I love that in the last few years, employees across the American work culture have fundamentally changed the landscape of the employer-employee dynamic. Even today’s federal employees have begun to design an environment in which people are at the heart of the workplace, driving human-centered organizational decisions and resultant employee Moments that Matter that are directly aligned to business outcomes.

In Part 1 of our series on Employee Experience, we demonstrated that EX included two fundamental characteristics:

1. The aggregate of employee interactions, perceptions or views of the work experience and
2. Placing employees at the center of the innovative design process

What’s more, to improve the federal government organizational performance, EX should include a systematic approach, with a clear North Star or business case, that guides the organization’s experience activities, including critical Moments that Matter in the federal employee’s journeys.

What are Moments that Matter?

We can think of Moments that Matter as those moments that most significantly impact a federal employee’s experience. The moments are critically positive or negative, span any given time in the employee’s career, and tend to be both in and out of the organization’s direct control.

Moments that Matter don’t have to be distinct moments, such as onboarding activities on the first day at work, starting a new project kick-off, or receiving annual feedback from a supervisor; they can also be ongoing, like the continued relationship with a supervisor or close colleague; or even a created moment, like a social event or innovative opportunity.

According to a recent Gartner article, there are five key elements that define Moments that Matter:

1. Emotion-generating
2. Scalable
3. Frequent
4. Business-aligned
5. Critical talent-aligned

Emotion-generating

Caution: Moments that Matter are contagious — they elicit strong emotional responses, have a lasting effect on environmental perceptions, and significantly impact employee decision-making.

Scalable

One of the most common critiques I have heard from managers about EX is that we cannot possibly consider the experience of every employee. But Moments that Matter impact a large percentage of the employee population and ensure that investments in experience have organization-wide influence and impact.

Frequent

Moments that Matter occur in the employees’ experience with frequency. They are not isolated incidents, but occur with such recency that there is likelihood that the moments lead to regular impact on decision-making.

Business-aligned

As we mentioned in Part 1, EX and resulting Moments that Matter must align with business strategy, culture, and organizational values. Tying Moments that Matter to an organizational North Star demonstrates the organization’s ability to align experience to tangible business outcomes and senior executive alignment.

Critical talent-aligned

Exclusive strategic talent management in the federal government often calls for disproportionate focus on critical talent. In this case, Moments that Matter align impact with a critical or desired employee population, helping organizations focus on recruitment, engagement, and retaining key and top talent.

Moments that Matter are pivotal moments in the employee’s work experience that not only generate sentiment, but are also frequent, scalable, and aligned to the organization’s business objectives. And while we don’t know what’s next for the future of the federal workplace, we do know that employee values are driving toward an environment in which humans are at the heart of it.

A life-long learner and mentor, Gerome Q. Banks is a Doctor of Education, Federal talent management strategist, senior government analyst, author, Master Career Coaching Professional, and researcher with nearly 20 years of professional public sector experience, strategic HR experience, and affinity for leader development and federal talent.

Photo by Desola Lanre-Ologun on Unsplash