17 minute read
e mployee e xperience
Rethinking EX for the post-pandemic world
As work conditions change across the world, companies need to take drastic measures to do better at employee engagement. What is the world gearing up to today when Fun Fridays (which were at one time the only thing that defined EX) are not even a remote possibility (pun intended)?
By People Matters Editorial
Employee engagement is often considered to be the true outcome of employee experience. A study by Gallup declared that companies having the most engaged employees witnessed as much as 147 percent higher earnings per share (a key profitability indicator) when directly compared with other competitors in the same field.
With the proliferation of work opportunities across the world - and a shortage of the right talent to fill up the rosters - there is a new equation at play when it comes to prospective employees and the hunt for jobs. The availability of information has drastically changed perspectives on jobs. For example, 79 percent of job seekers today use social media when looking for a new job, and this figure increases to 86 percent for younger job seekers. Moreover, around half of all millennial employees are looking for a job change.
Although these statistics may seem to be loosely connected if at all, the truth is that they are very intricately linked - and what connects them is employee experience.
What does the postpandemic EX checklist look like?
There can be no ideal experience in any company - but the truth is that some companies fare much better when it comes to employee experience than others (that is if employee experience rankings are to be believed). The reason behind this is that they optimize all stages and aspects of the employee experience, making sure that there are no hang-ups on any front - right from workplace security to culture to technology.
The different aspects of employee experience - reevaluated to address challenges of the ongoing pandemic - are as follows: • Inclusion for all: Given the remote nature of most jobs today, each employee in the organization needs to understand the organi-
zation’s sense of purpose.
They also need to feel included in the processes of the company. Alongside this, transparent communication and shared values are also a necessity; without them, no new hire will feel comfortable with the workplace they have joined.
Square, a mobile payment company decided to share everything with their 600+ employees. The notes from all meetings were made available for employees, including large reports from board meetings. • Career progression: The overall compensation of an employee is no longer the driving force for a person’s interest in the company.
This is why learning on the job, having interesting work, and having a stable career growth are key factors that employees look out for when they seek new job opportunities. Today’s talent does not want to be told what they want to do; rather, they want to make sure that they are developing in multiple areas of their life through their work. Any company that wants to make sustainable decisions for the future engages with employees on what they want from their careers and their lives and tries their best to cater to them. We are no stranger to Google’s 20 percent rule and it is not a matter of chance that Google is at the head of innovation. Google says that 20 percent of an employee’s time should be spent on exploring or working on projects that show no promise of paying immediate dividends but that might reveal big opportunities down the road.
• Building a sense of
community: Technology is at the forefront when it comes to bringing together employees scattered across the globe.
Julie Schweber, a senior
HR Knowledge Advisor to an employee’s desire to continue working for a company, thereby reducing churn. At any point in time, Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, Teams, Google Meet - any or all of these are running on our system. Right from realtime messaging with our team members to hop onto a video call, we have instant access to each other. The employee experience that was earlier a part of watercooler conversations, cafeteria run-ins is now through a virtual medium - and that’s the role technology plays, in ensuring that we have some
at the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM), said "The beauty of technology is that it's allowing us to have a
WebEx call or a Zoom call to have meetings of 100 or 200 people, and they can break out into small group sessions. We can see each other live if we want to because of the technology and log in to our virtual private network at home in a safe, secure IT environment.”
The feeling of the community contributes greatly semblance of normalcy as we begin to find our space again in a post-pandemic world.
• Rise of employee expe-
rience platforms: There is an increase in the demand for employee experience software too. While there are a bunch of options available to choose from, the idea is that an employee experience platform brings together learning, employees, insights, feedback, and growth. It is all about modernizing
the employee experience - simply means making everything real-time, with a water cooler conversation vibe and of course with all the cohesiveness of one people.
These platforms help make decisions smarter, faster, and more informed, be it to drive engagement or to elevate performance through relevant insights. Employee experience platforms are steadily becoming an integral element of shaping the employee experience for a distributed workforce.
• Infrastructure that supports the culture of
the company: Given that the workforce is hitting an all-time high in burnout, stress and anxiety are creating havoc in employee lives. There is no company culture without the backend infrastructure that can support the growth of the company. Companies that go the distance also invest in the right tools to keep people connected and foster a sense of community. This includes an ATS for hiring, a robust feedback mechanism, a PMS for performance management, as well as ERP and payroll software - to mention a few. Not only does this raise morale among the employees, but it further helps with engagement as well.
• Dynamic performance
assessment: There is no doubt about the fact that organizations can no longer evaluate performance as they did before the pandemic struck. Now, an effective employee experience depends on the necessary flexibility that can be provided to employees in terms of how their performance is valued and managed.
Annual check-in conversations were passé even before the pandemic set in, but now the need of the hour is consistent and continual check-ins.
One company that has done this well is Cargill India. In an interview with People Matters, Raj Karunakaran, HR Head Cargill India mentioned that frequent and future-focused conversations on continuous improvement and development are the pillars of a strong performance management process.
