HXM and HR metrics: Measuring motivation and its power to improve business

After a year in quarantine, I don’t hear people talking as much about the “new normal.” As new cases plateau and fall and more folks are vaccinated, optimism is rising. People are taking steps to build what I think of as a “desired normal” – a life that better meets their needs and wants, both at work and at home.

That’s where human experience management (HXM) solutions and HR metrics can help. By putting employees and their experiences at the center of everything, HXM helps HR professionals create the kind of engaged workforce that increases productivity, performance, and retention. The right metrics can help HR understand when things are going well for employees and when something needs to change.

“After 2020, we see that every business needs a workforce that’s ready to respond at a moment’s notice,” explains Gary Ware, founder of Breakthrough Play, a consultancy that uses purposeful play to help organizations become more resilient, creative, and deeply connected. “To do that, companies need to deliver the experiences that help attract and retain the best possible talent and help those people grow – because that drives better business results.”

HR metrics: Understand the employee experience in a post-COVID world

HR metrics help gauge the employee experience. But traditional KPIs aren’t always enough to address today’s challenges – issues such as increasing work hours, a lack of clear boundaries between business and personal time, and the need to digest a seemingly endless stream of e-mails, video meetings, and instant electronic communications.

“HR leaders need to measure areas that will have the greatest impact – things like employee engagement and total motivation,” Ware adds. “Adaptive teams don’t just think about their tactical performance or fulfilling their duties. Teams with higher levels of motivation see their work as play, a challenge to be overcome.”

But in a post-COVID environment, how do you play when you’re working from home? What’s the best way to measure total motivation and estimate its business impact?

These topics were just some of the issues recently discussed as part of our LinkedIn Live series, The Rise of HXM, in collaboration with SAP SuccessFactors. This week, we had an intriguing conversation with my co-host Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify, and our special guest, Gary Ware, about HXM and the HR metrics that matter. You can watch this week’s replay or read on for the highlights.

Check to see how employees really feel

The science is clear on the benefits of play. “Teams that see their work as play are three times more likely to stay in their jobs, working harder and longer,” says Ware. “And they don’t burn themselves out, because they get engaged and then pull back as needed.”

From a team development standpoint, human brains in the play state produce endorphins that make us feel like we belong. People at play trust their colleagues. And play helps workers stay focused and creative. Those are exactly the qualities we need in today’s workplace.

“As more of our employee base works remotely, it’s become more important to conduct pulse checks and regular check-ins to recalibrate how you’re communicating, which programs you’re offering, and how you’re supporting employees,” says Schmidt. “This is definitely an area HXM can support.”

HR metrics: Play is powerful 

But how do you convince business executives that play is an important business KPI? Think about the competencies you want in your employees – qualities such as adaptability, resilience, creativity, innovation. Your company’s leaders want all of those things, too – and play can deliver them.

“When I talk to C-level executives about play, I do it in a way that resonates with them,” says Ware. “For example, I tell them that building a new neural pathway in the brain takes 420 repetitions. But if you incorporate play, you can bring that number down to 20 repetitions.”

Building play into your employee experience clearly pays off. “For many of us, play has not been central to our existence in the last year,” says Schmidt. “But when you can connect play to new neural pathways, new behaviors, and ultimately business impact, it makes a lot of sense.”

Motivate people to grow and reap business benefits

Building play into business processes helps companies increase employee engagement, improve worker happiness, and reduce turnover.

“One of my clients started measuring metrics, surveying employees, and sharing their findings with employees,” recalls Ware. The company implemented new programs to develop employees as a whole, focusing on both work skills and personnel wellness.

“The team, which was made up of help desk workers providing e-mail support, began to see the work as play,” he says. “As employees began to think in terms of uncovering challenges, the data showed how they were delighting customers. For example, their overall Net Promoter Score increased steadily.”

By sharing that data, the company helped workers understand how they were improving the business.  Once they saw how the team was delivering better business outcomes, other departments became interested in learning and replicating what was working.

Ware finds these results inspiring. “The ‘H’ in ‘HXM’ stands for ‘human,’” he says. “We’re all human and we’re not perfect, but there is something beautiful about being heard. It gives people hope and recognizes that we’re not just some cog in a business machine.”

To me, that sounds like a perfect way to move toward a “desired normal” in our post-COVID world.