Optimize the user experience and populate the intranet with DEX

If your intranet has very few visitors and does not deliver the expected results, it may be because the user experience does not meet the organization's needs and expectations. Luckily, there are lots of tools and methods to find out what they think of your IT environment, one of which is called DEX. In this blog post, we’ll explain what it is and how it can help optimize the user experience.

There’s a relatively new acronym in the HR and IT people’s jargon: “DEX”. It’s short for Digital Employee Experience and describes the impact an employer’s technology has on the employee. For example, if the IT environment is perceived as difficult to navigate, cluttered with hard-to-use tools, offers poor search capabilities, and is supported by an invisible IT team, chances are your DEX is not good. However, if the employees feel comfortable with the tools provided, can easily find any item of information or other resources, and rarely have any problems with the technology the DEX index is probably very high. DEX tools and solutions also go by the name Digital Employee Experience Management (DEEM).

Today, there are several DEX/DEEM-based methods and tools that you can use to measure the digital employee experience and identify areas for improvement. If your digital workplace initiative isn’t delivering the results you expected your DEX surveys will most likely provide you with the answers. By focusing on your organization’s DEX index and taking appropriate measures to improve it you will see a rise in productivity, collaboration results, engagement, and employee satisfaction and retention.

Put simply, a DEX solution comprises two parts. First, it collects user data for the applications, network systems, and hardware devices that the DEX tool is configured to monitor. This includes, among other things, an application's performance over time, possible operational disruptions, and user patterns. It can also pull together data on how the users experience the digital solutions through recurring surveys.

A DEX solution can also include real-time system alerts for IT administrators, advanced action and analysis tools, and integrated remote support and chat communication with users.

According to Gartner, by 2025, more than half of the world's IT teams will use DEX-based solutions to prioritize, track and strengthen digital initiatives. In 2021, less than 5% used DEX systematically to improve the digital workplace.

Gartner believes that since virtually all businesses and organizations have a high degree of digitization today, employees' experience of and ability to use digital tools is more important than ever. By continuously focusing on the organization's DEX index and taking steps to improve it, productivity, collaboration results, engagement, and employee satisfaction are likely to increase. All of which, as is well known, leads to increased profitability. In addition, it’s about being able to offer an attractive digital workplace to entice new and retain employees. Read Gartner's report here.