Make it a Better Experience (The Irresistible Organization)

Josh Bersin describes an Irresistible Organization as “a place employees clamor to join and that rivals want to become.”

The Josh Bersin Company 's concept of an "Irresistible Organization" is a holistic approach to organizational design and management that emphasizes the importance of creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to do their best work.

Each of the six core tenets addresses a fundamental aspect of the employee experience:

1. Meaningful Work
2. Hands-on Management
3. Positive Workplace
4. Health & Wellbeing
5. Growth Opportunity
6. Trust in Leadership

Let's delve deeper into each of these six tenets of an 'irresistible organization' while also identifying how different companies have utilized one of fifteen (15) different Make it Toolkit strategies to deliver a better employee experience.

The Make it Toolkit was created by Massimo Ingegno and David McCann to educate and train teams and organizations on how to leverage applied behavioral science to experience design.

(1) Meaningful Work

Meaningful work – job values and fit; autonomy and agency; agile teams, supportive coworkers; and time to focus, innovate, and recover.

• Makeit Attractive: Steve Jobs, was known for his visionary leadership and his ability to inspire teams. By framing the work at Apple as not just about creating technology but about changing the way people live, work, and communicate, Jobs made the idea of working at Apple incredibly attractive and meaningful.

• Makeit Meaningful: Patagonia's mission statement is clear: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." This mission is the foundation of all company decisions and actions.

By having such a clear and purpose-driven mission, Patagonia ensures that every employee, regardless of their role, understands the broader impact and significance of their work.

The company's leaders and shareholders "wanted it to completely memorialize, in a really impenetrable way, the things they cared most about," - Hilary Dessouky, General Counsel

• Makeit Yours: Atlassian gives employees "Ship It Days", a 24-hour hackathon-style event, where Atlassian employees can drop their day-to-day tasks and work on any project they choose. By giving employees the freedom to choose their projects, Atlassian empowers them to take ownership of their ideas and innovations. This autonomy allows employees to work on projects they're passionate about, making the work deeply personal and meaningful.

• Makeit Immersive: Pixar Animation Studios open office environment is designed to foster collaboration and deep engagement.

The atrium, where employees from different departments inevitably cross paths, acts as a hub of activity, drawing employees into a shared space and immersing them in the company's collaborative culture.

"I've never seen a building that promoted collaboration and creativity as well as this one." - John Lasseter, former Chief Creative Officer

EX Study One: Six Retail Coffee Companies

Fascinated with the Irresistible Organization framework, earlier this year, I decided to perform an Emotional Analytics study leveraging it to benchmark six retail coffee brands (pre-pandemic and post-pandemic):

I utilized the emotional analytics platform Adoreboard to perform the study analyzing over ten thousand (10,000) Glassdoor reviews across two different time periods: pre-pandemic and post-pandemic. The analysis covered all thirty (30) dimensions of what it means to be an 'irresistible organization'. Click below to read the report!

Leading companies like Amazon, P&G, and Allstate use Adoreboard to analyze their unstructured text data and predict drivers of customer and employee satisfaction.

• Experience a 90% reduction in time spent analysing text data.
• Understand what’s driving your NPS,?eNPS and CSAT scores.
• Link CX and EX metrics to revenue and customer retention

To book a demo of the Adoreboard platform use this link: https://adoreboard.com/customercentric/

To learn more about this specific 'emotional analytics' study book a time to chat with me here: https://ChataboutCX.as.me/EmotionalAnalytics

(2) Hands-on Management

Hands-on management – clear goals with stretch opportunities; regular coaching and feedback; a focus on management development; and transparent, simple performance management

• Makeit Social: T-Mobile's leadership programs often emphasize collaborative learning. Instead of individual assignments, participants work on group projects that simulate real-world challenges the company might face.

Through mentorship, real-world projects, feedback, and structured learning, participants in T-Mobile's L2E Development Program are equipped to navigate the complexities of leadership and drive impactful outcomes for the company.

• Makeit Obvious: 英特尔 founder Andy Grove championed the principle of Management by Objectives (MBO), where clear objectives are set for each team member, and their performance is evaluated based on these objectives. This approach ensures that managers are hands-on in setting, monitoring, and reviewing goals.

