The EX

The future of every workplace is the employee experience factor (EX).

2018 was deemed the year of “Employee Experience”.

It is the journey an employee takes with an organisation. It includes everything from major milestones and personal relationships to technology use and the physical work environment. It ties together all of your efforts to attract, engage and develop your employees.

Why is EX so important?

81% of employees would consider leaving their job role if the right offer came along.

14% of HR leaders say lack of executive support is an obstacle in creating engagement among employees.

Emotionally invested employees are 3 times more likely to leave a positive impact.

In respect to co-working spaces since they 1st appeared in 2005, over 14,000 have opened up now across the globe.

Co-working spaces give most members a sense of professionalism and credibility that traditional working environment can’t offer. 

Today’s spaces can help impact people’s personalities taking into account the amenities, branding, aesthetics, and unique cultures created from diverse people and companies working together under one roof.

Studies have shown that workers benefit from co-working spaces more than traditional offices.

When a company’s employee experience is effective it leads to a streamlined workflow, accelerated tasks and intuitive employees.

Co-working companies can learn from global leading organisations on best practices they follow to create highly experience centric environments built around individual needs and preferences.

We can take a few pointers from the globe’s leading forces!

Google has been one of the 1st to see the need for employees to have flexible work schedules which leads to a better creative process and a higher level of productivity.

They have always been generous with perks as it increases employee happiness.

Google’s culture has been successful as they follow the concept of radical candor.

Microsoft who follows the culture of “Come as you are, do what you love”. Imposter syndrome elimination has been cleared at Microsoft as they recognise employees as different individuals and not as clusters. They also have a wellbeing centre onsite with a gym, doctor and cognitive therapy; this has resulted in lesser sick days and higher levels of productivity.

Salesforce believes the way we work is changing and the traditional mandate of HR is just not cutting it anymore. The demand for a more consumer like experience at work is rising. Salesforce has 4 ways employees can contribute by keeping in mind the following “I’m empowered to make decisions/ I’m recognised for my efforts and recognise others for their efforts/ I have growth potential in my role/ Knowing that what I do contributes to the success of the company”.

Morgan Stanley follows a global strategy but local values. They aim to build a rulebook of sorts that can be the source for workplaces from New York to Mumbai.

Uber follows the survey method in EX by asking a broad range of questions. They ask their employees for opinions no matter how hard they may be to hear

Accenture is recognising that the employee experience is the new battleground for competitive advantage. “Moments that Matter” don’t just mean career milestones anymore. People now experience moments on a continual basis, across physical, human and digital dimensions which is a holistic view of the employee’s needs and preferences.

Air BNB is a truly strong employee experience company. It is driven from the top and starts with the passions and mission of the leadership team. They have set the culture and purpose, which is then fed into all other aspects of the experience such as the work place environment. The key is to keep in mind that the evolution of EX is in adjusting to meet the needs of the employees as situations change. Air BNB believes in their EX to the point where they got rid of their HR department completely.

Stripe fin tech is formalising the remote engineering hub by expanding their scope to hire which in turn will improve the experience of being a remote employee.

In conclusion the future of work – workspace built around experience to create professional moments that matter and keeping in mind the personal moments that matter which leads to a stronger workforce engagement and gives you heightened productivity.