A great employee experience means

employees that are more mobilized, customers that are more satisfied and a company

that’s more profitable!

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In an economy focused on the customer experience and the price-quality ratio, many companies have prioritized their customers to the point that they have forgotten who their first "customers" are: their employees. While focus is turned toward customers, what happens to the quality of the "employee experience"?

As the mass of human resources decreases, employee mobilization is becoming a critical and topical subject. Manufactured products are more and more alike and are less durable. Gone are the days when only a product’s quality defined its price-quality ratio. Today, everyone recognizes the importance of differentiation through customer experience. Indeed, the most recent studies report that 67% of companies expect to target customer experience improvement in 2017 to get a competitive advantage. For this reason, having employees that are accessible, courteous, attentive to the customer and proactive quickly becomes an asset. Remember that employee talent and commitment cannot exist in a void, and flashes of genius often come from employees who are happy and mobilized!

Therefore, it seems relevant to present a brief overview of this cornerstone of business success. In this article, the reader will learn more about mobilization and grasp its importance in terms of direct profitability (increase in sales and reduction in costs) and indirect profitability (decrease in absenteeism and presenteeism and a better customer experience). Moreover, the reader will become familiar with the best practices to leverage its use and impact.

Mr. Watier holds a Doctorate from Université Laval, a Post-Doctorate in Experimental Psychology from Carleton University and has authored numerous scientific publications. He has a strong academic background and impressive experience in the fields of quantitative and qualitative analytical methods, research, psychometrics, cognitive psychology, and perception. He also holds two masters in business administration (EMBA from Montreal and Paris).

Christian Watier, MBA, Ph. D.Vice-President, Research

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Essentially, mobilization is a voluntary effort to achieve a common goal. This concept has two components: behavioural and psychological. From a behavioural point of view, a mobilized employee exerts more energy than the average employee. As for the psychological component, mobilization mainly affects a person’s conception of themself (attitudes, beliefs, values, self-image, etc.).Within an organization, an employee is deemed mobilized if they adopt the following three behavioural values:

The concept of mobilization often gets conflated with motivation, which represents a set of internal and external forces that lead a person to think, act, learn and evolve (Deci and Ryan, 2008). Motivation is an individual characteristic distinguished by certain behaviours aimed at collaboration and interaction with others to achieve a common goal. According to Tremblay and Wils, eight specific behaviours differentiate mobilization from motivation:

1. Being client oriented2. Helping others (working with colleagues);3. Supporting interpersonal relationships (lending assistance, helping others);4. Coordinating with others5. Showing continuous improvement6. Being a good sport (showing solidarity)7. Participating in collective activities (going to meetings, social events and other types of events)8. Being loyal to the company (lending support to and defending the company).

Speaking:Without being asked to do so, they say positive things about the company.

Staying:They show a strong desire to stay with the company.

Excelling above and beyond: They seek to excel and perform better to achieve the company’s objectives.

Let’s start at the beginning.What exactly is mobilization?

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Mobilization is the ability and willingness to help the company achieve success. In other words: discretionary performance! (Towers Perrin)

A bit of historyThe concept of employee mobilization is relatively new. Indeed, business in the first half of the twentieth century was greatly influenced by Taylorism and Fordism. At that time, personnel management meant close supervision of work execution. The point was to eliminate any margin of uncertainty and to involve the worker in a network of constraints that left him with only two choices, to submit or resign. Worker training was limited strictly to learning a specific method of operation, the choice of which wasn’t explained. The wage system was a secondary element. Essentially, a worker who worked at the expected rate earned a higher salary over time and increases in salary were aimed to make him accept changes in working methods.

The Toyotism period (from the 1960s to the 1980s) was in large part an improvement of Taylorism and Fordism, which weren’t considered sufficient to ensure companies adapted quickly to markets. Toyotism was based on shifting greater responsibility on workers, whose tasks became more complex, meaning they needed to be more adaptive and team oriented. Their opinion counted, and they participated in problem diagnosis and resolution. Still, the first articles on the link between employee satisfaction and productivity weren’t published until the 1980s. The concept of mobilization had finally taken off!