In this book, Grove discusses the importance of different types of meetings (one-on-one, staff meetings, and operational reviews) as essential tools for hands-on management. One-on-ones, for instance, are crucial for addressing individual performance, providing coaching, and understanding team members' challenges.

• Makeit Timely: 埃森哲 replaced annual reviews with real-time feedback. The firm disbanded rankings and the once-a-year evaluation process to implement a more fluid system, in which employees receive timely feedback from their managers on an ongoing basis following each assignment or client project.

“Imagine, for a company of 330,000 people, changing the performance management process—it’s huge,” Nanterme said. “We’re going to get rid of probably 90 percent of what we did in the past.”

埃森哲 is joining a small but prominent list of major corporations that have had enough of the forced?rankings, the time-consuming paperwork and the frustration engendered among managers and employees alike.

• Makeit Empowering: Netflix 's management philosophy emphasizes freedom and responsibility. Rather than create a rule for every exception, Netflix believes in empowering employees to use their judgment. As an example, instead of having a detailed travel and expense policy, Netflix simply asks employees to act in the company's best interest.

(3) Positive Workplace

Positive workplace – tools, processes, and systems to get work done productively; appreciation, recognition, and rewards; flexible hours and workspace; and inclusive, diverse, and a sense of belonging and community.

• Makeit Attractive: Airbnb 's office spaces are inspired by actual Airbnb listings. For example, employees can choose to have meetings in exotic locations of Milan, Paris, or Bali. The meeting rooms are inspired by active Airbnb listings.

In addition, Airbnb employees have the freedom to work wherever they want. The workspace contains few fixed workspaces.

• Makeit Social: Zappos Family of Companies fosters team-building through company-wide events and parades. They are widely known for their fun, somewhat quirky culture as well as both the New Hire Parade (complete with costumes, music, and cheering colleagues) and Halloween Costume Parade (where departments compete for the best group costume).

• Makeit Tangible: Dropbox gives its employees a $7,000 USD Perks Allowance per employee per year can be used for a wide range of support the employee might need to do their?work?remotely.

The Dropbox Perks Allowance is a single allowance that allows Dropboxers to focus their perks on what really matters to them, whether that’s wellness, caregiver support, after-school services, pet training/insurance, productivity, ergonomics, learning, food services, or something else. Dropboxers can simply submit receipts to get reimbursed for eligible Perks Allowance items — no red tape included.

Makeit Yours: Slack allows teams to customize their channels, emojis, and integrations. By letting teams tailor their communication environment, Slack not only makes work more efficient but also more personal and fun.

"Custom Slack emoji brighten my workday!" - Shelby Brown, CNET editor

(4) Health and Wellbeing

Health and wellbeing – safety and security in all aspects of work; personal fitness, health, and physical wellbeing support; psychological and emotional wellbeing and support; and family and financial support.

Makeit Easy: 赛仕软件 Institute offers an on-site, full-service healthcare center for employees and their families, staffed by 55 people, including four physicians and 10 nurse practitioners. Charge for services: zero. Co-pay: zero.

“In an era of soaring health-care costs, it may seem unreal that SAS can offer health care free of charge to employees and their families and actually save money.” - authors Leonard L. Berry, Gale Adcock and Ann M. Mirabito

• Makeit Rewarding: Fitbit (now part of Google) not only promotes health and wellness to its consumers but also to its employees. Fitbit often organizes workplace challenges where teams or departments compete against each other to achieve certain health milestones, such as the highest average daily steps. Achieving milestones or winning challenges can lead to rewards or recognition within the company, further motivating employees to participate.
• Makeit Empowering: 微软 provides a variety of wellness programs to choose from.

Microsoft recognizes that well-being isn't just about physical health. Their wellness programs encompass physical, mental, emotional, and financial aspects, ensuring a comprehensive approach to employee health.

“Ten or 15 years ago, it would seem out of place to have managers coached on caring, but now it is expected,” Thiele said. “We have seen good results in getting managers to be empathetic.” - Fred Thiele

Makeit Aversive: 强生公司 runs campaigns highlighting the risks of neglecting health such as smoking cessation (highlighting the severe health risks associated with smoking, including lung cancer, heart disease, and premature death) and obesity or a sedentary lifestyle (increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems).

EX Study Two: Four Leading Homecare Companies

In a second employee experience-focused 'emotional analytics' study, I decided to benchmark four of the top ten homecare companies here in the United States recognizing recent trends related to the great resignation as well as the war for talent in the healthcare industry.

