In this guest blog post, Polina Davydova, Content & Communication Manager at Hive Streaming, explores how the digital employee experience (DEX) has become more important for businesses looking to boost internal engagement and profitability and how Hive Streaming boosts DEX on Microsoft Teams.
Video and video communication software are on the rise. According to the Microsoft FY23 Q2 report, Microsoft Teams alone has reached a staggering 280 million users, up from 145 million just two years prior.
At the same time, we're witnessing a dramatic increase in global data traffic, much of which is because of the proliferation of video content. The IDC Global DataSphere Forecast for 2022-2026 indicates this trend is expected to affect businesses significantly more than it does consumers.
As companies adapt to the hybrid work environment, they are generating much more video traffic, putting enormous strain on corporate networks. And as volumes of video content continue to grow, businesses are under increasing pressure to not only build up network infrastructure, but also understand and manage the digital experience employees have when both producing and consuming video.
The DEX key to employee engagement and business profitability
The digital employee experience (DEX) has become more important for businesses looking to boost internal engagement and profitability.
In his book “The Employee Experience Advantage,” futurist Jacob Morgan makes a compelling case for the importance of employee experience. Morgan found that companies with a focus on creating a great EX had a 50 percent higher rate of revenue growth and a 50 percent higher rate of profit growth than companies that did not prioritize it.
What’s more, Morgan suggests employee engagement should be viewed as an outcome of a positive employee experience rather than a separate concept. When employees have a positive experience at work, they are more likely to feel engaged, motivated, and committed to their work and their employer.
Morgan’s conclusions are supported by countless studies. For example, a recent Global Talent Trends report by LinkedIn indicates 77 percent of surveyed companies focus on employee experience to increase retention. Another joint technical research paper by Salesforce and Talenteck establishes a clear link between employee experience and revenue growth. It found that moving from the bottom quartile to the top quartile in key employee metrics could increase revenue by over 50 percent and profits nearly as much. The paper also demonstrates how employee experience data can be used to calculate ROI on employee investments, showing how a simple data-driven people management strategy could yield a 10-year ROI exceeding 80 percent and highlighting the need for HR to become a strategic function that drives revenue.
Gartner: Importance of DEX set to rise dramatically by 2025
It will then come as no surprise that Gartner sees DEX and broader employee experience dramatically elevating in importance as an executive/board-level concern over the next 12 to 18 months. By 2025, Gartner predicts 50 percent of IT organizations will have established a DEX strategy, team, and management tool, representing a significant jump from just 15 percent in 2022.
This indicates a growing recognition of the importance of DEX in driving employee engagement and productivity along with overall business success. As remote and hybrid work models continue to become more common, it's crucial for businesses to prioritize DEX to ensure their employees have the tools and support they need to thrive in a digital work environment.
How Hive Streaming boosts DEX on Microsoft Teams
Organizations that use Teams to run live video events can easily set, track, and manage digital employee experience KPIs within internal corporate communications thanks to the deep integration with the Hive Streaming Video Experience Platform.
The Hive platform sits at the very core of video experience – between the employee viewer, the video stream, and the corporate network. With data from 170 of the world’s largest enterprises and integrations with more than 30 video platforms, Hive is uniquely positioned to help companies ensure a high quality DEX and deliver powerful outcomes before, during, and after each internal live event.
- Before the event: Troubleshoot potential issues with pre-event network testing.
- During the event: Reach everyone, prevent network failure and monitor each video stream in real time.
- After the event: Analyze video performance to track KPIs like viewer experience and employee engagement.
Hive can reduce IT costs while improving network performance and stability
Using the Hive platform can help to not only improve DEX, but also significantly reduce IT spend. Hive’s intelligent eCDN solution helps build up your network to handle large volumes of traffic, eliminating the need for additional network infrastructure investments.
Perhaps even more important, Hive can help ensure your network can handle any volume of video traffic and protect other business-critical applications from failing because of network overload. Here is just one example: Prior to using Hive, a network outage of just 45 minutes cost one organization over $3 million in collateral damage – something you can prevent from happening if your internal broadcasts run on the Hive platform.
Hive Streaming app for Teams
If your organization uses Teams, Hive Streaming is available via Microsoft AppSource. The app allows Hive customers to easily track and analyze the performance of all live events, as well as monitor any number of simultaneous events in real time – all directly in Teams.
Hive Streaming empowers Microsoft customers to achieve more
Hive Streaming has helped multiple global companies, many of which are in the Fortune 500, to improve DEX in the hybrid workplace and reach their entire workforce with live events that promote genuine employee engagement. Read about how a global software and technology services company uses Hive Streaming to boost data-driven communications and enhance employee experience and how Hive Streaming supports an iconic sportswear brand in creating excellent live event streaming experiences for employees.
To learn more about how Hive can support your organization, reach out to us or book a free demo.