One thing has become crystal clear in my work: employee experience (EX) requires strategic vision and strategic energy to be a successful endeavour. It’s a tough reality right now for business, HR and EX leaders, and without the role of the Chief Employee Experience Officer (CEEO) behind them, it’ll be a whole lot tougher.
The maturity curve for adoption and implementation of an EX vision and associated principles is vastly different across sectors and companies. That’s because EX is context specific. It is almost wholly reliant and dependent on the culture, heritage, and future direction of a unique business. An EX at one company cannot simply be mimicked or copied, though many try! The CEEO is the leader strategically positioned to support a business to effectively co-create an original, exceptional, and end-to-end experience for employees. And trust me, when companies get this right, the results are extraordinary.
Let’s dive into why this role is transforming business.
1. Employee Experience = Business Success
Organizations that invest in EX are reaping the rewards—higher productivity, better innovation, stronger retention rates and higher profitability. But here’s the thing: the CEEO isn’t just about keeping people happy. It’s about creating a holistic, human-centred environment where employees can thrive, grow, and do their best work. And importantly, it’s about keeping people and the business aligned. This is strategically and operationally crucial, and is why the CEEO is a game-changing role to accelerate progress.
When employees feel valued, connected, and supported, they bring their whole selves to work. And that’s where the magic happens. The CEEO is an architect of this experience, ensuring that the company’s culture, processes, and leadership all align to support employee success. The result? Better business performance, happier customers, and a stronger brand.
2. Make Work Better? No, Make Life Better
Here’s the truth: engagement alone isn’t enough. I’ve said many times that you can have all the engagement surveys in the world, but if employees don’t feel they’re part of something meaningful, they’ll look elsewhere. The CEEO steps in to shift the focus from basic employee engagement activities to a deeper, more authentic employee experience approach at every level. In essence, their role is to galvanize (and sometimes cajole!), leaders into seriously improving EX performance. This involves sharpening that alignment between leadership accountabilities and the EX. Leaders are ultimately responsible for EX performance, not HR or any other function.
Yet, there is a major strategic role at central or global level that plays out. This is about designing workplaces that work for everyone. It’s about creating spaces and places where employees feel a true sense of belonging. The CEEO makes sure these elements are baked into the DNA of the organization. It’s not just about making work better—it’s about making life better.
3. Connecting Employee and Customer Experience
One of the most exciting shifts we’re seeing is the direct link between employee experience and customer experience. It’s simple really: a world-class EX creates a world-class CX. The CEEO plays a crucial role in ensuring that these two experiences are fully aligned, and the Chief Customer Experience Officer is usually their best friend in this regard – it cuts both ways.
Think about it. When your people feel energized, supported, and connected to their work, they deliver better service. Both CX and EX leaders have so many overlapping interests in getting that right. Employees go the extra mile for customers because they feel valued themselves. The CEEO brings this connection to life, helping organizations create a consistent, authentic experience that shines through in every interaction—internally and externally, in close partnership with CX.
4. Shaping the Future of Work
From remote and hybrid work to AI-driven workplaces, this is the present of work so there’s no telling what the future of work is going to look like as technology advances at lightning speed. The Chief Employee Experience Officer really is the guiding force and thought partner that helps companies navigate this new landscape.
By championing flexibility, innovation, and continuous learning, the CEEO ensures that leaders (and employees) are equipped to adapt to these changes. It’s about creating a future-proof culture where people can thrive, no matter where the world takes us next. Whether it’s digital transformation or building a culture of inclusion, the CEEO is at the forefront, leading the charge.
5. A Seat at the Top Table
The CEEO, working alongside the CEO and other C-suite leaders to drive strategy, has emerged as a key influence over long-term business strategy. This is a role that transcends historic departmental boundaries and can reach all corners of the organization. Why? Because people are the key to business success, and the CEEO ensures that employee experience is a critical part of the company’s long-term vision. Wherever there is a need to eliminate pain points or elevate experiences, the CEEO will be there, and with an entire organization behind them.
Leadership par excellence for 2024, the CEEO brings a strategic, human-centred perspective to every decision, making sure the employee experience is always front and centre of the business agenda. And that’s what sets the best companies apart.
6. The Power of People-First Leadership
In my work coaching EX leaders, I’ve seen time and again that people-first leadership is what drives real, lasting change. The CEEO is the champion of this approach, ensuring that leaders across the business are not just managing people, but truly leading with empathy, authenticity, and purpose. This is the overarching ingredient of success, not career background either. Indeed, many of the best CEEOs I have mentored or worked with have come from non-traditional HR backgrounds, which is a trend to keep an eye on, especially if you are recruiting for this role or aspiring to find yourself in this role.
The Rise of the CEEO
The Chief Employee Experience Officer is fast becoming one of the most powerful roles in business—and for good reason. In today’s world, putting people at the centre of everything we do is the only way to build sustainable success. From driving engagement and innovation to aligning employee and customer experience, the CEEO is shaping the future of work—and the future of business.
If you want to create exceptional outcomes, you need exceptional experiences. And the CEEO is the leader who makes it happen.
Ben Whitter is the author of the ground-breaking book, Employee Experience (2019).
Employee Experience Strategy (2023) and Human Experience at Work (2021) completed his experience trilogy, which was published globally by Kogan Page.
Following the success of his first book, Ben was named one of the top emerging management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 in 2021, recognized for his "compelling" research on employee experience (EX). He was also a top 8 global finalist for the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award in Talent, which was won by Reed Hastings of Netflix.
Ben is widely credited for pioneering and popularizing the concept of employee experience worldwide. In 2021 he was named as one of the Most Influential HR Thinkers by HR Magazine and one of the top 30 global keynote speakers for workplace culture by Global Gurus. His work has reached 18 million people, inspired the first EX conferences, and has been featured in publications including The Times, The Telegraph, Forbes, The Financial Times, The Economist, and MIT Sloan.
A prolific global keynote speaker on human and employee experience topics, Ben has introduced his ideas to audiences in more than 40 countries.
KEYNOTE SERVICES: To book Ben for a keynote speech (virtual or in-person) at your company, please contact us for availability.
COACHING & LEARNING: You can join the next public and virtual HEX Practitioner Programme here. 3 months access, live coaching and content on employee experience with Ben Whitter.