U.S. companies ramp up employee experience — SHRM survey

VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES — Companies in the United States are increasingly focused on measuring and improving the employee experience, according to new research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). 

The study, titled The Case for Employee Experience, found that both HR professionals (46%) and workers (36%) ranked “creating a positive employee experience” as the top responsibility for HR departments.

“For non-HR workers, interactions with co-workers and supervisors shape their employee experience, while HR professionals tend to see the employee experience in terms of the actions of their organization’s top leaders and company culture,” the report said. 

The survey of over 2,400 professionals and workers revealed that 24% of HR departments currently use employee experience measures like pulse surveys or the Employee Experience Index from Jacob Morgan. These organizations reported improvements in company culture, collaboration, engagement, and retention.

However, SHRM senior researcher Kristina Meacham noted that employee experience and engagement metrics are complementary rather than competing measures. 

“When employee experience and employee engagement are measured together, organizations can explain 54% of employees’ job satisfaction levels and 42% of their desire to quit,” she said.

The SHRM researchers pointed out that every member of an organization shapes employee experience, but HR departments have the most direct impact on overall employee relations. 

“HR departments must take ownership of and thoughtfully cultivate employee experience. Doing so will promote positive organizational outcomes,” Meacham said.

Professional services giant Deloitte previously called for a major shift in how HR operates, advocating for it to become “boundaryless” and embedded throughout organizations.

Deloitte suggests reimagining the role of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) as “chief work officers,” emphasizing the development of a workforce proficient in people skills, transforming managers into people leaders adept at coaching, and encouraging workers to co-create HR strategies rather than just consume policies.

As SHRM observes Employee Appreciation Day, it recommends gathering stakeholder input to define a positive experience, communicating that vision, training managers on their impact, collecting informal feedback, and designing processes like onboarding with the employee experience in mind.