Across the globe, top-performing organizations are investing in Employee Experience (EX) as a strategic lever for performance, innovation, and retention. But how do we measure excellence in EX—and more importantly, how do we compare?

Benchmarks provide essential guidance. They allow organizations to see where they stand not just in terms of engagement, but across the full spectrum of emotional, behavioral, and systemic employee experiences. In recent years, leading EX practitioners have moved beyond one-size-fits-all engagement scores toward multi-dimensional, human-centric benchmarks.

This article explores what today’s best companies are doing differently, which metrics define success, how industry standards are evolving, and what Renascence has observed through its regional EX transformation projects.

If you’re wondering how your EX strategy stacks up—or where the next breakthrough lies—this is your benchmarking guide.

1. Why Benchmarks Matter in EX Strategy

Benchmarks aren’t vanity—they’re navigation tools. In EX, they provide context for interpreting performance data and identifying gaps that might otherwise stay invisible.

Top reasons benchmarks matter:

• They expose blind spots that internal surveys can’t detect
• They guide investment and resource allocation
• They provide storytelling power for leadership buy-in
• They differentiate real progress from noise

For example, a 78% engagement score may look impressive—but if top-performing organizations in your sector average 85%, you're behind. More importantly, how that score breaks down—by psychological safety, enablement, emotional trust—tells a richer story.

At Renascence, we recommend comparing not just numbers, but narratives. Benchmarking should answer:

• What experiences do top companies prioritize?
• What rituals and systems are driving those outcomes?
• Where are they innovating that others are still standardizing?

Without benchmarks, EX decisions drift. With them, they anchor.

2. What the Best Companies Measure—and Why

Top-performing organizations go beyond traditional engagement metrics. They use multi-layered measurement systems that reflect how people feel, function, and grow.

Key EX benchmarks include:

• eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score): Do employees recommend the workplace?
• EXi (Employee Experience Index): A composite score based on belonging, purpose, clarity, growth, trust, and energy
• Psychological Safety Index
• Recognition Frequency
• Friction Audit Scores: Time or effort wasted on non-value tasks
• Internal Mobility Rate
• Manager Enablement Score

According to Qualtrics 2024 Global EX Trends:

• Top 10% of organizations in EX report 2.3x higher retention
• Companies with above-average EXi scores see 21% greater productivity
• Firms with strong internal listening programs have 4.6x higher trust in leadership

At Renascence, we help clients map KPIs against both behavioral categories (e.g., clarity, effort, emotion) and organizational moments (e.g., onboarding, exit, recognition). The goal is to avoid data clutter and focus on experience impact.

The best don’t just measure how happy employees are. They measure what gets in the way of thriving.

3. The Shift from Engagement to Experience

For years, “engagement” was the gold standard metric. But in the last five years, leaders have recognized a critical flaw: engagement doesn’t equal experience.

Someone can be engaged in their work—yet still burned out, unclear, or unsupported.

That’s why top companies have shifted to measuring:

• Emotional experience: Trust, safety, pride, gratitude
• Behavioral experience: Feedback habits, recognition rituals, micro-behaviors
• Systemic experience: Access to resources, process clarity, support structures

Renascence’s Compass EX framework categorizes experience into:

• Trust and fairness
• Clarity and enablement
• Belonging and recognition
• Growth and autonomy

In our work with public sector and mixed-industry clients, we’ve seen this shift refocus leadership attention from isolated engagement scores to holistic experience design.

The EX conversation is maturing—from “Are you engaged?” to “What’s getting in your way?”

4. Benchmarks by Industry: What’s Normal and What’s Exceptional

Benchmarks vary by industry. What’s “good” for a logistics company may not hold in hospitality, education, or government. Here’s how current averages look based on available industry data:

Technology & Software

• eNPS: 38–50
• EXi (Belonging, Clarity, Growth): High, but burnout also high
• Top focus: Flexibility, autonomy, peer learning

Hospitality

• eNPS: 20–32
• Top focus: Recognition, purpose, service pride
• High emotional peaks but often weak on growth visibility

Government & Public Sector

• eNPS: 5–18
• Focus areas: Psychological safety, fairness, trust in leadership
• High complexity, slow systems, but strong purpose connection

Education

• eNPS: 12–25
• Focus: Mission pride, autonomy, burnout management
• Vulnerable to role overload and emotional fatigue

Retail

• eNPS: 15–28
• Focus: Recognition, enablement, fairness
• Volatile due to operational stress and limited internal mobility

Real Estate & Property

• eNPS: 25–40
• Focus: Cross-functional clarity, internal trust, rituals of visibility

These are generalized numbers but offer a reference point for understanding where your EX program sits.

