Why digital employee experience matters for engagement

Forrester, the global market research company, defines digital employee experience (DEX) as:

The sum of all the perceptions that employees have about working with the technology they use to complete their daily work and manage their relationship with their employer across the lifecycle of their employment.

Put simply, DEX is about how happy employees are with their day-to-day digital interactions. That could encompass anything from email sign-ons, requesting holidays, or attending a virtual all-hands call. Generally, DEX looks very different depending on your industry and the nature of your work. 

While office workers juggling ‘the new normal’ of hybrid working have to contend with asynchronous catch-ups and organizing meetings across five time zones, frontline workers, such as warehouse staff or healthcare workers need to be able to access rotas on the go and reach a manager quickly if there’s any issues. 

Despite all this, 52% of employees believe that software related to their employee experience is dated and difficult to use, while a study by G2 found that 24% of employees have considered leaving their job because the apps and software they use are not a good match for their needs.

This is a disaster waiting to happen for many employers. Disengagement and the phenomenon of ‘quiet quitting’ is already a major concern, not to mention an expensive problem. 

As we enter the age of mass digitalization, modern workplaces must have a strategy for their DEX in place, or risk losing their talent to competitors with better digital solutions. 

Understanding a problem is half the battle, so in this article, let us walk you through some of the digital employee experience basics, such as how digitalization actually impacts employee experience, and the overall benefits of a digital workplace.

It might feel like ‘experience’ as a concept is having a moment, but the shift toward experience-led improvements across all kinds of disciplines has been happening for years. With so much competition about, it’s no wonder. At the end of the day, the target audience is likely humans - whether they’re customers, candidates, or kids - and humans simply respond better to things that are easy, frictionless, and convenient.

You might think that the above employee experience sounds far too streamlined and sophisticated for any company to deliver to its employees, but I’d urge you to think again. A study by Salesforce found that 71% of employees want the same digital experience at work as they have in their personal lives, yet 67% of employees report that their digital experience outside work is better than inside it. There’s clearly a gap here that needs addressing. 

The most important thing to understand about digital employee experience is how it impacts employee satisfaction and engagement. As we’ve already illustrated, disengaged employees are a global issue affecting almost every industry worldwide. Therefore, priority one on any company’s HR agenda should be how to improve overall employee satisfaction. Digital experience is one key way to achieve this, as a good DEX strategy can improve communication, reduce friction, and ultimately give employees more autonomy and control.

At a glance, there are myriad benefits for companies that prioritize DEX.

• Increased employee satisfaction: keep employees engaged by encouraging collaboration.
• Improve onboarding: get new employees involved early on to increase the feeling of belonging.
• Boost retention: reduce employee turnover and attract top talent by illustrating you are a modern workplace.
• Enhance agility: with digital solutions, you can respond quickly to changing business needs. 

Foster positive work culture: a focus on employee connectedness and well-being through DEX translates into better engagement.

Now that we’ve run through what DEX actually is and how it can benefit your business, let’s explore the six key factors that contribute towards a positive employee experience overall.

While understanding a problem might be half the battle, an important element of this is to consider exactly who and what can impact DEX. 

• Management buy-in - you need support from senior leadership for DEX initiatives to succeed.
• Target audience - ultimately, you want to improve the work lives of your employees, so try to understand their needs and ask for their preferences and feedback.
• User-friendliness - any new tools should be quick and easy for employees to pick up, not increase frustrations and complexity. 

The second factor outlined above illustrating the need to consider what your employees actually want and need leads us to another very important element of any digital employee experience - feedback. Not only does employee feedback play a pivotal role in shaping your DEX initiatives in the first place as they can offer their specific pain points and insights, but the opportunity to provide feedback in general is key to employee engagement. 

By choosing a digital communication solution that has an integrated feedback system, your employees will feel a greater sense of autonomy and ownership, ultimately positively feeding back into how engaged they feel. This isn’t just a win for employee experience, but for your business too. Your employees, especially frontline workers, are in the weeds of the work every day and can highlight issues that might be impossible for management to spot. 

By seeing their suggestions and feedback in action, employees feel more engaged and have a greater overall sense of belonging at the company - which is great news for retention.

They say a bad workman blames his tools, but if you choose the right tools for your business from the offset, you’ll only be reaping the rewards of increased employee engagement and satisfaction.

There are many different tools on the market that can positively impact your digital employee experience, and what you ultimately choose will depend on the unique needs and requirements of your workforce. Broadly speaking, these tools focus on communication, collaboration, employee feedback, performance management, learning and development, and more. 

Slack and Microsoft Teams are popular instant messaging tools that enable file sharing and integration. Leapsome is an HR tool that facilitates employee feedback and helps with performance management. SharePoint is a Microsoft tool for storing, organizing, and sharing files. Coursera and Udemy for Business are learning platforms that give your employees access to digital training. 

Then you have an employee app like Flip, which integrates all the functionalities of the previously mentioned tools (and more!). With Flip you can:

• Communicate: via an instant messenger-style tool with an in-built language translation feature, which is especially beneficial for global teams. 
• Integrate: shift planning, time-tracking, holiday requests, and more, in a very user-friendly way.
• Engage: feedback surveys, opportunities to interact, and a digital ‘suggestion box’ helps keep employees engaged.
• Knowledge-center: with file storage and e-learning, your employees have all the resources they need with just a few clicks. 

The best bit? Flip can be used on any device, including personal smartphones, making it perfect for your frontline workers out and about. 

Don’t just take our word for it. The best advocates for Flip’s employee app are our customers! 

If your business is struggling with disengaged employees and poor communication, it’s time to consider your digital employee experience strategy. By bringing your tools into the modern age and choosing a solution that mimics popular social media apps that your employees already use in their private lives, you can increase employee satisfaction and autonomy, leading to higher retention rates.

Don’t forget to involve your workers from the get-go! Listen to their needs and pain points to determine the best strategy for your business, and make sure they’re part of the feedback process every step of the way. 

Re-engaging demotivated employees is a major challenge, but with the right DEX strategy in place, you can reverse this trend and foster a new, modern, and positive workplace culture.