Recently, we conducted research of 2,000 knowledge workers to investigate how the quality of digital employee experiences (DEX) impact workers’ productivity. Falling productivity is one of the most significant challenges facing businesses today. Companies are frantically trying to pinpoint explanations for why they are not meeting performance targets. And as global giants like Amazon and Zoom push for a mandated return to office (RTO), it is hybrid working that is being made the scapegoat.

But one-size-fits-all RTO policies fail to account for today’s modern digital workplaces and do not consider organizations’ unique circumstances – be that communication technology, task nature, or work cultures. In short, the way businesses measure productivity should be specific to them, whilst remaining accurate and objective.

Enter sophisticated digital employee experience (DEX) analytics. With insights from DEX analytics, IT Leaders and HR teams can set KPIs that assess the digital experiences of individuals, roles, teams and locations, and identify productivity blockers that are holding employees back.

Let’s explore six KPIs that DEX analytics can help measure.

Application Stability

Our research found that 47% of knowledge workers experience applications that repeatedly freeze, crash or load slowly. These experiences not only frustrate employees but slow them down. Businesses can use DEX analytics to spot application instability and fix it – ensuring the reliability of everyday programs used by their employees.

Application Switching

More than a third (35%) of knowledge workers find themselves toggling between applications repeatedly to access information or complete a task. By using DEX analytics to examine the frequency and duration of application switching, businesses can identify areas for improvement in workflow efficiency.

Collaboration Streamlining

Worryingly, 30% of respondents claimed they experience “notification overload” because of too many communication channels. DEX analytics lets companies measure the adoption of corporate standard collaboration tools, like Microsoft Teams, to streamline the number of collaboration channels and minimize distractions.

Communication Efficiency

DEX analytics play a key role in tracking improvements in communication efficiency by adopting messaging platforms over asynchronous legacy e-mail. Companies can assess how instant messenger platforms, like Microsoft Teams, contribute to faster and more streamlined communications within teams.

Meeting efficiency

Businesses can track the adoption of tools used for meetings, such as Microsoft Teams, against other solutions. They can further measure the reduction in meeting numbers and duration to make sure employees’ time is being used wisely and that calendars aren’t being clogged up with too many meetings.

Out of Hours Working

Whilst working out of hours may be acceptable if it suits the employee, for example around the school run, employers should be mindful if an employee is engaged in both after-hours work and the standard eight-hour office day. DEX analytics can identify such burnout risks, helping to protect employee wellbeing.

Eliminating sub-standard experiences

With so much of today’s work reliant on technology, DEX analytics deliver deep observability to allow decision makers to analyze employee experience and productivity in near-real time. By spotting common productivity blockers, DEX analytics also help to eliminate the 5.55 hours each week that knowledge workers are currently wasting because of sub-standard digital experiences.

The evolving work landscape demands a shift in how teams are managed and measured. Scalable Software’s Acumen platform seamlessly integrates DEX observability with KPIs, allowing decision makers to gain objective evidence on the performance of policies, as well as insight into work patterns and user journeys.