Achieving success in hybrid work with EX

Not so long ago, Gallup had declared an employee engagement crisis across the world. Part of the reason behind this was the fact that one out of three new hires started looking for new jobs within six months of joining, and data suggested that only one out of ten employees were engaged in their workplaces. The definition of engaged encompassed a feeling of enthusiasm about one’s work as well as the workplace that one was a part of. Australia too was a part of this: a recent study showed that staff turnover within the first year of joining has cost the Australian economy a total of $3.8 Bn overall.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, global unemployment was at an all-time high, and Mercer’s  2019 Global Talent Trends Study estimated that 97% executives mentioned they predicted increased competition when it came to recruiting the right people. In a separate report entitled “Building a Better Employee Experience”, Mercer recommended that “HR needs to shift its mindset away from optimizing “things” for employees … and, instead, design an end-to-end experience that employees long to be a part of.” 

But how can an organization design and implement an experience that ranks with the highest expectations?

Calvin Lynch, General Manager (ANZ),  Liferay says it well - The need for connected, user-friendly digital experiences is greater than ever – not only for customers, but also for employees. That has been the stepping stone to designing employee experience and leveraging employee experience platforms in Australia. 

A strategy that has ended up working for some Australian companies is to think of the employee experience journey as they would consider a customer experience journey - and to base their design, execution principles and EX platforms along the same axis.

The X-factor in EX

Employee experience platforms don’t only need to have a great user experience. The back end too has to be such that employees don't have to play catch up with business dynamics. Most platforms being used in Australia have enabled employees to access everything from annual leave balances to processes and policies to online study and leave application, to blocking dedicated time with counselors to just being informed about the new projects in the company. Particularly in COVID-19, online processes and policies have made all the difference to employee well-being, addressing claims and sharing information about vaccines and health updates. 

There is a specific set of data points that organizations can look at, called X-Data (experience data). This data reveals how an employee responds to organizational stimulus, how they feel about the work they do and where they work, and much more. By looking at this data, organizations can also make informed decisions about the kind of EX platforms they should invest in, and what kind of data they value over other kinds of data. 

Debbie Reger, HR Head at SAP Australia and New Zealand, worked with her team to track the relevant X-data and optimize the experience of all the employees across the board. As a result of this, SAP ANZ was announced as the third best workplace of the year 2020. Recognizing the collective effort, and noting some of the innovative ways in which the organization kept the community engaged through tough times, she said: “I’m tremendously proud of the HR and GPTW teams at SAP who have kept our staff connected and supported through this year, with inventive and thoughtful programs from virtual workouts to ‘quarantunes’ playlists.” 

Accounting for and optimizing Hybrid Experiences

Managing remote teams online isn’t probably the approach that most people managers would choose. However, employee experience platforms ensure that trust building happens within the team, and also that lines are drawn. Most platforms have project management functionality too. Every team member is privy to what another is working on. While this keeps everybody on track, it also ensures that there is evidence or data based coaching for all. 

Andy Hardy, Strategic Director Employee Engagement, Genesys says, “In Australia and New Zealand, the high uptake of agile business platforms means clients are well prepared to transform in an uncertain environment. However, just as the logistics, systems and technology required to run world-class contact centres need to be ready to adapt to change, so does our approach to employee experience, which is fast emerging as a key driver for decision making.”

Employee experience is even more complex, given the remote working situation today. That in itself requires coordination across multiple fronts -  technology, processes, people and leadership.  

Going the extra mile to engage and include employees

As far as hybrid work experiences go, there is no “one size fits all” approach, and each organization must actively listen to their employees about what’s working (and not working) for them to create policies of value. In this regard, Pratima Kalmadi, an expert in User Research, Design Strategy, Innovation Management & Service Design from The Strategy Group, a management consulting firm from Sydney, wrote: “[A] great employee experience starts long before the onboarding process, long before a letter-of-offer, and even before the interview process. The journey actually starts when a potential employee is thinking about applying for the role.”

Her advice to HR leaders is to make sure that there is clarity on the overall direction of the employee engagement plan that they will create. 

Perhaps the most important step will be to curate an ideal employee experience in a post-Covid world. How will hybrid work ensure that all candidates are treated fairly and everyone given their due voice? Moreover, how will new recruits experience the same sense of belonging to the organization that older members of the team feel - and what will be the processes to ensure this? These are central concerns, but there will be many other concerns as well, and each organization will have to customize their employee experience journey according to the principles that bind their company together.

Nobody has all the answers yet but companies in their wisdom have taken steps to understand that this is a part of the bigger picture. A work from home employee is as much deserving of a stellar employee experience as the person who comes into work physically everyday. 

Great employee experiences are key

Great employee experiences are no longer optional - they are in fact central not just to saving costs for a company, but are key to generating higher revenues as well. With hybrid work becoming an important part of the organization landscape for the near future, it is imperative that organizations of all sizes invest in employee experience (platforms), thereby scaling experience, engagement and performance.