RESEARCH BRIEFING | VOLUME XVII, NUMBER 6, JUNE 2017

BUILDING BUSINESS VALUE

WITH EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Kristine Dery, Research Scientist
Ina M. Sebastian, Research Associate
MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)

One of the great challenges of the digital economy is the EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE IS DISTINCT
pressure for large, established companies to respond to dis- FROM EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
ruption in their industries. Companies must be able to rapidly
We define employee experience as the work complexity and
and continuously create new, innovative customer experi-
behavioral norms that influence employees’ ability to create
ences and digital services. Traditional command-and-control
value. Employee experience is different from employee well-
organizational structures are not effective in this rapidly
being—the benefits and beliefs that make employees feel
changing world. Required instead are flatter hierarchies, an
good about belonging to an organization. While we acknowl-
innovative mindset throughout the organization, and fluid
edge the importance of employee wellbeing, this research
test and learn environments in which employees can be both
focuses on the employee experience of doing work. In some
proactive and reactive in realizing customer expectations.
instances work is simply being enhanced—such as made
Creating a great employee experience that enables doing
faster, more efficient, or more accurate—but in many cases
more complex work is critical to success.
work is being reimagined as digital technologies replace,
augment, or create roles and tasks.
Employee experience is defined by work Work complexity refers to how hard it is to get work done
complexity—how hard it is to get work in your organization. We found that companies that had
done in your organization—and behavioral invested in both technology and processes were able to
reduce work complexity. These companies provisioned tools
norms around collaboration, creativity, and advocated practices to connect employees with ideas
and empowerment. and each other and to reduce friction around non-value
creating tasks.
In late 2016 we conducted a global survey of 281 senior exec-
utives.1 We found that employee experience was made up of Behavioral norms refers to the pervasiveness of expec-
two essential factors: work complexity and behavioral norms tations around how people work in your organization. In
(specifically collaboration, creativity, and empowerment). our research, three behavioral norms emerged as critical
Companies that focus on these two factors outperform their for building business value: collaboration, creativity, and
competitors. This research briefing explores employee expe- empowerment. These behavioral norms made it easier for
rience in large companies: what it is, why it matters, and how employees to contribute to new ideas, regardless of where
you can enhance it. the ideas originated in the organization; to share new ideas
for both customer- and employee-facing initiatives; and to
curate their own ways of working to meet individual and
collective needs.
1 Results reported in this briefing are from a 2016 MIT CISR survey of
leaders, managers, and sponsors of digital workplace projects (N=281)
from companies across North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. 77 per- EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE DELIVERS
cent of respondents were directly responsible for the design or ongoing
redesign of the digital workplace in their company. A wide cross-section
ORGANIZATIONAL VALUE
of industries was represented, with 56 percent of respondents from In our research, companies with great employee experience
ICT, Manufacturing, and Financial Services companies. 65 percent of
companies had more than 1,000 employees; 33 percent had more than (i.e., low work complexity, and strong behavioral norms for
10,000 employees. collaboration, creativity, and empowerment) were more

© 2017 MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research, Dery and Sebastian. MIT CISR Research Briefings are published
monthly to update the center's patrons and sponsors on current research projects.
2 | MIT CISR Research Briefing, Vol. XVII, No. 6, June 2017

innovative and profitable and had higher levels of customer in our survey,3 indicating that those companies scoring high
satisfaction. Figure 1 shows the striking differences be- in employee experience are lowering costs and/or increasing
tween the business performance of companies that scored revenue to shift their performance relative to competitors.
in the top and bottom quartiles on employee experience.2
Companies with scores in the top quartile of employee experi- DIGITAL CAPABILITIES AND LEADERSHIP
ence were twice as innovative as those in the bottom quartile, ENABLE GREAT EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
based on the percentage of revenue from new products/ser- Top-performing companies in our survey on employee
vices in the past two years. These companies were paving the experience prioritized two distinct areas of activity to both
way for employees to work together effectively and engage reduce work complexity and build behavioral norms: (1)
with customers in new ways to enhance revenue streams. providing and facilitating the digital capabilities required by
employees, and (2) implementing a facilitative and evi-
dence-based leadership approach.4
Great employee experience enables work To build great employee experience, our research findings
that is less predictable and requires more suggest that companies need to prioritize the following:
human judgment and coordination. 1. Deliver outstanding employee-facing digital
capabilities
The companies’ ability to develop new solutions and seamless Companies in the top quartile on employee experience
experiences for customers was also reflected in significantly delivered an average of 66 percent more digital capacity
higher customer satisfaction, as shown by the average Net to employees than companies in the bottom quartile,
Promoter scores in the two groups. We further saw a 25 particularly in areas such as mobile access to work, effec-
percent increase on the industry-related profitability measure