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Mobilization research increased in the 1990s. Many researchers found a link between employee satisfaction, client satisfaction and financial performance. Their studies revealed a direct and quantifiable link between various aspects of customer and employee services (satisfaction, enthusiasm, loyalty, commitment, capacity and internal service quality) and financial results. It became clear that there is a circular relationship between employee satisfaction and retention, client satisfaction and loyalty and increased profitability (e.g., The Loyalty Effect, Reichheld, 1996).

The term "employee mobilization" emerged at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Studies published then as well as more recently show that an employee's level of mobilization, their corporate behavior and the turnover rate can predict profitability for the coming year and that these factors influence customer satisfaction. Mobilization assessment indicators have appeared (e.g., the eNPS index), and companies aspire to become "employers of choice" (see the certification offered by Aon). In short, employee mobilization is a topical issue, and many companies now focus on the "employee experience" as much as the customer experience. If you aren’t assessing employee mobilization, you’re lagging behind…

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Mobilized or disengaged?Do not underestimate the repercussions!

Workforce disengagement represents a significant hidden cost, which has a direct effect on a company’s profitability in terms of increasing sales and controlling costs as well as the deterioration of the experience offered to the end consumer.

For example, in the late 1990s, Sears showed a solid statistical link between mobilization and earnings through a periodic assessment of attitudes to work.

Moreover, in 2002, studies revealed that a collegial and flexible workplace environment in a company where employees are mobilized generates an increase in share value (up to 9%), which seems to indicate a direct impact of employee satisfaction on financial gains. It is noteworthy that 40% of the companies listed in the top 100  U.S. companies to work for are also Fortune  500 companies. In addition, it was discovered that one additional point in employee mobilization could generate up to $200,000 in additional sales per month, per point of sale (depending on the size of the business and product sold), and reduce absenteeism and presenteeism (an employee’s physical presence but "mental absence").

Indeed, a few years after the study, Sears found that a 5-point improvement in the attitude of employees in a store generated a 1.3-point increase in customer satisfaction, resulting in a 0.5% increase in revenue.

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In a study published in 2010, Tower Watson, a firm established all over the world, showed that companies whose employees are mobilized financially outperform low-mobilization workplaces by posting an operating margin of 5.75% and an additional net profit margin of 3.44%. Moreover, research conducted by the global firm Aon on 7,000  organizations over the last few years shows that each disengaged employee on average incurs a $10,000 loss in profits per year. Companies like Adobe report that by evaluating and managing their employee experience the same way they do the customer experience, they have reduced their turnover rate by 30%.

Finally, based on 25 years of research, more than one million employee interviews and 80,000 interviews with managers at different levels and in different countries, the global firm Gallup has come up with the "Gallup Path to Business Performance," a path to financial performance whose starting point is the selection of internal resources and whose success rests on committed and mobilized employees.

As a company specializing in the evaluation and management of the customer experience, and based on 15 years’ experience, Lanla supports these results. Indeed, based on our research with Quebec and Canadian companies in recent years, we have seen how a one-point increase in employee mobilization at a point of sale can boost the customer experience by two to five points, leading to up to a 6% increase in net profits (performance observed in the best performing points of sale). This improvement is mainly due to the direct or indirect impact of mobilization on the four markers related to the price-quality ratio (Figure 1). Indeed, disengaged employees are more likely to speak ill of the company and its products (to the detriment of its reputation), produce lower-quality goods or services and offer a poorer customer experience, which weakens the company with respect to its competitors. By extension, the perception of price-quality of that company’s products or services inevitably suffers.

Can you afford this hidden expense? You may say “This problem isn’t an issue for my company.” But…

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Current situation: Very few companies merit an honourable mention

According to recent studies, companies are finding it very difficult to mobilize their workforce at the moment. Among other things, a 2014 study of 2,500  organizations in 90  countries conducted by Deloitte reveals that today's employees want more than they used to. They are no longer satisfied with a career; they are looking for an "employee experience." This experience corresponds to a meaningful and rewarding job and goes beyond financial recognition.

The barrier between private life and work life is blurring, mainly due to technological advances. Whether on their smartphones or their computers, employees face a barrage of emails, conference calls, meetings and other distractions. The work landscape has also changed a great deal. Nearly 40% of workers in North America voluntarily choose to work part-time (fewer than 35  hours a week). Generation  Y employees are looking for more creative jobs and want to work for young companies (or for themselves).

