As more organisations accept that employee experience (EX) can directly affect their performance and, therefore, the company’s performance, measuring EX has become a critical element in the quest for competitive advantage. However, as employees’ needs and preferred work styles are constantly evolving, measuring their experience becomes more complex.
Closer to home, an AON report found that employee engagement in the Asia-Pacific region has rebounded in 2017 to 65% from 62% in 2016, which puts it in line with the global average. Organisations recognise the importance of employee engagement and are dedicating more resources to its employees and this has been evidenced by the increased engagement in countries such as Indonesia (increase by 15%), the Philippines (6%) and Malaysia (4%). To stay ahead and remain competitive, organisations need to tap into the full spectrum of experiences across the employment lifecycle, according to Qualtrics. In fact, increased employee engagement leads to organisations finding it easier to deliver the innovation, agility and performance that they require to succeed in the digital age.
Steve Bennetts, Subject Matter Expert, Employee Experience, Qualtrics, said, “To gather a holistic view of the experiences and interactions employees have at various stages of the employee lifecycle, businesses need to collect information across numerous touchpoints, including onboarding feedback, and employee pulse and engagement surveys. Organisations should also measure sentiment at key points such as post-parental leave or when relocating to another country. “For this data to have a measurable impact on performance, business leaders need to see the data, understand the insights it delivers, and include it in the decision-making process.”
Qualtrics has identified four key ways businesses can choose the appropriate EX feedback system for their organizations to gather this data:
1. Leverage what is already in place
Organisations that are already gathering some type of employee feedback may not need to implement any new solutions. However, if they have more than one method of gathering feedback, they need to combine all data onto a single platform. By integrating the data, organisations will be able to get a clearer picture of the EX across the board, and how it relates to external events and drivers.
2. Find the purpose
Many managers know they want to gather feedback on a particular aspect of the EX but simply don’t know where to start. In most cases, the best place to start is by defining the purpose of the data and how it will be used. Then, managers can decide what questions to ask to elicit the type of feedback they’re looking for. Finally, decision-makers can choose the most appropriate feedback system based on these needs.
3. Identify the audience
Business leaders need to identify who in the organisation needs to see the collated information, and when. For example, if the business is gathering feedback that will help form the organisation’s overall strategic direction, then it’s essential for the senior leadership team to see the feedback, which may be gathered annually. If the business is looking to improve employees’ day-to-day experience and identify, for example, what tools they may need to do their jobs better, that feedback may be gathered quarterly so line managers and supervisors can take action sooner.
4. Consider the organisation’s maturity
An organisation that hasn’t yet started to gather employee feedback and act on it is unlikely to have the required maturity level to successfully execute a major feedback project. Doing so requires that employees trust the business to gather the feedback responsibly and maintain anonymity where appropriate. They also need to know that the business will act appropriately based on the insights delivered by the feedback, and that managers are eager to receive feedback to improve their performance.
If a business hasn’t demonstrated these maturity indicators, then employees may feel wary of a feedback program and be unwilling to share their opinions openly and honestly.
From a technical perspective, if the business doesn’t already have the technical components in place to gather and analyse the feedback, then doing so will be problematic, time consuming, and error prone. The project is, therefore, unlikely to be successful.
Steve Bennetts said, “Employees want to offer feedback that aligns with their experience at that time and be able to complete feedback at anytime from anywhere. Organisations can facilitate this by building smart surveys, including keeping the tone conversational and, where possible, using comments as a follow-up based on responses. This will let them pinpoint positive or negative responses, automatically receiving much more accurate and quality data.
“Organisations also need to invest in survey design, including making the survey look and feel as good as possible as well as being mobile-friendly. “Decision-makers want to see automatically collated data and information on topics they didn’t know how to look for without having to go digging to find that information. They want clear analysis and insights presented in actionable ways. The right platform can deliver this.”
