Mark Levy, Head of Employee Experience at Allbirds, a company that designs environmentally friendly footwear and is a certified B Corp, described his top priorities to me when deploying an EX ap- proach. Levy said that he is focused on introducing the EX approach through, ‘creating an organization that includes traditional HR func- tions plus workplace experience and social impact as well as leverag- ing our values (simplicity, intentionality and curiosity) as well as our brand promise of comfort, design and sustainability in all that we do’.
Note the immediate emphasis placed on aligning the EX work with the values of the business and its brand promise.
At every stage, co-creation is paramount and is now synonymous with EX. As a feature of EX work, it is a constant theme across the define, design and deliver points. Levy explains this as, ‘working with and for employees by including them in co-creating the work envi- ronment, ways of working and prioritizing and designing our EX programs (already underway with performance management ap- proach, communications approach, social impact approach, wellness approach). In addition, work with IT and Finance to be in service to employees as well.’
‘To be in service to employees’ is a beautiful expression, which just about sums up the future of every support function within a business.
This will no doubt spin a few heads and raise a few eyebrows from the more traditional functions and organizations, but Levy and I agree that it is sorely needed within the business world at large. It is needed because many functions have been set up under the incorrect presumption that employees are a secondary consideration. Every function will need to reassess how they measure up when considering the EX.
Of important early consideration from Levy’s perspective is figur- ing out how to, ‘create belonging and connections between a) com- pany and employees, b) employees with each other, c) employees and our customers and d) employees and the communities in which we operate through volunteerism and social impact.’ While we can share examples of EX innovation and impact, it is very much down to each organization, and its people, to create its own version of how you do this. What resonates with your people? What opportu- nities are there to instil this sense of belonging and community?
Each company is unique. Different humans and different circum- stances. The fun is working with that to produce something truly special for EX that is built within the context, and with people.
Where EX professionals focus on at the early stages of EX is indica- tive of where they will end up, and to start with belonging and connec- tion is not a bad place to begin the journey at all. In fact, it is possibly the best area of focus to keep under constant scrutiny as EX evolves within a company. Are we as strongly connected as we could be? Do
employees feel a strong sense of belonging here? Just think for one second about the power of what we are discussing here and recall mo- ments where you felt truly connected to your colleagues, the organiza- tion, the community around you. Remember a time when you felt that you truly belonged. No further evidence will be required if you have already directly experienced an organization doing well in this regard.
Whether you have or haven’t felt this before, as a professional, it may well fall to you to help create it. And what an opportunity that is – to create a company where people belong and find meaning.
CASE STUDY Pioneering EX at Airbnb
Airbnb, a major brand name in the experience and sharing economy, went through a period of intense development on EX. The company, which provides a platform and growing portfolio of travel and experience services, has over 4,000 staff, and according to estimations by Forbes, in 2018 was valued at $38 billion (Carson, 2018).
Structuring around the employee journey
It has been named Glassdoor’s top workplace, grown to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, and has delivered a world-famous place to work; one that attracted 260,000 applications for just 900 roles in 2016. Mark Levy’s early priorities at Allbirds reflect much of what he learned and applied directly during his time as Head of EX at Airbnb, but what did success with EX look like at Airbnb and what more can we learn from this ground-breaking example? Success certainly started with a strong mandate. Indeed, the conditions were ripe from the outset and were led by a founding team who were keen to deliberately protect and grow the already flourishing culture and community. ‘Everything they had heard about HR, they didn’t like. Our task was to figure out a way to bring together all of the groups that were focused on different aspects of the employee journey, create the operating model, and then figure out what we called it.’ Seeing that the CX function was already in full flow, Levy suggested to the CEO that an EX function was the best way to internalize the brand promise to customers while building commitment, engagement and community.
Specifically, as we see in Figure 6.2, the EX department was made up of functions not normally associated with the HR function. Immediately, the approach broadened and touched many more parts of the business and employee journey.
Figure 6.2 EX department structure
EX
Talent design
Learning
Total rewards
Diversity and belonging Facilities,
safety and security, food, environments Ground
control Recruiting
Talent and business partners
Real estate, talent, systems,
travel IT
While the IT, real estate and travel teams partner with the EX department, we can see that many of the company’s employee-facing functions are together within a function that looks, feels and delivers holistically across the employee journey. In successful EX cases, employees are structured in well to support and sustain this shift to employee-centric thinking. Ground control at Airbnb is a good example, which is made up of operational staff from across the business who are mandated to take positive actions on EX. They can develop things, make things happen and connect various strands together in a coherent way for staff with support from the EX team. In Airbnb’s case, ground control played a significant role in internal communications, events and other activities that proved its worth for the
community. Within all the successful EX practices I have observed or directly led, it is the ones where employees are in the driving seat that deliver most satisfaction
and, of course, some of the best results, which draws out the importance of co-creation and co-production once again.
