An Interactive Seminar with Hadja Cherif of Alterna Savings: Insights from the Marketing Seminar Series in George Brown College’s Marketing Management – Financial Services Program

From 12-2 PM every Wednesday, my classmates and I have the privilege of learning from guest speakers in our Marketing Seminar Series, led by Professor Katidja Youssouf. Professor Youssouf draws on her extensive industry experience and the vast network she has built over the years to bring in professionals who share valuable insights with us.

Our semester kicked off with a presentation by Hadja Cherif, a Customer Experience (CX) expert and Manager of Member Experiences at Alterna Savings.

Hadja began by introducing herself and offering a brief overview of her impressive career. She shared the lessons, experiences, and achievements from her 15-year journey, which began with a co-op placement at Sears in 2007—an experience that resonated with us, as we too will embark on co-ops at the end of our program. What particularly stood out to me was her transition in 2015 from consumer research at Ipsos Reid to customer experience management at ResponseTek. During the Q&A session, I asked her to elaborate on this shift, and she explained how she leveraged her strong research skills to excel in her new role. Her insights were both inspirational and practical, demonstrating how transferable skills can help make intimidating career transitions more manageable—a valuable lesson for young professionals like me, who are still exploring different career paths.

Hadja then dove into the fundamentals of Customer Experience (CX), particularly in her role at Alterna. She explained that CX encompasses every interaction a customer has with a business, from navigating a website to engaging with customer service. Each touchpoint shapes a customer’s perception and influences their loyalty. She also introduced Experience Management (XM), a proactive approach to collecting and acting on feedback from customers, employees, and other stakeholders. Hadja highlighted how XM leads to improved engagement and increases in customer lifetime value. She discussed important metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES), emphasizing the need to track both leading indicators, which predict potential issues, and lagging indicators, which measure the outcomes of past actions. This balance helps businesses stay agile and responsive to evolving customer needs.

One of the most insightful moments of the session was when Cherif shared her own journey at Alterna Savings. She spoke openly about her evolution within the company, starting with managing member complaints and overseeing customer surveys. Over time, her role has grown into that of an internal influencer, where she collaborates with various teams to ensure that member feedback drives real, measurable improvements. This part of the seminar taught me the value of perseverance, strategic planning, and long-term vision within a company. Instead of simply completing tasks and moving on, Cherif built upon her early experiences, gaining a deeper understanding of company processes, perspectives, and relationships. Today, she is in a position where she can leverage all of her efforts to implement meaningful changes and influence the future of the organization. This approach is something I’ll carry with me, regardless of the industry I work in.

Reflecting on the seminar, it’s clear how essential CX is, not just in financial services but in any industry. Understanding the positive impact of CX on companies, I’m surprised by how few business schools offer courses on the subject. The session emphasized the importance of placing customers at the heart of business strategy. While it may seem obvious that customers are the focal point of any business, I was unaware of the formal systems and strategies behind managing the customer experience. Although I’m currently pursuing a career in marketing, Hadja’s insights were incredibly relevant and valuable, reinforcing the idea that customers are the cornerstone of any profit-driven organization.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Hadja Cherif for sharing both her personal experiences and professional expertise. Her seminar has set a high standard for the rest of the semester, and I look forward to applying the lessons from industry professionals across various fields to my own career.