Employee Experience: The rising trend in 2021
The year 2020, has been by far the most unpredictable year in the recent history. A silver lining to the strangest year is — the rise in the importance and acceptance of Employee Experience.
“Over the past year, no area has undergone more rapid transformation than the way we work. Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly — inclusive of collaboration, learning and wellbeing…”
said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as the Seattle-based tech giant unveiled its work trends report.
With half the world working from remote places, the digital has taken over all our lives. Digital exhaustion, Zoom burnouts have become real threats. For the people used to team huddles and brainstorm sessions, water cooler/ chai-time talks, remote work has definitely proved to be more challenging. Increasing the risks of working in silos. A current poll taken on LinkedIn by a leading technology company revealed that maximum number of people are preferring a hybrid model of work.
If Hybrid work is the future, we need policies, solutions and environment that will nurture the trend and help with productivity.
Employee Experience is a collective result of HR efforts, processes and tools to enhance productivity of the employees, and systems for effective collaboration, etc. Some of the important aspects of employee experience are:
- Connections & Communication
- Individual Empowerment
- Personal to Organizational Growth
- Focused intent and Purpose in every action
All of these measures when taken through the three levels — individual, team and organization, have the potential to make the Big Impact.
Eventually it all comes down to three key aspects, really — productivity, communication, and growth.
With this framework, companies are getting ready to support and empower their employees to lead organisations to be the future leaders. Companies like Google, are taking path-breaking decisions, practicing empathy, and providing better solutions as business leaders.
Empathy is the skill of the future
Empathy is a major skill required by leaders of all departments to nurture a innovation and growth mindset in their teams. Transformations do not necessarily start at the top. Middle managers and motivated teams can make significant change when they have the right mindset. These teams are essential in building resilience in any organization. When we experience a big change, we require a support system to help us make it to the other side. The importance of employee experience will be felt in all organizations on a larger scale.
