Employee experience platforms are no longer optional HR systems.
What Is an Employee Experience Platform?
An employee experience platform is enterprise software that improves engagement, wellbeing, and connection by combining listening, insights, and action – often through surveys, analytics, recognition, or tools embedded into daily work.In large, hybrid organisations, they have become core enterprise infrastructure for improving engagement, supporting wellbeing, reinforcing culture, and reducing attrition at scale.
As investment in employee experience (EX) technology grows, enterprise leaders are asking more practical questions:
- Which employee experience platforms actually deliver ROI?
- Where does EX technology measurably improve engagement?
- Which use cases scale across regions, roles, and industries?
This article answers those questions through five proven employee experience platform use cases, each grounded in a real, publicly documented enterprise case study, showing how organisations have turned improved employee experience into measurable value.
Read more on how to crack the ROI of employee engagement here.
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Use Case 1: Embedding Employee Experience Into the Flow of Work
Platform: Microsoft Viva
Category: Employee experience / wellbeing / productivity
Case study: SACE
How Does Microsoft Viva Deliver Employee Experience ROI?
Short answer: Microsoft Viva delivers ROI by embedding employee experience directly into Microsoft Teams, increasing adoption of wellbeing and learning resources without adding new platforms.
The Problem
Many employee experience initiatives fail because they sit outside the flow of work.
Standalone wellbeing portals and learning platforms often lead to:
- Low adoption
- Fragmented experiences
- Limited measurable impact
In hybrid organisations, employee experience tools that require employees to “go elsewhere” struggle to scale.
The Employee Experience Platform Solution
Italian financial services organisation SACE adopted Microsoft Viva to bring employee experience capabilities directly into Microsoft Teams.
According to Microsoft’s customer story, SACE used Viva to:
- Improve access to learning and development resources
- Support employee wellbeing initiatives
- Create a more connected digital employee experience
By embedding EX into daily collaboration, SACE reduced friction and improved adoption of employee experience initiatives.
The Employee Experience Outcome
As a result, SACE increased engagement with learning and wellbeing initiatives by delivering them inside existing collaboration workflows, rather than through separate employee portals.
Use Case 2: Improving Engagement Through Continuous Employee Listening
Platform: Qualtrics EmployeeXM
Category: Employee engagement analytics
Case study: Olam International
How Does Qualtrics EmployeeXM Drive ROI?
Short answer: Qualtrics EmployeeXM improves engagement by turning continuous employee feedback into real-time insights leaders can act on across the employee lifecycle.
The Problem
Traditional engagement surveys are often too infrequent to drive change.
In global organisations, annual surveys can be:
- Slow to respond to change
- Difficult to operationalise
- Disconnected from day-to-day employee experience
The Employee Experience Platform Solution
Global agribusiness Olam International selected Qualtrics EmployeeXM to improve employee engagement across its workforce.
According to Qualtrics, Olam used the platform to:
- Capture feedback at key moments across the employee lifecycle
- Understand engagement drivers across regions
- Inform leadership decisions with real-time insights
The Employee Experience Outcome
At Olam International, this enabled leaders to identify engagement issues earlier and act before they affected morale or retention.
Read more on how to measure employee experience data here.
Use Case 3: Identifying Engagement Risks Early at Scale
Platform: Workday Peakon Employee Voice
Category: Continuous listening / engagement
Case study: EDF Renewables
What ROI Does Continuous Listening Deliver?
Short answer: Continuous employee listening delivers ROI by identifying engagement risks early, allowing managers to intervene before issues escalate.
The Problem
In complex organisations, engagement issues often surface only after they impact:
- Retention
- Performance
- Manager effectiveness
Infrequent surveys make it difficult to detect emerging risks early.
The Employee Experience Platform Solution
EDF Renewables implemented Workday Peakon Employee Voice to empower managers with real-time engagement insights.
According to Workday’s customer story, Peakon enabled EDF Renewables to:
- Capture continuous employee feedback
- Equip managers with actionable insights
- Improve engagement conversations at team level
The Employee Experience Outcome
EDF Renewables used these insights to improve engagement conversations at team level, reducing reliance on infrequent annual surveys.
Use Case 4: Driving Engagement Through Structured Employee Recognition
Platform: Achievers Employee Success
Category: Recognition / engagement
Case study: Olympus
Why Does Employee Recognition Deliver Strong ROI?
Short answer: Employee recognition delivers ROI by increasing engagement and motivation when appreciation is frequent, visible, and values-based.
The Problem
In many organisations, recognition is inconsistent and dependent on individual managers.
This leads to:
- Uneven employee experiences
- Limited cultural reinforcement
- Missed engagement opportunities
The Employee Experience Platform Solution
Olympus implemented the Achievers Employee Success Platform to modernise its employee recognition approach.
According to the Achievers case study, Olympus used the platform to:
- Increase recognition frequency
- Reinforce company values
- Improve engagement across teams
The Employee Experience Outcome
Olympus increased recognition frequency and engagement consistency by replacing ad-hoc recognition with a structured, platform-led approach.
Read more on employee recognition tools here.
Use Case 5: Strengthening Engagement Through Social Recognition
Platform: Workhuman Cloud
Category: Social recognition / engagement
Case study: LinkedIn
How Does Social Recognition Drive Employee Experience ROI?
Short answer: Social recognition improves employee experience by reinforcing positive behaviours and connection across distributed teams.
The Problem
Hybrid and remote work reduce informal opportunities for appreciation.
Without deliberate recognition strategies, organisations risk:
- Lower morale
- Reduced connection
- Engagement decline
The Employee Experience Platform Solution
LinkedIn uses Workhuman’s social recognition platform to support its global recognition programme.
According to Workhuman, LinkedIn leveraged social recognition to:
- Increase peer-to-peer appreciation
- Strengthen connection across teams
- Link recognition activity to retention outcomes
The Employee Experience Outcome
LinkedIn linked recognition activity directly to retention outcomes, demonstrating a measurable relationship between appreciation and employee retention.
What These Use Cases Reveal About Employee Experience Platform ROI
Across these five examples, successful employee experience platforms share common traits:
- They solve a specific experience or engagement problem
- They integrate into daily work and culture
- They scale across teams and regions
- They translate insight into visible action
This is where employee experience platform ROI becomes tangible.
Final Takeaway: Employee Experience Platforms Deliver ROI When Used With Intent
Employee experience platforms deliver the greatest impact when they move beyond surveys or standalone programmes.
When embedded into daily work, supported by leadership, and aligned to real engagement challenges, they become powerful drivers of employee experience — and measurable business value.
For enterprise leaders, the question is no longer whether to invest in employee experience platforms, but which use cases will deliver value first.
In summary:
- Microsoft Viva improves EX adoption by embedding experience into daily work
- Qualtrics EmployeeXM links engagement feedback to business action
- Workday Peakon reduces engagement risk through continuous listening
- Achievers increases engagement through structured recognition
- Workhuman improves retention through social recognition at scale
Frequently Asked Questions About Employee Experience Platform ROI
What are the most proven employee experience platform use cases?
The most proven use cases include continuous employee listening, embedded wellbeing tools, and structured recognition programmes linked to engagement and retention.
Do employee experience platforms really improve engagement?
Employee experience platforms do really improve engagement – particularly when feedback and recognition lead to visible follow-up action.
How is ROI measured for employee experience platforms?
ROI is measured through engagement trends, participation rates, retention indicators, and employee feedback signals.
Are employee experience platforms only for HR teams?
No, employee experience platforms are not just for HR teams. ROI is highest when platforms support managers, leaders, and employees across the organisation.
