“The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to workplace engagement no longer suffices,” writes WTW’s EX experts Jill Havely & Emma Starbrook in an exclusive UNLEASH OpEd. Here’s how to make a change in the new year.
Personalization is a necessity if employers want to retain and attract talent in 2025.
Here's five things to prioritize into the new year.
That's according to EX experts from insurance giant WTW.
The global workforce is undergoing a profound transformation, and with it, the employee experience is shifting dramatically.
In recent years, the way employees engage with their work and workplaces has become increasingly personalized, driven by evolving expectations, rapid advancements in technology, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), new work modes, and a growing emphasis on rebalancing work — life integration.
These changes have led to many employees seeking roles and ways of working that more closely align to their personal needs and values, while also demanding more from their employer to deliver a more positive and differentiated employee experience.
The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to workplace engagement no longer suffices.
Instead, organizations are recognizing the importance of tailoring their employee experience to meet the diverse and dynamic needs of their workforce through:
In the past, the employee value proposition (EVP) was centered around what employers could offer and what they expected in return.
It was a largely transactional relationship.
While the fundamental elements of the ‘give’ and ‘get’ remain important, employees today are placing a higher priority on their daily experiences.
These interactions with peers, managers, ways of working, technology and experiences in both significant and minor moments in their work life, are now just as important, if not more so, than the tangible benefits they receive from their employer.
As we look toward 2025, the job market remains competitive, with low unemployment, low quit rates, and workforce participation returning to pre-pandemic levels.
In this environment, employees are expecting, and even demanding, better experiences from their employers.
This expectation is making companies more interested in giving employees a better experience to attract and keep top talent.
In turn, employers are seeking their own ‘flex’ by leveraging increased applications of AI and taking advantage of changes in regulatory environments.
Similarly, while majority of organizations believe hybrid work is here to stay, organizations are experiencing a widening gap between what employees want and what organizations are ready to offer.
Organizations are often lacking the data and struggling to make data-driven decisions on what matters.
This tension may moderate wage increases, but employers continue to face a skills shortage.
To attract, engage, and retain talent, employers will need to focus on aspects of the employee experience beyond just pay.
More employees, especially those with in-demand skills, will be considering new opportunities, and the experiences they have in critical and everyday moments will influence their decisions in significant and personal ways.
Strategic investments (both financial and non-financial) in delivering the EVP across diverse work modes will be key to driving sustainable people and business outcomes.
With the significant rise in AI investments (especially generative AI), 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for AI’s influence on work and the employee experience.
Knowledge workers will use more AI tools to create and share content. They will also use bots more as digital co-workers, who will help give answers, advice, and complete certain tasks. Additionally, AI agents will be deployed within organizations to answer HR questions, workflow queries, and policy or process questions.
This automation will help employees work better and with more purpose. It will also help them get the information they need quickly to improve their productivity and performance.
With the combination of dramatically increased testing and use of AI and the growing demand for a people-centric approach to EX, 2025 will be the year that significantly challenges employers to reimagine their employee experience in novel ways.
Notably, by experimenting with AI-related applications and listening to employees about what’s working well and how AI applications can improve ongoing two-way dialogue.
Additionally, through providing access to training on AI models and applications, employers will further reduce the skills gap and enhance attraction and engagement.
For years, organizations have acknowledged the connection between a positive employee experience and a positive customer experience.
While the concept and focus aren’t new, there is an opportunity for organizations to look more intentionally at how they articulate and deliver on their EVP, which, in turn, delivers the desired employee and customer experiences.
Now, employees are driven by day-to-day interactions and lived experiences. Those experiences influence an individual’s view of the company, and how they perceive themselves to be valued within the company, which impacts the engagement they bring to their daily work, interactions with colleagues, customers and business partners.
In 2025, the employee experience will become even more personalized as employers recognize the importance of closely evaluating the various types of experiences individual colleagues have each day.
These experiences include operational interactions, digital engagements, cultural immersion, interpersonal connections, total rewards, and development opportunities.
By ensuring that each of these areas is positive and aligns with the desired EVP, employers can create a more engaging and fulfilling work environment that reinforces their commitment to their workforce.
Financial security is the cornerstone of wellbeing – and employees have expressed that support in this area is high on their list of priorities and needs.
Just as healthcare works toward positive physical and mental wellbeing, financial wellbeing (or ‘weathcare’) seeks to maintain positive financial health through thoughtful planning, short- and long-term savings, investing wisely, managing debt and building financial confidence.
By focusing on wealthcare, individuals can create a solid foundation to navigate life’s uncertainties and prepare for the future, which also reduces stress and anxiety.
But achieving wealthcare requires more than general advice or off-the-shelf solutions.
Personalized education and tailored support are essential in equipping individuals with the tools and confidence needed to navigate their diverse financial journeys.
Technology has made personalized education and support more available than ever. We expect to see more people using these resources in 2025.
More online platforms are offering personalized education and resources for different financial skills. These platforms also offer tools like budgeting apps that help people manage their money better.
The last few years have seen transparency regulations being introduced across the globe, shifting employee expectations around pay and a need to evidence competitive and equitable rewards in the war on talent.
As a result, we’re seeing organizations striving to foster a culture that’s more transparent, where managers and employees feel prepared and empowered to have honest, open conversations around Total Rewards.
2024 was a year of ambition setting, planning and engagement of key stakeholders across businesses to deliver greater transparency on pay.
2025 will be the year most leading organizations deliver meaningful transparency to employees and prospective hires.
As organizations grapple with vast amounts of data and the need to explain information to employees, we’re expecting that technology will play a role in delivering personalized information to employees to deliver on legal obligations and ambitions.
For employees, this means being part of a culture change that benefits them, a better understanding of pay decisions and ultimately fairer decisions.
As the above five areas take shape in 2025, we should see improved employee experience, with a shift to a people-centered approach that creates better engagement, productivity, retention and employee wellbeing.
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Global Community Excellence Leader
Jill is a Global Community Excellence Leader for Employee Experience at WTW.
EX Managing Director
Emma is a Managing Director within the Employee Experience team, having worked at WTW for near three decades.
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