Your top performer just resigned. Exit interview reveals: "I felt stuck. No growth path. Didn't feel valued." This wasn't about compensation—they're taking a lateral move for the same money. It was about employee experience. Six months later, you've lost two more high performers from the same team. Morale is tanking. The remaining team is overwhelmed covering gaps. Recruiting is struggling to fill roles because Glassdoor reviews mention "lack of development opportunities."
According to Gallup research on employee engagement, actively disengaged employees cost organizations $450-550 billion annually in lost productivity. The difference between mediocre and exceptional employee experience compounds into talent retention, innovation capacity, and sustainable competitive advantage.
The sixth of the 7 Leadership Questions in the Waymaker Leadership Curve addresses this directly: "What is our employee's experience, how do we acquire, retain, and grow talent through our journey & promise, and what improvements need to be made?" This isn't about perks or ping-pong tables. It's about deliberately designing the employee journey to attract, develop, and retain the people who create value.
The Problem: Treating Employees as Resources
Most organizations approach employee experience reactively:
- HR handles hiring and compliance
- Managers assign work and conduct reviews
- Learning & Development offers training catalogs
- Compensation adjusts salaries when people threaten to leave
Employee experience emerges accidentally from these disconnected functions. Nobody owns the end-to-end journey. Nobody ensures the experience matches what was promised during recruiting. Nobody measures if employees are growing or stagnating.
The Cost of Bad Employee Experience
50-person company with 30% annual turnover:
- Replacement costs: $75K average per employee × 15 departures = $1.125M
- Lost productivity: 6 months to full productivity × 15 people = $750K
- Knowledge loss: Tribal knowledge, client relationships, process expertise = Unquantifiable
- Morale impact: Remaining employees demotivated, take on extra burden = Lower engagement
- Recruiting difficulty: Bad Glassdoor reviews make hiring 3x harder = Higher CAC for talent
Total annual cost: $2M+ for a 50-person company
Same company with exceptional EX:
- Turnover: 10% annually (5 departures instead of 15)
- Replacement costs: $375K (saves $750K)
- Productivity: Retained employees improve 10-15% annually through development
- Innovation: Engaged employees drive improvements and new ideas
- Recruiting: Employees refer top talent, Glassdoor scores attract candidates
Total annual savings: $1.5M+ in direct costs plus unquantifiable innovation and culture benefits
Learn more about how employee experience directly impacts customer experience through the 12 Questions framework.
What Employee Experience Actually Means
Employee Experience (EX) = The sum of all interactions an employee has with your organization across their entire journey—from first awareness of your employer brand to becoming an alumni advocate.
It includes:
- How they discover you as an employer (brand, referrals, recruiting)
- How they interview and evaluate you (process, culture, transparency)
- How they onboard (first 90 days, relationships, clarity)
- How they grow (development, advancement, recognition)
- How they contribute (autonomy, impact, meaning)
- How they transition (departures, alumni network, continued relationship)
The Employee Journey: 5 Critical Stages
1. Attract (How do they discover you as an employer?)
- Channels: Employer brand, referrals, job boards, social media
- Promise: Meaningful work with growth opportunities
- Measure: Application quality, offer acceptance rate
2. Onboard (How do they start?)
- Touchpoints: First day, training, manager relationships, peer connections
- Promise: Clear expectations, support to succeed
- Measure: Time-to-productivity, 90-day retention
3. Develop (How do they grow?)
- Experience: Learning opportunities, career progression, skill development
- Promise: Investment in their growth and future
- Measure: Internal promotion rate, skill acquisition
4. Retain (What keeps them engaged?)
- Touchpoints: Recognition, compensation, meaningful work, autonomy
- Promise: Fair treatment, impact, and valued contribution
- Measure: Engagement scores, retention rate, eNPS
5. Transition (How do they leave?)
- Experience: Offboarding, exit process, alumni network
- Promise: Respectful departure and continued relationship
- Measure: Boomerang rehire rate, alumni referrals
This article introduces the EX Canvas framework for answering Leadership Question 6. For complete canvas templates and employee journey mapping tools, get Resolute by Stuart Leo on Amazon.
The Employee Promise: Foundation of EX
Employee Promise = What you commit to provide to enable growth, contribution, and fulfillment.
Your promise must be:
- Specific: Clear about what employees can expect
- Credible: Based on genuine commitment to deliver
- Differentiating: Distinct from what other employers offer
- Measurable: You can track if you're delivering on it
Examples of Strong Employee Promises
Netflix: "Freedom and responsibility within context"
- Specific: High autonomy with clear accountability
- Credible: Documented in Culture Deck, lived daily
- Differentiating: Most companies micromanage; Netflix empowers
- Measurable: Employee satisfaction with autonomy, retention of high performers
Patagonia: "Work-life balance and environmental mission"
- Specific: Flexible schedules, paid time for activism, mission-driven work
- Credible: Company policies support surfing breaks, environmental activism
- Differentiating: Most companies talk purpose; Patagonia embeds it
- Measurable: Employee retention, satisfaction scores, mission alignment
Salesforce: "Equality and career growth for all"
- Specific: Equal pay, transparent career paths, extensive learning opportunities
- Credible: Annual equal pay audits, Trailhead learning platform
- Differentiating: Documented commitment to equality with public accountability
- Measurable: Pay equity metrics, internal promotion rates, learning engagement
The EX Canvas: Mapping Journey and Promise
The EX Canvas provides a structured framework for answering Leadership Question 6: "What is our employee's experience, how do we acquire, retain, and grow talent through our journey & promise, and what improvements need to be made?"
