The Time of Employee Experience is Here, and Rightpoint is Leading

As a matter of fact, the recognition over these past couple weeks has been nearly overwhelming. We were also a finalist for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner of the Year and placed in the Top 5 Employee Experience Agencies in the World by HFS Research with a best-in-class #1 ranking for Voice of the Customer. It’s a whirlwind for sure, and while it feels very validating, it was not a short road that brought us here.

So very much has changed. For me personally, when I was first being recruited to join Rightpoint, my life was design, advertising and branding. Back then, you wouldn’t ever catch me using PowerPoint, Excel or any other Office program. The vast majority of work Rightpoint had was intranets and employee tools, which did not excite me. After a few weeks of persistence, my friend convinced me to come and at least talk to our founders, Brad Schneider and Ross Freedman. My conversations with them were inspiring and ultimately, looking back on them now, truly life changing. Their vision for the digital agency of the future sold me, and it has been what we have all been working toward for so very long. A balance of Customer and Employee Experience working harmoniously within the company and out in the world. A great Employee Experience enables great Customer Experience, and neither can exist without the other. They saw it back then, built over many years, and now we are not only achieving that vision, but being recognized for it.

A lot has changed in the industry over the past 12 years as well… intranets went from utilitarian corp comms to more social platforms, then those intranets became modern workspaces, corporate culture transformed to people culture, productivity shifted to engagement, custom dashboards became Microsoft Viva… the list goes on and on. The greatest part of this progress has been moving from a business-oriented mindset to one that puts people at the center. The recent future has cemented the age of Employee Experience and I feel lucky to be living and working in these times.

Employee experience can be so much more than just a benefit to businesses too. Over the years, I have come to realize that my passion is improving the experience of work for people across the globe. I know that the organizations and the individuals I am able to impact through what I do have gone on to make this world a better place. Maybe that sounds egotistical or crass, but just hear me out. 

I have been lucky enough to help create better workspaces and employee experience improvements within so many industries like Healthcare, Financial Institutions, Non-Profits, Utilities, Airlines, and Media Conglomerates just to name a few. I don’t intend to overstate this at all, I know there are more important lines of work and people like me aren’t really seen as those who ‘change the world’, but that leads me to a question. Shouldn’t we all know that the good we do every day can become part of a larger positive trend and in turn help to change the world? Organizations we have helped are meant to make their jobs easier, to remove unnecessary obstacles in order to focus on their job, be more engaged and productive and grow their careers. We have made that happen so our clients can focus on things like simplifying the way people travel and connect, support research to end cancer, bringing reliable internet to a world that works remotely, developing medicine and vaccines that are vital for a global pandemic, or all the other countless ways our work helps to make the world better. 

Most of these outcomes probably positively impact each of us personally, not to mention the millions of people whose lives at work have a little less friction, a little more joy, and maybe even feel more connected to their co-workers and the values of the organization. One less stress in your work life may lead to one more smile, act of kindness, time for hobbies, or your family and friends. Take a moment to appreciate yourself and your efforts too as I’m sure there are things you do in your job that make this world a better place as well. For me, it is Employee Experience that inspires me every day. I am proud to work for every one of you, balancing your expectations with business needs to make everyone’s Experience of Work better. 

Reeling it back in, this all comes down to putting people at the center and this is the perfect moment for us at Rightpoint to be honored with this award from Microsoft. More than all the points I made above, I truly believe the vision on people is more aligned between Microsoft and Rightpoint than ever before. The future is bright for employee experience, and its importance cannot be overstated. I love what I do, and while this recognition is wonderful, we will keep the spotlight on people to keep making this world a better place.