Gartner Identifies the Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021:

Last year, Gartner introduced multiexperience as a top strategic technology trend and is taking it one step further this year with total experience (TX), a strategy that connects multiexperience with customer, employee and user experience disciplines. Gartner expects organizations that provide a TX to outperform competitors across key satisfaction metrics over the next three years.

Organizations need a TX strategy as interactions become more mobile, virtual and distributed, mainly due to COVID-19. TX strives to improve the experiences of multiple constituents to achieve a transformed business outcome. These intersected experiences are key moments for businesses recovering from the pandemic that are looking to achieve differentiation via capitalizing on new experiential disruptors.

At every job I’ve had, we used ADP for payroll and other related items like health care, retirement accounts, etc. Using their system, you quickly recognize that it is really a ton of distributed systems held together by a thin menu and single sign-on experience. At times, it has felt a little clunky but it works. If something felt vaguely related to HR, it was in ADP.

Then one job introduced BambooHR. It didn’t fully replace ADP but did provide a better UX for requesting time off and managing files like the Employee Handbook. These menu items were still available in ADP, we just had to tell every new employee not to use them and to use BambooHR instead.

Things got even more confusing at a different job when we started hiring internationally. The professional employer organization (PEO) we used for non-US employees wasn’t ADP and didn’t have a centralized system. Instead, they had one piece of software for time off, another for tracking holidays, and another for requests for time off. There was a document in their Notion wiki that pointed to the right services but you still had to have an account for each service, ensure reporting lines were set up correctly in each service, etc.

Matters got even more confusing when US employees reported to a non-US manager. Those managers weren’t in ADP, so you couldn’t set up the proper reporting lines their to make sure requests went to the right people. Solution? An email filter that a random US manager has to set up so the notifications get forwarded to the right non-US manager.

Hacks, confusion, and repeated communication as far as the eye can see.

TX aims to make this better, not just for the employee, manager, HR, or payroll provider, but for everyone involved. Mixed with multi-experience, it means that you can get the same service and help through the web site, mobile app, or by phoning a friend.

TX also highlights that creating a better experience for employees is an integral part of creating a better customer experience. How many times have you been talking to a representative and they’ve said “One moment, my computer is running extra slow today.” If you’re already frustrated that you couldn’t get the help you needed on the website, needlessly waiting while on the phone just adds to the pile.