THE SHIFT TOWARDS EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

The transformation of the workforce has led the organizations ponder upon
pertinent question of how to manage the different expectations of the
employee. The buzzword, ‘Employee Experience’ connects the dots between
the engagement within the employees and the growth of the organization
focussing upon all the touchpoints from beginning of the professional journey
to becoming the alumni.

This change in workforce demography has created new demands starting

from the millennial generation currently dominating the workforce, have a set
of priorities. The Generation Z’s are also entering the workforce with a new set
of expectations. Jacob Morgan Model states that an employee measures the
satisfaction and experience level through three wide areas physical, cultural
or technological workplace. The pivot lies in creating opportunities for the
employees by decreasing the intensity of the barriers, thereby inducing
dynamism within the work culture and the consistency harbours a positivity on
a regular basis. The secret lies in changing the perspective, from looking at
them as just employees to treating as customers because engagement is an
impact of proactive experience. This in turn leads to a sustained workforce who
steer the customers of the organization into a refined service.

Employee experience isn’t just a day process, it’s a prolonged roadmap with
a defined outcome in mind that maps the expectations of the employees to
the workplace. For example, an active learning and development design for
the employees’ learning journey to map their future growth and opportunities
with a customize format would help them perform better. Moreover the
emerging technology is a necessity for the shift and the organization could
focus more on the individual level rather than basing the strategies on the
entire workforce.

With the more yearning towards a personalized development, employees are

intrigued to aid in designing their workspaces, they need a say in the
implementation of the strategies. Gap Inc. has taken the initiative with the
concept of touch base meeting replacing the year-end review. This creates a
platform for the managers to find what their employees need giving them a
chance to connect mentally. With the idea that happy people strive hard for
better output, an assurance of creating a stellar employee experience so that
the touchpoints are positive can yield a productive workforce and an
attractive destination for job searchers.

Apart from pressing on the touchpoints, the culture of the organization can
also be a boost to an employee’s perspective about the company. A socially
involved business acknowledges the people and their pride. Reinforcing
appreciation from time to time of professional and personal achievements,
how the employees contribute to the mission of the organization is also a
means to enhance the enthusiastic atmosphere in the office.

The question now arrives, how do you gauge experience at the organization
level? The step begins with a desire to know, an effort to hear the sides of their
speculations. The importance lies in identifying how they feel. An anonymous
survey would let the employees provide candid views about their perception
of being in the organization. The questions should delve deeper into the arenas
starting from their on-boarding to their duties being evaluated individually and
as a team. The core values they belief and they fit in, are they matching to the
extent of their satisfaction or not should also be known to the employer. These
baseline of data could enhance initiatives and expand employees’
perception about their workspace. The target should be to improve and thrive
on the problems identified so that the company’s largest investment could be
well maintained and hence retained.

Experience mapping will bring engagement, culture and performance

management into a common strategy thereby signifying the talent team a
true partner in the success of the department it serves. Hence, employer’s
motive should be to give their employees benefits and values, instead of just
extracting the same from them. With a single objective, the organization
should move forward in a way that inspires loyalty and ensures the creation of
a positive productive employees who can thrive and strive for excellence,
theirs along with that of the organization.

Prachi Prangya Agasti

UH19101
MBA-HRM (1st Year)