3 Survey respondents reported their profitability relative to competitors on

a 5-point scale. Respondents were asked to describe how their organiza-
tion compares to competitors on a scale of 1 (performing far worse than
competitors) to 5 (performing far better than competitors). This measure
2 We obtained an employee experience score for each company in our had significant correlations with net profit margin and Return on Assets
study by subtracting the company's score of work complexity from its (RoA) in the sub-sample where secondary data were available.
score of behavioral norms. Work complexity is an average of three 4 An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences at the
technology survey items—(1) connecting virtually, (2) getting technolo- p=0.01 level between the mean scores on all design levers (including
gies needed for work, and (3) using IT systems—and three process survey physical workspace) for companies in the top quartile and in the bottom
items—(1) finding expertise, (2) sharing ideas, and (3) making changes to quartile on employee experience. A backward regression showed that
the way work is done—measured on a 1–5 scale (never to very frequent- the following design levers were significant (at p<0.01) for employee
ly). Behavioral norms is an average of three sets of survey items that experience: digital capabilities and responsive leadership (leadership
describe employee behaviors in an organization—collaboration, creativity, support, learning, and symbols). For behavioral norms in particular, social
and empowerment—measured on a 1–5 scale (not at all to very well). capabilities were also significant (at p<0.01).

Figure 1: Employee Experience Predicts Business Performance

 MIT CISR Research Briefing, Vol. XVII, No. 6, June 2017 | 3

tive support where and when needed, and the ability for 4. Communicate the strategic significance of employee
employees to search for and access people and knowledge experience initiatives
anywhere in the organization. These companies were also
A critical and very challenging task for leadership is com-
on average 61 percent more likely to provision and support
municating how employee experience initiatives matter for
personalized toolkits based on working needs. Social net-
the digital transformation of the company. Survey respon-
working platforms were not only two to three times more
dents from the top quartile agreed that there was a clearly
prevalent in these companies, but also seen as central to
articulated and well-understood strategy associated with
collaboration and the sharing of ideas.
employee experience initiatives. These companies explicitly
2. Create channels to continue identifying employee friction linked activities associated with work and workplace chang-
points es to the business vision statement to consistently reinforce
Companies in the top quartile on employee experience the importance of employee experience. Leaders in the top
were on average 90 percent more likely to seek feedback on quartile companies effectively communicated the value of
friction points from employees by providing online feedback employee experience by exemplifying new ways of working,
and innovation platforms, building an active network of sharing stories about how work was changing, and building a
digital workplace champions, and drawing data from activity brand5 that visualizes new values and capabilities. This lead-
on enterprise social media platforms. These companies ership behavior was highly symbolic in motivating change.
empowered employees to identify problems and make pro-
active changes to the way they work in order to add value. THE CIO MUST TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE
To build a richer picture of friction points and to identify Based on our survey results, companies that prioritize both
non-value creating activities, leaders gathered data from digital technologies and leadership behaviors are better
many channels, including IT help desks, and IoT sensors equipped to reduce work complexity and develop behavioral
and other digital capabilities built into work processes. In norms around collaboration, creativity, and empowerment.
contrast, companies that performed low on employee ex- We found that initiatives in companies that scored low on
perience took a more passive approach, seeking employee employee experience often received inadequate funding
insights infrequently, and largely through senior executive and resources, had low levels of management commitment,
reporting, employee surveys, and traditional HR metrics. and did not move beyond isolated efforts. This finding has
3. Design accountability for maintaining a focus on significant implications for who should manage the employ-
employee experience ee experience, and suggests that the CIO must take a major
role. However, technology is clearly not all that is required.
Senior and middle management were not only more
Establishing a more facilitative style of leadership will require
active in their focus on employee experience. The bottom
a broader level of senior management commitment across a
quartile of companies reported a significant lack of senior
range of functions, focusing on activities such as investment
and middle management support. In contrast, leaders in
in technology solutions, the reevaluation of business rules,
the top quartile actively provided dedicated coaching to
risk assessments, and the creation of company-wide pro-
support employees in new ways of working and aligned
cesses. As work in the digital age becomes less predictable,
reward systems to new employee experience strategies.
leaders who continuously work with employees to identify
Companies with high employee experience ratings were
and eliminate friction points will enhance employee experi-
almost three times as likely to provide regular or real-time
ence and create the fertile ground to build more value.
information on employee improvements and to benchmark
these against targets. To build great employee experience
that delivers value, companies need to take an organi-
zation-wide approach that is sustained and incorporates 5 For more information on building a company brand, see K. Dery, I.M.
Sebastian, and J.W. Ross, “The Digital Workplace Transforming Business:
dashboards and metrics that maintain the pressure on both The Case of Deloitte Australia,” MIT Sloan CISR Research Briefing, Vol. XV,
stripping out complexity and supporting desired behaviors. No. 8, August 2015.

