Exclusive: The Vital Role Of Digital Experience In Employee Engagement And Retention

Last updated on October 31st, 2023 at 11:48 am

In the current labour environment, it takes much more than an attractive salary and benefits package to stand out in the crowd and encourage employee engagement and retention. Employees seek flexibility in their work approach and location. They expect their employers to encourage their mental, physical and financial wellbeing, while also providing a clear path for skill development and career progression. If their current company doesn’t meet these needs, they will likely explore opportunities elsewhere.

In response, organizations are prioritizing the employee experience, ensuring they can provide each individual employee with the working practices, benefits and culture they need to feel supported and included in the workforce.

HR and business leaders must ensure they do not overlook the central role of digital experience within the overall employee experience. As workers become increasingly reliant on applications and digital services to perform their jobs, these services must function at an optimal level at all times, or organizations run the risk of employees becoming frustrated and eventually leaving their jobs.

The Crucial Role of Digital Experience in Employee Engagement and Retention

A study conducted by Cisco AppDynamics, highlighted the importance workers now attach to digital experience. 66 percent of employees said that if the applications and digital services they use in their job fail to perform, it leaves them feeling anxious and angry. Furthermore, 52 percent said it makes them more inclined to leave their job.

Employees’ dependence on digital services for their job performance leaves no room for forgiveness when technology fails. Most admit that employers have only one chance to impress them with an application or digital service. If an application doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll be left feeling annoyed and unmotivated, something that employers can’t afford in the current climate.

According to the research, more than half of employees polled have experienced at least one occasion over the past six months when they haven’t been able to do their job properly because of poorly performing applications and IT in their company. If HR and business leaders want to avoid a talent exodus, then they need to address this issue urgently.

Application observability serves as the cornerstone for ensuring smooth digital interactions and fostering increased employee engagement

As consumers, we’re now benefiting from the most innovative, high-quality applications on the market for activities such as entertainment, news, banking and messaging. And we see no reason why we shouldn’t have the same level of experience when we’re at work, however unrealistic or unfair that might be on employers.

Recently, IT teams have grappled with significant challenges in handling application availability and performance. The ongoing transition to multi-cloud and hybrid environments has left technologists facing overwhelming complexity and data noise across a highly dynamic and fragmented IT estate. Unfortunately, many IT departments lack unified visibility in hybrid environments, hindering the identification and timely resolution of issues, which can impact both employees and customers.

This lack of visibility and insight is a big factor in why the majority of employees are reporting disruption and downtime over the last six months.

The potential consequences of this are significant – not just in terms of employee engagement and retention, but also in employer brand, revenue and reputation.

To face this growing issue, IT departments need an observability solution which spans across both on-premises and cloud native environments and provides a full view of the entire application path. They also need real-time business transaction insights, so that technologists can easily pinpoint the root cause of issues and expedite resolution.

For HR and business leaders seeking to enhance employee engagement and retention, recognizing the pivotal role of applications and digital service in the employee experience is crucial. By ensuring the consistent delivery of seamless digital experiences, employers can take a big step towards building and retaining a more engaged, motivated and productive workforce.