Build - The What, Why, & How of Creating an Employee Journey Map: Joris Luijke (CEO, Pyn) & Jessica Zwaan (Author, Built for People)

Jessica Zwaan and Joris Luijke joined us to break down the what, why, and how to create an employee journey map.

We talked about why People teams should be designing for moments and not just processes, why journey mapping should start small, and why 80% of employee moments fall flat.

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(06:01) What is an employee journey map vs. employee lifecycle?

(06:36) Predictable moments and the restaurant crayon analogy

(08:36) Why moments that matter are different from lifecycle stages

(09:09) Jessica’s view: Employee experience as a whole journey

(10:13) Journey mapping as a software-supported process

(11:11) Common challenges when building journey maps

(12:02) Why sticky notes and whiteboards fall short

(14:07) The trap of thinking only in terms of HR processes

(15:33) Should you list every moment or start small?

(16:45) Prioritize a few moments and go deep first

(17:47) Having a facilitator with journey mapping experience

(19:46) Other considerations: group size, cross-functionality

(22:02) Be creative—draw from delightful personal experiences

(23:48) Structuring maps based on emotional headspace

(24:07) The HR leader’s role in setting ideation tone

(25:28) When and how to prioritize improvements

(26:17) Journey coverage: 80% of moments aren’t managed well

(29:42) Using journey maps to measure real-time HR progress

(30:26) Mapping sad, neutral, and happy experiences

(32:17) How to keep journey maps alive over time

(33:32) Journey mapping needs continuous updates

(34:02) Pulling employees right after moments that matter

(36:06) Reviewing the map regularly without creating admin fatigue

(37:08) Journey maps = ideation tools, not just documentation

(39:12) Journey activation: what companies are doing well

(41:08) Examples: Similow, MongoDB, Shopify using automation

(43:04) Daniel’s Humu onboarding experience

(44:51) How Jessica’s team uses Snappy for new hires

(49:49) Final thoughts: journey maps as foundational HR strategy

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