Revamping culture also plays a role in how performance is valued in the
organization. When a culture can make space for the whole of the employee, such as their family health issues, unavoidable commitments of child-rearing and ailing care, self-care, personal therapy sessions - that is truly when the organization can grow. In such circumstances, the empathy provided to an employee in the form of flexibility can make all the difference in their commitment, and thereby performance.
• Employee wellness is the cornerstone of any employee experi-
ence program: What is the digital equivalent of providing healthy snacks and a gym at the office?
Our minds immediately go to gym memberships, swimming club memberships, food allowance, and such. But in the last 18 months, employee wellness has turned around on its head. It goes far beyond physical health now. Organizations are now cognizant of the fact that wellness is also about mental health, regular health checkups, access to subsidized therapy sessions, and above all creating a culture in the organization where there is no stigma when it comes to feeling unwell, be it physically or mentally.
By revamping employee benefits and aligning them to what employees seek in the present context, employers have also been able to cater to their financial wellness. Some companies have gone the extra mile with helping their employees with access to 24/7 healthcare consulting for themselves and their dependents through digital tools, in addition to making policies more inclusive to accommodate personal commitments and minimizing stressors. Some of these welcome changes include paid paternity leave, pet adoption leave, prenatal care, and what not. What also defifrom the usual surveys and feedback measures; to wellness and financial planning programs; and the post-pandemic version of rewards and recognition. What ties all of that together though is technology that underpins these programs. "If you have the technology in place and managers who are trained at using the technology, they can look at the data for insights to create action plans for their employees," Becker said. "That creates a much better organizational culture, and it leads to resilience in the organization, which will
nitely helps is the embedding of the need for wellness through virtual messenger groups where everyone shares their progress, challenges, and ideas to overcome any obstacles peers might face in their wellness journey
Building the foundation for sustainable growth
Laura Becker, IDC's research manager in the Worldwide Services Group says there are several ways to improve employee experience - right set the stage for a much stronger recovery after the pandemic."
Employee experience is today an indispensable part of any company’s growth. It is not simply the task of HR, but rather a company-wide function that builds the foundation for the company as it moves forward and scales up. For this, a company needs to make sure to take care of communication, culture and engagement, career growth, and infrastructure to support it.
CompaNies will Need to provide employees with spaCes – Be these physiCal or digital - that Not oNly improve produCtivity But also suit their workiNg style, says NaTaSHa DIllON, ChieF people oFFiCer, iNmarsat, iN aN exClusive iNteraCtioN with us By Mastufa Ahmed
Natasha Dillon joined Inmarsat as Chief People Officer in November 2016 from Korn Ferry Hay Group, where she was a Senior Client Partner specializing in HR transformation and organizational change. Prior to Korn Ferry, she worked at EY, where she was responsible for delivering client transformation programs, developing EY’s HR transformation methodology, and building business across new markets. Before becoming a consultant, Dillon spent 12 years at BP, starting off her career in the commercial function, responsible for economic evaluation, commercial negotiations and conducting strategic reviews to inform merger and acquisition activity. She then moved into HR where she held a number of roles including organizational development consultant, employee engagement manager and Chief of Staff to the VP of HR operations during BP’s global HR transformation.
Here are the edited excerpts of the interview.
How do you see the new world of work? What kind of reinvention do you expect this year and beyond around the mode of work?
Our future workplaces will be vastly different from the workplaces of the past. Whilst many individuals are expressing a desire for permanent home working, others have found working remotely challenging from a mental health and wellbeing perspective, and the majority of people appear to want some form of "hybrid model" where they come together on a regular basis for collaboration purposes and social interaction but spend the bulk of their time at home. As a result, employers must be prepared to cater to a range of individual needs and preferences in a way that makes sense for the individuals themselves as well as for their teams and the wider organization.
Physical work environments will need to look and feel very different with ample dedicated space for group sessions and workshops. We can no longer ask employees to commute into the office, just to sit at a desk all day. Instead, we should focus on creating more human-centric workspaces that encourage collaboration. Companies will need to provide employees with spaces – be these physical or digital - that not only improve productivity but also suit their working style.
The next big challenge will be how we maintain and drive employee engagement with an increasingly dispersed workforce. This is where I see technology playing a critical role.
Is this the right time for organizations to be bold in how they prioritize digital transformation, embrace distributed work models, and create exceptional work experience? How do you see the current larger landscape?
Absolutely, there has never been a better time to embrace new ways of working. The majority of employees don’t want to go back to the old normal and organizations that don’t adopt distributed or flexible models will fail to attract and retain top talent.
In order for the flexible model to work successfully, businesses and employers need to digitalize the employee experience. Employees are increasingly expecting a consumer-grade from home, I predict there will be another major shift towards digitized employee experiences.
With businesses striving hard to adapt to the new normal do you think the toughest leadership time is looming?
