Pandemic’s Impact Drives Employee Experience Technology

Experience Diagram

The global workforce has seen profound effects since the beginning of Covid-19, in part because organizations have struggled to to hire and retain employees. According to a new report from Dash Research, this challenge — which many observers say was developing even before the emergence of the pandemic — has become more fraught as power in the labor market shifts from employers to employees. To cope, Dash said, companies have had to adapt and, among other things, strengthen their candidate and employee experiences.

Dash found that recent market dynamics have led employers to invest in a range of technologies and solutions to bulk up the experiences they offer, in addition to easing the day-to-day friction for employees and keeping up with their workers’ preferences.

Vendors find the labor market's dynamics have become more complex as power shifts from employers to employees. #HR #HRTech @DashNetwork Click To Tweet

“Companies are becoming more human-centered,” said Dash Senior Analyst Sherril Hanson, “and HR departments are shifting focus from operations and productivity toward experience, health and wellbeing. In many cases, the fundamental relationship between employer and employee has changed.”

Boosting Tech

Among other things, these changes have been driven by the Great Resignation, shifting employee wants and needs, and the move to hybrid and remote work.

All of this has encouraged larger HCM technology vendors to increase their focus on engagement, community building, recognition and performance management. Smaller solutions providers have been able to gain leverage in the market by offering products focused on a single component of the employee experience ecosystem.

Dash forecasts that the global market for experience platforms, applications and services will increase from $5.9 billion in 2021 to more than $14.6 billion in 2026.

However, companies face a variety of hurdles as they seek to upgrade their experiences, including outdated tech stacks and the inability to build a culture that incorporates employee experience.

But if implemented thoughtfully and with sustained commitment, Dash believes, solutions can promote deeper employee engagement, less employee churn, in-house automation and efficiencies and improved customer experience.

Image: iStock

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