Benchmarking within your industry is helpful. Benchmarking against the best across industries is visionary.

5. Benchmarking EX Across Regions: Middle East Insights

Employee Experience benchmarks also vary regionally, shaped by cultural, regulatory, and socio-economic context. In the Middle East, the EX conversation has rapidly evolved in the past five years—particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Key regional traits:

• High value on status and recognition rituals
• Rapid digital transformation, but legacy mindsets persist
• Public sector emphasis on national pride, social trust, and mission alignment
• Generational diversity: nationals and expats spanning Gen Z to Baby Boomers

Renascence has worked across the region in sectors including government, real estate, free zones, and education—helping clients benchmark trust, clarity, enablement, and recognition in locally meaningful ways.

What matters most in EX benchmarking in the region:

• Are we designing for cultural resonance, not just imported frameworks?
• Are leadership behaviors modeled in emotionally intelligent, inclusive ways?
• Are benchmarks contextualized for mission-first work environments, such as national service or public institutions?

Across our work in the GCC, we’ve found that trust-building and recognition are the most underutilized EX levers—but also the most culturally potent when properly designed.

6. CX and EX Alignment: The Double Benchmark

Organizations that lead in EX also tend to lead in Customer Experience (CX). Why? Because employees who feel:

• Respected → serve with empathy
• Enabled → deliver faster service
• Recognized → model brand values

A study by MIT CISR found that companies in the top quartile for both CX and EX had:

• 25% higher profitability
• 17% higher innovation scores
• 2x customer loyalty rates

At Renascence, we use a cross-benchmark framework to link EX pillars (e.g., enablement, effort, recognition) to Renascence’s ten CX Pillars, such as Empathy, Resolution, and Speed.

For example:

• Internal recognition → External empathy
• Frictionless systems → Faster resolution
• Growth visibility → More confident brand delivery

Benchmarks don’t live in silos. CX and EX benchmarks reflect the same emotional logic—just from different sides.

7. From Numbers to Rituals: What High Scores Actually Look Like

A common mistake in EX benchmarking is treating scores as outcomes. But scores are reflections of real behaviors, systems, and rituals.

Let’s translate benchmark categories into what they look like at high-performing companies:

• Trust Score = Leaders who apologize publicly, invite feedback, and close the loop transparently
• Growth Index = Personalized learning journeys and career storytelling
• Enablement = Tools designed to be emotionally intuitive, not just functional
• Belonging Score = Rituals that welcome difference without requiring assimilation
• Energy Score = Workload audits and permission for recovery—not just wellness slogans

Companies with strong EX don’t just have dashboards—they have cultures of daily reinforcement.

Benchmarking helps diagnose gaps. But it’s ritual design that closes them.

8. Listening Programs as Benchmark Engines

Top companies don’t just measure—they listen systemically.

That means:

• Asking at the right moments (e.g., during transitions, after team meetings)
• Routing feedback to the right people
• Responding quickly
• Sharing results transparently

Great EX teams use multi-tiered listening stacks, including:

• Real-time pulse checks
• Lifecycle surveys (onboarding, 90-day, exit)
• Manager scorecards tied to EX KPIs
• Peer-to-peer feedback capture

The benchmark here isn’t volume—it’s closure rate and trust in the listening system.

A well-run listening program drives both EX improvement and EX credibility. When employees see change based on feedback, they engage deeper—and scores become more meaningful.

9. Benchmark Maturity: How to Grow from Awareness to Leadership

Just knowing your EX numbers isn’t enough. Leading companies move through four stages of benchmark maturity:

1. Awareness – “We have some data.”
2. Alignment – “We know what to track and why.”
3. Action – “We change things based on what we learn.”
4. Advocacy – “Our employees trust us to improve—and help lead it.”