How the EX Canvas Works
Layer 1: Employee Journey Stages
- Attract → Onboard → Develop → Retain → Transition
- What happens at each stage?
- What are the key touchpoints?
- Where do employees disengage or leave?
Layer 2: Employee Promise
- What do you commit to provide at each stage?
- Is the promise credible and differentiating?
- Can you measure if you're keeping the promise?
Layer 3: Experience Gaps
- Where does actual experience fall short of promise?
- What improvements would have highest impact on retention?
- Which gaps are causing turnover or disengagement?
Real-World Example: Tech Company
Employee Promise: "Rapid skill development with mentorship and autonomy"
Stage 1: Attract
- Touchpoints: Careers page, referrals, technical blog, conference sponsorships
- Promise: Work with cutting-edge technology and talented team
- Gap: Careers page generic, doesn't showcase technical culture
- Improvement: Publish technical blog, host meetups, showcase projects
Stage 2: Onboard
- Touchpoints: Welcome package, manager 1:1s, buddy program, training
- Promise: Clear path to productivity within 30 days
- Gap: 50% of new hires feel "lost" in first month
- Improvement: Structured 30-60-90 day plan, assigned mentor, weekly check-ins
Stage 3: Develop
- Touchpoints: Learning budget, conference attendance, internal projects
- Promise: $3K annual learning budget, quarterly skill reviews
- Gap: Only 30% use learning budget (unclear how)
- Improvement: Skill development plans, manager coaching on growth
Stage 4: Retain
- Touchpoints: Compensation reviews, promotions, recognition, autonomy
- Promise: Fair compensation, growth opportunities, meaningful impact
- Gap: No clear promotion criteria, feels subjective
- Improvement: Published career ladder, transparent promotion process
Stage 5: Transition
- Touchpoints: Exit interview, offboarding, alumni network
- Promise: Respectful departure, stay connected
- Gap: No alumni network, lose contact immediately
- Improvement: Alumni LinkedIn group, quarterly events, boomerang program
Result of improvements:
- Time-to-productivity: 60 days → 30 days
- Engagement scores: 6.5/10 → 8.2/10
- Voluntary turnover: 25% → 12%
- Internal promotion rate: 15% → 35%
- Employee referrals: 20% of hires → 50% of hires
The Metrics That Matter
Metric 1: Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
Question: "How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?" Scale: -100 to +100
- Below 0: Crisis (more detractors than promoters)
- 0-20: Room for improvement
- 20-50: Good employee experience
- 50+: Exceptional
Metric 2: Retention Rate
Voluntary turnover benchmarks:
- Tech: 10-15% annually (great), 15-25% (acceptable), >25% (crisis)
- Professional services: 15-20% annually
- Retail: 30-50% annually
Metric 3: Internal Promotion Rate
What it measures: Percentage of open roles filled internally Benchmark: 30%+ internal fill rate indicates strong development
Metric 4: Time-to-Productivity
What it measures: How quickly new hires become fully productive Benchmark: <90 days for most roles
Learn more about how the 12 Questions framework balances employee and customer experience.
Practical Application: Creating Your EX Canvas
Step 1: Map Employee Journey
- Identify 5 stages for your organization
- Document key touchpoints at each stage
- Calculate current drop-off/disengagement rates
Step 2: Define Employee Promise
- What do you commit to provide?
- Is it specific, credible, differentiating?
- Can you measure delivery?
Step 3: Identify Gaps
- Where does experience fall short?
- What causes turnover or disengagement?
- Which improvements would have highest impact?
Step 4: Measure Leading Indicators
- Track eNPS, retention, promotion rate, time-to-productivity
- Review quarterly
Step 5: Continuous Improvement
- Are we delivering on our employee promise?
- Where is EX causing turnover?
- What would create advocacy?
Experience the EX Canvas in Practice
For complete EX Canvas templates, journey mapping tools, and employee experience development playbooks, get Resolute by Stuart Leo on Amazon.
Great employees don't leave great experiences. Design employee journeys that attract, develop, and retain top talent. Learn more about the complete 12 Questions framework and customer experience strategy.
About the Author
Stuart Leo
Stuart Leo founded Waymaker to solve a problem he kept seeing: businesses losing critical knowledge as they grow. He wrote Resolute to help leaders navigate change, lead with purpose, and build indestructible organizations. When he's not building software, he's enjoying the sand, surf, and open spaces of Australia.