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According to Gallup, "the Employee Experience is the journey an employee takes with your organization. It includes all interactions an employee has with your organization before, during and after their tenure." Employees can be a brand ambassador or brand critic. The difference is heavily dependent upon "The Employee Experience."
Consider this:
Gallup found 87% of employees globally are not engaged--yet highly engaged workforces surpass their peers by 147% in earnings per share. It pays to engage your employees, and the best way to do this is through the employee experience.
The workplace has been forced into a [mostly] digital space due to the COVID pandemic; employee well-being has become one of the top priorities for organizations. Before COVID, most organizations mainly focused on creating a positive customer experience; however, now companies believe developing a positive Employee Experience [often referred to as EX] is one of the essential qualities to thrive in the future of work.
The Employee Experience easily surpasses any other business metric because a positive experience has a cascading effect on profitability and productivity. IBM and Globoforce published The Financial Impact of a Positive Employee Experience study, which confirms [what most HR professionals have known for years] there is a strong link between The Employee Experience and an organization's profits.
This study evaluated results from several hundred organizations, across 45 countries, and included more than 22,000 employees. One of the key findings was that organizations scoring in the top 25 percent on Employee Experience also reported nearly three times the return on assets and doubled the return on sales compared to organizations with lower Employee Experience scores.
One of the critical new KPI for HR business partners is to work in tandem with employees and business leaders to create a positive Employee Experience. Today the majority of job seekers are increasingly looking for companies with that create and support a positive Employee Experience. Many job seeking sites, such as Glassdoor, provide a peek into a company's culture so that prospective employees can make an informed decision.
The COVID pandemic has created new challenges for organizations and how they manage employees. Employee mental, physical and psychological well-being are the areas of debate and discussions among the CEOs, executives, and leaders in all organizations. A McKinsey study revealed that building trust with employees and providing job security amidst a crisis is the number one factor influencing most organizations.
Now, let's look at Four Key Actions your organization can take to create lasting trust and a positive Employee Experience.
Allow employees to voice their opinions, thoughts, and concerns through meetings, pulse surveys, listening tours, and story sharing. Be empathetic to your staff's concerns. Use data to analyze related information and communicate findings to employees often.
Prioritize timely actions instead of waiting for transformative solutions. Relax office bureaucracy and allow those who have solutions to make the necessary changes. This will accelerate the transformation and decentralize management.
Develop a plan to embed changes beyond the current crisis. Communicate to employees the specifics on open-ended changes. Ensure employees as the crisis is not time-bound, neither is the support from leadership. Make yourself available to your staff.
Find creative ways to use advanced analytics, behavioral science, and digital technology that put employees in charge of their own professional journey—tailor interventions to your employees' evolving needs.
The 2020 HR Sentiment Survey, Future Workplace LLC surveyed top HR and Business Leaders and found Employee Experience superseded all other factors:
Several studies conducted across the globe by renowned consultancy and HR firms continue to stress the direct correlation between a company's long-term sustainability and profitability. As C-suite executives, it is your responsibility to ensure your company provides the best products and services while enhancing and enlightening your employees' lives.
Below is the image created by Deloitte that represents the essential EX factors.
A positive Employee Experience is not event-specific; it is a sustainable long term commitment an organization makes to its employees. It not only benefits employees but also helps organizations. It unleashes creativity and enthusiasm while boosting productivity. The future of work demands organizations to develop creative and innovative ways to improve the Employee Experience.