Social (and business) impact through community
‘Our community at Airbnb was our guests, our hosts, and our employees so when we talk about community engagement we are really talking about it in its
broadest sense,’ said Levy. A big part of the EX for Airbnb, and other pioneers within the EX space is societal impact. According to Levy, the questions here for Airbnb were: how can we help our employees help others? How can we work with our communities to build relationships? How can we integrate and connect our people (employees, hosts and guests)? In answering these questions, the company found new ways to elevate the connection with staff, between staff and beyond staff to support people to be at their best in work. Volunteerism became a key aspect of the EX strategy. Airbnb gave staff four paid hours per month to support social causes. This element was deepened further through some of the firm’s recognition practices. Instead of gifts at key milestones throughout the employee journey, staff would be given money to contribute to causes that meant something to them and there were other opportunities to broaden community action such as volunteering during holidays.
This, he continued, was a major factor in the successful delivery work around EX. It was about connecting the community from the inside out. The narrative, both on the inside and outside of the business, brought all stakeholders together in the pursuit of its mission of creating a place where people can belong, anywhere. To be successful, employees had to feel that sense of belonging first within the company. Whereas other firms will need to work much harder on translating the brand promise and values into EX, Levy is the first to point out that this concept of connection and belonging within the business strategy resonated strongly with EX and was immediately helpful in positioning the EX approach and its relevance on business outcomes. One of the values ‘be a host’ is a great example of this. Airbnb, for its service delivery, depends almost entirely on the hosts to deliver a high-quality experience for guests. They help create the conditions and environment for guests to feel welcomed. This idea translates exceptionally well when applying it to the EX at Airbnb and it was leveraged throughout to enable employees to experience what it was like to host people in the company and what it was like to be a host on the Airbnb platform.
Values-based recruitment
Given the tight connection between CX and EX, Airbnb’s approach to recruitment was all about maximizing, amplifying and leveraging the values of the
organization to support growth. The values resonated deeply with customers and employees alike and were used for rigorous values-based interviews. This helped ensure they were bringing in colleagues who bought into the company’s mission and could thrive within the type of employee community that was already working well together at Airbnb. Even the best technical candidate would not be securing a role at the company if their values weren’t aligned with Airbnb’s. This wasn’t HR making the decisions either; it was the community themselves. The company had over 200 core-value interviewers in place to make sure they didn’t lose sight of their values during periods of growth. ‘Recruiting people who furthered our values helped us experience low turnover and high engagement,’ said Levy, and this is one approach that I recommend other companies embrace immediately. Start taking values seriously throughout the EX, or don’t bother with them at all.
An immersive workplace
The workplace at Airbnb is an extension of the CX. All meeting rooms and workspaces are designed based on actual listings. They are, in effect and design, truly reflective of the front-line operation enabling employees to experience the front room of their hosts. Not only does this make the workplace more human and more comfortable, it also serves as a mental nudge and reminder of Airbnb’s truth. The company offers three meals per day, which again, are served not simply to offer a good meal to employees, but to also highlight the culture and cuisine of geographies and cultures that Airbnb serves globally.
Routine events such as meal breaks become an experience. Menu themes and topical meals bring their employees together in an exciting and interesting way.
Organizations these days are dog-friendly places and to deepen the
experience for employees and this sense of belonging, Airbnb allows dogs in the offices. This is now not unusual at all. Many companies offer this type of experience. Brewdog, the UK-based beer company, has taken this further by introducing paw-ternity leave for employees. Employees, as part of the EX, can access a period of leave if they have welcomed a dog into their family. On brand, certainly, and another example of how closely brands are cultivating the EX at every level of detail.
A committed relationship
It doesn’t always go to plan. Levy talks about the commitment curve and how EX creates strong brand ambassadors and advocacy. Employees want to get even closer to the business. When looking at the relationship as the business
started to scale, things had to be aligned and expectations met. At first, the business saw employees as business partners, and employees wanted to be viewed as founders. Result? A balance had to be struck at the core of the relationship that helped create the right type of understanding between employees and the company that honoured expectations on both sides of the employment relationship. This, as Levy pointed out, resulted in greater transparency about strategy and decision making.
Measuring impact
When I talk about the need to provide an immersive experience for employees, Airbnb is an excellent reference point for this as employees, directly and indirectly, are surrounded by the truth. This is evident in the workplace design, communications, facilities and catering, and other EX practices such as giving employees money to spend on Airbnb for their holidays or short trips to
experience more directly what customers experience. With that knowledge as a guide, better CX outcomes can be achieved.
While engagement scores are one way to measure the impact of all the EX work, Levy says that employee referrals are the primary indicator of EX success.
‘Because of our EX, we are seeing people we would wish to bring into our community apply to work here based on what existing employees are saying to them.’ The other part to this is how well the mission is being communicated on the inside and outside. Are people compelled to action once they see or experience the mission of the business? This is also what differentiates EX as a field. It is not simply a question of pay, perks and benefits – it is the overall attractiveness, quality and impact the EX has on the world that draws people in.