The importance of personalization in the digital employee experience
Almost one year ago, COVID-19 forced employers to adapt to full-time remote working. Overnight, the role of HR changed dramatically, and existing processes and technologies – faced with unforeseen new challenges – were put to the ultimate test. After the dust settled on this new way of working, delivering a digital-first, personalized employee experience immediately shot up HR’s agenda. Especially as businesses sought to keep their employees – many working remotely for the first time – engaged and connected.
But taking a more personalized approach to digital employee experience, while a hot topic in HR tech discussion, has traditionally struggled to cut through in many organizations. Our research revealed that less than 10% of organizations offer hyper-personalized digital employee experiences, and in a world of full-time hybrid workers, this is going to drastically impact their engagement. With employees working in the office or remotely, on different days, or with different working patterns, a one size fits all approach to HR no longer works. It is crucial that these HR teams ensure their organizations take a tailored approach when it comes to keeping remote working employees motivated and engaged.
Benefits to the workforce
It is no secret that disengaged employees are an issue across all business sectors. It is estimated that they cost the UK economy £340 billion every year in lost training and recruitment costs, sick days, productivity, creativity, and innovation. As such, a personalized tech-enabled HR function, focused on employee experience and retention, is not just crucial for a great working environment, but a business’s overall success.
Some of the most successful HR tools offer employees a very similar experience to consumer platforms; simple to use and personalized to suit their roles/needs. Knowledge can be spread rapidly so employees can get immediate updates and answers to questions, which can better inform urgent decision-making.
Health and wellbeing are at the core of personalization platforms. Having instant notifications and nudges around teams or company-wide initiatives/activities means employees can remain immersed in the company culture, no matter where they are based. This can include community groups encouraging cross-team communication, especially with those you might not necessarily work with often. Personalization platforms also present perfect opportunities for regular feedback into HR, This is key to keep on top of how employees are feeling, such as new starters to check in with them and their specific role, or with someone that may be going through a team change.
Taking a personalized approach shows the employee that their organization is constantly supporting them as individuals, while keeping them included in the wider company culture, no matter what location they are working from. Ultimately, this leads to increased productivity and more engaged employees.
Clunky IT means slow adoption
Although HR is keen to reap the benefits of personalization, a significant level of IT input is required to implement, connect and manage these tech-enabled solutions. This has historically been one of the biggest challenges holding back adoption, with many organizations relying on outdated tech which provides less value.
However, we are now seeing an uptake in low and no-code applications – where less IT expertise is required – which is helping to break down the technology barriers for non-technical people. This enables organizations to set-up, use and update technology much faster. In fact, Gartner reports that by 2024, low-code and no-code applications will be responsible for more than 65% of app development activity. By removing IT barriers from enterprise technology, users can build powerful, personalized regulatory compliant applications.
A further benefit of no-code is the reduced need for a technical expert; giving an added level of control to HR departments. This means that in times of crisis, such as a pandemic forcing increased remote working, the HR team can be agile, react in the moment and communicate different information to employees without needing to hire expensive coders.
The steps HR must take
With the IT barriers to personalization decreasing, HR leaders are rapidly inventing new ways to better engage their increasingly hybrid workforces. The end goal being to have a centralized platform in place which can offer personalized experiences to every employee, no matter their location.
To achieve this goal, persona mapping is one of the first steps to take. Companies should spend time looking at the differences in employee journeys; from onboarding, to development and promotion, to offboarding, and all the requirements along the way. Once they establish what is important for their workers and what are the priorities in terms of experience and wellbeing, this information can be utilized to create the HR platform best placed to meet these wants and needs.
Ultimately, businesses must remember that their employees, rather than the organization itself, should be the centerpiece of change. The HR team must adopt personalized platforms that are easily accessible to drive employee satisfaction and which offer them the flexibility and engagement they have come to expect in their personal lives.
Authored by Ivan Harding, CEO and Co-Founder, Applaud