In our last newsletter, I spoke of the incredible changes in the world of work over the past two years, and how disruption has impacted businesses both positively and negatively. Organizations that have learned from this disruption recognize that maximizing employee experience (EX) is crucial to their success. They understand that employees long for purpose, want to maximize communication and collaboration, and are eager to learn. In fact, Forrester Research’s 2022 report identifies EX as a top priority for ‘advanced’ businesses. McKinsey Global Institute recently reported that the scale of COVID-19’s influence on labor trends will continue far into the future, and best in class organizations need to take action to enhance the employee experience for competitive edge.

What is Employee Experience (EX)?

What is Employee Experience (EX)? Many times, EX is used interchangeably with employee engagement, however engagement is a facet of the overall employee experience. While engagement is critically important, EX constitutes the entire journey your employees take in your organization. From hire to retire, an employee’s experience is shaped in the way they are:

• Engaged by the team
• Empowered to meet and exceed their role
• Supported by their manager
• Provided the right tools to succeed at their job

All four components are critical to EX success. However, many employees feel like they don’t have the tools they need to succeed. A 2021 Qualtrics report found that only 30% of employees say the company’s technology exceeds their expectations. Digital transformation is not an option for companies that want to remain competitive, it is mandatory and a matter of survival. Talent drives company success more than ever before, and with digital natives on the rise, the 30% statistic will only get worse. Without a modern talent strategy, coupled with a next-gen technology strategy, organizations will fail.

It is important that organization’s today take a non-traditional approach to their HR technology stack. In the (recent) past, HR tech aimed to drive efficiencies for HR teams, through better reporting, streamlined processes, and legislative compliance. Today, these features are table stakes, and organizations need to evaluate how their Human Capital Management system improves the employee experience through better hiring processes, enhanced onboarding, elevated people engagement and development, and ongoing performance improvements. Modern technology needs to fully support a modern talent strategy. Questions that you may reflect on as you bridge this talent/technology gap:

• Are we maximizing modern technology to engage our employees and strengthen our brand?
• Does not having the right recruiting technology mean we are at a disadvantage in sourcing the best talent?
• Is not having a performance management system affecting our ability to be high-performance?
• How does not having a learning management system impact our ability to fully develop our workforce for future success?

Leverage our Team at Net at Work

Leverage our team at Net at Work as your trusted partner to unleash the power of your business. Reach out to your Account Manager to discuss how to elevate HR technology so it is no longer just a tool. Join us over the next few months as we discuss EX during our webinars and presentations. And I’d love to hear your opinion on this topic. Please feel free to reach out to me and share your insights on the employee experience.