connecting workforce experience with organization goals and … · 2020. 10. 2. · narrow...

Connecting Workforce Experiencewith Organization Goals and theHumanity of Workers

Overview

C-suite leaders play an essential role in elevating the performance andproductivity of the entire workforce. Their attention to a compelling workforce

experience (WX) enables organizations to navigate the ever-evolving compositionof the workforce, respond to the changing needs and preferences of workers, andexploit the potential of new technologies that promise to reinvent work itself. Atthe same time, leaders should foster a robust and vibrant connection betweenthe goals and values of the organization and the day-to-day work that impactsindividuals on a human level.

In this article, we offer the C-suite a high-level overview of our High-ImpactWorkforce Experience research findings to date and summarize the characteristicsthat define workforce experience maturity.

In This ArticleHow workforce experience can drive business resultsaKey factors in workforce experience maturityaActions C-suite executives can take to capture the rewards of workforce maturitya

Copyright © 2020 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.Not for distribution. Licensed material.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

Christina Rasieleski, Manager & Lead Advisor, Workforce Experience & RewardsDeloitte Consulting LLP

Matthew Deruntz, Senior Research AnalystDeloitte Consulting LLP

Copyright © 2020 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. Licensed material.

Connecting Workforce Experience with Organization Goals and the Humanity of Workers

Workforce Experience Maturity Can ImproveResults and Competitive PositioningLeaders often face a host of urgent—and sometimes conflicting—priorities. Why, then, should they add to their plates the challenge ofcreating and nurturing workforce experience? Our High-Impact WorkforceExperience research reveals two compelling reasons.

Workforce experience maturity is positively correlated with above-1.average organizational performance. As illustrated below, it isassociated with better business outcomes, such as hitting financialtargets, process efficiency, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

2



Workforce experience maturity is associated with better people2.outcomes, including an enhanced reputation for employee growthand development, trustworthy leadership, and talent management.In low-performing organizations, the Net Promoter Score (NPS®)1 ofWX is a dismal –39, while it is +42 in high-performingorganizations—an 81-point gap!2 In the age of rankingorganizational experience on social media, a good workforceexperience can positively impact an organization’s employmentbrand.

Despite the common sentiment among organizations that more attentionshould be paid to workforce experience, only 1 in 10 organizations haveattained the highest level of maturity in workforce experience3 (see Figure1). While many leaders remain focused on the narrow metric of employeeengagement, the leaders of these high-performing organizations havebroadened their focus to include workforce experience. They havereached beyond extrinsic perks to provide people with greater control overtheir work; to lower the barriers that hinder workforce performance; andto check that values such as trust, respect, and dignity are built into day-to-day work. These practices, not perks like free food and ping-pong tables,can provide organizations with a sustainable competitive advantage thatenhances a deeper connection with the organization at the individual leveland improves business and talent outcomes. WX isn’t soft, fluffy stuff. It’sabout making every worker a driver of change and a builder of productivity.

Source: Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.

3

KEY POINT: In low-performing organizations,the Net Promoter Score(NPS®) of WX is a dismal –39, while it is +42 inhigh-performingorganizations—an 81-pointgap!

KEY POINT: WX isn’t soft,fluffy stuff. It’s about makingevery worker a driver ofchange and a builder ofproductivity.



Key MessagesMany organizations have become fixated on employee engagementmetrics as the best way to understand the experience of work. But thisnarrow measurement reflects neither the organization’s need to embedits goals in day-to-day work nor the worker’s intrinsic need for productive,meaningful work. Our High-Impact Workforce Experience research revealsthe following three insights to explain how leaders seek to fulfill both needswith a compelling workforce experience.