Success in the digital era at established companies depends on transforming how work is done to create digital workplaces
and improve employee experience. In an article in the current issue of MIS Quarterly Executive, Kristine Dery, Ina M. Sebas-
tian, and Nick van der Meulen describe the transformational journeys of three established companies: DBS Bank
in Singapore, Deloitte Australia, and AUDI AG in Germany.
Read “The Digital Workplace Is Key to Digital Innovation” in MIS Quarterly Executive.
MIT SLOAN CENTER FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH
Founded in 1974 and grounded in the MIT tradition of rigorous field-based research, MIT CISR helps executives meet
the challenge of leading dynamic, global, and information-intensive organizations. We provide the CIO and other
digital leaders with insights on topics such as business complexity, data monetization, and the digital workplace.
Through research, teaching, and events, the center stimulates interaction among scholars, students, and practitioners.
More than ninety firms sponsor our work and participate in our consortium.

CISR RESEARCH PATRONS The Boston Consulting Group, Howden Joinery Group plc QBE

Information as of June 2017

Inc. (UK) Raytheon Company
AlixPartners LLP
BP (UK) Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Reserve Bank of Australia
L&T Infotech Limited BT Group plc (UK) (China)
Royal Bank of Canada
Microsoft Corporation Canadian Imperial Bank of Insurance Australia Group
Royal Philips (Netherlands)
PricewaterhouseCoopers Commerce Johnson & Johnson
Advisory Services LLC Sabadell Bank
Cardinal Health, Inc. LKK Health Products Group
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (HK, China) Scentre Group (Australia)
Caterpillar, Inc.
Limited LPL Financial Schindler Digital Business AG
CEMEX (Mexico) (Switzerland)
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. McGraw-Hill Education
CISR SPONSORS Schneider Electric Industries
Chevron Corporation National Australia Bank Ltd. SAS (France)
Aetna, Inc. National Disability Insurance
CHRISTUS Health Standard Bank Group (South
Akamai Technologies Scheme (Australia) Africa)
Cochlear Limited (Australia)
Allstate Insurance Company New Zealand Government— State Street Corp.
Commonwealth Bank GCIO Office
ANZ Banking Group Ltd. of Australia Suncorp Group (Australia)
(Australia) Nielsen
CPPIB (Canada) Swinburne University
APM Terminals (Denmark) Nomura Holdings, Inc. (Japan) of Technology (Australia)
CSBS
Australia Post Nomura Research Institute, Sydney Water (Australia)
DBS Bank Ltd. (Singapore) Ltd. (Japan)
Australian Taxation Office TD Bank, N.A.
DentaQuest Nordea Bank
AustralianSuper Teck Resources Ltd. (Canada)
El Corte Inglés Northwestern Mutual
B2W Companhia Digital Tenet Health
(Brazil) Equifax Orange S.A. (France)
ExxonMobil Global Services Tetra Pak (Sweden)
Banco do Brasil S.A. Org. for Economic
Company Co-operation and Trinity Health
Bank of Queensland
(Australia) Fairfax Media (Australia) Development (OECD) USAA
Barclays (UK) Ferrovial Corporacion, S.A. Origin Energy (Australia) Westpac Banking Corp.
(Spain) Owens Corning (Australia)
BB&T
Fidelity Investments PepsiCo Inc. World Bank
BBVA (Spain)
General Electric Pioneer Natural Resources
Bemis Company, Inc.
Genworth Financial USA Inc.
Biogen, Inc.
GlaxoSmithKline UK Principal Financial Group
BNP Paribas (France)
Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan) Procter & Gamble
BNY Mellon

MIT CISR is funded by Research Patrons and Sponsors, and we gratefully acknowledge their financial support and their many
contributions to our work.
Sponsorship and benefits: cisr.mit.edu/community/sponsor-and-patron-benefits
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MIT Sloan School of Management Team | Kristine Dery, Christine G. Foglia Associate Director,
Center for Information Systems Research Nils O. Fonstad, Amber Franey, Dorothea Gray-Papastathis,
Cheryl A. Miller, Kate Moloney, Leslie Owens Executive Director,
245 First Street, E94-15th Floor Jeanne W. Ross, Ina M. Sebastian, Peter Weill Chairman,
Cambridge, MA 02142 Barbara H. Wixom, Stephanie L. Woerner
t 617-253-2348 | e cisr@mit.edu

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