Your Employees' Experience REALLY Matters

Cathie Leimbach • February 6, 2023

For years HR has handled all ‘people’ matters in most companies. The other departments focused on producing products and serving their customers. However, since productivity is greatly impacted by how employees are trained, informed, treated, and rewarded, a strong bottom line depends on all leaders caring about their people.

The foundation for a positive employee experience is seeing everyone as a partner and stakeholder and worthy of being treated with respect. The employee experience consists of all the thoughts and feelings employees have of the company. This includes the culture, the brand, clarity of workplace expectations, being provided with the training and tools to do their job, pay and benefits, how the job impacts their personal life, and being listened to.

A recent workplace study found that the top three reasons employees quit are:

  • not feeling valued by their organizations,
  • not feeling valued by their managers, or
  • not feeling a sense of belonging at work. 

Each of these reasons were cited by 50 to 55% of employees. This emphasizes the need for all people leaders to invite employees to share their perspectives, listen to them, and take action to address their concerns. This requires leaders to prioritize one-on-one and small group meetings with their employees.

Other factors that impact the employee experience are quality technology with user-friendly interfaces, ongoing skills development, opportunities to use their expertise, and a diverse and inclusive environment.

You may see that an employee’s workplace experience is important, yet, wonder just how important it really is. A global company with over 1000 retail locations measured several factors, including employee longevity, full-time versus part-time status, experience in multiple roles, and skill level.  They found that when employee experience scores at a store moved from the bottom quarter of the company’s retail outlets to the top quarter both revenue and profits increased by about 50%.

If you like the idea of a 50% increase in your bottom line, what is the first step you will take to improving your employees’ workplace experience?  It might be asking open-ended questions to learn the obstacles they are facing and collaborating with them to create a more favorable workplace. You can almost count on win/win outcomes for the employees and the company. 

Why Your Company's Success Depends on This One Thing (Hint: It's Not What You Think)

By Cathie Leimbach • August 19, 2025
What separates thriving companies from struggling ones? 🤔 Professor Lynda Gratton from London Business School spent decades studying this exact question. Her findings will change how you think about leadership. Here's what she discovered:  Organizations that invest in developing collaborative leaders consistently outperform their competitors. Not by a little—by a lot. Through her groundbreaking study of 21 global companies and 200+ executives, Gratton identified the three game-changing elements: ✅ Cooperative culture - Moving from "me vs. you" to "we together" ✅ Rich networks - Breaking down silos so ideas flow freely ✅ Shared purpose - Giving work meaning beyond the paycheck The results speak for themselves: → Better innovation → Higher employee engagement → Stronger financial performance Companies that train managers to be collaborative leaders (not just bosses) create environments where teams actually want to work together. My takeaway? Leadership development isn't a "nice to have"—it's your competitive advantage. When leaders learn to cooperate and inspire others, entire organizations transform. What's your experience with collaborative leadership? Have you seen this play out in your organization? Want to dive deeper? View Three Pillars of Success which breaks down how to produce measurable results in innovation, efficiency, and engagement.

Inspiring Positivity Through Trust

By Cathie Leimbach • August 12, 2025
In leadership, hope may spark positivity—but trust is what sustains it. Trust means your team believes you’re honest, reliable, and truly have their best interests in mind. Without it, people hesitate to share ideas, take risks, or fully engage. Great leaders build trust through consistent actions. They follow through on promises, admit mistakes, and lead with transparency. They listen without judgment, treat everyone with respect, and make decisions that are fair and thoughtful. When leaders communicate clearly and regularly—even when the news is tough—they create a culture of openness. When they give credit generously and support their team both publicly and privately, trust grows even deeper. Over time, trust becomes the foundation for loyalty, collaboration, and high performance. People feel safer, more motivated, and more willing to contribute at their best.  Trust doesn’t happen overnight. But with patience, consistency, and care, leaders can build it—and with it, a stronger, more positive workplace.