The Employee Experience

Introduction

Engagement is a fundamental human need. It is a power that resides in most people, waiting to be unlocked. People want to be engaged in what they do. If employers build the foundation, employees will do the rest.

—FROM MAGIC: FIVE KEYS TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

The idea of handing a stranger the keys to the front door of your home sounds a little fishy. Even with a quick email introduction, renting out your apartment on the Internet for a few days to some guy you’ve never met challenges common sense. But it’s an even greater stretch to set up an entire company based on the idea that you could entice millions of people to rent out their private abodes to strangers. But that’s exactly what “sharing economy” superstar Airbnb did, becoming the largest lodging provider on the planet and earning it the title of Inc. magazine’s “Company of the Year.”

Admirable as this new, disruptive business model is, it’s not why we have a big man-crush on the company. We admire Airbnb because it’s the first high-profile unicorn—and one of the first companies, period—to create the position of chief employee experience officer.

The exact title is global head of employee experience, but you get the gist. Since that time, we’ve noticed a number of business cards claiming similar titles. Creating such a position legitimizes the growing importance of the Employee Experience, or EX, to organizational success. Not just in a corporate setting, mind you, but in healthcare, academia, ...