Finally, AI is giving us the ability to measure employee experience effectively

AI can expedite the measurement of employee experience, argues Freshworks’ Simon Hayward. (Photo: chainarong06 / Shutterstock)

For years, the employee experience (EX) has lagged behind customer experience (CX) in superiority and effectiveness. While CX teams track every click and complaint using metrics like CSAT and NPS, EX has relied on annual surveys and quarterly scores, offering outdated snapshots that miss the daily friction driving disengagement and turnover.

AI is now changing this: what was once a reactive HR function is becoming a proactive, data-driven discipline. Intelligent tools now detect burnout before it happens, flag process bottlenecks in real time, and deliver personalised support at scale. The metrics that matter are evolving fast.

The long-term aim is to move away from asking employees how they feel once a year to understanding their experience every single day. AI doesn’t just make this possible – it makes it actionable regularly.

From annual EX surveys to real-time signals

Unfortunately, traditional pulse surveys often miss the mark when analysing the employee experience. Job satisfaction, well-being, and skill development fluctuate by the hour, not the quarter. AI-powered tools capture these shifts through everyday interactions – chatbots that log sentiment, help desks that analyse frustration, and workflows that reveal friction.

Instead of waiting for feedback, AI reads the room in real time. If a chatbot sees a spike in complaints about a manager, it can alert HR before the issue escalates. These tools don’t just resolve tickets, but also seek out and resolve patterns for further value. Historically, these patterns would have been missed, and vital actions would have been overlooked. Today, the relevant decision-makers are kept informed on these signals in real-time, rather than historically having to wait for the staff survey season to swing round to gather employee feedback.

New metrics for a new era

Ease of use, service delivery quality and sentiment in support interactions – these are the new metrics which define effective EX. AI enables contextual feedback, asking for input precisely when it matters, like one week into onboarding or after a holiday request.

Help desk systems now measure not just human performance, but AI effectiveness. Are responses accurate? Did the AI resolve the issue? If not, it’s just another layer of complexity that employees navigate at tremendous cost to their time and productivity. Five or ten years ago, organisations often put people through difficult experiences just to measure them. Now, AI lets us do it smarter and in real-time.

IT’s unexpected role in EX

Ultimately, this isn’t just about better metrics – it’s about better workplaces. AI transforms EX from guesswork into insight. Companies can solve problems before they become crises, build workflows that reflect how people actually work, and create experiences that feel effortless.

When we want to know how people feel about the workplace, AI has a huge role to play in helping leaders understand that – and act on it. In a world where talent is the ultimate competitive advantage, the companies that get this right won’t just measure EX differently; they’ll also build better places to work on behalf of employees.

Simon Hayward is the VP of Sales, International at Freshworks

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