Published on: November 25, 2020 

We live in an 'experience' economy where people expect a high level of customer experience from the brands they buy from and from the same organizations they work with. When we talk of future-proofing our organization and the ongoing health crisis we are faced with today, there is no question that business continuity relies heavily on our people. Clearer than ever, the employee experience is no longer just an HR issue.

Mapping out the talent journey is crucial but that’s no easy feat when it’s estimated that there are 285 touchpoints in total across the employee lifecycle - 60% of which are owned by HR. Forget what's normal and dive deeper into what's changing the definition of employee experience as we know it.

1. Employee Experience is now a business issue

Even before the health crisis, 92% of CHROs expected the importance of employee experience (EX) to grow by 2021. In an EX study by Workplace from Facebook, data revealed that while 84% of leaders agree on the importance of EX, only 9% have a plan in place.

Bringing the power of community into the digital era cannot be underestimated. Compared to before where "digital" was a nice-to-have option, now, peer-to-peer interaction depends on it. Our ways of working and serving customers now rely on the platforms we use to collaborate in. Do you use Viber, Zalo, WhatsApp, Messenger or other informal channels and personal networks? Are you being intentional about the employee experience you provide? Or are we letting our people find their own way because we have not defined what it means for us?

To bring the power of community to everyone at work, we need to design for it and our business must be intentional in bringing this design to life. In our own experience consulting with Fortune companies, it takes the involvement of the C-suite, IT and Communications to complement your own people approach. People want to engage, communicate and connect with colleagues. They want to work together. If they’re not doing it through official channels, they’re almost certainly using the tools at their disposal to get it done.

2. Psychological safety is non-negotiable

Whether you are going back to work or creating a hybrid set up to have your team work remotely, employee experience should remain a priority. In practice, this means understanding our audience and the experiences that drive performance and collaboration. Employee experience is now about shifting from a process-first approach to a people-first approach so that we can create a sense of belonging for our teams. Part of moving from a world of complexity to a world of simplicity is knowing what employee engagement has evolved into. In Workplace from Facebook's recent report on EX, they note that employee experience is no longer about work life balance, engagement, perks nor benefits. It is now about purpose, culture, trust, meaning and pride in one's work and organization.

At the heart of this, it is essentially providing psychological safety so that our people know that it's okay to bring their full selves to work. According to Amy Edmondson, a leading Harvard Business School researcher on the topic, psychological safety “describes perceptions of the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in a particular context such as a workplace.” Psychologically safe team members “feel confident that no one on the team will embarrass or punish anyone else for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea." When it comes to 'staying apart, together,' it also means being able to share one's personal struggles maybe from "zoom fatigue" or having to juggle work with responsibilities at home. The research shows that being able to share what you're going through without fear or criticism goes a long way toward greater collaboration and teamwork.

If you’re a manager or people leader, this also means that you should be operating from the point-of-view of what people need and not just what you need. By prioritizing psychological safety as a key element of your employee experience design, not only are you able to facilitate the sharing of positive stories for your employer brand, you also enable new stories to emerge and be picked up faster.

3. Technology has become a multiplier or divider

Work tools are emerging and are being reimagined for the world today; and for some of these tools, "nice-to-have" has become "need-to-have."The tools people are using can provide valuable insights about the kind of technology they expect to have access to.

When looking at technologies to use, we often get it in reverse. Most organizations start with the technology and then adjust their ways of working to fit the platforms they use. However, true digital transformation begins with understanding who you are and what stories you want to tell. Only then can you unlock the true potential of today's innovation. Do you want to highlight a faster turnaround time for customer? Do you want to increase the innovations that come out of team conversations? Or do you want to want to provide a virtual place for employees to have coffee, be comfortable working with each other and find ways to stay connected? Make sure you use technology in a way that multiplies your positive outcomes, after all, where you tell your story is a big part of how you tell your story.

Zooming Out

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