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Writer's pictureTerry Chana

From Frustration to Flow: How a Strong Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Strategy Boosts Productivity


A digital experience leader uses a tablet surrounded by futuristic digital displays showing data analytics, symbolising the digital experience of the workforce.
From Frustration to Flow: How a Strong DEX Strategy Boosts Productivity

The way we work continues to change at an amazing pace, with the days of working nine-to-five in a static office environment long gone. 


Having our workforce increasingly mobile or hybrid, we’re reliant on technology to collaborate and be productive. This shift has brought us new challenges within our Digital Employee Experience (DEX). Effective DEX means ensuring your employees have the right tools, technology, and environment to be productive, engaged, and satisfied in their work - whatever it is and wherever they are doing it. 


But how often do you consider the Digital Employee Experience in your organisation? How confident are you that your people are thriving within the right environment and able to be productive?


Measuring Digital Employee Experience Success


A recent study by Riverbed revealed some interesting statistics about the state of DEX last year and looked forward to our next steps.


Riverbed polled over 1,800 global IT and business decision-makers in this survey to better understand generational expectations for the digital experience, obstacles, and strategies for delivering an outstanding DEX.


We’re going to review this survey and consider the impact of its findings on Digital Experience Leads (DELs).


Heightened Urgency


The survey reports that 91% of decision-makers believe more advanced digital experiences will be needed to meet the needs of younger employees. According to 63% of the people surveyed, if these expectations are not met, it will cause business disruption or reputation damage to the company. The impact of this is dramatic, with 68% of these leaders saying that if these needs can’t be met, they themselves would consider leaving a company.


This large gap between employee expectations and current experience highlights the need for DELs to prioritise DEX improvements. Bridging this gap is essential to achieving effective productivity levels and improving employee satisfaction. 


For some organisations, closing this gap can seem impossible. However, in my previous article The Truth About Digital Agility: Helping Your Business Grow, we looked at how organisations can take steps towards digital agility in a way which takes account of legacy systems and existing infrastructure, helping improve DEX materially.


Focus on Employee Needs


The survey's findings tell us that DELs should actively seek employee feedback to understand their pain points and tailor solutions accordingly. This will ensure investments in DEX address real-world issues impacting employee experience.


Almost half of the leaders surveyed considered a seamless digital experience the main factor in keeping people engaged.


We’ve talked about this a lot, including in the post Improving Employee Experience How To Embrace Hybrid Working And Energize Your People. There we looked at research from Gallup which suggests employees are looking for flexibility, community and opportunity within their roles. DEX can play a significant part in providing all of these - collaborative workspaces, flexible working opportunities, improved training and more.


How can you ensure your organisation is making the most of these DEX opportunities?


Productivity & Retention  


The survey links poor DEX to decreased productivity and higher employee turnover, providing DELs with a strong business case for DEX investments. An improved Digital Employee Experience can clearly enhance productivity and employee retention, directly leading to cost savings and a stronger workforce.


We’ve discussed this in previous articles, particularly Strengthen Your Digital Workspace Strategy - Improve Employee Experience and Increase Productivity, which examines ways to develop your DEX strategy.


Competitive Advantage 


Offering a positive DEX can be a significant differentiator in a difficult market for recruitment. The survey found that 82% of employees are more likely to stay with a DEX-focused employer, highlighting the importance of DEX for attracting and retaining top talent.


The report tells us that the use of emerging and key existing technologies will be key to business success. Those technologies which are becoming increasingly critical to business include Artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and automation.


We have written articles exploring how these technologies can benefit organisations with improved workflows, HR automation,  and Learning and Development - among other things.


Considerations for DELs When Investing in Digital Experience


Looking ahead to future investment in DEX, the key is to consider:


  • User-Centric Design:  Prioritise user-friendly, intuitive solutions that address your employee needs and avoid complex technologies that cause frustration.

  • Security & Privacy: Balancing user experience with robust security and data privacy is crucial. Implement solutions that are secure without hindering user workflows.

  • Integration & Collaboration: Focus on tools and technologies that integrate with existing systems and promote collaboration across departments and locations, especially in a hybrid work environment.

  • Training & Support: Investing in user training and ongoing support ensures employees can effectively utilise new tools and technologies, maximising your return on investment.


Next Steps


Developing a comprehensive DEX strategy aligned with your organisational goals is essential. Effective DEX will support your organisational goals through improved productivity and employee engagement, so drilling deeper into how that can be achieved will provide real wins across your organisation.


Make the most of your data and analytics to identify areas for improvement and measure the success of any DEX initiatives you undertake. Equally, employee feedback is as important as your technical data. Within your strategy, create a space to develop a culture of continuous improvement, actively seeking employee feedback and adapting solutions based on their needs.


Within this post we’ve looked at how our DEX strategy needs to adapt for current and future needs; by considering these findings and focusing on a user-centric approach, you can leverage DEX investments to create a more productive, engaged, and satisfied workforce, ultimately driving business success.


If you’d like some support with your DEX strategy or to explore the status of DEX within your organisation, get in touch.

 
About the Author

I'm Terry Chana. I am an innovation strategist that connects customer, employee and brand experiences. My passion lies in building ecosystems to solve business problems by combining creativity and technology.

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