We’ve entered the ‘era of employee experience’. Companies are finally taking EX seriously – research from Willis Towers Watson states that 9 in 10 companies make enhancing the employee experience a top priority for post-pandemic success. But the same research also reveals that few are equipped to make this change, however well intentioned.
Our own research (coming soon!) backs this up, revealing that 25% of organisations don’t have a dedicated team working on EX, 40% have no budget for it and 30% have no EX strategy or plan.
So where do you start? Working in the world of EX can feel overwhelming. Discussing what you mean by EX can get pretty big pretty quickly. And these conversations can lead to a feeling than trying to improve the EX in your organisation is akin to boiling the ocean. But is doesn’t have to be that way. Start by getting clear on what you mean by EX in your organisation.
There’s not universal definition of EX so the beauty is, you decide! This can be broad or focused – it’s up to you. Developing an EX vision and narrative is a critical conversation to have up front, to ensure everybody is speaking the same language and heading in the same direction.
Once you’re clear on what EX means within your organisation, it’s time to develop your case for change. Get clear on why you are choosing to focus on the EX – what are the impact and outcomes an exceptional EX will have on your organisation? And decide at this point, how you’re going to evidence the impact you’re looking to achieve.
Now you know what you mean by EX, and why you’re focusing on it, you can start to develop your roadmap: what are you going to focus on, and why.
Of course there are numerous ways you can approach this. We always recommend using evidence to underpin your decisions. But to get you started, a simple journey mapping workshop works well. Plot the employee journey using lifecycle touch-points, from day zero to alumni, and consider the current EX and desired future. The gaps can offer ideas on where to start and prioritise.
We worked with DNV to take them through a similar process, helping them to develop their EX strategy and roadmap, ensuring that their decisions were evidence based. Here’s some more info about what we did in this case study.
And if you’d like to find out more about developing your approach to EX why not join us at our next EX By Design course starting this month!
