Key Takeaways from the Employee Experience Summit 2021

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How to Talk to Your Employees for Motivational Feedback

The key takeaways from the Employee Experience Summit 2021 center on transparent communication, feedback culture, recognition, and personalized career development as the pillars of a positive employee experience.

We wanted to start with a friendly hello 😊👋 In this article, we share one of our most exciting community experiences so far, recall what happened, and summarize the key takeaways.

The Employee Experience Summit 2021, held for the first time on September 22nd, was met with greater interest than we expected. Our 4 speakers brought different perspectives and shared unique insights into employee experience across the globe.

At our summit, we were delighted to welcome:

Laura Eelmaa - People Partner at Bolt
Ozlem Salur - Head of People at Getir
Asha Wilde - Employee Experience Manager at BT
Kate Faxen - Head of Employee Experience at UCL

You can see the summit recording here.

What Does Employee Experience Mean to You?

We kicked off the event by asking our 4 speakers to define what employee experience (EX) means to them as both employees and leaders.

Employee experience is now a top priority for all forward-facing organizations. It is the most important factor in measuring and creating productivity and company success. Whether employees would recommend their company to friends is one of the most telling indicators.

Thinking of employee experience as a puzzle, our four speakers each addressed a different piece. Examining it from these perspectives, we reach the following conclusions.

One of the most important elements is a culture of transparent communication and feedback. It's essential that employees can communicate with their managers, give positive or negative feedback, and vice versa—being constructive and honest is key. It's also impossible to discuss EX without the work environment, where employees should feel happy and comfortable as a baseline. Interaction and recognition matter too, along with celebrating success together and being appreciated by internal leaders. The final piece is providing a support framework and ensuring career progression is clear and personalized to each person's strengths and weaknesses.

Considering all of this, the items required for a positive employee experience are as follows:

A feedback culture built on open and transparent communication
A fun working environment with collaborative teamwork
Celebrating successes together and recognizing contributions
Supporting career development at all times

Does Positive Employee Experience Affect Performance, and Can It Be Measured?

When this question was put to our speakers, one clear theme emerged: happy employees do their best for the organization they're part of. Employees perform best when they adopt the company's purpose and culture and it matches their own values. If someone feels supported and sees that their career development matters, they'll work as efficiently and adaptably as possible.

Employee experience can broadly be defined as all the processes from the moment an employee starts until the moment they leave. As we moved into individual sessions at the Summit, we discussed each part of the employee experience in depth.

A fundamental step is ensuring a new employee doesn't feel alone or confused when starting a job. Rather than traditional onboarding alone, value-oriented approaches can help. Transferring company culture and values to the employee in the simplest way makes for a positive first step.

It's never possible to orchestrate every employee experience perfectly. However, feeling valued and believing in the organization can make the overall experience a happy one. This is achievable in employee-oriented organizations where people are involved in decision-making. As Asha Wilde from BT explained, her 4-step formula—exploring, empathizing, co-creating, and ensuring continuity—can guide human-centered decision-making.

Strong internal communication also ties together the pieces of a positive employee experience. Employees should feel free to express different needs or a negative opinion, and should be able to give feedback to their managers—transparency and openness are key.

Each employee brings different cultures, experiences, and ideas. What matters is that everyone can make their voice heard within the organization and add their perspective to projects. Leveraging this diversity brings creativity and adaptability to the forefront.

Key Takeaways for the Employee Experience Puzzle

Looking for patterns across our summit conversations, we can assemble the essential elements of a successful employee experience:

An orientation process that prevents feelings of loneliness and confusion
A working environment where employees can freely express their ideas
A strong feedback culture with open communication between managers and employees
An internal communication environment where employees can connect comfortably
A consciousness that supports learning, development, and career growth
People-centric decision-making

To summarize the day's lessons in three words: respect, belonging, fulfilment.

Thanks to our speakers who shared their valuable experiences at the first EX Summit, to our participants for their positive feedback, and to everyone keeping their finger on the pulse of employee experience.

Together we will shape the future of work! See you next April…

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Employee Experience Summit 2021?

It was Sorwe's first Employee Experience Summit, held on September 22nd, featuring four speakers from Bolt, Getir, BT, and UCL sharing global EX insights.

What are the key takeaways from the Employee Experience Summit 2021?

Key takeaways include the importance of transparent communication, feedback culture, recognition, career development support, and people-centric decision-making.

Does a positive employee experience affect company performance?

Yes, speakers agreed that happy employees who feel supported and valued work more efficiently and are more adaptable to organizational needs.

How can companies measure employee experience?

While it can't be perfectly orchestrated, employee experience can be gauged through feedback, engagement, recognition practices, and whether employees would recommend the company to others.