Employee Experience in Action: Performance, Growth, and Recognition - Day 2 Highlights

On the second day of the Employee Experience and Business Performance Summit, we moved beyond vision statements and explored how organizations are putting experience into action. 

The conversations focused on how to drive performance and growth through feedback, recognition, leadership behaviors, and scalable practices. 

And if one thing stood out in every panel, it is that the experience employees live every day is shaped by what leaders do consistently — not what’s written! This applies to every organization, whether you are a global enterprise or a team of 30, or have a massive HR budget or not.

4 Components of Employee Experience in Action

“Feedback is really a muscle that’s part of the culture. And the more we do it, the better we get at it” — Tracy Brower, Vice President of Workplace Insights, Steelcase

1 - Feedback, Performance, and Development as Core Experience Drivers

Gallup found that only 2 in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them, while regular, meaningful feedback can triple that number. 

Then, how can feedback become part of the culture and more behavior-focused? 

• Encourage self-reflections and turn them into a team habit: Weekly reflection rituals help people ask, “What did we do well? What could we do better?” These short sessions make learning visible and strengthen accountability.
• Build psychological safety through daily behavior: Show curiosity and openness in routine conversations, to help teams respond with honesty and initiative.
• Utilize AI to enhance feedback awareness: AI tools can analyze feedback tone, detect bias, and guide managers and employees toward more balanced responses. While the risk of losing authenticity and human voice is real, these support tools can help increase awareness, consistency, and support self-coaching to improve human interactions.
• Coach managers to strengthen feedback loops: Well-intentioned systems need skilled managers to model culture and its core values, starting from onboarding. Coaching helps managers connect feedback to development goals and build trust through follow-up and clarity.

2 - Scalable Recognition and Rewards Systems

“The most underrated thing is getting the engagement and buy-in of the most senior leaders to lead by example in any kind of recognition and rewards, because that will be automatically contagious throughout the organization.” — Cassandra Lammers, Total Rewards Expert.

Recognition is one of the most powerful ways to reinforce culture. The number of organizations investing in strategic recognition is growing, and 42% of senior leaders highlighted its value in a recent survey (+14% vs. 2022), citing it as a powerful tool for addressing key business challenges while driving measurable results. 

Even without software, organizations invest time and resources in recognition every day. When we celebrate behaviors that reflect our values, we remind everyone what the organization stands for.

Scaling recognition requires clarity of purpose, data to demonstrate results, and a clear view of ROI. Effective recognition systems connect culture with measurable outcomes such as retention, engagement, and performance, proving that investing in people drives business growth.

1. Get managers engaged from the start: Start small and involve managers early. Ask how recognition already happens in their teams before introducing new tools. Have conversations that clarify how technology supports their goals rather than adding another task to complete.
2. Make recognition visible and shared: Public recognition and peer-to-peer programs amplify reach and inclusivity. When appreciation becomes visible, it creates a ripple effect that strengthens a sense of belonging and reinforces desired behaviors throughout the organization.
3. Link recognition with performance and purpose: Recognition should reinforce what success looks like. “What you recognize, you get more of,” Tom Short said. The most successful organizations embed recognition into performance metrics, tracking how frequently managers acknowledge their teams. It’s like a performance review happening all the time.
4. Measure impact, not activity: The number of shout-outs or awards means little if employees don’t feel valued. Pulse surveys help reveal whether recognition increases trust and collaboration. Comparing engagement and culture scores over time provides a clearer picture of impact.
5. Maintain recognition, authenticity, and equity: Dr Theresa Horne noted that scaling recognition involves reaching all sectors equally and ensuring consistency across them. Analytics enable the verification of fairness and the identification of recognition gaps. AI can also support this process by connecting recognition trends with culture and business outcomes. 
6. Make recognition a choice: Allow employees to choose how they prefer to be recognized. Individual needs vary, and flexible recognition levels or formats ensure that appreciation feels genuine and relevant.

3 - Managers as Culture Carriers, Shaping Everyday Experience

“Managers shape the micro-moments of experience that often go unnoticed. But it’s in those moments—one-on-ones, feedback, even Slack replies—that trust is built” — Malvika Jethmalani, Founder, Atvis Group.

