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Global provider of integrated workforce management and employee experience solutions WorkForce Software released the results of the benchmark report titled, The State of Human Experience in the Workplace which it co sponsored with IBM and eightfold.ai. SAPinsider surveyed 111 members of its community in May and June 2021 and generated responses from across a wide range of geographies, industries, and company sizes. The goal of the survey was to understand important factors driving human experience for SAP customers and to discover the strategies to adequately address these factors

Employee experience has been a growing topic for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified its importance. With many employees forced to move to partial or fully remote working arrangements and deskless workers evaluating their options with alternative companies and roles, employers are seeking new ways to engage with both existing workers and potential recruits. The State of Human Experience in the Workplace report provides key insights into where organizations currently are on their employee experience management journey.

The report analysis includes the factors driving employee experience management strategies today and the top challenges employers have faced over the past year. When asked, "What Drives Employee Experience Strategy?" more than half (54%) of survey respondents indicated that an increase in remote work caused by the pandemic was their largest driver of employee experience strategy, followed by major organizational change (31%), increased competition for talent (27%), and higher employee turnover rate (25%).

When it comes to addressing these employee experience drivers, many companies say that optimizing self-service to make employee and work data more accessible is their lead action (indicated by 61% of respondents) and investing in technology to improve worker productivity is a tactic utilized by 59%, while 54% of respondents say creating spaces and processes to increase collaboration between employees and teams is one of their main focuses. Additionally, nearly 50% of respondents are adding or improving employee feedback or surveys to capture their employees’ sentiment, so they can better react in the moment and increase employee satisfaction.

These top tactics all involve technology and indicate a need for software solutions that will enable self-service, create collaboration spaces (particularly remotely), and better capture sentiment through in-the-moment surveys. However, the survey found that not many companies have actually implemented the software they need; just over one-third (35%) of respondents are currently using or implementing workforce management solutions (WFM), and over half are either planning to implement WFM in the next 24 months or are aware of the need for WFM.

Companies are even further behind with offering their employees end-to-end employee experience solutions — less than 2% of survey respondents currently use them. However, 72% of those surveyed are planning to implement end-to-end employee experience solutions in the next 24 months or are currently evaluating them.

"These survey results with SAPinsider underscore what our customers are telling us – now is the time to invest in modern technology to bolster employee experience in the workplace," said Alan Winegar, Chief Services Officer at WorkForce Software. "This past year has shown us that businesses that can pivot and be flexible and attentive to their employees’ changing needs will gain a competitive edge and opportunity to thrive. Investing in business operations that have a direct positive impact on your employees’ day-to-day work experience also have an impact on your customers’ increased satisfaction too. Great customer and employee retention are what we all strive for and modern WFM technology can help global businesses achieve that."

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: WorkForce Software