Enhancing the Employee Experience with Data
In recent years, more companies have realized the critical role that the employee experience (EX) can play. Cited as “the interactions an employee has with people, systems, policies, and the physical and virtual workspace” (Source: Miles 2023), EX can influence both a company's employee outcomes & business results. Ranging from employee performance and innovation to client delivery and retention, a positive EX can have a measurable impact on a company’s bottom line (Source: Clark 2023a).
However, EX optimization can’t just be done ‘on a whim’; it needs to be data-driven and targeted, in order to successfully drive business results. So here is a 4-step approach that companies can follow to effectively address factors that will enhance their EX:
Step #1: Data Collection
Before you can design an enhancement strategy, you first need to map-out your data collection efforts. This can be achieved by determining two key aspects: which data points you plan to collect, and how you plan to collect them. Capturing EX data points relevant to your company’s business objectives is a great way to ensure overall strategic alignment (Source: Clark 2023b); just be sure to include a ‘key index’ (question set) within your data collection, which can be leveraged again in Step #4. And secondly, primary data can be gathered via numerous tactical methods. While quantitative data can be collected via anonymous surveys, qualitative feedback can be captured via focus groups or interviews (Source: Clark 2023c). Either approach can be appropriate – depending upon which EX aspects you intend to improve.
Step #2: Gap Analysis & ‘Deeper Dive’
Once you have collected your data, it’s time to analyze the set & identify any gaps. With quantitative data (from surveys), you can conduct a quick analysis of the question scores – either using a survey platform or MS Excel. And with qualitative data (from focus groups and/or interviews), conducting a simple comment/thematic analysis can help you identify recurring themes. Whichever data you collect & analyze, make sure to pay attention to any lower-scoring EX areas (lagging indicators) – which may require a ‘deeper dive’ (Source: Mehrotra & Garr 2021).
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Step #3: Prioritization & Action Planning
After you’ve identified the EX aspects that are ‘lagging’ behind, you can determine which of them to prioritize addressing. This decision is critical – since it will pinpoint where to channel time & resources to drive improvements to a specific EX aspect. A common approach is selecting 1-2 lower-scoring areas that have a strong correlation with the ‘key index' (question set) – since any actions taken to address these areas would have a sizeable impact on the index (Source: Scribbr 2021). And once these focus areas have been selected, your team can design & deploy targeted action plans to address them. It’s recommended to implement no more than 2 action plans simultaneously, so you can effectively measure their isolated EX impact.
Step #4: Monitoring
The final step in this recommended approach is monitoring for progress. After your action plans have been implemented & running for a few months, you can “implement mechanisms…[to] measure the impact…on the overall EX” (Source: Clark 2023b). This could be done via the same data collection methods used in Step #1 (e.g., surveys, focus groups, interviews). Whichever method you select, be sure to include the same ‘key question set’ within – so you can compare the scores in both rounds accordingly. This will help you identify how much you ‘moved the needle’ in enhancing that EX aspect.
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Conclusion
Moreover, a company’s EX can have a long-term impact on a company’s bottom line. It can help bolster or negate a company’s employer branding, which can have a downstream impact on revenue generation & cost reduction. So it’s important for companies to prioritize a structured, data-driven approach to EX enhancements. Since each company faces different stakeholder challenges, a ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ will not always work. So it’s critical for business leaders to formulate their EX strategies based on stakeholder data. Failure to do so could fall short of resolving any EX issues that are impacting a company’s bottom line.