Intentional workforce experience requires a new frame of1.reference. To create and deliver a workforce experience that iscapable of driving results, leaders need a more expansive frame ofreference than employee engagement. Instead, leaders should havea more comprehensive view of WX that includes all of theconnections between individuals and their colleagues, leaders, andemployer—encompassing personal, physical, digital, andorganizational elements. They should adopt a more inclusivedefinition of workers that takes into account every on- and off-payroll worker: full- and part-time employees, contractors,consultants, gig workers, and crowd-sourced talent.Our research shows the leaders of high-performing organizations seeworkforce experience as a means of fulfilling the promises embeddedin their missions, vision, and values as well as achieving their goals.They help drive individual performance and organizational results bymaking workers the central element and rightful focus of WX andimbuing work with meaning and purpose.High-performing organizations incorporate direct worker2.input and a customer mindset into workforce experiencedesign. The leaders of these organizations are accountable formaking sure that all the dimensions of WX are considered andmanaged in the design of work and workplaces. They enhance

Figure 1: The Workforce Experience Maturity Model

* Note: White circles indicate the percentage of surveyed organizations in each maturity level.

Source: Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.

4

KEY POINT: The leaders ofhigh-performingorganizations help driveindividual performance andorganizational results bymaking workers the centralelement and rightful focusof workforce experienceand imbuing work withmeaning and purpose.



workforce experience by creating dynamic experiences—not rigidprocesses.High-performing organizations use customer-facing insights to informthe design of the workforce experience, and they include workers intheir WX design efforts. By understanding and empathizing withworkers, leaders can create a dynamic and agile workforce experience.Humanistic leadership and cocreative technology can deliver3.a compelling workforce experience design. Leaders in high-performing organizations are accountable for WX. They lead withhumanistic values, actively supporting an organizational culture oftrust, inclusion, and accountability, which is important in thriving inan environment of disruptive and rapid change.When strategically applied, technology enables collaboration andboosts productivity, ultimately enhancing workforce experience.Leaders of high-performing organizations work so that technologysupports productivity and fosters collaboration—bringing peopletogether to not only meet their goals but also to better servecustomers.

Case in Point: Amazon Applies a Customer-Focused Mentality to Enhance WorkforceExperience

Challenge. Online retailing giant Amazon is well-known for its customerobsession—an intense focus on customer over competitor.4 Butmaintaining and encouraging that focus throughout a workforce of647,5005 can be a challenge. Moreover, the company is growing rapidlyacross a diverse set of new and established businesses. To stay agile andresponsive to employee and customer needs, Amazon must avoidobstacles that can bog down and create misunderstanding of HRprocesses.

Solution. To stay agile in meeting worker needs, HR aligned the Amazonleadership principle of customer obsession with HR practices and placedthe voice of the customer as a central tenet of its role within theorganization. This meant transferring the customer mindset ontoAmazon’s own workers through customer-first values and bringing theexternal customer experience in-house.

Amazon HR aims to create frustration-free experiences for all workers, soany problem related to an HR system or process that distracts individualsfrom their work is seen as a defect and an opportunity for improvement.When a ticket is issued, HR uses these contact points to determinewhether a problem is the result of internal process flaws or workermisinterpretation. From payroll deductions to exit processes, disruptiveissues to workforce experience are treated with the same attention ascustomer resolution.

During a recent HR model shift that would impact both workers andcustomers, the organization targeted interactions between HR andoperations employees, building communication to help workers

5

KEY POINT: High-performing organizationsuse customer-facinginsights to inform thedesign of the workforceexperience, and theyinclude workers in their WXdesign efforts.

(cont’d on next page)



Call to ActionOur High-Impact Workforce Experience research and maturity modelprovide organizations with the parameters needed to help define theirown approach to designing a workforce experience capable of drivingimproved business and workforce outcomes. Senior leaders who want toguide and support their organizations on the journey to a compelling WXcan take the following steps.

1. Approach workforce experience with intent and purpose.Reframe definitions and perspectives to establish a broader, moreinclusive view of WX that can link the needs of the organization to theneeds of workers.

Identify and articulate the role of WX within the organizational•strategy and its connection to the goals and values of theorganization.Establish a senior-level team of cross-functional leaders to govern•the organization’s approach to WX. High-level team members signalthe importance of WX, and a cross-functional team will bring diverseperspectives to WX and minimize knowledge gaps.Charge leaders throughout the organization with modeling•behaviors that support WX. Provide them with the skills they need tobehave in ways that communicate dignity, respect, openness, andtrust.

2. Involve workers in the WX effort and the design of work itself.Give worker input and participation an increasingly prominent role in thedesign of WX and work.

