Can you win the new war for talent? You won’t if you think it’s about money, titles, or job security. The post pandemic era is quickly becoming defined by employee experience: how your organization shapes the way people work and live, from productivity to flexibility, wellbeing, health, and everything in between. Individuals today are transforming themselves into dynamic beings. Organizations are in a deep hunt for employees who facilitate change, are more adaptive and are able to contribute towards the joint culture of the workplace.
Since the topic of EX (Employee Experience) grew out of Employee Engagement which is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward the work they do, their teams, and their organization. Employees today prioritize their feeling of inclusion in the workplace as the most important factor. They want to be able to trust their leaders and feel like the are part of the team. Employees consider their workplaces to be their second family as they spend almost half of their day there. Organizations have also began to consider technology as a human growth tool that can help workplaces emerge into powerful ones. The use of technology is critical to creating and sustaining positive employee experiences. Without the right technology, companies can’t get insights into employee sentiment, provide personalized and job relevant experiences, development opportunities, or support employees at scale. Moreover, the growth of technology can help businesses disrupt the market and build an environment that focusses more on empathy along with business agility.
Business agility refers to rapid, continuous, and systematic evolutionary adaptation and entrepreneurial innovation directed at gaining and maintaining competitive advantage.
Employee Experience is a complex and multilayered. Even before the pandemic, the work environment was challenging. Many studies showed people felt overwhelmed; they had little time to concentrate and no time to learn something new. For this reason the EX model was divided into three major key areas.
The first area is Health and Wellbeing. The Microsoft’s Work lab study found 3 out of 5 leaders are thriving, but the situation is reversed for frontline workers—barely 3 out of 5 are hanging in there, with the situation even worse for younger or newer employees. "Zoom Fatigue" and "Digital Overload" have become a part of the way they live and not just in their vocabulary. Workplaces should thrive to create support groups to help employees with their health and safety. A mentally strong employee has more productive power than an employee who is facing a workload pressure.
The second area is Business Agility and Change. Communication is the key in this area. Workplaces should support agile teams to deal with ambiguity which will further help them increase their efficiency.
Lastly business should rapidly, creatively and strategically hire new talent. Todays world is transforming rapidly and businesses should take an effort to simplify and speed up performance management, reinvent jobs and more importantly facilitate teams to experiment and learn. The EX Maturity Model was developed to define where an organization stands when it comes to employee experience. Organizations fall into four levels depending on the EX practices they deploy, with Level 1 as the least impactful and Level 4 the most. These four levels are:
LEVEL 1- TRANSACTIONAL EFFICIENCY
Companies at this level are focused on creating a transactional relationship with their employees— an exchange of work for money. Around 32% of companies remove traditional barriers for employees who bring in more productivity and profit into an organization. They invest in their well-being, provide them with incentives and see them as an irreplaceable commodity.
LEVEL 2 - SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
Many organizations today have realized the need to develop a people friendly environment, build trust with their co-workers and generate positive communication with them. This helps them create a broader business aspect as they are able to satisfy both themselves and make their employees happy. Employees feel respected and part of the team which boosts their positivity.
LEVEL 3 - PURPOSE DRIVEN BUSINESS
Organizations at this level get direction from the very top—the CEO—to align around a powerful mission and purpose that inspires people to do their best. When companies take an effort to link their culture and values with those of the employees they get a competitive advantage over the rest. Employees feel like they can correlate more with the mission and vision of their workplace and this builds a strong leadership model.
LEVEL 4 - EQUITABLE GROWTH
When companies allow people to be who they are as a person, value differences, encourage learning from mistakes, and enable people at all levels to grow, they empower people to be their best. 20% of the workplaces believe that employees bring in more creativity and innovation when they know their diversity is being accepted and respected.
The Employee Experience Maturity Model provides the perfect insight into what companies need to focus to attract powerful employees. How would you use it in your organization to create impact?
Vipasha Balani.
Digital Communication Associate.
Check out this video on Create a continuous learning culture in your organization.
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