Designing remote employee experience in knowledge work to attract talent
Kurjenniemi, Jenny; Ryti, Nora (2020)
Kurjenniemi, Jenny
Ryti, Nora
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020122129786
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020122129786
Tiivistelmä
Organizations are currently struggling with a major shift from mostly office-based to remote and hybrid work. At the same time, competition for talent is tough, and employees expect enjoyable and engaging work experiences. It is important for organizations to have a holistic perception of the effects of both the office and remote environment on the productivity and wellbeing of employees and knowledge on designing the remote employee experience. Little knowledge exists on the topic of the remote employee experience and its relationship to building a strong employer brand.
The purpose of the thesis is to help employers to develop an attractive employer brand in the remote work context, based on the learnings from remote employee experience. Hence, the objective is to describe the driving forces and premises that create a positive employee experience in remote knowledge work. The case company is Duunitori, Finland’s largest job search engine and a modern recruitment platform with over 500 000 weekly visits on their portal. Additionally, they offer consulting services in employer branding and data on employee experience. The development task was to explore the link between employee experience and employer branding in knowledge work and to generate insights to create value for Duunitori as content in their media and as a potential new business opportunity in the future.
The knowledge base consists of New Ways of Working in knowledge work, employee experience and employer branding. The research is conducted with a qualitative research approach, and following the service design process phases of discover, define and develop. The final phase (delivery) is outside the scope of this thesis. The main body of the data comes from 16 semi-structured expert interviews with employers, represented by HR, staff leasing and future work experts as well as employees. In addition to the interviews, two workshops were organized to further explore topics that arose from the interviews and to develop solutions, as well as test the remote employee experience canvas that was created as a result of the interviews. Results from all phases of the research were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Four factors affecting the knowledge work landscape were identified: technology embedded in everything, the complex and systemic nature of problems, meaningful work and making a positive impact, and trust as the enabler of work. Meta-skills and skills in human interaction are becoming increasingly important, especially in remote knowledge work. Results highlighted seven main factors that affect the remote employee experience: technology, space and ergonomics, practices and routines, psychological safety and a sense of belonging, learning and development, knowledge sharing and collaboration, and leadership and culture. Building a strong employer brand starts from the inside out, by first focusing on the employee experience. The results of the entire research project were gathered in a playbook prototype, and communicated to the case company.
The purpose of the thesis is to help employers to develop an attractive employer brand in the remote work context, based on the learnings from remote employee experience. Hence, the objective is to describe the driving forces and premises that create a positive employee experience in remote knowledge work. The case company is Duunitori, Finland’s largest job search engine and a modern recruitment platform with over 500 000 weekly visits on their portal. Additionally, they offer consulting services in employer branding and data on employee experience. The development task was to explore the link between employee experience and employer branding in knowledge work and to generate insights to create value for Duunitori as content in their media and as a potential new business opportunity in the future.
The knowledge base consists of New Ways of Working in knowledge work, employee experience and employer branding. The research is conducted with a qualitative research approach, and following the service design process phases of discover, define and develop. The final phase (delivery) is outside the scope of this thesis. The main body of the data comes from 16 semi-structured expert interviews with employers, represented by HR, staff leasing and future work experts as well as employees. In addition to the interviews, two workshops were organized to further explore topics that arose from the interviews and to develop solutions, as well as test the remote employee experience canvas that was created as a result of the interviews. Results from all phases of the research were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Four factors affecting the knowledge work landscape were identified: technology embedded in everything, the complex and systemic nature of problems, meaningful work and making a positive impact, and trust as the enabler of work. Meta-skills and skills in human interaction are becoming increasingly important, especially in remote knowledge work. Results highlighted seven main factors that affect the remote employee experience: technology, space and ergonomics, practices and routines, psychological safety and a sense of belonging, learning and development, knowledge sharing and collaboration, and leadership and culture. Building a strong employer brand starts from the inside out, by first focusing on the employee experience. The results of the entire research project were gathered in a playbook prototype, and communicated to the case company.