Aldar. Digitalised Internal Mystery Shopping Program Strategy & Implementation
Developed a mystery auditing app for Aldar to enhance customer experience (CX) by training employees to act as Secret CX Agents. Over 40 wireframes were created, and the program included 3+ training sessions. The app supports both planned and unplanned audits, offering an approach to identifying and resolving CX issues across all business units.
01 —The Impact
The results, up front.
The mystery auditing app empowered employees to act as agents of change within the company. By collecting actionable insights across various touchpoints, the app helped Aldar become more customer-centric, resolve CX issues efficiently, and maintain a continuous feedback loop. The successful onboarding and gamified training sessions resulted in high engagement and participation in the program, further solidifying the program’s effectiveness.
02 — The Challenge
Where they started.
We began by crafting the overall strategy and framework for the mystery shopping program. This included defining the journey of the mystery auditor, creating wireframes for the app, and designing questionnaires. Two categories of audits were established: Planned Audits (detailed) and Unplanned Audits (quick and spontaneous). The audits were designed to span across all of Aldar’s business units, ensuring a holistic approach to customer experience. Make Aldar more customer-centric: Empower employees to take ownership of CX by acting as Secret CX Agents. Resolve customer experience issues: Provide a structured approach to identifying and addressing CX pain points. Shorten & close the feedback loop: Enable swift action on feedback through the app’s reporting and escalation features. We conducted a launch and training program to onboard Aldar teams. This included teaching them about the program’s goals, the importance of their role in it, and the technology they would be using. The training covered how to use the app, with step-by-step guidance on performing both planned and unplanned audits. Scenarios and screenshots were provided to ensure clarity. We emphasized the differences between this program and traditional Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys, highlighting the objective, fact-based nature of the audits. The app was designed as a cross-platform application, enabling users to collect insights across multiple touchpoints and experiences within Aldar’s assets. Employees were encouraged to participate actively, with incentives such as Secret CX Agent points, Darna points (Aldar’s loyalty program), and recognition through rewards like “Aldar Secret CX Agent of the Month.” We discussed the phased rollout of the app, detailing what features would be available in Phase 1 and what additional functionalities would be introduced in Phase 2.
03 —What We Did
The work.
To engage employees, we hosted a gamified onboarding ses…
To engage employees, we hosted a gamified onboarding session where participants learned the app’s functionalities through a mock audit game. This session reinforced the dos and don’ts of using the app and encouraged employees to practice their auditing skills.
The app included a streamlined escalation process
The app included a streamlined escalation process. When an Aldar Secret CX Agent submits an audit, the report is transferred to the asset’s dashboard. From there, the details can be sent to the maintenance team, and the audit status can be updated until resolution.
Onboarding ensured that employees felt confident in thei…
Onboarding ensured that employees felt confident in their ability to use the app effectively. The FAQs were also addressed during the session to resolve any potential concerns or misunderstandings.
04 — Approach & Methodology
How we got there.
Renascence opened the engagement by auditing Aldar's existing feedback mechanisms. Traditional CSAT surveys were capturing sentiment after the fact but leaving the gap between insight and action wide open. The design brief was clear: build a system where employees closest to the customer could surface and escalate CX issues in real time, without waiting for quarterly reports.
The solution centred on two audit types. Planned Audits gave agents a structured, detailed checklist for scheduled reviews of specific touchpoints across Aldar's business units. Unplanned Audits were deliberately lightweight — quick, spontaneous observations that any trained employee could submit the moment a friction point appeared. Together, the two modes created continuous coverage rather than periodic snapshots.
The app's escalation architecture was designed to close the feedback loop operationally. Once an agent submitted an audit, the finding surfaced automatically on the relevant asset's dashboard, where it could be routed to the maintenance or service team and tracked through to resolution. Status updates were visible to the submitting agent, reinforcing accountability at both ends of the process.
Training was delivered across three or more sessions and deliberately avoided the passive slide-deck format. Each session included a live mock audit, scenario walkthroughs, and a structured FAQ round. Employees left knowing not just how to use the app, but why their observations carried weight — and how the incentive structure, from monthly recognition to Darna points, would reward consistent participation.
05 —In Practice
Project samples.
"The Secret CX Agent program changed how our teams think about customer experience. Instead of waiting for survey results, our people are now identifying and escalating issues the moment they see them. The app made that shift practical, not just aspirational."
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