How External Factors Impact the Employee Experience | Gartner’s HR Leaders Monthly Magazine

Few would dispute that the employee experience (EX) impacts several organizational outcomes of interest. And although many firms make a concerted effort to deliver a stellar EX throughout the employee life cycle, several external factors (outside of an organization’s control) impact the EX. These factors range from family, friends, technology, and as we all know too well–a global pandemic. As HR Leaders continue to improve the EX, it is vital to understand which external factors affect their employees the most and how HR can address them. This article on p. 19-22 (which is 1 of 8 articles on various topics in this magazine issue) looks at how HR can alleviate these external factors’ distraction and even leverage external factors to benefit the EX. It provides three recommendations for doing so 1) Invite employee input on external factors inhibiting their experience, 2) Create clear messaging about external factors, 3) Equip managers to respond to external factors. Tactics are offered for each of the three areas.