An integrated approach to improving the employee experience is needed.
Several years ago, Gallup released a bombshell: Only one-third of American employees are engaged in their work and workplace. In response, organizations polled and prodded employees to pinpoint the key factors affecting engagement and rolled out numerous culture change initiatives to their front lines. But this firestorm did little to rally employee engagement. In the Winter 2016 issue of CTDO, we introduced the concept of employee experience. Since then, more research has emerged on the topic.
A survey of more than 23,000 employees in 45 countries and territories conducted by the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute and Globoforce's WorkHuman Research Institute, The Employee Experience Index: A New Global Measure of a Human Workplace and Its Impact, found that work effort is nearly twice as high in positive work experiences (95 percent compared with 55 percent), suggesting a stronger employee experience can contribute to higher motivation levels to go "above and beyond" typical job duties.
That means bringing together all workplace, HR, and management practices that affect people on the job. Although traditionally organizations have addressed such issues as employee engagement, culture, rewards, learning, and career development as separate, independent programs, Deloitte finds that employees "look at everything that happens at work as an integrated experience that impacts daily life."
Deloitte explains that organizations can break down the factors that contribute to a positive employee experience into five categories: meaningful work, supportive management, positive work environment, growth opportunity, and trust in leadership. Within these categories are specific efforts that support employee talent development and growth programs, rewards and wellness, flexible work environment, fairness and inclusion, and authenticity among management and leadership.
The Globoforce/IBM Smarter Workforce study also pinpoints certain practices that comprise—and boost—the employee experience (some of which overlap Deloitte's): organizational trust, supportive co-worker relationships, meaningful work, recognition, feedback and growth, empowerment and voice, and work-life balance. For instance, the study found that 83 percent of employees report a positive employee experience when they feel recognized for the good work they do, compared with 38 percent who don't receive recognition. Likewise, employees who feel their ideas and suggestions matter are more than twice as likely to report a positive employee experience than those who don't (83 percent versus 34 percent).
What do these factors look like in practical terms? Gallup's most recent State of the American Workplace offers senior leaders some insight, advising organizations to:
- design and deliver a compelling and authentic employer brand
- approach performance management in ways that motivate employees
- offer benefits and perks that influence attraction and retention
- enable people to work successfully from locations besides the office
- construct office environments that honor privacy while encouraging collaboration
- improve clarity and communication for employees who work on multiple teams.
Unfortunately, only one in five (22 percent) executives in the Deloitte study reports that their companies are excellent at building a differentiated employee experience, and 59 percent say they are not ready or are only somewhat ready to address the employee experience. Deloitte found that several factors make employee experience a challenge today.
For starters, siloed HR and talent development departments often find it difficult to obtain the resources needed to address an integrated set of priorities. Also, companies need to update their tools to engage employees on an ongoing basis to help them understand more fully what employees expect and value. Finally, many leaders still focus on "point-in-time engagement" and have not pulled together the disciplines of performance management, goal setting, diversity and inclusion, wellness, workplace design, and leadership into an integrated framework.
The 2017 Human Capital Trends Report advises organizations in the battle for talent to elevate the employee experience and make it a priority. "Recognize that the integrated employee experience is as valuable and can have as much (or more) of an impact as the customer experience strategy," states Deloitte. What's more, companies should assign a senior leader for employee experience who can orchestrate the functions of engagement, learning, career development, organizational design, analytics, and culture into a coordinated team. "The involvement of senior executives and team leaders is critical, as daily management and engagement impact the overall employment brand," Deloitte adds.
20 Factors of the Employee Experience
Meaningful work:
- autonomy
- select to fit
- small, empowered teams
- time for slack
Supportive management:
- clear and transparent goals
- coaching
- investment in development of managers
- agile performance management
Positive work environment:
- flexible work environment
- humanistic workplace
- culture of recognition
- fair, inclusive, diverse work environment
Growth opportunity:
- training and support on the job
- facilitated talent mobility
- self-directed, dynamic learning
- high-impact learning culture
Trust in leadership:
- mission and purpose
- continuous investment in people
- transparency and honesty
- inspiration
Read more from CTDO magazine: Essential talent development content for C-suite leaders.
