Defining the employees’ experience: Case study for Vainu Group

Abstract

Employee experience is a fairly new concept within human resource management and management literature. The concept can be defined holistically as “everything” an employee experiences while employed at an organization or as a way to measure the effects of the human re-source management practices on the employees. This thesis explored the concept of employee experience in detail from different perspectives and how it can be investigated in a case organization, Vainu Group. The aim of the study was to identify and analyse the employee experience at Vainu and provide the organization with well researched suggestions for the areas of development identified in the analysis.

The theoretical framework of this study is based on the work of academic researcher within the topic of human resource management and practical industry analysts. The study is an interpretative qualitative case study, and the thesis is of research-based nature. A qualitative approach is a recommended method when the objective is to present a holistic and in dept understanding of a phenomenon or case. The empirical data was collected in 14 semi-structured interviews with the employees of Vainu and analysed using thematic and qualitative content analysis which resulted in the formation of four themes.

The findings were the main aspects of the employee’s experience at Vainu, and they fell within the four themes: culture of work, sense of community, constant progress, and trust and communication. Each theme contained strengths and areas of development of the organization as an employer according to the employees. The findings that inspired the suggestions for actions for Vainu were that employees perceive that there is not enough appreciation and support, that the sense of belonging, care, unity, and collaboration is lacking, and that the communication could be more transparent and empathetic.

The concept of employee experience is still in developing, and especially academic theories and research on the how it relates to the organization in a bigger sense is still quite limited. The process of this thesis could be replicated as a framework for organizations interested in researching their employee’s experience or creating an employee experience framework. Even though the findings are specific to the case organization, the suggestions for actions that can be taken for improving the employees’ experience could be used on a more general level.