Behind every high-performing organisation is a group of engaged, motivated, and satisfied people. A strong employee experience (EX) is what ties all those positive outcomes together.
Indeed, “employee experience” is more than just a buzzword; it measures how your employees feel about your business, company culture, management, and day-to-day work. From the moment someone applies for a position to their final day on the job, every interaction shapes how they perceive your organisation and how well they perform.
With that in mind, below is everything you need to know about employee experience and how you can build upon it.
What is Employee Experience (EX)?
Employee experience is the sum of all the interactions and perceptions a worker has with your company throughout their entire employment journey, starting even before employee onboarding. EX is shaped by day-to-day work, recruitment, onboarding, and even other employees’ departures.
At its core, EX is about how employees feel at work and how they are supported. Everything that affects (or hinders) their ability to thrive in the workplace influences their experience.
Employee Experience vs. Employee Engagement
While the two are closely linked, employee experience and engagement differ. The latter generally refers to the level of enthusiasm and commitment employees have to their work, which is often a result of a good employee experience.
In other words, where employee experience is the journey as a whole, employee engagement is one of its outcomes. A well-designed experience fosters higher engagement, leading to better performance, more substantial business results, and joyous customer journeys.
The Lifecycle Approach (From Onboarding to Exit)
To improve employee experience, companies should consider the concept as a sort of life cycle that is made up of the following key stages:
- Recruitment: First impressions count
- Onboarding: A smooth and welcoming start sets the tone for long-term success
- Development: Investing time and resources in a person’s career growth impacts their feelings about your company
- Day-to-Day Experience: The culture, tools, leadership, and feedback loops that make up daily life at work matter
- Exit: A respectful and supportive exit process can leave a lasting positive impression
Looking at the entire lifecycle enables you to create a learning and development strategy that promotes better EX and unlocks the full potential of your workforce.
Key Elements of a Positive Employee Experience
The following are the foundational pillars that influence how employees experience your organisation:
Company Culture
Culture is the invisible thread that shapes your team members’ behaviour, decision-making, and interactions with one another. A strong culture aligns your values with how people (customers and employees alike) are treated.
The goal is to make everyone feel included, respected, and motivated to do their best every day. As such, you’ll want to ask yourself whether your team feels safe speaking up and sharing ideas and whether your values are reflected in day-to-day actions.
Physical and Digital Workplace
The environment you provide has a direct impact on performance and satisfaction, regardless of whether you primarily manage an in-office, remote, or hybrid workforce.
Your goal is to create a work environment that is safe, comfortable, and optimised for productivity, so make sure your team is equipped with intuitive and reliable digital tools that empower them to achieve more.
Leadership and Management
Leaders set the tone for their entire organisation. Good management promotes trust, clarity, and accountability, while poor leadership can drive employees away. In particular, your employees need the following from you and your management team:
- Transparent communication
- Supportive managers
- Clear expectations
- Constructive feedback
Regarding that last point, addressing an employee’s shortcomings is an important part of helping them grow. However, any criticisms should be accompanied by realistic solutions and the resources they need to improve.
Otherwise, employees may feel as though company leadership is not on their side or does not have their best interests in mind.
Recognition and Feedback
Quite simply, people want to feel appreciated. Regularly recognising your employees can promote loyalty and motivation. It’s not about grand gestures; timely, specific feedback can have a marked impact.
Build feedback mechanisms into one-on-ones and peer recognition programs, and gamify work (wherever possible) to promote healthy competition between teams and departments.
Learning and Development Opportunities
Offering employee development opportunities shows that you are committed to the long-term success of your team. Investing in your workforce provides benefits for the company and encourages people to stick around. On the other hand, a lack of development opportunities can drive employees away.
Why Employee Experience Matters
Focusing on EX keeps people happy and has a direct impact on your company’s success. Here’s a closer look at the effects of positive employee experience:
Impact on Retention and Recruitment
Great EX can improve employee engagement and retention, whereas a subpar approach can cause workers to feel disconnected from the company and compelled to explore opportunities elsewhere.
What’s more, that word will get out about your business, positive or negative. Platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn make workplace culture visible to the outside world. Positive EX can support your recruitment efforts by promoting a strong brand image.
Link to Productivity and Innovation
Happy employees tend to get more done. That should come as no surprise; engaged employees are focused on their work and passionate about doing their best every single day. A strong EX also creates ideal conditions for innovation and problem-solving.
