What is an employee experience platform?

The link between an engaged workforce and a successful organisation is certainly not ‘new news’ for HR professionals, as our recent Economic Value Study brought data to the forefront that flagged engagement as a strategic necessity for long-term organisational viability. 

But HR leaders in the UK and other European countries are still facing a significant challenge when it comes to appreciation and engagement. Our Appreciation Index study found that the UK is notably falling behind other countries when it comes to workplace appreciation, which is widely recognised as one of the core drivers of engagement.

And perhaps unsurprisingly for a national workforce that’s feeling unappreciated, a 2024 report found that only 10% of UK employees are actively engaged with their work. In fact, Europe has the lowest percentage of engaged employees in the entire world, with the UK ranking 33rd in the list of the 38 European countries included in the research.

With appreciation waning, engagement dropping and workplace norms evolving at a rapid pace, many organisations are looking for ways to better support their people. And introducing an employee experience platform is a great first step toward improving employee experience. 

In this blog post, we'll explore what an employee experience platform actually is, how it can benefit an organisation, and how to choose the best one for your company.

What is an ‘employee experience platform’? 

An ‘employee experience platform’ is a digital solution that puts employee appreciation in the spotlight by streamlining the digital workplace and uniting employee benefits, recognition & reward, wellbeing and communication. 

Often referred to as an ‘EXP' or an 'EX platform', it makes life easier for employees by creating a more efficient and people-first working environment. Often fully tailored to the organisation’s corporate brand, it empowers employees to do their best work by spotlighting all of the different ways that they are appreciated by their employer. 

In the simplest of terms, an EX platform is a centralised hub that unites the most important tools, information, benefits and resources that employees need to access. 

At Reward Gateway | Edenred, we often work with clients that are already offering employees a fantastic package of benefits, perks and recognition options, but are concerned by low utilisation rates. One of the key challenges is often that their people simply aren’t aware of the benefits, or can’t easily access them. An employee experience platform is an effective solution to increase benefit utilisation, help employees to feel more appreciated, and – ultimately – increase engagement.

Key features of the best employee experience platforms 

There are a few key features that we always recommend HR teams look for in an employee experience platform - as not all platforms are created equal! But the best ones can be a real game changer, revolutionising the employee experience. 

First and foremost, a good EX platform should become the central hub of the digital workplace. Which means it needs to have the functionality to integrate multiple different HR platforms that employees use every day, which 90% of HR leaders say is a top priority. 

Recognition is top-of-mind for organisations around the world, as an increasing amount of research surfaces showing a direct connection between performance, engagement and feelings of value in the workplace. Integrating features such as peer-to-peer recognition programmes, manager-led reward schemes and personalised reward redemption is vital if you want to see the best results from an EX platform.

Internal communication should be another key feature, facilitating collaboration and keeping everyone connected. Features like customised blogs and content pages, along with tools to schedule and segment content, allow organisations to publish timely and relevant content that reaches all employees. And while it should go without saying, having a fully mobile-enabled solution is critical for frontline workers.

Employee wellbeing is also a core element of all good employee experience platform. Providing tools and resources that support employees' mental, physical and financial wellness is a top priority for the majority of HR teams, and an employee experience platform is the perfect place to unite and promote this content. 

On top of being fully tailored to your organisation’s corporate branding, an EXP should have the ability to deliver a segmented approach for different employee groups. The majority of HR leads that I speak to are proactively seeking ways to personalise the digital employee experience, but less than a third of employee experience and internal comms professionals say they have the capability within their current platforms to effectively segment content. 

Finally, every good EXP must provide data-driven insights and real-time analytics. Having access to detailed metrics allows teams to continuously improve and further enhance the engagement strategy. The analytics are also an important part of demonstrating the platform’s ROI, which is vital for future budget requests and business cases.

What are the benefits of using employee experience software? 

In my opinion, the most significant benefit of an employee experience platform is that it becomes a centralised channel through which to formalise your organisation’s approach to employee appreciation. An EXP presents some of the most actionable ways to proactively recognise and celebrate an employee’s contribution to their organisation.

We know that employees who feel more appreciated and valued at work are 43% more effective, report greater wellbeing, and are less likely to leave their organisation. 91% of HR professionals agree that recognition reward positively impacts retention, and 90% say it helps drive overall business results. 

On a practical level, organisations investing in a comprehensive EXP can expect to see greater benefit utilisation, an uplift in employee engagement scores, and a reduction in staff turnover.  

But when we look a little deeper, a good EXP with employee appreciation at its heart has the power to transform company culture, creating a more motivated and productive workforce that feels genuinely valued.

Employee engagement vs employee experience platforms

The terms ‘employee engagement’ and ‘employee experience’ can be used interchangeably when talking about employee-focused platforms, so what’s the difference? 

It’s a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation. Because it’s impossible to improve the employee experience without focusing on employee engagement, but it’s also impossible to increase employee engagement without enhancing the employee experience.

I like to think of employee experience as a wider summary of the entire employee journey, and employee engagement as more of the outcome that we’re working towards. 

Employee engagement is the end goal, and an EXP is the solution. 

An employee experience platform is a holistic, practical tool that significantly improves the overarching employee experience by focusing on appreciation. Employee engagement is the measure of the platform’s impact.

How to choose the right employee experience platform for your organisation 

There are a few important things to consider when selecting the most suitable EXP for your organisation. First and foremost, I always encourage teams to think about their organisational goals, and their people needs. Let’s explore each one in a little more detail:

Organisational goals: A new EXP needs to be fully aligned with the organsiation’s overarching goals and strategic direction. An organisation that is entering a prolonged period of downsizing will have totally different needs to one that’s expanding. 

People needs: The EXP will become a fundamental part of your engagement strategy, so the solution needs to be selected in line with the needs of the workforce. Look at key themes and trends from recent employee surveys, and consider the demographics and breakdown of desk-based versus frontline teams.     

Once you’ve established the high-level requirements for an EXP, you can start getting into the details. 

Every platform is different. Think about things like ease of mobile and desk-based access, scalability, and integrations with other integral platforms that the organisation is using. 

Does the platform you’re considering have all of the features the organisation is expecting? Check the level of detail you’ll be able to access when it comes to analytics and reporting, and make sure you’re happy with the opportunities for customisation and personalisation. 

The future of employee experience 

With such a growing body of evidence showing the connection between an engaged, productive workforce and overall organisational success, employee experience will continue to be a central area of focus for employers.

Enhancing the employee experience by doubling down on appreciation is one of the most effective ways to increase engagement. 

And an employee experience platform is the first step. It’s not the missing piece of the employee experience jigsaw – it’s the table upon which you build the jigsaw.

If you’d like to find out more about our total employee experience platform, schedule a free demo or chat with one of our engagement experts.

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