Employee experience leads to success, say human resources professionals

Eight in ten organisations believe that creating a positive employee experience directly relates to commercial success, yet two out of three are unclear on how to deliver it, a new report has revealed.

The 2019 Global Employee eXperience Report, conducted by human resources advisory firm Kincentric, found that, whilst 79 per cent of human resources professionals believe that employee experience has a positive business impact, only 42 per cent are effective at connecting employee experience to business strategy.

Similarly, while more than nine in ten organisations say investing time and energy into improving their employee experience is important, just half that number are currently working to improve the experience across key stages in the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, recognition and exit.

Fewer than one third of organisations say they take a deliberate approach to strategy, measurement and delivery of their employee experience. However, 84 per cent of organisations determined by the report to be ‘eXtraordinary’ in terms of strategy, measurement and delivery, have identified the employee experiences that matter most to their business strategy. Nearly three quarters are also clear on the governance, roles and decisions necessary to deliver that experience.

Jenny Merry, market leader for UK at Kincentric, said: ‘Companies are generally ready to invest significant amounts of time and budget in developing and implementing their customer experience strategies, yet are falling short when it comes to doing the same for their teams. By understanding and responding to the moments that matter to individual employees, such as their first day in the job or their first day back from parental leave, organisations can really create an engaged and productive workforce.’