HXM: It’s about the people who power a business to success
Human Experience Management (HXM) provides the tools and technology to enable the personal employee experiences that drive business results.
Like everyone else, professionals in human resources are working in a world full of uncertainty about how best to lead, engage, and care for our people. Employees and leaders in all levels of organizations are experiencing many of the same disruptions and stressors as their peers around the world, making the 2021 HR trends list a little more simple.
While working – and existing – during a global pandemic is often challenging, one silver lining from an employee and human resources perspective: Everyone is on the same playing field. This allows us to focus differently on what will be meaningful and important in the experiences we each have at work.
While listening to countless insightful speakers at SuccessConnect this year, I noticed that each session revolved around human experience management, or HXM, stories.
The stories of organizations leveraging technology to deliver better employee experiences were abundant. And while each session brought new ideas and information, the overarching theme that emerged focused on the importance and impact of the employee experience.
As my notes multiplied into pages upon pages, I began to hear language emphasizing just how important each individual’s experiences are when it comes to employee engagement, productivity, and wellness – making it no wonder that these are crucial aspects of 2021 HR trends.
2021 HR trends: Human resources adapts to post-pandemic realities
Meeting the needs, wants, and expectations of employees isn’t about a single thing an organization says or does – and never was. It’s about how the organization engages and empowers individuals to do and be their best.
According to Google and HR professionals, these are the top 2021 HR trends:
- Remote work: Prepare to be flexible with scheduling and options for online trainings and upskilling.
- Improved employee experiences: From feedback to mentoring, retaining top talent requires adjustments.
- Diversity, inclusion, equity: Get ready to walk the talk – new generations aren’t going to accept a status quo where equality isn’t the foundation.
- Technology: Machine-learning and conversational AI can guide employees along their days and career paths, while modern HR tools motivate employees and are user-friendly.
- Well-being: Mental and emotional well-being will become central to the employee experience
- Purpose-driven efforts: Employees want jobs that are personally rewarding. They expect their workplaces to define their purpose, then follow through to make them a reality.
- Data as a driver: Whether talking results of employee surveys or budget allocations, data should be a trusted source when it comes to decision-making
So, where should HR leaders focus in 2021 as they guide organizations beyond any existing barriers? In The Employee Experience: 5 Moments That Matter Most, Sharlyn Lauby explained some of the basic needs employees have that drive moments that matter in their employee journey.
From there, we can build on how to use that knowledge to create the kind of engaging, consumer-like experiences that employees expect.
HR Trends in 2021: How to create an employee experience to future-proof your business
So, what’s involved in creating an outstanding employee experience? It’s about:
- Nurturing new hires to accelerate their productivity
- Providing employees access to relevant learning and development to foster their growth
- Enabling meaningful manager feedback and coaching to boost performance
- Increasing motivation by recognizing employees when and how they want to be spotlighted
- Keeping a pulse on how employees are feeling
In other words, there are no silver bullets.
But there are some points to focus on:
Individualized learning and mentorship, thanks to tech
We can all probably agree that delivering employee experiences based on what people need to thrive at work is no easy feat. The good news: Technology can help.
Tech makes it possible to create individualized experiences based on how employees behave and what they need to feel connected and be productive.
Modern tools like conversational AI and machine-learning can make recommendations and nudges that are based on what’s most relevant to an individual and their unique career journey – curated content and personalized help, suggested learning and peers to connect with, recommended job roles, and more.
Technology can help match employees to the right experiences based on their distinct aspirations, including relevant projects, mentors, fellowships, and even skill paths, as well as tools to upskill and cross-skill.
Use employee listening and feedback loops to understand where there are gaps and which specific actions to take to drive ongoing experience improvements.
Remove friction, improve lives
Consider everything that goes on in an employee’s work life – from taking on new roles and deepening expertise and skills, to daily tasks between catching up on e-mails – the experience can feel disjointed and jarring.
HR technology that’s more intuitive and connected throughout the workplace should make searching for information and performing tasks easier and faster.
Bedrooms and kitchens as the office: How to train an enterprise from home
This disruption isn’t just an economic shock: it's a shock to customer behaviors and business models, making remote work and e-learning critical to success.
It should also streamline processes by eliminating manual tasks and unifying data across multiple systems to create more efficient, engaging experiences from recruiting and onboarding to leadership development and succession planning.
This is the real value of automation and intelligence – to cut out the friction that exists in the experiences of everyday work so people can actually do their best jobs.
Value every person, every day
Valuing every person, every day goes a long way in honoring employee needs and understanding motivations.
Some ways to show appreciation:
- Make it simple for people to connect and do their jobs no matter their circumstances
- Gauge employee sentiment via a pulse survey to understand where people are struggling
- Bring to light information and opportunities that are specific to them so employees can thrive amidst uncertainty
Employee needs haven’t changed, just evolved.
HR leaders have an opportunity and an obligation: Meet the challenge of providing a real experience that goes beyond what employees have come to expect from HR; instead we can become something much, much better: humanized.