Case in Point: Amazon Applies a Customer-Focused Mentality to Enhance Workforce Experience (cont’d)

understand the impact of these changes. The functions worked togetherto define a listening strategy and incorporate perceptions of change fromworkers into the end product. To reinforce the impact of changes onworkers and customers alike, Amazon formed a centralized resource ofvirtual stakeholders and a dedicated listening channel to serve thelocations affected by the change in strategy.

Results. Internally applying the organizational values of customerobsession within HR, Amazon creates solutions that better servecustomers and enhance the workforce experience simultaneously.Fostering roots of customer obsession in issue resolution leads to growthin data collection of potential red-flag issues and a deeper understandingof how to reduce day-to-day employee frustration. By emphasizing internalawareness through communication campaigns, Amazon actively lives outthe principles of the organization, heads off potential customer issues,and approaches improvements to workforce experience in a customer-centric manner.

6

KEY POINT: High-level teammembers signal theimportance of WX, and across-functional team willbring diverse perspectivesto WX and minimizeknowledge gaps.



Assess the degree of worker involvement in organizational initiatives•and talent approaches, and raise it wherever possible.Identify rules, roles, and restrictions that hamper efforts to make•work systems and processes more efficient, transparent, andproductive. Understand their purpose, and eliminate the obstaclesthey create.Use working groups and design thinking mechanisms to help•leaders fully understand, empathize with, and act on the needs ofworkers.

3. Assess the purpose, role, and strategy of technology andcollaboration within the organization. Establish a collaborative culturethat recognizes and enables productivity by extending open access to toolsand resources for all workers.

Evaluate the degree and role of collaboration in the organizational•culture, and identify tools to enhance it.Empower workers to communicate and innovate with proven•cocreative technologies.Encourage leaders to hold 1:1 meetings focused on getting work•done (versus scheduled check-ins and meetings dedicated toperformance management activities).

4. Recognize the individual and human needs and expectations ofall workers. The most compelling experiences are the ones that makepeople feel personally successful and allow them to see themselves ascontributors to organizational goals.

Make sure the organization’s values include humanistic elements—•specifically respect, dignity, and inclusion.Adopt and model a “whole self” philosophy that allows and•encourages workers to be authentic without fear of repercussion.Charge HR with weaving the needs and expectations of workers•together with organizational goals and values to create a seamlessemployee lifecycle.

7

KEY POINT: The mostcompelling experiences arethe ones that make peoplefeel personally successfuland allow them to seethemselves as contributorsto organizational goals.



Key TakeawaysAWorkforce experience includes all of the connections•between individuals and their colleagues, leaders, andemployer—encompassing personal, physical, digital, andorganizational elements.To give work purpose and meaning, workforce experience•should be inextricably linked to the values and goals of theorganization as well as to the needs of the the organization’sworkers.A compelling workforce experience embeds humanistic•values—such as purpose, dignity, and inclusivity—in day-to-day work.Trust is essential to the leader-worker relationship, and if it is•broken—or never exists—the workforce experience willsuffer.High-performing organizations enlist the workforce in the•design of work and workplaces. High-performing organizations use productivity as the litmus•test for making decisions about technology—the emphasisfor the use of tools is simply to get work done.

8



EndnotesThe “Net Promoter Score” (NPS®) is based on the fundamental perspective that every company’s customers can be divided into three1.categories: promoters, passives and detractors. Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS and the NPS-relatedemoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.High-Impact Workforce Experience research, Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.2.High-Impact Workforce Experience research, Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.3.“Leadership Principles,“ AmazonJobs.com / Amazon, 2019, https://www.amazon.jobs/en/principles.4.“Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Sales up 20% to $72.4 Billion,” AboutAmazon.com / Amazon, January 31, 2019,5.https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazoncom-announces-fourth-quarter-sales-20-724-billion.

9

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/principles

https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazoncom-announces-fourth-quarter-sales-20-724-billion

For more information about our membership program, please visit us at https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/human-capital/solutions/hr-membership-organization.html.As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detaileddescription of our legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment,legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used asa basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, youshould consult a qualified professional advisor. Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.

Copyright © 2020 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

Publication Date: August 1, 2019

connecting workforce experience with organization goals and … · 2020. 10. 2. · narrow...

Documents