Moreover, employees of all generations are looking for easier, less punitive and more relevant work. According to the study, 26% of workers in the United States will change jobs within the year. Unfortunately, these employees are the ones who possess the greatest expertise and are the most motivated upon arrival at a company.

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As for mobilization per se, according to a 2013 Gallup study of 73,752  respondents in 141  countries and 151,335  respondents in the United States and Canada, 63% of employees worldwide were not engaged, 24% were actively disengaged and only 13% were engaged.

In North America (the United States and Canada), 54% of employees were not engaged, 18% were actively disengaged and 29% were engaged (the least engaged countries were concentrated in Asia and Eastern Europe). Old news, you say?

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Here are the results compiled from the most recent data, in real time and on an ongoing basis (as of November 30, 2016), by the global company Officevibe based on 1,200,000  data points collected from 50,000  respondents in more than 1,000  companies located in 150 countries:

- 65% of employees feel they do not receive sufficient recognition.- 72% of employees receive appreciation less than once a week.- 82% of employees prefer receiving praise than material gifts.

- 35% must wait more than three months to obtain feedback about their work from their supervisor.- 96% would like to receive feedback at least once a week (e.g., during a weekly meeting).- 62% would like their colleagues to give them more feedback.

- One in two employees considers that they have not been adequately integrated upon arrival in a company.- 33% are unhappy at work.- 57% do not feel that they have opportunities for advancement.- 42% believe they do not have sufficient autonomy.- 59% would not recommend friends or family to work for their company (detractors and passive respondents combined according to the eNPS index).

Appreciation

Feedback

Happiness and autonomy

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- 25% say they do not know what the company’s long-term vision is.- 74% do not find the objectives set by their superior clear.- One in five employees feels that their supervisor is not sufficiently frank with them.- 68% would like to spend more time with their supervisor to build a less formal relationship with them.

- 37% consider that they do not have enough social interaction with their colleagues.- 42% have already heard their colleagues denigrate other colleagues.- 62% eat alone at their desk.- 20% would like some of their colleagues to work harder and find it unfair that this lack of equity isn’t corrected by their superiors.

Obviously, these results aren’t very good; they’re even disturbing. Indeed, it is high time that companies begin to treat their employees as customers. After all, are they not a company’s first "customers"? In fact, many business leaders see employee mobilization as their top priority. If you aren’t assessing employee mobilization, it would be unrealistic to think none of these issues applies to you...

The company and the supervisor

Colleagues

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Which assessment method should you choose?

Several factors need to be considered before making the decision to fully assume the task of assessing and managing internal mobilization. Indeed, it’s necessary to ensure one has employees that are highly qualified in assessment (psychometrics, statistics, IT, etc.) and management (methodology, interpretation of results, reports, presentations, etc.). Moreover, it is necessary to rule out any power play within the company. The level of mobilization must be relatively high because low response rates and the quality of the data collected correlate with a poor organizational climate. Still, completely outsourcing the process also involves risks. You’ll be dependent on the supplier and will exercise less control over costs. However, if you choose not to enlist the skills of experts as a cost-saving measure, you’re flirting with disaster!

No solution is ideal, but studies show that the most effective assessment and mobilization management solutions are headed by a strong internal HR committee, with the assessment, interpretation and dissemination of results overseen by an external and neutral partner. Communications, advertising copy, questionnaires and reports will, therefore, display the colours and logos of the two partner companies. Respondents feel freer to speak, and the program is more beneficial.

If you choose to outsource, be sure to focus on experienced suppliers that meet your needs and are flexible, have the right skills and provide quality service. Opt for the best solution and not the lowest price! Finally, regardless of the option you choose, be sure to preserve the respondents’ anonymity at all times; respondents tend to perceive outside firm solutions as more confidential.

Management by the human resources department internally or by an external firm?

