The function of human resources (HR) has been evolving (And it will continue to) significantly. Instead of focusing on personnel management and administrative tasks, it is shifting towards employee engagement and strengthening culture.

What company wouldn’t like to exceed its business targets? Or wouldn’t like to create or work in an organization where everything gets done with the least amount of friction?

Humans are imperfect, inconsistent, and most importantly emotional. Highly engaged, passionate and driven people can take your organization to new heights and business results beyond targets. Elevating the human experience at work component in your organization will reap productivity benefits that go beyond metrics and spur innovation and leadership cycles that will propel your organization higher and further.

In the old days, we used to talk about keeping employees happy, paying a way a fair wage, and making sure our benefits were competitive. Today, however, the nature of work is changing rapidly, and workers have so many options, we must think differently. The challenge today is not just giving employees lots of perks and programs, it is a problem of designing and entire work environment that delivers productivity, support, and growth. And each role is different, so we have to design an experience that is relevant to each job.

Technology plays a supporting role, and although many believe employee experience can be “bought” from a vendor, that is a fallacy. The design must include a sober look at leadership, rewards, diversity, growth, and the lived experiences of people.

Think about the employee experience over the last 3,000 years. History tells us it was harsh, usually brutal. It was tedious. Workers, including children, were often exploited or far worse. Conditions could be unbearable, with few if any safety precautions. People were often unappropriated for their efforts. It was called work for a reason.

It is different now! Historically, we have thought about labor markets from a supply-demand perspective. Companies managed employees as assets. Even a lot use to refer about its employees as they main asset! In a scarce labor market, when number of jobs exceeds the number of qualified candidates, employees have the power. We are beginning to see a complex shift, brought on by changing global demographics, new economic norms and regulations, and advanced technologies. People are reevaluating the purpose of work and demanding a new set of rules. Employees are struggling to keep up.

Nowadays, candidates see career development and talent mobility as a must. And we are witnessing many dramatic facts at once:

• New technologies and ever-increasing speed, power, and assimilation of automation; including robotics and artificial intelligence, which creates new jobs while hastening the extinction of others.
• Greater access to information at a global scale.
• Growing disconnect between education and labor markets.
• The greatest public health crisis in a century and the ensuing economic fallout from the pandemic, including significant job loss and small business closures.
• Widespread protests over racial and economic issues, leading to greater awareness and action about social justice.
• Extreme political polarization and paralysis.

We find ourselves at an overwhelming, pivotal moment for business, for organizations, and for society.

What will the near future look like for the global economy and labor markets? What will it look like for individual industries? For the way we work?  There is so much we do not know, but the winner of tomorrow will almost certainly be those best prepared for it. As Peter Drucker liked to say: “The best way to predict the future is to create it”.

Research highlights some of the most important trends:

• Everyone will be on the move like never before. The average amount of time that a technical skill remains relevant is approximately 5 years.
• Flexible work arrangements will be a must. The pandemic supercharged this.
• People are fearful and unsure. Slightly more than half of employees fear that their job will eventually be lost to automation.
• People are overwhelmed. The amount of new information produced in the world continues to double every 18 months. So many of us are suffering from “information anxiety”, the fear that systems we rely on are fast outstripping our ability to comprehend and manage them.
• Business leaders and Human Resource function are overwhelmed. How will companies know which mix of skills they need?
• Schools are overwhelmed. From universities to coding academies, there is similar uncertainty about what to offer, even when there is a strong desire to teach to near-term market demands.
• Parents are overwhelmed. Whether it is the need for childcare or their kids falling behind in competing in the global economy, parents feel fear and uncertainty about what may lie ahead.

For as long as there has been business, there has been a focus on growing revenue, capitalizing on new markets and customers, and innovating faster that competitors. Finding high-performing, highly skilled employees was up there, too. But truly engaging employees, helping people to have a work experience that fulfills them, was not. Now it is!

Employee experience should be at the top of the priorities. It is the dimension by which all other business objectives will be met. If businesses do not elevate its importance in today’s world, they will not be able to create a sustainable business able to compete nor to thrive.

What do employees want:

1. To find meaning in their work.
2. To have some say over how, when, and where they work.
3. To feel part of a community, even if they are remote, freelance, or part-time; to be part of a diverse community.
4. To be acknowledged for their contributions, in multiple forms, on regular basis.

Is it employee experience something relevant in your organization?

Is it for you?

Do you know where you are as a company regarding employee experience?

Do you know how to start?

Do you know how to connect the dots with the experience you deliver to your customers?

We are here to help!

Contact us for a Dogma C3X free trial!

Dogma C3X is an Intelligent Business Consulting Platform inspired by the 3Cs industry model, which offers a strategic look at the pillars that every company needs for success: Customers – Company – Competitors. "Intelligent" because by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) it can collect, process, and analyze the growing tsunami of data (structured and unstructured) related to the 3Cs, which is incredibly valuable. Only by strengthening, positioning, and integrating these three pillars (Customers - Company - Competitors) you will be able to build a sustainable competitive advantage.