The daily influence of managers and their actions defines the employee experience more than any formal program. What happens when HR strategy doesn’t reach the front lines, and why managers must be equipped, coached, and trusted to bring culture to life through their everyday interactions? That was one of the central topics discussed today, and six insights emerge:

1. Develop manager self-awareness and clarity: People leaders need space to understand their own leadership behaviors before they can guide others. Building self-awareness helps them manage with consistency and communicate with empathy.
2. Create alignment between HR strategy and daily practice: Even the best HR initiatives fail without follow-through at the manager level. When communication breaks down, employees experience inconsistency, which erodes trust. Managers need clear frameworks that help translate policies into actions.
3. Invest in coaching, not just tools: Sendy Lopez-Swiney shared how leadership coaching builds confidence and adaptability in managers. Tools can track goals, but coaching helps managers listen more effectively, provide meaningful feedback, and handle conflict constructively.
4. Teach managers how to build connections remotely: Jamy Conrad noted that connection looks different in hybrid and distributed environments. Encouraging regular one-on-ones, visible recognition, and open communication channels helps managers foster a sense of belonging, even in the absence of physical proximity.
5. Use data to help managers self-correct: Engagement data, pulse surveys, and 360 feedback can act as mirrors for managers. The goal isn’t policing performance, but instead helping them understand how their leadership behaviors impact engagement, motivation, and trust.
6. Build accountability through shared ownership: Culture cannot be limited to HR. Managers shape it through everyday actions, such as how they provide feedback, respond to mistakes, and acknowledge effort. Empowering them with training, data, and autonomy ensures consistency between values and lived experience.

4️ -  Aligning Employee Experience with Leadership Culture and Strategy

“You don’t need a fancy tech stack to build great experiences. You need clarity, consistency, and leaders who know how to listen and act.” — Jared Koesten, Chief People Officer and Head of HR M&A, BrandStar 

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 Report, only 21% of employees strongly agree that leaders communicate a clear vision for their organization, highlighting the ongoing challenge of aligning leadership culture and strategy to drive engagement worldwide.

This illustrates how leadership shapes the culture that employees experience daily. Leadership culture sets the tone for communication, recognition, and decision-making. When values are clearly articulated and lived through consistent behaviors, employee experience becomes a reflection of leadership integrity.

1. Model culture through consistent leadership behaviors: Connect business goals to values in every decision and model the same behaviors you expect from your teams: transparency, accountability, and empathy.
2. Make culture measurable and actionable: Leadership behaviors, team feedback, and engagement data can show whether culture goals are being met and where gaps still exist.
3. Embed values in everyday operations: Embed culture into systems: performance reviews, recognition programs, and hiring conversations. When culture is operationalized, alignment happens more naturally.
4. Develop leaders as culture carriers: Equip managers with leadership development programs and clear expectations, so that culture doesn’t dilute between levels.
5. Reinforce psychological safety as a leadership skill: Foster open dialogue and build credibility and engagement. Employees are more likely to share ideas, flag problems early, and collaborate effectively when leaders create environments rooted in trust.

Don’t Miss the Last Day of the Summit!

Join us tomorrow for the last day of the Employee Experience and Business Performance Summit! Tomorrow, the conversations will revolve around scaling and sustaining the employee experience for business. Check out the fantastic agenda we put together!

07:00 AM PT -  Using People Analytics to Drive EX Decisions. Speakers: Shreerang Tarte , Bridgette Monique Wilder , Ashley Johnson , Suzanne McGovern , Kristin Strunk , and Dr. Frank Gonzalez .

07:45 AM PT - Integrating Well-being and Mental Health into the Experience Framework. Speakers: Dr. Waajida L. Small , Ester Gramegna, MS, SHRM-CP , Deborah Maynard, MBA, CPHR, (she/her) , Brandi M. Fannell, PhD , Angela S. , and Vanessa Anello .

08:30 AM PT: AI and Automation for Personalized EX at Scale. Speakers: Ms. Chelule Abigail, CHRP-K , Kara Vega, GPHR , Sophie Lopez , Salvador Segura-Ortega, MBA, PMP® , Kimberly L. , and Sneha Yadamari .

09:15 AM PT - Measuring ROI: Proving the Value of Experience to Business Leaders. Speakers: Paul White, Ph.D. , Adam G Hopewell, MBA, SPHR™, GTML™ , Buki Adeyinka ACIPD,SPHR , Mariano Alonso González , Melissa Laswell, MSOD , and Sneha Yadamari .

10:00 AM PT - Future-Proofing EX for a Fast-Changing Workforce. Speakers: Carolina Jacob, Carol J Cooley, SPHR , Nicole Dominique Le Maire , Lakshmi Raju , Ryan Decoste, ACC, Prosci®, HPI , and Dr. Frank Gonzalez

JOIN US!  

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