The Scope
In the Spring of 2020, A client was embarking on a study of how to improve their “Employee Experience” looking at employee stories, journeys and flows, and how to increase moments that “Wow”. With the onset of the global COViD-19 pandemic, this study quickly morphed into exploration of the employee’s experience, working remotely and how to best adapt in an ever-changing climate.
The Goal
Was to identify opportunities to create moments that 'wow' by both digital and non-digital means with regard to how people learn, collaborate and work alone and tot prove the hypothesis that “Better experiences lead to better outcomes”
The Deliverables
Persona Maps & Journey Map overlaid with Opportunity identifiers
WFH Observations on Challenges and Considerations
Non-Digital Engagement Ideas as an antidote to digital overload
Areas for “Employee Experience Innovation”
The Process
Due to the restrictions due to the shelter in place orders, all meetings, interviews, and research had to be conducted remotely, which allowed for a greater sense of connection and understanding when diving into the the employee’s experiences during this unprecedented time.
Employee Research & Persona Development
In addition to a department wide survey, ten employees of varying levels of experience and seniority were interviewed one on one, either over the phone or via video call. The information gathered was then synthesized into a set of employee persona’s that were used to represent the make up of the team, and for presentation of findings back to them. There were three distinct categories, The Worker Bee, The Manager, and The Director/VP.
A Day in the Life - Employee Journey Mapping
Once the persona’s had been established, typical journey maps for each were developed so that the client could better understand and visualize how the day may look for team members and how it varied from working collaboratively in the office, to working remotely from home, including but not limited to schedules, meetings, check-ins and general work load.
These maps were then used to identify potential friction points and opportunities for each persona.
Observations & Assumptions
Through the process of interviewing team members, generating personas and mapping out their employee journeys, there were several discoveries that were made that were presented to the client as potential areas to address where possible, and at a minimum to be aware of in respect to adapting to working remotely.
Antidotes to Digital Overload
An additional outcome of this study was to provide the client with recommendations based on the feedback and interviews, along with research into comparative trends in the field, as a way of providing ways to improve the general employee experience while working remotely around key areas such as; meetings, communication, accountability, engagement, activities and interaction.
Business Innovation Opportunities
The final deliverable was to evaluate the findings of the interviews, the persona’s and the mappings to help identify potential areas for innovation and a focus for employee experience development.
Take Aways
Some of the biggest findings were around the understanding that the schedule and expectations to working on site/in the office, is relatively predictable and consistent, but in contrast, working from home, in the current pandemic conditions, where an employee is likely not the only one at home, leads to unexpected schedules, disruptions. The key applicable learnings are around adopting “asynchronous communication”, fewer but more meaning full check ins and meetings, and a generally a more understanding and compassionate approach realizing that everyone’s WFH scenario differs greatly, and that there is no one size fits all.
Personally, this was a great research project that allowed me to gain a much greater insight into the corporate world regarding Employee Experiences, and the associated challenges companies face during an event that requires a high level of adaptability such as shifting to a fully remote working model.