Leveraging the Employee Experience

Since Airbnb introduced the concept of the “employee experience” (EX), companies have been buzzing about the term and working to get it right. As the war for talent wages on, an effective EX strategy can give companies a definitive edge and be a winning factor against the competition. But what exactly is the employee experience, and how does it differ from employee engagement? How can HR leverage employee experience to boost employer branding, and what does it mean for learning and development (L&D) and talent managers?

Businesses are becoming more people-centric; you see this everywhere, from daily business practices and company culture, to work environment and the training that organizations provide their employees. It’s crucial if HR is to attract and retain employees in the modern world of work. A people-centric organization boosts employer branding and helps companies position themselves as organizations of choice for employment.

Let’s start off by defining the differences between employee experience and employee engagement. EX encompasses not only the work an employee does, but also the employee as a person and the holistic experiences he or she has in connection to the workplace.

The collection of experiences an employee has with a company sums up the employee experience – from the recruitment process, to different phases of the job, and even leading up to post-employment. EX encompasses the culture of the organization, the physical environment, the job one performs (and the psychological safety that comes with it), salary and benefits, other rewards, and the interactions one has with colleagues and management.

All of the above factors create the EX and contribute to how the employee feels about the company and employer. A study by IBM showed that positive employee experiences are linked to improving retention. The analysis ‘’reveals that employees with low Employee Experience Index scores are more than twice as likely to say they want to leave compared to those with more positive experiences.’’ This means that employees with positive employee experiences are 52 percent less likely to leave their organizations.

Employee engagement on the other hand, is more focused on short-term changes and working on solutions to improve how engaged an employee is in his or her work and job productivity. An engaged employee is defined as ‘’one who is fully absorbed and enthusiastic about their work and takes positive action to further the organization’s goals and interests.’’ In short, employee engagement does not mean the happiness of an employee. An employee can be happy on the job, but not engaged and productive at work.

The same study by IBM also shows that organizations delivering a positive employee experience and providing their employees with feedback and recognition, and opportunities for empowerment, experience a more significant impact on ROI.

As organizations transition from authoritative management styles to more social enterprises, businesses are giving their employees the chance to be heard and voice their needs and concerns. The main goal here should be for companies to understand employee aspirations and work alongside their employees instead of against them. Use software tools to assess the needs and sentiments of your workforce at scale in a short period of time. Speexx provides AI-driven needs assessment for language skills training across the entire organization with Speexx Essentials.

To improve the employee experience in your organization, take a look at these three areas:

Work culture plays a big role in the employee experience and has been a major focus for HR professionals – with diversity and inclusion being at the top of the list.