Human Centered Design – What does it mean?
There is one main goal of communication—reaching the recipient. For internal corporate communication, this means not just delivering information, but more importantly, providing guidance and motivation, and inspiring trust. It is all about convincing people. In a world where working practices are changing dramatically, dialogue-orientated internal communication methods can be the deciding factor for economic success. Involving and valuing your staff strengthens employee loyalty and helps you confidently master change.
At Unequity, we constantly consider the messages and images that will best reach all target groups. We use communication to build bridges and break down barriers.
In keeping with our culture of continual learning, we also look at trends, and are open to new methods and ideas, for example, during our recent team workshop in Munich on user experience (UX). And as we always like to use any newly gained knowledge to expand our core skills, we started thinking of how to build a bridge between user experience and employee experience.
CONTENT
- Definition of user experience (UX) and user experience design
- The importance of employee experience (EX) for companies
- 5 tips for improving the employee journey (EX) using UX principles
- How good communication can improve the employee experience in companies
- 5 tips for improving internal communication
People at the heart of communication
Recent research from the German Association for Human Resource Management (DGFP) referred to the ‘human-centric organization’. This trend aims to focus on the needs and well-being of employees. This isn’t a new idea, but it is often overlooked when putting theory into practice. And it is connected to another trend—companies that use AI-assisted digital tools for data analysis to better understand employees can target communication better, and stay ahead of their competitors.
Our recent user experience design workshop also focused on human-centered perspectives, and this inspired a host of impulses that tie into our holistic communication approach. We recognized many parallels between UX design and the creation of a positive employee experience and the relevant touchpoints in employee communication.
Definition of User Experience (UX) and User Experience Design
User experience includes the entire interaction a user has with a product, service, or brand, including every touchpoint with the company, its services, and its products. The term “User Experience Design” was coined by Donald Norman in the mid-90s to describe the visceral, behavioral, and reflective aspects of the user experience, but not limited to the digital world. (Source XDi²).
User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products
The most important criteria of UX
- Usability: The ease and efficiency of using the product or service.
- Satisfaction: The pleasure or satisfaction users feel while using the product or service.
- Accessibility: How easy it is for people with different abilities to use the product or service.
- Interaction design: How users interact with the product or service. Key aspects are visual design and user interface design (UI).
The goal of UX design is to make the experience easy, efficient, relevant, and altogether pleasant for the user – from analog products to digital applications. UX encompasses everything that a person thinks and feels before (expectation), during (experience), and after (memory). The better we know the user and their intentions, motivation, and goals in a specific context, the better user experience we can design.
This concept also applies to communication, and plays a major part in storytelling as well as product and brand communication.
People are more likely to remember messages that engage their emotions and create a connection, than messages that simply lay out the bare facts.
The analysis and optimization of user experience is complex and fascinating. With UX design, we incorporate market research, psychology, technology, product development, strategy, and design. Based on the design thinking³ approach, UX design follows an iterative process, that is split into inspiration, conceptualization, iteration, and exposition. An agile approach is used to analyze, evaluate, plan, design, test, discard, and optimize the product or service.
The importance of employee experience in a company
Just as the user experience influences the entire customer experience through the brand awareness of a company at various touchpoints, the same applies for the many touchpoints of workers on their employee journey.
While UX is mainly concerned with external users, the employee experience (EX) focuses on the interaction of employees throughout their entire relationship with the company—from the interview and training and development through to leaving their position. Leaders can use tools such as the visualization of an employee journey map to help understand employees better, and target improved employee retention.
Essentially, both concepts are people-centered approaches to reach people, understand their motivations and needs, and help them achieve their goals. This requires empathy and suitable communication measures—whether for the product user or the company’s employees.
What is part of the employee experience?
- The work environment
The physical and psychological environment in which people work. - Company culture:
The values, standards, and behavior of the organization - Technology and tools:
The software and hardware that employees use to fulfill their duties. - Processes and structures:
The organizational processes and hierarchies.
5 tips for improving the employee journey (EX) using UX principles
- Develop and promote empathy in the organization. This means developing an understanding of what motivates your employees, their challenges, and goals. Gain insights through surveys, feedback sessions, and direct conversations.
- Identify painpoints. In the same way you’d analyze the user experience, knowing your employees’ painpoints is important. What frustrates them in their daily tasks? Where do processes get stuck? You need to address these painpoints with targeted measures.
- Create personas. In UX, personas are used to view things from the user’s perspective. With employee personas, you can better understand—and take into account— employee needs and viewpoints.
- Develop journey maps and use digital tools. Use various tools to visualize your employees’ journey through the company, from onboarding to internal promotion, identify where you need to take action, and how you can improve their experience.
- Iterative improvements. An important aspect of UX design is the continuous testing and adaptation of solutions using an agile working method. Use this approach internally, too. Obtain regular feedback and keep improving your EX
How good communication can improve the employee experience in companies
Research has shown that organizations with strong EX retain employees longer. Satisfied employees are more productive and loyal and contribute positively to the company’s success. A good employee experience provides companies with a crucial competitive advantage.
5 tips for improving internal communication
- Promote transparency. Openness and transparency create trust. Regularly share relevant information, and keep employees updated with important developments.
- Encourage dialogue and take feedback seriously. Empower your employees to give you feedback, and show that their opinions and ideas are valuable. Use this input to make continuous improvements.
- Provide targeted content with a personalized approach. Create messages and a narrative that inform and address your employees’ needs. Encourage identification with the company, and ensure your employees feel heard and appreciated.
- Use multiple channels. Use various communication channels and methods to ensure that your message reaches all employees, regardless of whether they prefer email, intranet, meetings, or social media platforms.
- Establish a culture of appreciation. Recognition and gratitude are vital for motivating your employees. Celebrate their successes and milestones, and show your employees that you recognize their work.
Always glad to help…
We open doors, ensure mutual understanding and trust, and enable companies and employees to enter into productive dialogue, for example, about Total Rewards, internal corporate communication in change management, new developments, and everything to do with human resources and corporate culture. To make your project and employee journey a success.
Find out more about our work on our project page.
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