Why career experience matters more than ever in 2023

This leaves organisations working hard to sustain performance levels and maintain market position yet ambitions to grow. Providing employees with a rewarding career experience may be key to achieving positive outcomes in the face of persistent challenges.

If there’s anything the last three years have taught us, it is the importance of our employees. We’ve seen many statistics showing how employee productivity increased but engagement decreased during the pandemic. We then heard and experienced the great resignation and quiet quitting, perhaps even moving to quiet hiring in 2023. So how do we make a difference in the coming year in our efforts to attract, retain and engage talent?

WTW research in 2022 continued to show the top three attraction and retention drivers for employees are pay and bonus, job security, and flexible working arrangements (WTW 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey). In such a challenging environment it is therefore crucial to consider both financial and non-financial actions which organisations can take to maintain strong loyalty and commitment. Employee experience is critical as it makes a significant difference when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. A career experience forms a large part of the employee experience as it helps employees put together the pieces of the puzzle – the work they do, the contribution and impact they make to the organisation, their development opportunities, their performance, the opportunities to upskill, reskill and grow their careers to fulfil their own ambitions.

Getting careers right as part of a relevant and meaningful employee experience can help deliver a tangible competitive advantage as WTW’s research reveals that a superior employee experience is proven to drive financial success. Companies with a more effective employee experience outperform their peers in the areas of top-line growth, bottom-line profitability and return to shareholders. There are three main ways in which organisations can enhance the career experience:

As employers shift from a job-based to a more skilled-based and often project-based work environment, they will be operating in a shorter time-horizon than in the past. This will require more frequent updating of skills and supporting work infrastructure to be ready to provide employees with up-to-date opportunities.

These measures will help organisations gain a tangible competitive advantage in attracting, engaging, and retaining talent as well as powering financial success. If we make 2023 the year of the career experience, we will be better positioned to nurture people, our most important asset, and address the pressing challenges ahead.