For a long time, the employee experience was perceived as a «HR» issue, useful for engagement and employer image, but secondary once the economic situation worsened.
The National barometer Parlons RH 2025 on the employee experience (in partnership with Cornerstone) marks a turning point. For the first time, the figures establish a robust link between employee experience and economic performance. Yet this link remains largely untapped by HR departments and companies themselves.
The paradox is striking: Companies that invest sustainably in the employee experience perform better, But they still struggle to accept it as a fully-fledged strategic choice.
At a time when arbitration is becoming stricter, when working methods are being questioned and management is called upon to “hold on” to the collectives, this discrepancy raises questions.
The employee experience goes beyond HR to become part of the strategy
The first structuring lesson of the barometer is unequivocal: the employee experience is correlated with growth.
Over the last three years, 61% of “practicing” companies” (which have a policy focused on the employee experience and human resources) they experienced growth, against a deterioration of the working environment. 39% of non-practitioners. The gap widens even more when the approach is established over time, affecting recruitment. 70% growth in confirmed practicing companies, against 34% in companies that are resistant to change.
This result is not anecdotal. It permeates all sectors, with a particularly strong impact in activities with a high human capital intensity (services, industry, technology). It is also observed in structural indicators: job creation, staff stability, and control of turnover.
In other words, The employee experience is no longer about “organizational comfort”; it’s a carefully guarded pursuit of the HR function., But from a choice of performance and productivity model. Companies that integrate it into their strategic management build a more resilient growth, less dependent on the effects of the market alone.
At Orange: QVCT as a strategic approach to employee experience
Within the company, the employee experience is addressed through a Structured approach to Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QVCT), to improve the working environment, explicitly positioned as a lever for performance and transformation.
The QVCT is defined as a deliberate and strategic approach, linking work organization, management practices, and employee engagement.
Specifically, Orange relies on devices from’information-consultation, of, from regular collaborative surveys and of impact assessments to continuously adjust its actions and improve the employee experience. This approach aims to anticipate the human effects of transformations (hybridization of work, evolution of professions, workspaces) and to secure the collective ability to commit in the long term. (talenco – White paper «What levers of transformation in the uncertainty?»).
Strategic landmark
If the employee experience is not discussed in the management committee from the perspective of overall performance (growth, retention, ability to perform), it remains confined to a peripheral role, regardless of the resources invested.
A persistent paradox: the benefits of the employee experience are there, but remain poorly recognized
This is undoubtedly one of the most perplexing findings of the 2025 barometer regarding the employer brand.
Even as the economic results are in order, 84% of growth-oriented companies do not link their performance to their employee experience policy.
In performances, the reasoning often stops halfway:
- Yes, the employee experience improves engagement and keeps talent loyal;
- Yes, the commitment is perceived as a major competitive advantage;
- But no, the employee experience is not spontaneously identified as a lever for commercial or economic performance.
This dissociation is not neutral. It weakens efforts as soon as financial constraints intensify. What is not recognized as strategic becomes easier to arbitrate, or even to sacrifice.
At Groupe Rocher: the employee experience rooted in the mission and the clarity of the strategy
Within the Groupe Rocher, The collaborative experience relies heavily on the the company’s mission («reconnecting women and men with nature»), presented as the first employee engagement engine.
In a context of multiple transformations, the group chose to Reconsidering their performance management systems and its organization to strengthen agility, reduce silos, and accelerate the transition from vision to action.
Since 2023, the Rocher Group has notably deployed the method OKR (Objectives & Key Results) in order to translate the strategy into clear and shared objectives at all levels, from the Comex to the employees, thus strengthening the readability of the priorities and the collective coherence (talenco – White paper «What levers of transformation in the uncertainty?»).
Governance benchmark
A lever that is not measured (or not assumed) in terms of its contribution to the business remains structurally exposed to budget cuts, even when it is operating.
Tense working styles: a return to control or the consolidation of autonomy?
The barometer also highlights a context of Organizational tightening. Teleworking questioned, the return of presentism, the reaffirmation of control logics: these movements reflect a managerial concern about economic uncertainty.
However, the data show that Companies that practice the employee experience achieve better results without resorting to increased control. Their growth is based more on:
- the clarity of roles,
- the ability for employees to influence their work,
- organizations that connect sense, autonomy and effectiveness.
The collaborative experience does not consist in multiplying peripheral devices, but in designing work methods that truly support collective performance and quality of life at work. While some companies tighten their rules to reassure themselves, others invest in organizational maturity.
Operational landmark
When an organization tightens its operating methods without questioning what it really expects from work and the autonomy of teams, it risks degrading precisely what supports its performance in the medium term.
The central and often underestimated role of management in the employee experience
If the employee experience produces lasting effects, it is also because it profoundly transforms the managerial culture. The barometer shows that companies that practice it have:
- more structured listening devices,
- more involved management-level relaying,
- with the ability to translate feedback into concrete actions.
But this dynamic remains fragile. One of the identified risks is that of the “pseudo-listening” Soliciting the opinions of employees without actually changing management practices creates short-term disappointment; in the medium term, it erodes the credibility of the entire process.
