Lessons from EX visionary Damon Deaner: Crafting an EX Playbook & Toolkit

Lee Smith

Minutes
28th March 2025
Employee Experience
EX Design
Customer Experience
Practioners
Tools

In our latest ‘Expert Insights’ webinar on Monday, 24 March, we had the privilege of hosting Damon Deaner, a pioneer in employee experience (EX) and a member of our EX Space Advisory Board. He led a practical, insight-rich session on developing an EX playbook and toolkit—essential resources for organisations looking to enhance employee experience.

If you missed the session, be sure to catch up here  – but here’s a key summary of the discussion.

Understanding the EX playbook & toolkit

Damon began by defining an EX playbook as a strategic guide designed to help organisations improve employee experience and tackle specific challenges. A playbook typically includes:

  • Strategies and best practices for improving the employee lifecycle—from recruitment to offboarding.
  • Actionable insights that help organisations address key EX issues.


While EX playbooks can be comprehensive, Damon emphasised the importance of starting with a minimum viable product (MVP) and iterating over time.

A toolkit, on the other hand, is a practical resource hub that provides:

  • Tactical tools and frameworks for HR, EX practitioners, leaders, line managers, and employees.
  • Support for implementation, helping organisations turn strategy into action.


By combining both a playbook (strategy) and a toolkit (execution resources), organisations can address EX challenges at both the leadership and operational levels.
The role of leaders and EX strategy

Damon highlighted the need for visible senior sponsorship to drive EX forward. He stressed that EX efforts must be aligned with the company’s mission, vision, and business strategy to gain traction.

Leaders need to answer critical questions, such as:

  • What does employee experience mean for our organisation?
  • Why are we creating an EX leadership role or team?
  • What needs to be done, and over what timeline? Who will we support, and how?
  • How will we measure success?

Designing a consumer-grade employee experience

Damon urged organisations to apply customer experience (CX) principles to EX. This means designing an experience that is:
✅ Intentional – Thoughtfully crafted to meet employee needs.
✅ Seamless – Reducing complexity and fragmentation across touchpoints.
✅ Data-Driven – Measured and continuously improved.

Drawing from his experiences at IBM and Expedia Group, Damon walked through key EX pain points, such as:

  • Aligning cross-functional teams.
  • Managing competing priorities.
  • Ensuring consistency across diverse employee touchpoints.


He emphasised that EX should be treated as a multi-disciplinary effort, bringing together HR, marketing, internal communications, people analytics, and other functions.

Building a high-impact playbook & toolkit

To be truly effective, Damon outlined four core principles for crafting an EX playbook and toolkit:

  1. Co-Creation – Developed with input from employees, leaders, and cross-functional teams.
  2. Cross-Functionality – Built in collaboration with HR, IT, marketing, and operations.
  3. Multi-Level Design – Addressing both high-level strategy and day-to-day execution.
  4. Adaptability – Designed as a living resource, updated with new insights and feedback.


He also stressed the importance of socialisation—making the EX strategy highly visible across the organisation. This involves:

  • Creating an EX Council or steering group.
  • Building an EX champion network.
  • Regularly communicating progress, success stories, and impact.
Scaling EX impact over time

To sustain long-term success, Damon recommended continuously evolving the playbook and toolkit. He suggested:

  • Regular updates based on new research, employee feedback, and business needs.
  • Diverse content formats, such as interactive digital playbooks, downloadable PDFs, and toolkits embedded into employee workflows.
  • Ensuring that EX remains aligned with broader organisational strategy and employee expectations.
Final takeaway

Damon’s session was a masterclass in building a strategic EX playbook and practical toolkit. If you’re looking to develop or refine your organisation’s approach to EX, his insights offer a clear roadmap for success.

Missed the webinar? Catch up here and start crafting your own EX playbook today!
And if you’re not already a member, take a look at some of the tools and resources we have available to help you…including (but not limited to!):

…Defining the goals and outcomes of EX and engagement

…Stakeholder mapping tool

…Hardwiring your EX/EE objectives to your business strategy and goals

….and of course all three of our fantastic masterclass programmes will help you – and these are now to buy as a stand alone programme as well as through our ‘all-you-can-eat’ pro membership!

Not sure which option is right for you? Why not book a free no-obligation tour to find out!