Employee Experience - The Complete Guide
Employee experience is the subject of renewed attention as employers seek to attract and retain talent, and engage their employees as the job market enters a new and unprecedented era.
Employee experience takes a combination of management, technology and commitment to deliver a positive employee experience, especially across an enterprise.
Learn why employee experience is important, and how your organization can improve the employee experience to attract, develop and retain top talent.
What is Employee Experience?
Employee experience represents the holistic journey an employee undertakes from the recruitment to the departure from the organization. This journey encompasses a multitude of elements that collectively shape the overall experience of an employee (perceptions, relationships, working conditions, interactions, work culture, and everything in between…).
Employee experience covers how employees engage with the company. This includes the company's culture and work environment. It also pertains to work-life balance and the technology tools used for daily tasks.
However there is no room for improvisation when it comes to creating a great employee experience. Companies and employers shall work hard to create a positive work environment where every team member can thrive and enjoy their work.
Factors such as onboarding experience and processes, professional development opportunities, recognition, and support systems all play crucial roles. Engaged and good employees are more likely to be productive, innovative, and aligned with the company's mission and values. This in turn fosters engagement, drives productivity, and enhances overall job satisfaction, ultimately contributing to organizational success.
By strategically focusing on creating positive and meaningful experiences, companies can attract and retain top talent while nurturing a resilient and innovative workforce. Moreover, a strong and positive employee experience can lead to reduced turnover rates, higher levels of employee loyalty, and a stronger employer brand. As the corporate landscape evolves, the importance of employee experience continues to grow, making it a critical component of any successful business strategy (customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction...).
Research shows that a superior employee experience provides a significant competitive advantage in today's dynamic business environment. By focusing on improving the employee experience, organizations can significantly enhance employee retention, as employees feel more valued, engaged, and motivated throughout every stage of their journey—from onboarding to exit interviews.
Comprehensive strategies that incorporate various types of employee experience surveys allow companies to gather actionable insights and make data-driven decisions. These insights are pivotal in crafting long-term initiatives that continuously evolve to meet employee needs. Ultimately, prioritizing employee experience strategies is not merely an HR function but a strategic imperative that bolsters long-term organizational resilience and success.
— What are the 4 pillars of employee experience ?
Understanding the essential components that contribute to a superior employee experience is critical for any forward-thinking organization. The four pillars of employee experience—Culture, Technology, Physical Environment, and People — are the foundation upon which an engaging, productive, and positive workplace is built.
- Culture: Company culture reflects the values, beliefs, and behaviours that shape the everyday experiences of employees. A strong, inclusive culture fosters a sense of belonging and purpose, driving engagement and loyalty. To cultivate a positive culture, organizations must prioritize transparency, recognition, and alignment with their mission and values.
- Technology: Investing in state-of-the-art technology is vital for enhancing the employee experience. Modern tools and platforms that facilitate seamless communication, collaboration, and workflows enable employees to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively. Ensuring that technology is user-friendly and integrated with the overall digital strategy is essential for maximizing productivity and satisfaction.
- Physical Environment: The physical workspace significantly impacts employee morale and productivity. A well-designed environment that considers ergonomics, aesthetics, and accessibility can greatly enhance comfort and reduce stress. Creating flexible workspaces that accommodate various work styles and provide areas for both collaboration and focused work is key to supporting employee well-being.
- People: The relationships and interactions employees have with their colleagues and leaders are central to the employee experience. Building a supportive and collaborative community encourages innovation and achievement. Leadership must play a proactive role in fostering positive interactions by offering mentoring, transparent communication, and opportunities for team-building.
By focusing on these four pillars, organizations can create a holistic and robust employee experience strategy that drives long-term success and employee satisfaction.
— The Future Of Employee Experience
Employers must be willing to evolve and adapt, or risk losing talent to their more agile competitors. Millenial and Gen-Z workers have different expectations and motivations than their predecessors. Technology has transformed when, where, and how we get work done. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the job aspirations and priorities of millions of people in all industries.
Organizations that treat times of change as opportunities for improvement and focus on employee experience are positioned well. In the past, factors like customer satisfaction, employee retention, internal communications, engagement, and professional development, were handled as separate issues with separate action plans.
Today, leading organizations are taking an approach based on the evidence that employee experience is a connecting tissue for business performance. With the pandemic serving as an accelerator, employee experience will be a driving force for organizational success going forward.
As we look towards the future, the landscape of employee experience is set to undergo transformative shifts driven by technological advancements and evolving workplace dynamics. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will play pivotal roles in personalizing and optimizing employee experiences.
Predictive analytics can help organizations anticipate employee needs and preferences, enabling a more tailored approach to individual development and engagement. Furthermore, the integration of advanced technology platforms will streamline communication, collaboration, and task management, creating a more efficient and cohesive work environment.
In addition to technological influences, the future of employee experience will be heavily shaped by the increased emphasis on mental health, work-life balance and well-being. Organizations will need to implement comprehensive wellness programs that address not only physical health but also emotional and psychological support.
This approach to employee well-being will foster a more supportive and empathetic workplace culture, enhancing overall job satisfaction and retention rates. The rise of remote and hybrid work models also necessitates innovative strategies to maintain connectivity and engagement, ensuring that employees feel valued and included regardless of their physical work location.
