An organisation must look into designing experiences for the success of its employees and be committed to making it happen.

HR teams and organisations are rethinking and revising their outlook towards their policies, practices and modus operandi at large, with a focus on Employee Experience (EX), not only a much needed but also an imperative trend to be adopted and scaled.

EX, simply put, is a sum of experiences an employee has when they interact through any touchpoint with the organisation, be it other employees, the systems or processes. As HR professionals, the question that we should ask is: What will make EX successful? Every touchpoint should generate value for the employee, in terms of how it not only adds to their experience but also constantly answers for them some key questions, like why choose this organisation vis-a-vis another, how this experience is differentiated, and, most importantly, how it makes them effective in their roles. Thus, employee stickiness, engagement and accelerated productivity need to be seen as “leading” rather than “lagging” indicators of EX. Are we designing each part of EX with Employee Success as a centrepiece to it?

Here are a few key aspects to consider to ensure Employee Success guides Employee Experience:

1. Bring Culture and Values to Life Through Every Touchpoint

Experience is impactful only when what is said and portrayed is lived in spirit and showcased in actions. An organisation’s culture and values have to be brought to life through policies, practices, conversations and, most importantly, leader and manager behaviour.

Employees need to be crystal clear on how culture and values are imperative for their success within the organisation and in guiding their WHY to WHAT to HOW. Identifying with a company’s culture and values and having an authentic experience are important for generating the sense for an individual that “they are in their space”, which undoubtedly accelerates performance.

Every touchpoint of EX, thus, should give an evident experience of how the organisation is living its culture and values. In addition, there will be a need to drive consistency of experiences when we talk of these between different regions, locations, functions, or even teams.

2. Ensure That the “Rubber Meets the Road”

A great talent management framework, which has nicely done templates and an experienced team available to run associated programs, may have no value in creating experiences for an employee, even for a hi-potential, key talent. All of these efforts may go to waste if there is not a clear line of accountability to accompany the discussions and subsequent actions.

Similarly, a great 30-60-90 plan will do no good to accelerate the assimilation of a new hire if the stakeholders are not aligned to make the employee successful or if they do not own the plan together. In such a scenario, the stakeholders’ lack of coordination could negatively impact the new joinee’s experience. This would be an example of a 30-60-90 plan that looks good on paper but does not work well in reality.

Thus, an organisation may be at risk of putting its key talent through experiences with no impact, especially none that enhance an employee’s readiness for their role or career within the company. Organisations must be fully focused on their employees’ success, ensuring that they learn through concrete examples and experiences.

3. The Trick Still Lies in the Little Things

Information is empowerment, even more so in this virtual world where seamless availability or non-availability of accurate and real-time data has impacted us all in one way or another. So, an organisation can think of artificial intelligence and machine learning kinds of technology, but focusing on the brass tacks will ultimately define the level of job satisfaction for an employee.

In other words, do I have access to on-time and accurate data; do I have a well-defined intranet to get information about what is going in the organisation; and does my leader or manager ensure the cascade of critical information to me in an effective and clear manner? Most importantly, do I have access to information that is critical for my job performance and success?

An organisation can have the most progressive performance management system with a sophisticated tool to support it, but if a leader or manager cannot deliver effective feedback or does so in a manner that is not in line with the culture the organisation believes in, then that can lead to an experience where the employee does not have trust in any of the organisation’s systems or processes.

Moreover, in a world of virtual interactions, the little things have gained much more importance. Thus, EX has moved beyond the well-defined touchpoints and is part of every interaction an employee has with an organisation.

EX is not a responsibility of one function but the entire organisation, especially its managers and leaders. The focus on EX will not just be a way of thinking and operating but will also define behaviours and work styles within an organisation.

An organisation must look into designing experiences for the success of its employees and be committed to making it happen!