensor Harr, which is based on Benedict Arnold’s traitorous activities.

Take a break from modern technology and settle into The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This classic love story set in the roaring 20s is a welcome escape during those relaxing summer days.

And be sure to check out the book Empathy In Action™, by Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, Senior Customer Experience Strategist and Consultant at Genesys, and Genesys CEO Tony Bates. This must-read for the CX industry explores how using empathy in customer and employee experiences can help organizations differentiate themselves in today’s experience economy.

Got a great book recommendation that’s not on this list? Let us know!

And join GCAP today to earn rewards for your advocacy.