Why every company needs an Employee Experience Manager in 2024

In recent years, organisations have seen a shift in power. From ‘quiet quitting’ to the ‘great resignation’, knowledge workers feel empowered to simply leave if they’re dissatisfied with their experience at work. This shift poses a new challenge for businesses during what can only be described as an ongoing talent drought. Recruiting and onboarding new staff is more expensive than it would be to keep the existing workforce happy. Which is why many organisations are now putting employee experience centre stage.

This comes at a time when companies are continuing to navigate hybrid working – which has become the norm for more than three-quarters of organisations. But the transition to hybrid comes with a greater reliance on technology that puts the quality of digital employee experiences (DEX) and the impact on productivity under the microscope. To accurately gauge how DEX is impacting workers’ productivity and job satisfaction, businesses are looking for new ways to quantify and improve experiences. Which is where the Employee Experience Manager (EEM) comes in.

Enter the Employee Experience Manager 

Predicted to be one of the most in-demand roles in 2024, EEMs are set to revolutionise DEX. When armed with actionable insights from all employee interactions, including over digital channels, EEMs can identify pain-points that damage experiences. EEMs can do this successfully with DEX analytics. By drawing data from a DEX layer implemented across all systems an employee interacts with, EEMs can make what was previously intangible, tangible. Identifying productivity blockers and working with the relevant line of business managers to eliminate them, EEMs will be vital in keeping hybrid workers engaged and effective.

One major priority for EEMs is working with IT teams to reduce digital friction – the unnecessary effort employees must exert to carry out their daily tasks. This friction could come in the form of confusing user interfaces to slow app loading times, and is a huge drain on productivity and happiness; 47% of technology users experience high digital friction, and 34% experience this friction several times a week. Often focused on fixing non-performant technology, IT teams rarely have oversight into these less tangible factors affecting DEX. Employees suffering from fractured application workflows and non-intuitive user journeys don’t know where to turn, and too often suffer in silence. With EEMs able to focus on solving these problems and support IT teams in fixing digital friction, everyone wins.

Given the significant impact of poor DEX and digital friction on the workforce, it’s no wonder that EEMs are in high demand. Research shows that each week, almost 3.4 hours are wasted by hybrid workers due to a lack of access to technology, and nearly 3.6 more due to technology that doesn’t work. With some 7 hours per employee per week wasted, the financial toll of poor DEX makes it impossible to ignore.

New year, new priorities

2024 is going to be the year that organisations prioritise digital experiences for their employees, or risk losing talent to their competitors. EEMs are critical to delivering the frictionless experiences workers expect – whether they are in the office, working away as a hybrid worker, or fully remote. Insights from DEX analytics will drive change that sets businesses apart by empowering their employees to be their most productive and satisfied. A role that hardly existed five years ago is going to become a game changer for those who choose to hire EEMs.