Why measure the employee experience
In 2017, a study showed that companies that are leaders in customer experience have 60% more engaged employees (Employee Engagement Benchmark Study, Temkin Group).
In addition, the Gallup Meta-Analysis Report verified that:
- Companies with committed employees have 18% more satisfied customers
- Companies with higher employee engagement have 41% fewer quality incidents
- Companies with the best working environment have 21% higher productivity
This means the better the employee engagement of an organization, the better the Customer Experience, the quality and the productivity of its products or services.
Employee engagement, CX and business results
There is a clear correlation between employee engagement and employee experience. But correlation does not necessarily mean cause-effect.
Does being in a winning company make employees feel better and therefore show more commitment? Or do employees with greater commitment play a major part in making a company a winner?
In 2010, Gallup and IOWA University found that while the economic success of business favors employee engagement, the relationship is greater the other way round. Commitment impacts on results more than results impact on engagement.
Now, it’s not just about employee engagement but about the whole experience. Measuring the work environment and employee engagement is not enough. There is a difference between predicting intention (what the employee says he/she will do) and his/her actual behavior. You need to understand what motivates the employee, what is meaningful to him/her, and what his/her aspirations are. This is what we call employee experience.
Employees and clients, a mirror of experiences
The symmetry between customer experience and employee experience builds credibility inside and outside the company. If you want your employees to continue to prefer and recommend your organization, you need to build a customized experience.
Some recommendations regarding this:
- Observe, listen and understand: Identify the employee journey, the moments of truth and interactions with others who do not belong to the organization and that influence their reactions, performance and emotions
- Segment and customize: Identify archetypes at all hierarchical levels. Segment not only by age but by what the person experiences throughout the day, gender, training, family history, personality, aspirations, contact with other organizations, etc.
- Prioritize and act: Determine what is significant for each stakeholder. React in real-time using the same instruments and mechanisms that you apply with the client
Synthesis
The employee is a key stakeholder in your organization. If you want to grow -or even guarantee the continuity of your business- you need to involve and stimulate your collaborators and develop an environment that favors co-creation. You need to apply Change Management to learn how to change together.
You need to build new leadership, that does not need to have all the answers but must definitely know to ask the right questions.
And, last but not least, you need to review the Human Resources function, its value, and its contributions. The business strategy must involve the Human Capital area, providing it with tools to measure, observe, and listen to employees, and training its members in competencies to go through changes and learn to change.
Author: Raúl Molteni
