Remote employee experience (REX): basics and best practices

In 2024, employee experience is more important than ever to HR professionals. Many HR teams aim to create and uphold an excellent employee experience to boost productivity and job satisfaction. 

With 22 million U.S. adults working from home, remote employee experience (REX) has become crucial for today's employee experience. However, its niche nature requires a more specialized approach. 

In this article, we’ll explore remote employee experience, how to measure REX, and best practices for improving remote employee satisfaction through feedback.

Remote employee experience (REX) is a comprehensive view of how remote workers feel about their experience at a company. It highlights whether employees feel valued, engaged, or supported by leadership. Improving the REX for your organization is an excellent way to drive productivity and long-term growth.

Remote employees have a completely different experience than their in-office or hybrid counterparts. Strategic planning ensures remote employees feel connected to the team and valued for their efforts. REX has been a recent addition to the employee experience since the significant shift to remote work in 2020. 

Remote employee experience encompasses everything from employee onboarding to the end of employment with your organization. Every moment at work impacts an employee's feelings toward the company and job satisfaction. 

As a note, remote employee experience differs significantly from digital employee experience (DEX). Digital employee experience refers to the digital tools a remote worker uses in their day-to-day operations. It measures the quality of employees' interactions with workplace technology and their feelings toward it. 

Both DEX and REX contribute to the overall employee experience and help increase team efficiency and morale. However, the digital employee experience strictly focuses on workplace technology stacks.

What are the major elements of remote employee experience? There are a handful of areas that strongly influence REX, including:

These key elements together build the foundation for a robust remote employee experience. If these elements aren’t in sync, REX may suffer at your company. 

HR contributes to creating a positive employee experience for remote workers by fostering company culture and productivity through employee experience management. Since employee experience management is HR professionals’ responsibility, remote employee experience falls under this purview.

HR teams work to ensure positive cultural experiences, interactions with coworkers and leadership, and seamless work technology usage. They can drive innovation in REX by providing opportunities for remote employees to share feedback. By regularly collecting and encouraging feedback, HR professionals can improve employee experience and build trust among their remote teams.

Remote employee experience is the foundation of a happy and productive remote workforce. Investing in your remote employees promotes business growth and success. A positive remote employee experience can also: 

When remote employees are satisfied in their roles, they have more motivation to perform their best. This, in turn, boosts productivity levels and enhances your company’s productivity. Satisfied employees are more productive than disengaged remote workers. 

Higher productivity means higher output, better customer experiences, and increased profits for your business. 

Providing the best remote work experience possible can help you attract and retain top-tier talent, reducing turnover and attrition costs. Research shows that replacing employees can cost one-half to two times an employee's salary. Reducing attrition rates can be an effective method of saving on recruitment and hiring costs. 

Employee engagement measures how invested employees feel in a company and its success. It describes the commitment and enthusiasm a worker feels for a company. Engaged employees feel the employee experience lives up to their expectations and are satisfied in their roles. 

Engaging employees in remote or hybrid work environments enhances profits, decreases churn, and improves productivity. You can gauge remote employee engagement with employee engagement surveys or engagement monitoring tools. 

Providing a great remote employee experience helps enhance the recruiting process for new employees. If your company is a top destination for remote workers, you'll attract more skilled professionals. 

With remote work’s popularity, having a positive REX is essential for your hiring efforts. According to SurveyMonkey’s Workforce Survey April 2024, 28% of employees prefer remote work, significantly higher than the current 16% working remotely in any capacity. 

Monitoring remote employee experience can influence company workflows and overall success. To ensure your remote employees are productive and satisfied, measure their remote employee experience with these methods:

Employee feedback is your most valuable resource regarding remote employee experience. This way, you won’t have to guess what issues may lie below the surface. By speaking directly with employees, you can gather feedback on how they feel about their day-to-day work experience. 

Regularly sending employee feedback surveys is a great place to start measuring REX. You can use employee experience feedback to shape the workplace experience for remote workers and track employee sentiments towards your current REX. 

