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. 

How Leadership Development Powers Economic Growth

By Cathie Leimbach • July 29, 2025
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a respected professor at Harvard Business School, has spent her career connecting the dots between leadership and economic innovation. Her work shows that developing strong leaders doesn’t just benefit companies—it creates ripple effects that boost entire communities and economies. Effective leaders encourage teamwork, spark innovation, and help their organizations adapt to change. That kind of forward-thinking leadership attracts investment, drives productivity, and supports long-term growth. Kanter believes leadership isn’t a soft skill—it’s a strategic asset. She famously said, “Strategic leadership is an economic resource,” reminding us that developing talent is more than an HR initiative—it’s an engine for prosperity. But good leaders aren’t born overnight. Building strong leadership takes training, mentorship, and a commitment to continuous learning. And when businesses and governments make that investment, the rewards show up as better jobs, stronger institutions, and thriving local economies. Kanter’s research is clear: the path to economic progress starts with leadership development. If we want innovation and growth, we need people equipped to lead with vision and impact.  👉 Want to explore this connection further? Check out: How Good Leadership Helps Innovation and Growth

Why Smart Companies Make Leaving Easy

By Cathie Leimbach • July 22, 2025
The Power of Positive Exits