EX25: The next generation of employee engagement

Employee surveys have been in use since the 1970s when they focused on gauging people’s satisfaction with things like pay rate, schedule, and office space. As the decades passed, companies began to realize that although satisfied employees are a great thing to have, they don’t necessarily add value to the business in terms of productivity, problem-solving, or innovation. Thus, the idea of employee engagement became the new standard.

Engaged employees go above and beyond their basic job responsibilities. They participate more, have positive attitudes, and embody company values – all of which have been proven to contribute significantly to retention and profitability. And while employee engagement will always be important, it’s no longer enough in today’s ever-changing environment.

The age of employee experience (EX)

Engagement is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Experience represents a holistic view of an employee’s day-to-day work reality and encompasses a variety of factors that include engagement, expectations, inclusion, sense of purpose, physical health, and mental and emotional wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of these factors into sharp focus and has caused many Americans to rethink their priorities. As the so-called “Great Resignation” continues, in which nearly half (44%) of workers plan to look for a new job this year, employee experience will play a critical role in how companies are able to retain top talent and stay ahead of the competition.

A new approach rooted in science

Leveraging years of client research and multiple global validation studies, Qualtrics has developed EX25, an industry-leading holistic approach to measuring and optimizing employee experience. Engagement, as a single metric, is no longer sufficient. We have created a new set of KPIs that simplifies the engagement metric and adds new measurements on inclusion and well-being. Our in-house team of organizational psychologists also identified 25 most impactful drivers for these KPIs, which include trust, safety, respect and work-life balance. With EX25, organizations can holistically understand employee experience and where to focus to drive impact, without adding more complexity to their employee listening program.

EX25 includes:

• A program design guide that helps employers pulse their employees at the right cadence for them, so they can stay in tune with employees throughout the year while avoiding survey fatigue
• A comprehensive library of scientifically validated items, including 5 KPIs to track employee experience and 25 drivers, critical topics that impact KPIs
• Dashboard templates with analysis of employee feedback to help managers and leaders understand and address the top drivers of employee engagement across their teams
• Benchmarks that illustrate how a company’s employee experience compares to others in the same industry
• Expert-designed action guidance that helps managers to meaningfully improve on each experience driver.

The EX25 also integrates with Qualtrics’ existing EX platform capabilities, such as Spotlight Insights that help HRBPs spot experience gaps in their org and Action Idea Boards, that support teams to collaborate and define the actions to take to improve their top drivers of EX.