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You have two options when it comes to the questionnaire format. It can be generic (the questionnaire is predetermined, and the questions can’t be modified) or personalized (the content of the questionnaire is adapted to your needs). The choice between the two should be informed by your goal. Certification is generally the aim of a generic questionnaire (e.g., Aon's employer of choice, SECOR's mobilization index [IME], Gallup's Gallup's Q, etc.) as is the desire to compare all users based on the same version of the questionnaire. In a generic type of questionnaire, with little or no open-ended questions, however, it is difficult to identify effective operational solution programs for employees and prioritize actions to be taken. Customized questionnaires serve the opposite purpose. Certification and comparison with others are impossible since only a comparison of different assessment periods can be carried out. However, this type of questionnaire, which includes open-ended questions, makes it possible to define effective operational solutions for the company (e.g., employee expectations, moments of truth, prioritization of actions to be taken, etc.). Consequently, Lanla recommends the second option.

The desired objectives should determine the method of surveying your employees. The option of semi-structured in-person interviews might be successful (lots of qualitative data) but is more time-consuming and costly and requires highly mobilized employees (especially if the program is managed internally). A paper survey is not as widely used these days but is still a viable option, especially for less high-tech firms (e.g., textiles, agriculture, etc.) or older employees who may feel intimidated by the technical aspect of the survey. That said, an email survey is highly recommended; it’s inexpensive, avoids input errors and speeds up the data collection process. Be wary of "variable address" email address lists (e.g., name@hotmail.com, name@gmail.com, etc.) though. Various problems (bad address, mass mailings considered as spam, etc.) can artificially reduce the response rate.

When it comes to the frequency of survey administration, it is important not to let too much time pass between assessment periods. Indeed, a low assessment frequency (e.g., once every five years or even every three years) may be perceived as lack of interest on the part of management and undermine the effectiveness of the program. Conversely, conducting assessments too often may alienate your employees and dramatically reduce participation, leading to disengagement. For these reasons, Lanla recommends conducting an annual mobilization assessment, provided that concrete actions that are perceptible to employees are taken in the following year, depending on the results obtained.

A generic or personalized questionnaire?

Data collection method and frequency

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The main mobilization assessment indicators

As for the case of customer experience assessment and management with real consumers (see Large folder  3 for more details), you must know the five main employee experience (mobilization) indicators:- The average score of the employee experience- The employee experience consistency score (see Large folder 2 for details)- The gap between the company’s performance and its employees’ expectations- Employee loyalty score (the Employee Net Promoter Score; see Large folder 1 for details)- The employee experience moments of truth

It is important to note that the eNPS index is more recent than the Net Promoter Score, which measures the loyalty of a company's clientele. However, Culture Amp, a company that specializes in surveys and employee mobilization analyses, recently conducted a test with 15 client companies to determine the link between the eNPS index and mobilization. They proved that these two variables evolve positively and are very strongly correlated (over 0.90), which confirms that the eNPS score is an excellent indicator of employee mobilization (Figure 2).

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Key factors for successful implementation

Finally, in addition to these five indicators, the response rate serves as an indirect indicator of employee mobilization. According to the studies, a low participation rate is associated with a lower level of mobilization in all cases. Table  1 shows the response rates to look for according to the type of business (franchisee or company point of sale).

A program to assess and manage employee engagement or mobilization or the employee experience—no matter the exact name—boosts productivity, employee engagement and the customer experience by determining the root causes of strengths and opportunities for improvement within a company. However, a winning implementation strategy is essential to maximize the impact of the process. Here are the main strategic success factors (macro) based on research on the subject:

• Commitment of senior management• Support from middle managers• An adequate communication strategy• Realistic expectations from senior management• Availability of resources• Employee participation

More specifically, here are the recommended operational and sequential (micro) guidelines:1. Establish an internal committee responsible for evaluating and managing the employee experience.2. Identify a professional external resource that can guide you through the process (optional, but strongly recommended).3. Determine the purpose of the assessment.4. Choose the data collection method.

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5. Develop the questionnaire according to the objectives and expected results.6. Conduct an official launch, recognized and supported by senior management.7. Send the questionnaire to be completed by employees during working hours.8. Encourage participation (send a reminder or reminders as required).9. Analyze and interpret the results.10. Prepare a report of the operational and strategic recommendations (always maintain the respondents’ anonymity).11. Establish an action plan.12. Communicate the results of the assessment and the action plan to employees.13. Keep results in a safe place to compare with results from subsequent years.

