A first look through the EX Lens – a powerful new tool for employee experience practitioners

Our latest free EX Space webinar took place last week and showcased the new EX Lens model, a powerful thinking and planning tool for employee experience and engagement practitioners.

The new model is an evolution of the MAGIC-CA framework, developed by Emma Bridger and originally featured in Emma and Belinda’s book,?EX by Design, it was developed to help practitioners think about, plan and design great experiences.

The biggest difference between MAGIC-CA and the EX Lens is the addition of two new universal themes,?trust?and?belonging. These have emerged from further research and analysis conducted since the COVID pandemic.

If you missed the webinar,?you can catch up here. In it we explain the thinking behind the model and walk through the three ‘zones’ and nine universal themes which are at its heart:

These nine themes, identified from a wealth of research conducted by People Lab over more than a decade, are the raw ingredients of great employee experiences.

The organisation creates the context within which great employee experiences take place.

Without?trust?– being trusted and trusting those around you – there can be no positive employee experience.?Personal?growth?is something we all pursue – an innate human need – and organisations need to provide growth opportunities for their people.?Similarly, we’re hardwired to search for meaning in our lives, and?meaning?in this context, links to an organisation’s vision or purpose.

The nature of the work itself is another key component of great EX.

Having a positive?impact?was a recurring theme in the Best Experience stories that informed this model – people need to know that they’re making a difference and that their actions matter.?Being?challenged?at work is also vital, provided that challenge comes with support. And?autonomy?– being able to control and direct our own work – is very closely linked with great experiences.

…And the people themselves are, of course, key.

Social?connections?inside and outside the organisation are vital. Receiving support from colleagues, enjoying collective experiences and having friends at work are all hugely important from an EX perspective. This is closely linked to?belonging?– feeling part of ‘the tribe’ is closely associated with wellbeing too. And?appreciation?– feeling a sense of gratitude from others and demonstrating your appreciation to others – releases positive emotions and is good for everyone.

These nine universal themes capture part of the EX story, but ultimately we are all different and so understanding individual needs, motivations and preferences is just as critical for designing best experiences. That’s why the EX Lens places the employee at the very centre.

The accompanying white paper provides a more in depth overview –?you can download a copy here.

Alongside the model, we have also built a powerful diagnostic tool which enables you to measure your performance against each of the universal themes. The measures included are adapted from a range of reliable and valid psychometric scales, which are already in use and established. We developed a prototype and tested this with a number of clients, receiving great feedback regarding the simple practicality of the tool, giving practitioners the ability to track and monitor their EX progress for the first time.

This new tool will be available exclusively for members of The EX Space, which will launch early July, so?make sure you sign-up?to get access to The EX Lens diagnostic and start benchmarking your practice today.