Connection to Brand Reputation
Your employees are your brand’s ambassadors; if they feel optimistic about their experience, they’ll reflect that in their customer interactions and conversations with their peers.
These exchanges can boost your company’s reputation and even further enhance customer experiences.
How to Measure Employee Experience
Improving EX starts with understanding the current state of your workforce. Measuring things like engagement, productivity, morale, and satisfaction will give you the insight you need to make targeted improvements.
On that note, here are some ways to measure EX:
Surveys and Feedback Mechanisms
Conduct regular engagement, pulse, and exit surveys to understand how your workers feel at different stages of their employee lifecycles.
Keep them short and specific, and consider allowing anonymous submissions, as these are great means of encouraging honest input.
Alongside these surveys, incorporate some informal feedback channels as well, such as suggestion boxes or internal forums.
Key Metrics to Track
You’ll want to track data points that include the following:
- Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
- Turnover rates
- Time to productivity
- Internal mobility
- Feedback participation rates
Together, these offer a snapshot of how your employees experience your organisation at different stages.
Encourage them to participate in your surveys so you can gather accurate data; low participation can skew these metrics and provide misleading information.
Tools and Platforms for EX Measurement
Use digital platforms that centralise feedback and analyse sentiment. Choose a solution with a user-friendly dashboard so you can prioritise information most relevant to your current EX objectives.
Look for tools that work or integrate with your HR system to avoid manual data transfer headaches.
Strategies to Improve Employee Experience
Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to build a better employee experience. Here are some practical strategies you can use straight away:
Designing Meaningful Touchpoints
Every interaction matters, beginning with the first welcome email someone receives when applying to your organisation.
With that in mind, you must evaluate each touchpoint and ask whether these moments feel thoughtful and aligned with your values. If not, make small changes to reshape EX.
One of the best ways to audit existing touchpoints is to gather feedback from recently hired team members. Listen to their suggestions and adjust accordingly to create more meaningful interactions.
Personalisation and Flexibility
People want to be treated as individuals, so flexibility should be provided wherever practical.
That may involve offering remote or hybrid work, tailoring learning paths to each employee’s goals, and recognising the individual contributions of your team members.
Fostering a Culture of Trust and Belonging
Creating a workplace where people feel safe, included, and respected yields better EX, starting with transparent communication and active listening.
Establish inclusive policies that value out-of-the-box thinking and innovation, and encourage your team members to speak openly about their concerns, suggestions, and experiences.
If you need some extra inspiration to reshape your company culture, explore these employee engagement ideas to improve morale and EX.
Real-World Examples of Great Employee Experience
Glassdoor’s annual list of the best places to work provides a slew of examples of brands that deliver an exceptional EX. Two examples from Glassdoor’s 2025 list are as follows:
Example From a Tech Company
NVIDIA, known for its exceptional culture, diversity, benefits, and excellent salaries, ranked 4th on Glassdoor’s list of best workplaces in 2025.
While paying employees competitive wages is an essential part of EX, it only tells part of the story. What makes NVIDIA stand out is its innovation-driven culture.
Example From a Service Industry
Bain & Company, the global management consulting firm, secured the top spot on Glassdoor’s list. The organisation is known for interesting work, a great culture, phenomenal benefits, and a world-class work/life balance.
Key Takeaway and What to Learn
Ultimately, employee experience investments can pay off in retention, performance, and brand loyalty.
Personalising EX is a key driver of positive experiences and high engagement, but starting small is also okay. Adjusting one touchpoint at a time can create a ripple effect.
Learn More About Employee Experience
Improving employee experience requires intentional, targeted changes. If you’re ready to reimagine how your employees experience work, you must first listen, then act.
Klara, a human-centric skills management solution, empowers you to deliver personalised development resources for every team member.
With it, you can unlock your team’s full potential faster and effectively support them at scale. Contact us today to learn more.
Employee Experience FAQs
How Does Employee Experience Impact Overall Business Performance?
Strong EX leads to more engaged and attentive employees. When your team members care about what they do and the company’s success, they will put their best foot forward every day.
What Metrics Can Be Used to Measure Employee Experience?
To measure EX, you can use employee surveys, turnover data, your eNPS, and internal mobility rates. Make sure to incorporate quantitative data with qualitative feedback to get the full picture.
What Are Common Challenges in Implementing Employee Experience Strategies?
Common hurdles include a lack of top-down buy-in and inconsistent communication. One of the biggest challenges is failing to act on feedback, which can discourage employees from offering honest insights later on.