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Employee Experience

Gone are the days of businesses not focusing on their turnover or trying to keep their good employees onside. Now, to retain the best talent, organizations have to step up to the plate and give their staff more than just a job. The focus is on employee experience more than ever before, particularly in the world of work-from-anywhere, as the digital workplace becomes the only workplace.

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Employee Experience

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What is employee experience?

Employee experience is not a new term. While it may be getting a lot of traction, what does the phrase actually mean? Employee experience can be defined as the following:

"Employee experience encompasses all the interactions people have with the business in both the digital and physical workplace. From the first moment as a new hire to the transition to offboarding, the employee experience encapsulates everything, including day-to-day interactions with colleagues. The impact is the difference between employees wanting to work and needing to work."

Although it might feel like this concept came out of nowhere, employee experience has been an evolving theme for quite some time. According to author and futurist Jacob Morgan, there are four chapters in the development of employee experience:

1. Utility

Decades ago, it was all about utility. Companies had jobs that needed to be done and people had bills they needed to pay, so they tried to fill those vacancies. Employees were given only the essential tools and resources that they needed to get their jobs done, and relationships were purely transactional.

2. Productivity

Over time, savvy employers began to shift their approach to prioritize productivity. Everything was geared around improving output with very little thought given to making the workplace somewhere employees wanted to be. Managers started to care about the quality of workplace resources because they realized it could help them yield better results.

3. Engagement

Off the back of this idea came the engagement stage. Organizations concentrated their attention on finding out what their employees cared about and how and why they work. They started shifting some of the focus away from their bottom-line pay-offs, and instead began considering what their organization could do to benefit their employees.

4. Experience

As the final stage in this evolution, employee experience goes one step further. It is about creating a company that people want to work for. Experiential enterprises create an environment where people genuinely want to show up and contribute to their company’s success. Enterprises can only become experiential if they take the time to understand what their employees want and need.

Components of employee experience

There’s no doubt we’ve arrived at the age of employee experience. Every company touts their one-of-a-kind culture and compelling workplace environment. But what does it take to earn the “experiential” title?

Contrary to common belief, it’s not just about workplace perks or unlimited vacation days. Instead, the key to improving employee experience is listening to your workforce and creating an environment and culture that will unite and inspire.

Jacob Morgan notes that employee experience comes down to three components: physical, technological, and cultural. Based on an analysis of more than 250 global organizations, just 6% are creating employee experiences that address each of Morgan’s categories

The rise in remote work will of course impact the physical element of employee experience. However, experiential enterprises won’t overlook this component of their employee experience now that telecommuting has gone mainstream. Instead, these employers will leverage technological advancements and lean into their compelling cultures to ensure employees feel connected and supported, regardless of their physical location.

Why is employee experience important for organizations?

It’s not a coincidence that so many esteemed CEOs and thought leaders are emphasizing the value of employee experience. Particularly as enterprises refine their strategy to thrive in the new world of work, the employee experience has become a top priority. Experiential organizations benefit from engaged employees who will give their all, regardless of where they are based and the obstacles they may encounter. Some of the core benefits associated with improving employee experience include:

The link between CX and EX

When your employees are happy and engaged, your consumers will take note. Inspired employees will go the extra mile to deliver unparalleled customer service and have the knowledge needed to answer any question that comes their way. The enterprises that invest most heavily in employee experience are twice as likely to be found in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Put simply, happy staff leads to happy customers. 

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Good employee experience leads to better profits

Ultimately, good employee experience = more money. When your workforce is comprised of employees who are motivated and engaged, you can expect output levels and performance to skyrocket. Simultaneously, your organization will save on the costs associated with voluntary resignations because your employees will want to continue their journey with your enterprise. As a result, companies that invest in EX outperform those that don’t by 2x in terms of average profit.

Improve retention

In the US, businesses lose more than $1trillion annually to voluntary resignations. Sidestep the crippling effects of high turnover by ensuring your employees are truly happy. Not only can the costs of hiring, onboarding, and further training wreak havoc on your bottom line; they can also detract from your culture. Engaged employees are 87% less likely to resign than their counterparts working at organizations that aren’t experiential.

Take innovation to the next level

Engaged employees are your company’s most valuable assets. When you give your employees the tools they need to reach peak performance and create a culture that empowers everyone, you can expect next-level innovation to follow. In fact, the heaviest investors in EX are 28x more often listed among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.

Attract top tier talent

Regardless of your size or sector, attracting top talent is a necessity. More than ever, companies are competing against each other to attract the best talent, and the battle is often won by whoever can offer the best employee experience. The enterprises that invest most heavily in employee experience are 4.4x more likely to be included in LinkedIn’s list of North America’s Most In-Demand Employers.

Supercharge employee experience in the digital age

Employee experience will be the differentiating factor that sets tomorrow’s leading enterprises apart. If you’re hoping to leverage next-generation technology to take employee experience to the next level, check out our guides or get in touch with our digital workplace experts for more information on how an employee experience intranet platform can underpin a superior engagement strategy.

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