WORLD EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE DAY
As the Employee Experience Community Turkey we have consistently focused on employee experience for the past 3 years. Our activities have revolved around a single goal: creating greater awareness, competence, and ownership of employee experience for both employers and employees in our beautiful country.
We also established this focus as the purpose, the reason for being of our community. This purpose aims to bring together all stakeholders who believe that everyone striving in the workplace in our country deserves a better working experience. We envision it as a guiding North Star.
In pursuit of this goal, we’ve taken numerous small yet impactful steps. First, we obtained accredited knowledge through the first international employee experience certification. We engaged with thought leaders and domain experts worldwide, contributing to the formation of employee experience literature and striving to improve the field within organizations.
Subsequently, we localized this knowledge to make it accessible in the native languages of HR professionals in Turkey, ensuring affordability. Graduates of these training programs became members of the Employee Experience Community Turkey.
Our industry’s first bilingual dictionary, designed to familiarize colleagues seeking to understand the new terminology in employee experience, was well-received. And when we developed the 5A Model for Employee Experience—the first employee experience model tailored to Turkish culture—leaders and HR professionals seeking to enhance workplace experiences found a concrete roadmap to follow.
Finally, we published the first Turkish book on employee experience in November 2022, signaling that it was time to introduce our own training content to fellow professionals.
Over the past 3 years, nearly 400 business leaders, entrepreneurs, and HR professionals have participated in our employee experience training across 33 groups. We continuously update and enhance our training content, always striving to maintain international standards.
To make the knowledge we collectively generate about employee experience accessible to a broader audience, we created the first Turkish digital training program. This program, professionally produced, is available on Udemy. So far, 400 participants have benefited from our digital training.
Since our inception, we’ve produced content related to employee experience across various digital and print media, podcasts, and webinars. We’ve also had the privilege of presenting and giving keynote speeches at prestigious conferences and summits, sharing insights on employee experience.
All these efforts serve to honor and perpetuate the purpose of our community: to create greater awareness, competence, and ownership of employee experience in our beautiful country.
In 2023, we declared the spring equinox, March 21st, as World Employee Experience Day—a first worldwide. We chose this date for two significant reasons:
- We believe that exceptional customer experiences always begin with extraordinary employee experiences. The equinox, symbolizing equal day and night, underscores the equal importance of customer and employee experiences, emphasizing their interconnectedness.
- Furthermore, spring—the awakening of nature, heralding sunny days—signifies a shift toward a mindset where employees take center stage. It promises a future of happy, productive, and efficient workforces.
This year, on March 21st, we gathered hundreds of guests—employees, employers, trainers, suppliers, and all stakeholders who touch the employee experience—at the largest summit ever held in Turkey with a focus on employee experience.
At the summit, we had a lineup of distinguished speakers who shared their knowledge and experiences related to employee experience. Here’s a summary of their contributions:
- Orçun İrfan (Founding President): Orçun İrfan, in both the opening and closing speeches, presented a data-driven snapshot of the workforce over the past 3 years. He also shared important insights about the present and future of the HR industry.
- Ufuk Gedikli (General Manager, Randstad Türkiye): Ufuk Gedikli discussed Randstad’s globally renowned Workmonitor 2024 research results and insights.
- Zeynep Ege Dura (CMO, Edenred) and İpek Baylav (CHRO, Edenred): As the main sponsor of the summit, Edenred’s CMO and CHRO delved into the impact of benefits and reward practices on employee experience.
- Sami Bugay (Founder, The Integral Institute): Sami Bugay, who works with top management teams of pioneering companies both in Turkey and globally, shared leadership insights related to employee experience.
- Murat Erdoğan (HR Director, Monster Notebook): Murat Erdoğan discussed corporate transformations in the field of human resources and the positive effects of employee experience projects they’ve undertaken.
- Eray Karaduman (CHRO, KordSA): Eray Karaduman shared how employee experience is implemented globally across different countries and cultures.
- Selim Arda Üçer (CHRO, Penti): Selim Arda Üçer, whose inspiring stories and practices are featured in my book, highlighted Penti’s employee-centric approach.
- Erdem Sağlamer (Customer Experience Director, Allianz Türkiye): Erdem Sağlamer aligned his talk with the summit theme, discussing holistic experience (TX).
- Selin Bakaçhan (CHRO, NTT Data Business Solutions Türkiye and MENA): Selin Bakaçhan shared how they’ve centered their HR structure around employees and introduced groundbreaking practices.
The summit was expertly hosted and moderated by community members, including Nirva Peştemalciyan Alpmen and Alaz Han Canbolat. Moderators included Dilek Altınışık, Müge Gürsel, Yunus Emre Aslan, Seray Çavdar, Derya Karaoğlan, Suna Sorgüven, and Murat Aydıner.
Our sponsors—Edenred, Passgage, Empactivo, LFD, Ceres Yayınları, and Yarım Elma—played a crucial role in making the event a success. Special thanks to the Lime Events team, led by organizer Burak Şahin, for their meticulous planning. And kudos to the Marriott Pendik hotel for providing flawless experiences to our guests.
Each participant added their unique light and color to the summit, making it a memorable occasion.
Next year, on March 21st, during the spring equinox, we will come together once again for an even bigger summit to celebrate World Employee Experience Day.
If you’re also starting to hear the growing footsteps of employee experience, we’d love to see you among us.
Orçun İRFAN
Founding President
Turkey Employee Experience Community”