What happens when you bring together experience leaders from healthcare and elite sports education? You discover powerful insights that transcend industries and reveal universal truths about creating exceptional experiences.
Meet Heather Brace, Chief People Officer at Intermountain Healthcare with its 68,000 employees across six states, and Mike Milliron, Chief Operating Officer at IMG Academy, the world-renowned training ground for elite athletes. Both leaders share a remarkable commitment to turning feedback into action. Our host, Jeannie Walters, had the privilege of interviewing them at the X4 conference hosted by Qualtrics in Salt Lake City in March of 2025.
Their organizations have rejected traditional annual surveys in favor of frequent, targeted listening programs that capture real-time sentiment. As Heather explains, “What does an employee remember? Probably what happened in the last 30 days.” Both have created what they call “closed-loop” feedback systems where they not only collect insights but transparently communicate the actions they’ll take as a result.
The most compelling revelation? Their data shows that employee engagement hinges on surprisingly simple human elements. At Intermountain Healthcare, they discovered that employees who stay past the four-year mark typically remain for ten years or more. This insight drove them to map the complete employee journey, identifying critical moments where intervention could improve retention.
Meanwhile, IMG Academy has developed highly personalized approaches that align students, parents and staff around individualized development plans. As Mike powerfully states, “We’ve found you can do more damage than good if you ask for insights and then just sit on it.”
Ready to transform your organization’s approach to experience? Listen now and discover how these leaders have built cultures where feedback drives meaningful change, accountability matters, and experiences are designed around authentic human needs.
Heather Brace, Chief People Officer at Intermountain HealthcareFollow Heather Brace on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/heather-brace/
Mike Milliron (Chief Operating Officer at IMG Academy)Follow Mike Milliron on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mike-milliron-6a234713/
Want to ask a question about this episode – or another CX issue? Leave Jeannie a voicemail at askjeannie.vip – and remember to follow her on LinkedIn!
Curious about how Jeannie Walters, CCXP, and the Experience Investigators team can help you Create Fewer Ruined Days for Your Customers™? Let’s talk!
Jeannie is an award-winning customer experience expert, international keynote speaker, and sought-after business coach who is trailblazing the movement from “Reactive Customer Service” to “Proactive Customer and Employee Experience.” More than 500,000 people have learned from her CX courses on LinkedIn Learning, and her insights have been featured in Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and NPR.
Get Jeannie’s insights in your inbox each week by subscribing to The Weekly Win and follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