A DEFINITION: Emotional analytics is a field of study and technology development that focuses on detecting, understanding, and responding to human emotions (positive and negative). It can be applied to both the analysis of customer and/or employee experiences.

Click below to read the report!

Book a FREE Adoreboard demo and get three complimentary predictions around your data.

To learn more about this specific 'emotional analytics' study book a time to chat with me here: https://ChataboutCX.as.me/EmotionalAnalytics

(5) Growth Opportunity

Growth opportunity – open, facilitated job and role mobility; career growth in multiple paths; many forms of learning as needed; and a culture that supports learning.

• Makeit Timely: Deloitte Consulting established Deloitte University (DU) as a center for learning and leadership development. For instance, when an employee is promoted to a new role or takes on new responsibilities, they might attend relevant courses at DU to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge.

• Makeit Obvious: 亚马逊 prominently advertises the "Career Choice" program to its employees, ensuring that everyone is aware of the opportunity. The program focuses on specific job fields (defined pathways) that are in high demand, making it clear to employees what career paths they can pursue and what skills they need to develop.

In some locations, Amazon has built dedicated classrooms in its fulfillment centers, making it visually obvious and accessible for employees to participate in the program. The company pre-pays up to 95% of tuition and fees for courses in high-demand fields.

• Makeit Achievable: IBM offers digital badges based upon taking courses on the EdX platform which they can later share on LinkedIn to showcase their skillsets and expertise.

IBM skill badges are verifiable digital credentials that highlight the specific skills you’ve acquired in a course. Your skill badge is easily shared on your professional profiles and will be a great way to showcase your latest capabilities to your network. Also helpful for recruiters looking to find people with specific skill sets in targeted geographies.

• Makeit Intriguing: 谷歌 offers unexpected learning opportunities through its "Talks at Google" series where you can learn about almost anything your heart desires.

(6) Trust in Leadership

Trust in leadership – mission and purpose beyond financial goals; transparency, empathy, and integrity of leadership; continuous investment in people; and focus on society, environment, and community.

• Makeit Obvious: Southwest Airlines 's leadership, including its CEO, is known for being highly accessible to employees. They often participate in frontline tasks, such as helping with baggage or greeting passengers, especially during peak travel times. By visibly participating in ground-level tasks and being accessible, Southwest's leadership makes it obvious that they are connected to the company's core operations and value every role within the organization.

“When we interview, hire, and promote, we’re looking for People who are Servant Leaders—no matter what title or position they are going to hold, they have to want to serve. They need to have a Servant’s Heart—a passion for serving others.”?- Colleen Barrett

• Makeit Social: Salesforce encourages leaders to engage in open dialogues through its "V2MOM" process (Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, Measures).

Every division, every team, and every person uses one throughout the year to stay focused. There’s rarely any question about what was most important in my role. - Salesforce Employee

• Makeit Yours: Whole Foods Market encourages its employees to participate in community service days and local initiatives, allowing them to take ownership of the company's commitment to local communities and make it a personal mission.

• Makeit Meaningful: Ben & Jerry's connects leadership decisions to its mission of social justice. From its inception, Ben & Jerry's was built on values beyond just profit. The company's three-part mission emphasizes product quality, economic reward, and a commitment to the community.

Ben & Jerry's often releases ice cream flavors that highlight social justice issues or causes. Flavors like "Justice ReMix'd" or "Pecan Resist" were introduced to raise awareness about criminal justice reform and peaceful resistance, respectively. By connecting product launches to social causes, leadership decisions become meaningful representations of the company's commitment to social justice.

In Conclusion

An "Irresistible Organization" is one that not only meets the basic needs of its employees but goes above and beyond to ensure that they are engaged, fulfilled, and empowered in their roles. Such organizations are likely to attract and retain top talent, leading to sustained success in the long run.

The Make it Toolkit was designed to help teams and organizations ideate, conceptualize, and design better experiences by tapping into behavioral insights, intrinsic motivations, and the broader dynamics of organizational culture.

By applying these makeit strategies and tactics, organizations can create an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and genuinely committed to the company's mission and values.

If you wish to learn more about how you might leverage the Make it Toolkit to improve overall Employee Experience reach out and talk with us: