What Walkable Cities Can Teach Us About Customer and Employee Experience

By Marvin Heffernan

During a recent trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan, I was struck by how effortlessly walkable the city was. No matter where I went, I felt a remarkable sense of peace knowing I could cross the city with ease and freedom. Everything was accessible, intuitive, and built around the people who used it. It was glorious.

That experience stayed with me, because poorly planned cities often do the opposite. Designed around cars rather than people, they make life harder for pedestrians. Pavements are narrow, crossings feel unsafe, and essential services are scattered. In contrast, walkable cities, with well-connected streets, accessible amenities, and people-first planning elevate the everyday experience of living, working, and moving around.

The same logic applies to customer and employee experience. Too often, organisations, like poorly planned cities, build systems for their own convenience, rather than for the people navigating them. The result? Employees disengage, and customers take their business elsewhere.

The Problem: Why People Get Stuck in Bad Experiences

A 2023 Gallup report found that only 23% of employees felt engaged at work. Meanwhile, a Qualtrics study revealed over three-quarters (78%) of customers have backed out of a purchase due to a poor customer experience.

Unsurprising really, but on my travels, it became clear that there were parallels between bad city planning and poor company experiences. In the same way that traffic congestion deters people from walking, clunky company processes or misaligned systems cause friction that discourage participation.

Equally, not ‘walking the talk’ (pun intended) can actively erode trust; a company promoting “customer-first” service whilst complicating returns with endless steps is akin to a city claiming walkability but hiding the crosswalks behind obstacles.

The company that launches an employee engagement survey but not acting on the results, is like building a bike lane and forgetting to make it safe. In either case, the intended audience feels initially hopeful but ultimately ignored and consequently stops engaging.

These cases reflect the same root issue: systems designed from the organisation’s perspective rather than the perspective of those they serve. Even when done with good intentions, this approach leaves companies with an internally biased, ill-fitting model that blinds them to the real opportunities or pain points within lived experience.

The Solution: Human-Centric Design

Just as successful urban planning begins with people’s needs, great customer and employee experience starts with understanding expectations, removing barriers, and making interactions effortless.

Cities like Copenhagen and Melbourne have become global models for walkability by redesigning their infrastructure around the human experience. Copenhagen’s car-free zones and extensive cycling network promote accessibility and connection, while Melbourne’s focus on mixed-use development and public transport accessibility has boosted both quality of life and economic vibrancy.

At Promising Outcomes, we’ve embedded this same people-first principle into our Expectation Analysis methodology. Instead of relying on outdated HR or CX metrics, we ask employees and customers to define what they expect from an ideal experience. We then compare those expectations to their actual experience—revealing insights that traditional surveys miss.

This ‘outside-in’ approach works because it puts people at the centre:

• Cities that prioritise pedestrians enjoy stronger local economies and closer communities. Likewise, businesses that design experiences around real expectations see higher engagement, retention, and loyalty.
• Smart cities reduce congestion by planning intuitively. Businesses that remove complexity resolve issues faster and earn greater customer satisfaction.
• People return to places that work for them. Employees and customers stay loyal to organisations that truly listen and act on what matters.

Final Thought

A well-designed city feels effortless. It brings joy, ease, and a sense of belonging. A well-designed customer or employee experience does the same, by removing friction, prioritising human needs, and delivering real value.

Book a call with us to start building better customer and employee experiences today.