Renascence helps clients move through these phases by:

• Embedding listening into operational loops
• Using co-design to turn benchmark gaps into rituals
• Aligning benchmarks to behavioral change, not just satisfaction

Benchmarking isn’t a spreadsheet exercise. It’s a culture design opportunity.

11. Benchmarking as a Behavioral Compass

At its best, Employee Experience benchmarking isn’t about comparison. It’s about clarity.

It gives leaders a behavioral compass—a way to navigate complexity, understand employee emotion, and build systems that don’t just retain talent, but energize it.

Top companies don’t chase numbers. They chase moments of meaning, clarity, and recognition—then measure them to get better every quarter.

At Renascence, we see benchmarks not as judgments, but as invitation points—to do deeper, smarter, more emotionally intelligent EX work.

12. Employee Experience (EX) Benchmarks 2025

Here’s a grounded look at how ten global leaders are shaping Employee Experience (EX) in measurable, meaningful, and scalable ways. These are not buzzwords — these are practices proven to deliver real impact.

1. Salesforce – Personalized Employee Success Plans

Salesforce uses its proprietary V2MOM framework (Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, Measures) to align individual goals with company-wide strategy. Every employee sets their personal V2MOM, reviewed regularly with managers.

• Why it works: Creates clarity, alignment, and personalized development paths.
• Real result: Frequently named among the Top 10 Best Workplaces in the World (Great Place to Work, Fortune).

2. Microsoft – Growth Mindset Culture

Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft rebuilt its entire culture on a growth mindset, inspired by Carol Dweck’s research. Instead of rigid performance reviews, they introduced continuous “Connects” and peer-led feedback.

• Why it works: Encourages learning, innovation, and emotional safety.
• Real result: Employee satisfaction rose significantly post-2015, and Microsoft consistently appears in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work.

3. Cisco – Moments That Matter Framework

Cisco maps the employee lifecycle and zooms in on critical touchpoints — onboarding, transitions, recognition moments — to elevate experience quality. They call it the “Moments That Matter” framework.

• Why it works: Focuses on emotionally high-stakes moments that shape perception.
• Real result: Ranked #1 on GPTW’s World’s Best Workplaces list in 2020.

4. Accenture – Continuous Listening System

Accenture uses a real-time employee listening platform to capture sentiments and feedback across the employee journey. This includes pulse surveys, engagement analytics, and behavioral indicators.

• Why it works: Enables proactive management and quicker resolution of issues.
• Real result: Over 90% of employees reported feeling that their voices were heard and acted upon (Accenture 2022 internal report).

5. Unilever – Integrated Flexibility and Wellbeing

Unilever’s employee strategy includes total wellbeing — mental, physical, and financial — combined with full remote work flexibility. Employees are encouraged to take “U-Restore” days and access wellbeing support any time.

• Why it works: Builds long-term trust and prevents burnout.
• Real result: Named a top employer in over 50 countries by Universum and LinkedIn.

6. HubSpot – Transparency and Empowerment

HubSpot offers a remote-first, autonomy-driven culture where employees have full access to internal company metrics and goals. The HubSpot Culture Code, updated regularly, is co-created by employees.

• Why it works: Builds psychological ownership and mutual trust.
• Real result: Top 5 Best Places to Work on Glassdoor year after year, with high eNPS scores.

7. Adobe – Purpose and Performance Integration

Adobe replaced annual reviews with Check-In conversations, which are more frequent, two-way, and growth-focused. They also promote purpose-driven innovation through employee-led initiatives like “Adobe for All.”

• Why it works: Empowers employees to own both performance and personal mission.
• Real result: Attrition rates lower than industry average; frequent recognition by Forbes and GPTW.

8. SAP – People Sustainability Strategy

SAP is pioneering People Sustainability as a core EX strategy. Their programs cover future-skilling, diversity, accessibility, and leadership development — measured via SAP Qualtrics EmployeeXM.

• Why it works: Holistic EX meets business goals while driving long-term inclusivity.
• Real result: Over 85% employee feedback participation, with tracked action plans.

9. Google – People Analytics for EX

Google’s People Operations team applies data science to solve workplace friction. Programs like Project Aristotle identified psychological safety as the top performance predictor, and they continue to experiment across teams.

