HRD Connect Report

Insights on How Organizations are Approaching Investment in Employee Experience

Workplace Technology Report

The events of the past 18 months have accelerated changes for workers that would have taken decades to occur otherwise. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact how, where, and when employees work, regardless of their industry or career standing, HR leaders are increasingly spearheading initiatives to improve employee experience at their organizations to provide support and engage employees through innovative technologies. In partnership with WorkForce Software, HRD Connect surveyed an audience of senior HR professionals in Q2 2021 to gain insights into how technology is being used to improve employee experience at their organizations. The results show that, despite economic slowdowns and uncertainties, there’s been an increased investment, interest, and focus on new technologies, which are actively being implemented to improve the working lives of all employees.

Executive Summary

Corporate communications are historically top-down – companies can send messages down to employees, but it’s often impossible for them to communicate back up the chain to clarify directives, ask for advice, or settle any scheduling conflicts one on one. By removing communication barriers, workplaces can become more connected and save a lot of time trying to get in touch with one another.

—Marc Gingras, SVP, Employee Experience Strategy at WorkForce Software

Key Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a unique challenge for on-site, deskless workers across industries (such as agriculture, construction, retail, manufacturing, and utilities), in large part due to the unprecedented amount of operational challenges organizations have faced over the past year and a half. As a result, traditional communication channels have become less effective, and the gap between on-site workers and senior management has broadened, making deskless workers more disengaged. According to the survey results, more than 40 percent of respondents polled said that 25 percent (or more) of their workforce was deskless.

Organizations Without Software in Place Are Eager to Improve Employee Experience

Yet, less than 1 percent of business software spend is currently focused on the needs of deskless workers, clearly indicating that there’s room for improvement. The good news is that organizations are eager to improve employee experience, with two-thirds of HR leaders surveyed said they either had processes and systems in place or were evolving their employee experience programs to better support deskless workers in the near future.

According to the survey results, more than two-thirds of HR leaders said it was a priority to improve technology to support employee experience over the next 12 months, including for deskless workers.

Prioritization of Employee Experience Software is Accelerating

URGENT It’s a top priority for us

14%

When asked what technology they currently had in place, 34.5 percent of survey respondents said they had invested in tools for employee-manager communication, while nearly 20% had mobile access to time-off, pay, and calendar-scheduling tools.

There’s a huge disconnect. Deskless workers form the backbone of many organizations, but many businesses have yet to make the investments needed in technology to ensure they are engaged, productive, and supported in the workplace.

— Angelina Sun, Workforce Management Solutions Director at WorkForce Software

An overwhelming 81.7 percent of survey respondents said that the chief human resources officer and the wider HR department were ultimately responsible for spearheading initiatives related to the employee experience.

Improving Employee Experience is Everyone’s Responsibility, Despite HR Historically Spearheading Such Initiatives

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Less than 25%

Historically, HR departments have been the primary decision-makers and people in support of most employee experience initiatives. But really, everyone — from IT to operations to finance — needs to get involved and recognize how important it is to sustained business success.

— Marc Gingras, SVP, Employee Experience Strategy at WorkForce Software

Deskless/hourly workers are often the furthest away from HQ, which highlights the need for technology to improve how they communicate and collaborate with others within an organization

Takeaways

Despite interest in various technologies to support a positive employee experience, organizations still aren’t investing enough resources at present, and should increase their spend as funds become available

The majority of those surveyed said they were “evolving” their employee experience program, with over two-thirds of survey respondents planning on improving technology to support the employee experience over the next year

Improved employee-manager communications and just-in-time or micro-training delivered to mobile devices were highlighted as the technologies that could add the most value to employee experience at organizations

Employers increasingly understand the value of providing a great employee experience, and are searching for ways to offer greater flexibility and opportunities for engagement. With modern workforce management technology, employers can create and capitalize on the moments that matter through communication and collaboration between employees and their supervisors, which can impact the employee experience of an entire organization, no matter its size — benefitting a company well beyond its bottom line.

Conclusion

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More than 50%

59%

13%

25% - 50%

28%

18%

15%

67%

Mature – We have multiple programs, processes, and systems in place

Evolving – We have some capabilities and plans to roll out more

Basic – We have limited capabilities and/or no plans to add more

IMPORTANT It’s on our roadmap, but other initiatives are equally important

62%

LIMITED Focusing on others areas of investment in the interim

24%

Intelligent, frequent pulse surveys that can feed our people analytics

15%

Employee mobile access to time off, pay, calendars, and schedules

20%

Employee-manager communications

35%

Despite the pandemic hindering the prioritization of investments into these areas for some companies, there has been renewed interest in improving the employee experience through these technologies. Improved employee-manager communications (32.5 percent) leads the pack, followed by just-in-time or micro-training delivered to mobile devices (17 percent) — both of which can help strengthen workplace bonds for employees/supervisors, while also plugging any skills gaps and aiding in career development.

Intelligent, frequent pulse surveys that can feed our people analytics

15%

Just-in-time or micro-training delivered to mobile devices

17%

Improved employee-manager communications

32%

CEO – It’s part of our corporate culture

16%

IT – The CIO and IT department lead the way

HR – The CHRO and team spearhead these initiatives

82%

CFO – The finance organization leads the way

But while it makes sense for HR departments to take the lead on initiatives to improve employee experience, input from other members of the C-suite is essential. Increasingly, HR, operations, finance, and IT departments are working closely together on such initiatives to improve employee experience, leading to greater levels of productivity and creativity within an organization and improved talent acquisition and retention.

The analysis in this report was compiled using responses to HRD Connect’s survey of senior HR professionals, which HRD Connect carried out in partnership with WorkForce Software in Q2 2021. The survey respondents work across a wide array of sectors, including financial services (12.4%), software & telecoms (12.2%), manufacturing (10%), and services (19%). Survey respondents also work in a mix of organization sizes, with 23.6% of respondents working in companies with over 5,000 employees.

Methodology

What percentage of workers in your organization are deskless/hourly?

How would you describe your current employee experience program?

In the next 12 months, what priority does your organization place on improving technology to support employee experience at your organization?

Which technology do you currently have in place to support a positive employee experience, including for deskless workers, at your organization?

Which technology do you think would have the greatest positive impact on employee experience, including for deskless workers, at your organization if added?