According to Gartner, more than 90 percent of companies say customer experience is one of their top priorities; however, in 2018, will this be enough? Many experts are arguing that to remain competitive, organizations will need to focus just as heavily on employee experience to attract and retain the best and the brightest. But to improve employee experience, leadership needs to understand what it is. First of all, it’s not simply a new name for what the HR department does. While HR certainly affects employee experience, there’s much more to it than that. It’s also not the perks and parties, the engagement efforts, or the branding of the organization. While these are all aspects of employee experience, they are not the totality of it. Mark Levy, former head of employee experience at Airbnb, succinctly defines employee experience: “Anything that sets employees up for success or improves our culture should be a part of [employee experience].” By focusing on employee experience, organizations will give themselves a competitive edge. Henry G. Jackson, CEO and president of the Society for Human Resource Management, says, “The skills shortage is an ever-present challenge,” and adds that offering a superior experience for employees will help companies attract the best people and encourage them to stay longer.