How to Create The Perfect Digital Employee Experience

When the pandemic thrust businesses worldwide into remote work, the majority had a significant learning curve to overcome. Years later, many organizations are still struggling to keep pace with the new realities of work.

As more employees are asking for a work life balance, companies have to find a way to offer the same collaboration possibilities as in a physical office. IT teams have to implement the tools and infrastructure necessary to provide a digital employee experience (DEX).

And while DEX is a significant challenge for many businesses and their IT teams, the benefits abound. This article will explore why the digital employee experience is more

What is digital employee experience?

Digital employee experience refers to the employees journey when interacting with technology at work. It encompasses an employee's entire digital workplace, from their work device(s) to the applications and networks they rely on and the end-user sentiment. 

According to Gartner, only 5% of IT organizations had established a digital employee experience strategy, team, and management tool as of 2021. The good news is that with more businesses recognizing DEX has tremendous value, that number is projected to increase dramatically, up to 50% by 2025.

As business becomes increasingly global and work becomes remote, DEX ensures employees can seamlessly communicate and collaborate with their teams.While the information technology (IT) team ensures an organization’s digital work environment operates smoothly, DEX has implications throughout the business. It ties into human resource strategies, digital transformation efforts, and corporate culture.

The digital employee experience begins the moment an employee begins working at a company and continues throughout their tenure. In the modern, digital-first era of work, DEX influences employees’ entire experience with a company and can have implications for productivity, retention, employee development, and engagement. With every company seeking a competitive edge, none can afford to ignore the value of providing a high-quality digital employee experience.

The different types of digital employee experiences

DEX is composed of many different interactions employees have daily with technology. Examples include logging onto the computer, opening and responding to emails, and attending conference calls.

Let's examine the different digital employee experiences that workers face regularly.

• Communication and employee collaboration tools

The most common digital employee experiences are the systems and applications workers use to interact with coworkers. These include email, instant messaging tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, phone calls, and video conferencing services, including Zoom and Skype.

• Workflow and productivity software

Nearly every business division now relies on specialized technology to help them work more efficiently. The sales team has Salesforce, marketing has content management systems, and legal teams have contract management tools, to name a few.

• Human resources, talent management, and training systems

The most significant HR trends are all about data and digitizing the industry. Employees need access to their company's workforce management system to review compensation, benefits, and PTO information. Corporate training and professional development are increasingly conducted in remote environments as well.

• IT support and self-service capabilities

When digital tools act up, employees must be able to access self-service resources to troubleshoot the problem. If that fails, they need the option to submit support tickets, a crucial option for remote workers who can't walk over to the IT desk.

The benefits of a great digital employee experience

Technology will continue advancing rapidly, and businesses must adapt to modern innovation. Delivering high-quality DEX future-proofs your organization by introducing cutting-edge technology and ensuring employees develop the skills needed to stay productive.

Other benefits of creating an excellent digital employee experience include the following:

• Improve collaboration

With more employees working remotely or in offices spread across the globe, employees need technology that enhances communication. Modern technology allows for asynchronous collaboration, ensuring employees are on the same page no matter where they are, and that work is completed efficiently.

• Greater employee satisfaction

Most people use technology outside of work, whether streaming services, playing video games, or using Bluetooth to listen to music. When we come to work, we expect our devices and software to work as seamlessly as those we use in our downtime. Minimizing disruptions keeps employees engaged and productive, which is good for them and your customers and can help increase employee retention.

• Better customer service

In the post-pandemic world, organizations that can thrive in a remote environment will have a real competitive edge. Not only will a remote-first culture ensure you use cutting-edge technology, but it will also help you attract the highest-quality talent. Combined, you can deliver faster, better service to your customers.

• More human HR

Some HR trends may come and go, but one thing stays certain: the better the employee experience, the more likely they will remain. Every HR process must be seamless, whether you are onboarding new employees, facilitating position changes and promotions, introducing new devices, or helping employees move.

• Recruit the best talent

Prospective employees do their homework before interviewing with your company. They want to know your organization is an excellent place to work, which is why DEX must be an integral part of your overall business strategy. Happier employees make recruiting easier while lowering attraction rates among your most valuable workers.

How to measure the success of your digital employee experience

Data is the key to measuring the effectiveness of any business initiative, and DEX is no exception. The best way to evaluate whether DEX is working for your team is to ask them about it. Whether you have recently introduced new technology or have been using specific tools for a long time, begin checking in regularly with employees about their experience. End-user feedback is the best way to identify pain points so you can address them as needed.

Additionally, IT can implement digital experience monitoring (DEM) to measure how software and devices perform. Specific data points you should measure include:

• Latency time 
• Network saturation 
• App performance 
• CPU usage

Digital employee experience (DEX) tools help IT leaders measure and continuously improve DEX. By collecting data from endpoints, applications, and employees in real time, IT can identify actionable insights to ensure that devices, software, and digital infrastructure are performing at their best.

Understanding DEX and how to optimize it is essential for thriving in the digital age. DEX impacts everything your employees do, from how they complete work, learn new skills and connect with your business.

Understanding DEX and how to optimize it is essential for thriving in the digital age. DEX impacts everything your employees do, from how they complete work, learn new skills and connect with your business.