The action plan must be prepared after the report is produced, so the action plan is results based. However, it must be realistic and, at least, include the following elements:• Actions to be taken, in order of priority• Name of the person(s) who will implement these actions• Resources required (time, money, equipment, people)• Timetable, with expected completion dates for each action• Expected results and/or means of verifying that results have been achieved

It is important to review the action plan on a regular basis and adapt it as needed to achieve the desired outcomes, in addition to communicating its import and following up on it. Once employees see that an action plan has in fact been implemented, they will be more likely to participate and provide feedback in the future.

Communicating the results and the overall process are critical to the success of such a program. It’s imperative for transparency to remain front and centre during the process through communication with employees before, during and after the survey, as employees are more likely to participate and provide feedback at each assessment period as a result. Items covered in communications to employees include:

• Who are the members of the committee, and who are their partners?• How and when will the survey be conducted?• How will the confidentiality of the results be ensured?• How will the results be used, and when will they be presented to employees?• How will the action plan(s) be developed on the basis of the survey results?• How will the action plan(s) be reviewed and examined?

Finally, even if the company applies the implementation criteria successfully, employee mobilization isn’t guaranteed. However, if they aren’t applied at all, the program is likely to fail and will not lead to any improvement in mobilization.

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The employee experience: The key to success!

It’s essential to regularly maintain and renew mobilization. Doing so isn’t an easy task since bringing all the winning conditions together and maintaining them no matter the circumstance is something of a miracle!

However, two levers for action remain critical. Without a rallying or mobilizing leader, you can forget about mobilization! Employees need a noble cause: a better future, an inspiring vision, a unifying project, shared values, legitimate goals and, now more than ever, a socially responsible company.

Mobilization requires good leaders who are enthusiastic about the cause to be defended or promoted and who put in place conditions conducive to its realization (trust, support). They lead by example, defend the common interest, inspire trust by their honest behavior and genuinely care about employees. Remember that employee disengagement often results from an inadequate management style.

It is important to note that action-based management will have a long-term disengaging effect. As a supervisor, you should focus on dialogue with your employees to show them the benefits of mobilization.

Finally, remember that total mobilization represents a collective utopia. It is never fully acquired, nor is it forever. Mobilization is an ephemeral phenomenon. Sometimes the cause has lost its raison d’être or only the leader remains up to the challenge. Or, perhaps there is neither a project nor a leader left! Do you plan to offer an employee experience that meets the expectations of your "customers" and make it a competitive asset to your business? The ball’s in your court!

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References

WebsiteAon : http://www.aon.com/canada/fr/default.jsp

Articles:Forbes, Deloitte : « Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 – Engaging the 21st-century workforce », mars 2014Article complet : http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2014/03/15/why-companies-fail-to-engage-todays-workforce-the-overwhelmed-employee/#27e277ea2b94Gallup : « Worldwide, 13% of Employees are Engaged at Work », octobre 2013Article complet : http://www.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspxSECOR/KPMG : « La mobilisation dans le commerce de détail », 2009Gallup : « State of the American workplace », 2013, p.19Étude complète : http://employeeengagement.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Gallup-2013-State-of-the-American-Workplace-Report.pdfCulture Amp : « Employee Net Promoter Scores & Employee Engagement »Article complet : http://blog.cultureamp.com/blog/employee-nps-engagementBain & Company : « Who’s responsible for employee engagement? », 2013Article complet: http://www.bain.com/Images/BAIN_BRIEF_Who's_responsible_for_employee_engagement.pdfBruce Temkin, Temkin Group : « To Improve Customer Experience, Engage Your Employees», 2015Article complet : http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Columns-Departments/Customer-Experience/To-Improve-Customer-Experience-Engage-Your-Employees-103608.aspxJean-Charles Lamoureux, CRHA, fondateur de Strategis Conseil : La mobilisation, gage de réussite organisationnelle : les leviers de mobilisationArticle complet : http://www.portailrh.org/expert/ficheSA.aspx?f=63104

BooksReichheld, Fred; Markey, Rob (2011). The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN 978-1-4221-7335-0.