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Why Investing in Technology to Improve Employee Experience Is Top-of-Mind

Nov 5, 2021

SAPinsider Benchmark Report

Over the past year, economies have slowly reopened and restrictions have loosened as the world continues to adapt to a shared new normal.
 
But it’s still not business as usual for many organisations.
 
Despite employees adapting to new ways of working, employee burnout and resignations (not to mention COVID fatigue) are at an all-time high. Now, many organisations are looking to technology to improve employee experience.
 
In May and June 2021, SAPinsider surveyed 111 members of its community. The goal was to discover what workplace experience strategies and employee experience best practices were being considered and implemented to improve employee experience at their organisations.
 
Here are some key insights on how human resources (and other departments) can improve employee experience and what’s driving their interest in software for improving employee experience.
 

Why Investing in Workplace Technology to Improve Employee Experience Is Top-of-Mind

 

Employers Are Increasingly Recognising the Value of Investing in Employee Experience

Increasingly, businesses understand the importance of a great employee experience and the value of improving it. Organisations cite benefits such as talent retention, increased productivity, employee satisfaction and revenue driving their interest.

When SAPinsider asked which factors were hindering organisations’ investment in employee experience:

The good news: Recent events have brought employee experience to the forefront for many companies. Over 60% of respondents said their organisation’s focus on employee experience was greater at the time of the survey than it was two years ago.

Talent Shortages, Employee Turnover and Organisational Change Are Causing Employers to Shift Priorities

The challenges of the past year and a half continue to drive investment into organisation-wide employee experience initiatives. 

According to survey respondents, some of the biggest factors include: 

Other priorities include increasing employee productivity, improving professional development and reducing talent acquisition time and cost. This indicates a greater focus on improving employee experience throughout the employee journey—from acquisition (and, hopefully, career advancement) all the way up to their last days at an organisation. 

Read more findings from SAPinsider’s Benchmark Report: “The State of Human Experience in the Workplace”  

Technology That Makes Work Easy for Employees Plays an Increasing Role in Employee Experience Strategies

Not surprisingly, many of the top tactics taken by respondents to improve employee experience involve technology, with 61% saying the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of new technology. 

When it comes to addressing employee experience drivers: 

Additionally, 72% of those surveyed are planning to implement end-to-end employee experience solutions in the next 24 months or are currently evaluating them. This highlights the increased need for workforce management software with added EX capabilities. 

Final Thoughts

As organisations head into 2022 and begin firming up their budgets for the New Year, improving employee experience is a top priority.

There’s a direct connection between EX and productivity—the ultimate goal is providing the means for employees to function at their best, no matter where they’re located.

If you’d like additional insights on improving employee experience at your organisation, read more results from the SAPinsider Benchmark Report. Visit WorkForce Software’s Resources page to read our new employee experience guide and more industry research. 

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