New study shows disconnect between HR and employees

“Employee experience” is a nebulous phrase. It has become a buzzword, with companies claiming that their employee experience is better than the next.

Turns out, HR professionals and employees don’t actually agree on what it means. They share such differing experiences at work that it may impact company culture.

Topia, an HR tech company specializing in managing distributed workforces and global talent mobility, issued a new survey that polled 1,000 full-time employees at large companies in the U.S. and the U.K. Here are four indications that HR and employees are not on the same page.

HR believes employees are happier than they are.

Only 17% of employees give their company an exceptional rating for employee experience. What’s more, employees are twice as likely to rate their company poorly compared to those on the HR team, suggesting a considerable disconnect in perceived employee experience versus reality.

HR feels more pressure than general employees to hide their true selves.

In recent months, diversity and inclusion have become even more important topics of conversation for businesses. Almost everyone agrees that they contribute to a good employee experience.

The problem is, one in four employees do not feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work, fearing if colleagues knew certain truths about them, such as their political beliefs, it could harm their career growth. The concern is greater among HR, with 44% saying they feel the need to keep their personal beliefs private.

Employees say they are spending more time on HR-related tasks than they should have to.

Fifty-eight percent of employees are spending more time on HR-related tasks than they feel is necessary, and, on average, they are speaking over 30 minutes longer than necessary. That’s 40 million hours per month that employees waste on HR tasks, with an estimated $8.15 billion loss in productivity across large companies in the U.S. and the U.K.

HR overestimates the value of office perks to employees.

A quarter of HR professionals defined employee experience as an “amazing office space with great perks, like free food and game rooms,” compared to only 16% of general employees.

In fact, this attribute falls dead last in terms of making the employee experience exceptional. Instead, employees say the No. 1 definition of a great employee experience is being empowered and trusted to do their job with little supervision (63%). This is not clear to HR, with only 50% believing this to be true.