It has been incredibly tough for leaders throughout the pandemic for several reasons. Leaders have had to manage teams remotely, make redundancies, implement cost-cutting meas-
experience when it comes to workplace technology, which can come at a price. A challenge for some businesses will be how to do that costeffectively. Thankfully the options are constantly growing, and price points are becoming more reasonable.
In the same way that lockdown initially forced businesses to adopt technology in order to continue working ures, and in some cases deal with employee deaths and grief – all the while dealing with their own personal challenges. I’d like to think that the toughest tests, from a human perspective, will soon be behind us.
That isn’t to say the challenges are over for leaders. They now need to manage dispersed teams with vastly different needs. And we can’t underestimate the impact that returning to work is likely to have on mental health. Whilst the reopening of offices will greatly welcomed by some employees, it may also be incredibly anxiety-provoking for others and will therefore need to be treated by line managers and HR departments with delicacy.
How has COVID-19 changed organizations' approach to employee experience and why is everyone focusing on EX? Is it about retaining the top talents and differentiating from competitors?
Part of the reason why people have focused on the employee experience is because coronavirus has effectively humanized the workplace. Seeing your boss and co-workers in their homes - in many cases juggling their personal and work lives simultaneously - has been a real leveler and demanded an increased level of empathy amongst us all.
Another big driver, in my opinion, is employee retention. Employees are likely to be less flexible moving forward, particularly as the economy improves, and will not be afraid to leave an organization if their preferences can’t be met.
As experts say, the role of HR leaders has changed amid all the chaos. How can
HR leaders gear up to offer sophisticated solutions to employees' challenges and manage workers' overall experience as organizations enter the next phase?
Coronavirus has undoubtedly placed HR professionals firmly in the spotlight. A strong HR team has never been more essential to guide CEOs and Executive Teams than during the chaos of the last 18 months.
The pandemic has also been extremely polarizing from an employee perspective, with some desperate to get back to the office and others never wanting to return. Our role as HR leaders is to create a tailored employee experience that meets changing expectations. Of course, much of this will be dependent on the sector and the role. For example, at Inmarsat, we are offering employees a range of options depending on the requirements of their role.
Finally, we will need to find ways to keep people connected, both physically and digitally. Lockdown has proven that we can do our jobs virtually, but how can we go beyond that to recreate those informal, watercooler moments that many of us have been craving?
What do you think will be the biggest barriers to empowering employees and elevating their work experience in 2021? Given that some are increasingly embracing ‘hybrid mode’, others are going fully ‘remote’, and then there are others planning for ‘back to the office’.
At an individual level, mental health, well-being, and burnout are all big barriers when it comes to empowering employees. However, the impact of going back to the office is vastly underestimated. That is why well-being will continue to be at the heart of Inmarsat’s employee value proposition now, and into the future.
From an organizational perspective, I think we are likely to see some level of disruption to productivity as people settle into new working patterns. For example, some employees will lose important time that they gained during lockdown by not commuting, whilst others may find it tricky to readjust to busy workspaces.
Employee retention is also likely to be a challenge in 2021. I expect we will see a fair amount of churn as organizations enter a more settled period. Investing in
Employee retention is also likely to be a challenge in 2021. I expect we will see a fair amount of churn as organizations enter a more settled period. Investing in employee retention initiatives will be important if businesses want to retain highperforming employees
employee retention initiatives will be important if businesses want to retain high-performing employees.
What are the different ways to measure the impact of a great employee experience initiative? Does the employee experience truly impact business results?
At Inmarsat we’ve found that short, but regular polling works well, giving us an instant picture of how employees are feeling at that moment. We have also introduced an initiative called “Mood Lift”, which is often used at beginning of meetings. Mood Lift is simply a set of common adjectives and feelings, such as “excited” or “stressed”, but has become part of our shared check-in language. It is an easy way for us to assess how people are feeling in a non-intrusive way.
This connection matters. Apart from being the right thing to do, there is now an increasing amount of evidence that suggests employee engagement has a direct impact on improved business performance. According to data from the Workplace Research Foundation, employees that are more engaged are 38 percent more likely to have above average productivity levels.
How do you see technology and data transforming the office of the future?
We can expect digital innovations to improve the employee experience in many ways, including better platforms for social work, digital collaboration spaces, and quality apps for onboarding, learning, and development. The increasing integration of AI will also reduce the amount of admin required of HR professionals’ roles, enabling more focus on value-added tasks.
How is Inmarsat reinventing for a Post-Pandemic world and what are your top three priorities this year and beyond?
We have been going through the process of reviewing and refreshing our operating model and objectives at an organizational level. One of my top priorities is checking that these are embedded at all levels across the business and ensuring accountabilities are clear.
Secondly, but just as importantly, we need to continue to engage our people through the pandemic and beyond. Particularly with respect to implementing new ways of working and continuing to strengthen our culture.
And finally, we will continue to focus on building capability, ensuring we have the right skills and talent to help the business grow even stronger.