• Why it works: Data drives decision-making and continuous refinement.
• Real result: High innovation, low turnover, and strong team performance.

10. Atlassian – Distributed Teams and Belonging

Atlassian has built a Team Anywhere program that supports global, remote-first teams. It emphasizes documentation, asynchronous communication, and real-time DEI dashboards to track belonging and engagement.

• Why it works: Supports autonomy while still enabling connectedness.
• Real result: eNPS scores among the highest in tech; named one of the Best Places to Work in multiple regions.

11. Mastercard – Employee-Centric Innovation Culture

Mastercard launched a company-wide initiative called “Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion”, where employees can pitch and lead innovation projects. Employees also get access to ‘Live Well’ — a suite of mental, financial, and physical wellbeing tools.

• Why it works: It gives employees ownership over innovation and supports their full selves.
• Real result: Recognized by Great Place to Work for balancing purpose and performance, with an engagement score above 85%.

12. Deloitte – Purpose-Driven Work and Learning

Deloitte invests over $500 million annually in learning and leadership development through Deloitte University. Employees are encouraged to co-create purpose statements and align project work with them.

• Why it works: Combines meaning and mastery, both crucial to modern EX.
• Real result: Maintains high retention of top talent and leads in global consulting satisfaction benchmarks.

13. Airbnb – Belonging as a Strategic Driver

Airbnb built its EX vision around its mission: “Belong anywhere.” The company emphasizes internal belonging through inclusive hiring, personalized onboarding, and “core values check-ins.”

• Why it works: The EX strategy mirrors the brand experience for customers, creating a unified culture.
• Real result: Maintained high Glassdoor scores even through post-pandemic restructuring.

14. Schneider Electric – Open Talent Market and Internal Mobility

Schneider Electric created an AI-powered internal mobility platform that lets employees find new projects, mentors, or short-term roles across the company. They call it the Open Talent Market.

• Why it works: Encourages career growth and employee autonomy.
• Real result: Over 25,000 internal moves in 2023 alone, leading to increased retention and productivity.

15. ING – Agile Way of Working and Team Empowerment

ING transformed its global organization to an agile working model, where teams are cross-functional, self-managed, and sprint-oriented. This approach extends beyond tech teams and into HR, finance, and ops.

• Why it works: Empowers faster decision-making and team accountability.
• Real result: Increased innovation throughput and faster project execution post-implementation.

16. Patagonia – Values-Led Work Environment

Patagonia’s EX is deeply intertwined with its environmental mission. Employees are given two months paid leave to work with environmental groups, and internal culture rituals celebrate activism.

• Why it works: Attracts purpose-driven talent and fosters emotional loyalty.
• Real result: Patagonia enjoys exceptionally low turnover and strong brand alignment internally and externally.

17. Novartis – Curiosity as a Core EX Pillar

Novartis launched an internal campaign to make “curiosity” a measurable employee trait. They offer employees courses, speaker series, and time-off for personal learning, backed by internal certifications.

• Why it works: Encourages non-linear growth and intellectual stimulation.
• Real result: Recognized by BCG and the Financial Times for leading in future-skilling and people development.

18. L’Oréal – Personalized Employee Journeys

L’Oréal uses data to craft “hyper-personalized” employee journeys, from career mobility to wellbeing support. They also offer digital mentoring platforms and AI-based internal job recommendations.

• Why it works: Shows employees their individuality matters.
• Real result: Among the top 3 most attractive employers for Gen Z and millennials in fashion and beauty globally (Universum).

19. PwC – Human-Centered Transformation

PwC has adopted a “Your Tomorrow” strategy, focusing on upskilling, flexibility, and well-being. They launched My+, an employee experience program allowing custom career paths, including sabbaticals, learning breaks, and part-time options.

• Why it works: Reinvents traditional work structures around individual needs.
• Real result: PwC saw a 20% boost in engagement scores just one year after launch.

20. LEGO Group – Play and Creativity at Work

LEGO lives its brand internally. Employees participate in “Play Days”, creativity labs, and hands-on innovation workshops, with internal awards focused on collaboration and imagination.

• Why it works: Keeps employees connected to the product and the brand ethos.
• Real result: Ranked as one of Europe’s most engaging workplaces by GPTW, with particularly high engagement in design and innovation roles.

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