Demystifying Employee Experience Through a Sensemaking Approach

Abstract

This thesis explores academic and scientific theories, aiming at synthesizing the mature academic concept sensemaking with the pragmatic and novel Employee Experience concept. This shall lead to a more comprehensive understanding of whether Employee Experience is a new organizational direction for attracting and retaining candidates and employees during a talent war. Synthesizing sensemaking with Employee Experience aims at obtaining new insights into a growing organizational approach that strives for a competitive edge. The findings intend to provide academia and practitioners with new synthesized EX-sensemaking insights, advocating for the EX-approach to take place on a wider scale. Various shifts have resulted in a very tight labour market with highly increased competition for talent. Due to the labour shortage and Employee Experience being relatively new, many stakeholders have not grasped the changed labour environment conditions and are skeptical regarding its approach, benefits, and implementation. This research, therefore, looks at the elements and influences of Employee Experience and how the concept can be holistically approached. Sensemaking serves as framework interpreting the processes taking place in times of changes and instability. The study’s theoretical framework consists of two iterative interdisciplinary literature reviews on sensemaking and Employee Experience. The empirical data is based on 10 qualitative semi-structured interviews with EX and HR experts as well as EX consultants, which were analyzed applying abduction in order to explore the phenomenon Employee Experience as well as thematic content analysis. The research strategies consist of grounded theory and intellectual arbitrage. Research findings revealed that compelling factors are influencing the need for Employee Experience, that organizations have recognized the necessity for agile internal transformations to accommodate Employee Experience, and that Employee Experience should ideally be offered to all employee groups. Furthermore, sensemaking serves as a crucial element influencing and creating Employee Experience. The role of consultancies emerged as another finding, indicating the importance they play when creating new Employee Experience markets. As a result of this research, stakeholders will be able to more transparently understand what the processes are that employees and organizations are going through during ambiguous periods and that psychological needs are not limited to changing generational values and expectations but due inherent human needs, which are likely to be experienced and expressed during changes.