Using employee engagement monitoring tools helps maximize engagement among workers. These tools collect feedback, analyze survey results, offer recognition activities, and provide engagement apps for connecting remote employees. Use scalable employee engagement software to streamline performance management and employee check-ins. 

Some key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help HR leaders measure remote employee experience include:

Measuring employee experience is the first step to improving REX. You can’t know where to start without gathering the proper data and feedback from remote employees. 

Cofounded by Slack, the Remote Employee Experience Index (REI) is an assessment tool for businesses to assess the overall experience of their remote workforce. It provides a structured framework for evaluating and addressing the unique challenges and opportunities associated with remote work, ultimately contributing to the success and well-being of the remote workforce.

With the REI, organizations can track and use remote workforce data to make informed decisions and improve their remote employee experience strategy. It includes surveys and assessments that capture feedback from remote employees about their work environment, interactions, resources, and job satisfaction. 

Improving remote employee experience takes a strategic and tailored approach. HR professionals can use a handful of techniques to enhance REX. Here are some top methods and why they work: 

Employee experience gaps are the differences between what employees expect their workplace experience to be and their reality. Closing experience gaps and more closely aligning your REX with employee expectations will greatly improve the overall work experience. Employee feedback surveys, suggestion boxes, or 1:1 conversations can help you find experience gaps. 

According to a Kincentric survey, 49% of employees feel their organization isn't delivering on the promised experience. Many employees are missing the care and compassion they felt from employers during pandemic times. While the pandemic required special circumstances, there are ways your company can continue to close experience gaps. 

By addressing the emotional and practical needs of their remote employees, companies can uphold their commitment to fostering a supportive and nurturing work environment.

Updating your remote onboarding experience can greatly improve employee satisfaction. To ensure remote employees are getting the onboarding and training they need, send out surveys to gather feedback. 

Utilize employee feedback to adjust and optimize the remote onboarding experience. Survey your employees to determine which areas need improvement to provide the best possible onboarding and training experience. 

An optimized onboarding experience properly prepares remote employees to collaborate with their teams and sets the tone for what REX will be like at your company. 

A remote workplace should be seamless for work-from-home employees. Ensure that remote employees have access to the technology stack they need to do their jobs. This technology stack includes communication tools, specialized digital platforms, workflow management tools, and more. 

Team communication and collaboration are major parts of REX. For remote employees to feel connected while working from home, they must have easy ways to communicate with each other. Use tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google’s G Suite to bridge the gap between your remote workers. 

Training and support for remote workers ensure they are fully equipped to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Remote workers may or may not have held remote positions before and might need help adjusting. 

Training and support programs for remote workers teach best practices to help create a strong digital workforce. Investing in training, from teaching workflow management to providing tech support for work devices, improves team productivity and output.

Employee recognition can significantly improve the remote employee experience. It fosters a sense of appreciation and belonging among remote workers, helping combat feelings of isolation and disconnection. Recognizing remote employees' efforts and achievements can also increase motivation, job satisfaction, and loyalty toward the company. 

Moreover, employee recognition boosts morale by helping remote workers feel more connected and engaged, ultimately enhancing the remote work environment.

Continuous optimization of your remote employee experience will keep employees satisfied and motivated over time. After hiring, remote employees may initially find your company's REX satisfactory. However, how do you maintain their experience? The answer: continuous improvement.  

By using SurveyMonkey survey templates, you can collect feedback from remote employees to enhance their experience. Continuously updating your REX using employee feedback is the best way to improve the overall employee experience. 

Consistent and timely feedback is essential for helping companies establish and maintain a top-notch employee experience. By regularly gathering feedback and monitoring engagement, companies can identify areas for improvement and support their teams as their systems and processes evolve. 

All of the efforts outlined above can contribute to a positive work environment and a more satisfying remote experience for your employees. 

Learn how SurveyMonkey can help boost your REX and employee engagement.