The most mature companies are those that accept that The employee experience is first and foremost a management issue, It’s not a collection of tools or investigations; the manager plays a key role: giving meaning, making decisions understandable, explaining them, even when they are difficult.
At Apicil: a collaborative experience driven by listening and continuous improvement
A credible employee experience is based on the ability to transform listening into visible managerial decisions.
The Apicil Group* has structured its employee experience policy around a central principle: give employees the power to take action on their work. The organization combines barometers of commitment, of, from regular “pulse” surveys and of action plans deployed via the managers, With a logic of continuous improvement and co-construction.
The employee experience is explicitly designed as a Lever of support for performance, It is not a stand-alone satisfaction mechanism; the results of the surveys lead to concrete actions that are time-bound and adjusted based on feedback from the field.
*[Source: Employee Experience Barometer 2025 – Let’s Talk HR]
Managerial benchmark
A collaborative experience approach that does not change daily management practices creates more frustration for employees than commitment.
A rift that is intensifying between companies
Another major lesson from the 2025 barometer: Growing polarization of companies.
For the first time, the practice of employee experience is declining overall, due to a marked decline in SMEs. In these structures, the lack of financial resources becomes a major obstacle, often combined with a lack of strategic momentum.
Conversely, SMEs and large companies continue to restructure, widening the gap. The risk is clear: watch it emerge an economic fabric with two speeds, Where some organizations capitalize on their human performance while others are locked into short-term management.
This movement is worrying, because the barometer also shows that The employee experience is particularly useful in times of tension It promotes retention, resilience and the ability to overcome difficult cycles.
At Michelin: strengthening the employee experience in times of economic challenge
During periods of economic uncertainty and tensions over employment, major industrial groups such as Michelin They highlighted the importance of employee experience policies to support engagement, while piloting complex transformations.
In the economic context of 2024-2025, marked by a decline in activity and sectoral pressures, Michelin reaffirmed its commitment to its employees by strengthening its workforce development program. internal communication, the support of managers and social dialogue mechanisms.
In this context, the company has maintained professional support and training programs, as well as a strengthening transparency around economic decisions, in order to reduce the uncertainty felt by employees and to maintain a high level of commitment despite the external challenges the group faces.
This approach is part of a broader logic aimed at improving the working environment. Placing the employee experience at the heart of managerial resilience in times of tension, rather than reducing these investments on the pretext of budgetary constraints (talenco – White paper «What levers of transformation in the uncertainty?»).
Strategic landmark
It is not when everything goes well that the employee experience makes the difference, but precisely when the environment becomes uncertain.
Improving the employee experience at a critical moment
The 2025 Barometer finally puts leaders and HR managers in front of a clear responsibility. The evidence is there, showing that companies that invest in successful employee experience see a significant improvement in employee satisfaction. The correlations are established, the benefits are documented.
What is still lacking is not the individual conviction of HR professionals, but the subject matter is taken on board at the highest level and a systematic approach is taken to customize the employee experience.
The employee experience is neither a luxury nor an added value. It is a choice of piloting, which impacts the culture of the company and determines the way an organization conceives:
- his performance,
- his working methods,
- its management,
- and its ability to last.
Organizations that continue to treat this issue as a “HR bonus” risk missing out on a major competitive advantage. Those that fully integrate it into their strategy, on the other hand, will have an advantage that is difficult to replicate: A committed collective capable of performing over time.
FAQ – Employee experience
1. What is the employee experience and since when has this concept existed?
The concept of the collaborative experience refers to the totality of the perceptions experienced by an employee throughout his or her career within the company, At the intersection of work organization, management, collaboration methods, and strategy. Although its foundations date back to human relations studies as early as the mid-20th century, the collaborative experience has been structured and disseminated starting in the 2010s, in line with the customer experience, before becoming a strategic issue following recent crises.
2. How has the employee experience become a strategic issue for companies?
The 2025 barometer shows a clear correlation between employee experience and economic performance: employers who invest sustainably in this area experience greater growth and demonstrate greater resilience. Employee experience is therefore no longer a peripheral or solely HR issue, but a key factor in the success of any organization. A structural lever of overall performance, corporate culture, and the ability to endure.
3. Why is the employee experience still underutilized despite its benefits?
A paradox persists: Many companies benefit from the positive effects of the employee experience without explicitly linking them to their performance. Without clear strategic recognition, these approaches remain fragile and are often the first to be called into question when budgetary arbitrations become more stringent.
4. What role does management play in the success of the employee experience?
Management is a key factor in the credibility and effectiveness of the employee experience. The most mature approaches are those that truly transform management practices: clarity of priorities, the ability to give meaning to work, followed by active listening and concrete actions, and the empowerment of teams. Conversely, a collaborative experience disconnected from the day-to-day management tasks generates frustration and distrust among every employee.
5. Why is the employee experience particularly critical in times of uncertainty?
The barometer highlights that it is in contexts of economic, organizational or social tension that the employee experience creates the most value. It then contributes to To secure engagement, maintain group cohesion, and strengthen the resilience of organizations. Treating it as an adjustment variable in times of uncertainty constitutes a major strategic risk.