Doesn’t matter how great it is, if no one can use it… why bother?

We talk a lot about intention when we design employee experience.
We talk about clarity: Do people understand what is expected of them?
We talk about emotion: How does it feel to be part of this place?

But the third E, ease, is where everything either becomes real or quietly falls apart.

Because even the most thoughtful strategy or well-designed program can lose its impact if it is exhausting to participate in. When something that should take five minutes somehow takes twenty-five, the experience stops being meaningful. It becomes work about work. And when things feel harder than they need to be, people disengage, even when the intention behind it was good.

Ease is subtle. It’s rarely something people call out. Yet it is one of the strongest signals of care.

I was reminded of this during Halloween.

We hosted a neighborhood celebration: costumes, decorations, a hayride, themed food, music, and so many excited kids running around. It was joyful and light and felt easy for everyone who came. But that ease didn’t happen by accident.

Costumes were laid out in the morning.
Makeup and face paint were ready.
Candy was purchased well ahead of time.
Decorations were up early enough to build some excitement.
Food was prepped in a way that only required fifteen minutes in the oven between school events and trick-or-treating.
Even the hayride and golf cart were decorated the night before.
And we had a full rain backup plan that no one ever needed to know about.

None of that planning was visible in the moment.
And that was the point.

The children didn’t feel the logistics.
The parents didn’t feel the coordination.
Everyone got to simply enjoy being there.

That’s the heart of ease.
It is a form of hospitality.

The same idea applies inside our workplaces.

Employees should not have to navigate unnecessary friction just to do the basics. Requesting time off shouldn’t require detective work. Submitting expenses shouldn’t feel like proof of worthiness. Accessing resources shouldn’t depend on knowing the right person behind the scenes. Even cultural moments lose meaning when they are too complicated to participate in.

When something is harder than it needs to be, people feel it. And feelings shape whether someone wants to stay.

Ease communicates something important.
We thought about you.
Your time matters.
Your energy matters.
Your presence matters here.

And ease does not mean the process had no effort.
It means the effort happened before the moment, so the experience could unfold naturally.

When we design onboarding, feedback conversations, celebrations, or moments of transition, the question is not only “What should happen?” or even “What do we hope people will feel?” It’s also this:

How do we make this simple to step into, so that people can actually be present for the moment?

Because when an experience is easy, people have the room to feel the joy of it. To be in it. To remember it.

Clarity sets the expectation.
Emotion creates connection.
And ease makes the experience one people are willing to return to