How UAE companies can adopt a data-driven approach to elevate employee experiences

Organisations, especially large enterprises that have invested in data management platforms, are now taking the critical ‘next step’ of applying analytics to the immense volumes of data that their digital systems generate, to extract unparalleled business insight. As a shining example, in line with its Innovation Strategy 2019-2021, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) has used data analytics to ‘enhance the readiness to prevent diseases and epidemics’.

In the private sector, companies across verticals – from banking and finance to e-commerce and real estate – have applied analytics to their vast stores of customer data such as customer interaction details, transactions, and online journeys. This has helped them successfully identify and adapt to customer preferences, buying behaviours, support requirements, and broader market trends. All this ‘customer-centric’ utilisation of data is in the service of delivering exceptional customer experiences and consequently growing the bottom line.

Looking inward

If the pandemic has taught us anything though, it is that keeping employees engaged and productive is just as important to business continuity, and success. This is evidenced by a recent Accenture report which found that companies that provide a great employee experience outperform the S&P 500 by up to 122 percentage points.

Successful companies know that employees are their greatest asset and those that successfully draw insight from their internal data, can reap often understated business benefits that include attracting and retaining talent, streamlining processes, enhancing productivity, and containing costs — all of which are highly sought-after outcomes.

Moreover, the case for businesses to start their journey into data analytics by looking inward is strengthened by the fact that it often offers the more frictionless and cost-effective path. In the era of privacy, data about customers and markets can be difficult to come by and may even entail considerable costs. On the other hand, internal data is consistently generated day by day, just by the necessary functions of business.

Payroll, insurance and employee benefits – effective entries into internal insight

The trick is to identify where the power of internal data can most easily be realised, with the potential for the greatest positive impact. Payroll, health insurance, and employee benefits each produce an enormous amount of internal data that – if properly leveraged – has the potential to drastically enhance the employee experience.

Consider payroll data for a moment. Research conducted by Bayzat shows that even through 2020, fuel (27 percent) and travel (20 percent) expenses were among the top three most requested reimbursements. Given countless reports which have highlighted that more time at home, and reduced travel time have been some of the most valued consequences of the remote working paradigm, organisations can use this payroll data to redirect funds into digital collaboration tools such as Zoom and Slack. These have proven their ability to drastically reduce employee travel requirements, which in turn leads to greater productivity and enhanced job satisfaction.

Internal data – on employee health insurance usage trends – can help organisations design health insurance plans that best meet the needs of their employees

Additionally, Covid-19 shone a spotlight on mental and physical health. According to research from Aetna International, more than 80 percent of UAE employees are now more concerned about their health than ever before and consequently have higher expectations from their employers when it comes to health and wellbeing benefits coverage. Supporting this finding, data from a recent Cigna survey showed that the majority of UAE employees (69 percent) expect more mental health support from their employers. With businesses now under pressure to deliver on these demands, here again, internal data — on employee health insurance usage trends — can help organisations design health insurance plans that best meet the needs of their employees. Going a step further, using digital employee benefits platforms, human resources professionals can then make healthcare benefits such as mental health support and telehealth conveniently accessible to their employees.

Similarly, diving into employee demographics, data captured by the Bayzat platform has shown that married professionals account for 55 percent of the UAE’s workforce. With UAE employees, on average, applying for maternity leave that is in excess of the 45-day period mandated by the government, companies that offer more generous maternity policies could undoubtedly enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty.

Through 2020, organisations turned to digital technologies to enhance customer experiences. This year presents us with the opportunity to now balance the other half of the formula for business success, by doing the same for employee experiences. With the right platform and methodology, enterprises of all scale, regardless of industry, can unlock the potential of internal data to create a work environment that serves employees and consequently drives gains in productivity and the all-important bottom line.

Brian Habibi, co-founder & chief customer officer at Bayzat.