As organisations increasingly embrace digital transformation and adapt to hybrid work environments, the traditional employee-employer relationship is being redefined. According to McKinsey’s State of Organisations 2023 report, out of the 8 billion people on the planet, approximately 3.3 billion are part of the global workforce. Every day, these individuals are influenced by the dynamics of their work environments, at a time when the concept of “being at work” is constantly evolving.
A key driver of this change is the evolving employee expectation from traditional benefits to immersive experiences that extend beyond celebrating once-in-a-year birthdays or the occasional milestones. Previously, employees prioritised compensation, benefits, job security, and company reputation. However, today’s workforce, particularly digital natives, seeks engaging experiences throughout their employment journey.
They desire continuous support in their everyday jobs, including flexible schedules and mental health days. They seek recognition through family-friendly policies like childcare or elder-care leaves. Employees are beginning to rely on AI-powered tools to remind them about upcoming meetings, create content for presentations, or even summarise documents. They also value the acknowledgement of talents outside work, with opportunities to showcase personal projects or hobbies.
Thus, employees are continually raising the bar for what constitutes a satisfying experience, making it crucial for entities to adapt and meet their evolving expectations.
The defining challenge of this decade – the battle between expected and delivered experiences
Experience as a predominant factor is already rewriting the rules of business across various industries. For example, in retail, the emphasis has moved beyond mere cost considerations. Today, factors such as eco-friendliness, social opinions, and past experiences play a pivotal role in decision-making. This shift reflects the preferences of the newer generation, who prioritise various parameters over cost.
This new generation is also rewriting the rules of employment, where the concept of employee experience has taken centre stage. As a result, employers are recognising the pivotal role that hyper-personalisation and customisation could play in driving a more meaningful and effective digital employee experience, thereby increasing retention and active job involvement.
What should employers do for hyper-personalisation and customisation?
Hyper-personalisation should meet each employee’s unique needs and aspirations, creating a recognised, valued, and empowered environment. AI enhances this by understanding and replicating human experiences, considering senses, muscle memory, historical knowledge, and emotions. For instance, organisations are using AI-driven tools to personalise learning and development programmes for their employees, catering to individual learning styles and career aspirations.For digital-first organisations, insights from various touchpoints are accessible using available computing and intelligence infrastructure. Organisations now use humanised chatbots to gather employee feedback and productivity data, enhancing the employee experience by tailoring workspaces and resources to individual needs. Just as personal mobile devices revolutionised efficiency after calculators, AI co-pilots are transforming today’s digital tasks. Excelling in language, audio, code, and video comprehension, these AI systems automate processes and provide intelligent insights, significantly enhancing task efficiency and freeing us for strategic and creative work.
Advantages of AI-driven personalisation and customisation
From hiring to exit, AI holds great promise. During the hiring process, employees are selected based on their alignment with a company’s values and culture, deriving AI insights in the hiring process.
During the tenure, AI can enable customised and personalised pay packages, career development, learning paths, working hours, and different work models. AI revolutionises work processes, leading to a collaborative, data-driven, and enjoyable space. It enhances productivity and engagement by reducing mundane activities through process-driven innovation.
In exit management, AI can play a role too. In a survey by McKinsey, a multinational tech firm launched a predictive tool leveraging over 20 data sources to anticipate employee departures. Leaders receive insights, enabling proactive engagement to understand the reasons behind potential exits and respond accordingly.
Challenges and the way forward for data-driven structural changes
For organisations transitioning to AI-first models, the focus needs to go beyond technology to encompass operating models, culture, talent, leadership, and capabilities. Embedding AI in corporate culture involves fostering a perpetual learning environment across the workforce, with successful organisations prioritising various capability-building programmes.AI-savvy leaders partnering with external experts can establish new roles, understand technology’s impact, address AI risks, and link capability-building programmes to business growth and returns