Experience, Inc.

CHAPTER 11Keep the Pace: Agility and Resilience

The title of Part IV of this book – So What? – is a little brasher than the others.

Why?

It's not meant to be dismissive. It's meant to respond to those who might question the impact of employee experience, on everything from an individual's happiness to a company's collective morale to the bottom line.

But that two-word question also seems appropriate because it separates out the value of employee experience in the present and in the future. Yes, employee experience may help my company right this moment, but so what? Is it really going to matter down the road? The whole self model I've discussed is about who we are now and who we are tomorrow, about being and becoming. This chapter addresses those who might believe that improving employee experience is a short-term fix, for the present and maybe the near future, and not necessarily beyond that.

Predictions are almost guaranteed to fail. But I believe that when a business commits to better employee experience, it is planting a flag (Here is a set of rules for our company's culture) that positions it well for the future. Why? Because a company that is serious about culture is engaging in a form of organizational behavior change. That shows ambition. You don't make that kind of investment unless you're looking down the road. A change that focuses on enriching the employee experience enables agility, which, along with technology and continuous learning, better prepares you to keep ...