to new heights. She distills her principles into this book and how to deliver a great employee experience in this new era.”
—Jay Choi, Chief Product Officer, Qualtrics
“A great employee experience is necessary to deliver on an incredible customer experience. Jill Popelka outlines a human-centered approach to all parts of your business.”
—Scott Russell, Executive Board Member, Customer Success, SAP
JILL POPELKA
EXPERIENCE, INC.
WHY COMPANIES THAT UNCOVER PURPOSE, CREATE CONNECTION, AND CELEBRATE THEIR PEOPLE WILL TRIUMPH
Copyright © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781119852872 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781119852896 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119852889 (ePub)
Author Photo: Photo by Madison Chaisson
Cover Design and Images: Wiley
First and most and above all else, I dedicate this book to my mother. She taught me to love and seek to understand others deeply, to show up and care for people, and to never give up. I have always known without any doubt that she loves me unconditionally and believes in me with her whole heart. Without her as my backstop, none of the risks I've taken in life would have been possible. She is also a great encourager on social media … the digital world would be a better place if we all had her spirit!
Mom was the foundation, and Dad was the inspiration. He taught me how to believe in others, to take time to think – really think – and the value of experience in learning. He always encouraged me to take the next leap, whether it was my first time riding a horse or my first international travel. When it comes to parents, I hit the jackpot, and I will be forever grateful for their investment in me.
Foreword
Employee Experience: It's Here to Stay
In the old days, we used to talk about keeping employees happy, paying a fair wage, and making sure our benefits were competitive. Today, however, the nature of work is changing rapidly, and workers have so many options, we have to think differently. It's time to design the employee experience that works.
As a business leader and technology innovator, Jill has had the opportunity to think deeply about the issues of experience design. And in this book, she unlocks many of the important secrets.
As my own research points out, the challenge today is not just giving employees lots of perks and programs – it's a problem of designing an entire work environment that delivers productivity, support, and growth. And each role is different, so we have to design an experience that's relevant to each job.
And as Jill discusses in the book, technology only plays a supporting role. You may believe you can “buy” employee experience from a vendor, but this is not enough. The design must include a sober look at leadership, rewards, diversity, growth, and the lived experiences of workers.
I encourage readers to use this book as a guide, a launching point, and an opportunity to think big. Employee experience must be owned by the CEO, HR team, IT team, and every single manager. If you think about the stories in this book, there are some great examples you can leverage to make your employees more included, productive, excited, and engaged.
The focus on employee experience is one of the biggest shifts in business. Let's all dive in and make work life better in our own organizations.
Josh Bersin
Global Industry Analyst and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company
PART I Let's Start Here
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.
Albert Einstein
CHAPTER 1 A Brief, Not Particularly Employee-Friendly History of Work
Consider the employee experience over the last 3,000 years.
History tells us it was