— What Is The Difference Between Employee Engagement And Employee Experience?
While employee experience and employee engagement are closely related, they are distinct concepts that play unique roles in an organization's success.
As mentioned, employee experience represents all the different stages of the employee’s journey within the company, from recruitment and onboarding to development and departure. It involves every interaction, process, and environment that an employee encounters, forming a comprehensive perception of their time within the organization.
This approach considers all the factors that affect an employee's daily work life, such as company culture, physical workspace, technologies used, and the overall work atmosphere. The primary objective of focusing on employee experience is to create a supportive, enriching environment that promotes satisfaction, well-being, and productivity.
On the other hand, employee engagement refers to the level of emotional commitment and enthusiasm an employee has towards their work and the organization. Engagement is a measure of how invested employees are in their roles, how motivated they are to contribute to the company’s success, and how aligned they feel with the organization’s goals and values. It focuses on the psychological state of the employees. High levels of engagement typically result in greater productivity, innovation, and retention.
Why are both employee engagement and employee experience important ?
While a positive employee experience can significantly enhance employee engagement, the two concepts are not interchangeable. Fostering a great employee experience lays the groundwork for strong engagement, but strategies specifically designed to cultivate engagement—like recognition programs, career development opportunities, and clear communication—are also essential for maintaining a vibrant, motivated workforce.
— What Does An Employee Experience Manager Do?
The emergence of the employee experience manager (EXM) and chief experience officer (CXO) roles reflects the significance many organizations are placing on this aspect of their company.
An employee experience manager plays a crucial role in shaping and nurturing the overall journey of employees within an organization. This role is dedicated to optimizing every touchpoint in the employee lifecycle—from recruitment and onboarding to development, retention, and even exit processes. An Employee Experience Manager collaborates closely with various departments, including HR, IT, and facilities, to ensure that policies, tools, and environments align to create a supportive and enriching workplace.
This professional is responsible for designing and implementing strategies that enhance job satisfaction, improve employee well-being, and foster a culture of engagement and productivity.
They leverage data analytics and feedback from employee experience surveys to identify areas for improvement and to develop targeted initiatives aimed at addressing specific needs and challenges. Additionally, an Employee Experience Manager ensures that employees feel valued and recognized for their contributions, often leading efforts in creating recognition programs, professional development opportunities, and wellness initiatives.
In essence, an Employee Experience Manager serves as a champion for employees, advocating for their needs and ensuring that the organization remains responsive and adaptable to the evolving dynamics of the workplace. By focusing on comprehensive, holistic strategies, they play a pivotal role in driving organizational success and resilience in an ever-changing business landscape.
— What if there aren't any employee experience managers? Who can take the lead on employee experience management matters?
In the absence of a dedicated Employee Experience Manager, the responsibility for overseeing and enhancing employee experience typically falls to key leaders and departments within the organization.
Human Resources (HR) takes on a pivotal role, as they are well-positioned to influence policies, recruitment practices, onboarding processes, and overall employee well-being initiatives. HR professionals can collaborate with managers across various departments to gather insights and feedback, ensuring that the employee experience remains a focal point.
Additionally, departmental managers and team leaders play a critical role in fostering a positive work environment. They are instrumental in maintaining open lines of communication, providing regular recognition, and supporting their teams' development and engagement. By promoting a culture of inclusivity and support, these leaders can significantly impact the overall employee experience.
IT and facilities management also contribute to this effort by ensuring that employees have access to the necessary tools, technology, and physical workspaces that enhance their daily work lives.
In a collective approach, cross-functional teams can work together to implement and refine strategies that prioritize employee satisfaction, well-being, and productivity. Through this collaborative effort, organizations can create a robust framework to manage and elevate employee experience, even without a designated manager.
LumApps, the Employee Experience Platform:
Why Focus on Improving Employee Experience?
Working on positive aspects of the employee experience is an absolute necessity for a successful business strategy. Companies and organizations should invest in is to remain competitive and productive.
The sudden disruption of daily life and economic activity with the 2020 world pandemic caused a shift in the professional world. Despite this health crisis, it was the perfect opportunity for companies to question themselves and work some strategies to retain their employees. This phenomenon has been called “the Great Resignation”, and this emphasized reflection on employee experience and consequences on business outcomes.
On the other hand, many employees left their jobs to determine better what they want professional-wise which proved the following statement : a positive employee experience is linked to numerous benefits including increased retention, motivation and productivity, better customer experiences, higher profits, and more.
Employee Retention & Attracting Talent
Attracting and retaining employees is one of the primary concerns for human resources departments today. Companies with a reputation as a great place to work have a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and recruiting new employees. And, positive employee experiences produce more highly engaged employees who have greater job satisfaction. These employees are invested in their jobs, relate positively to their employers, and are much less likely to quit.
Improved Collaboration & Communication
Employees who have a positive experience at work and are highly engaged will collaborate with their colleagues more effectively and more often. A positive employee experience encourages knowledge sharing and connection between individuals and teams. Engaged employees take the initiative to collaborate with their peers and reach more innovative solutions. Communication is open, transparent and multidirectional. Employees have a voice among company leadership; they know what is expected of them; and they have the information they need to do their jobs well.
Improved Customer Experience
There is a direct link between employee experience and customer satisfaction. Companies with satisfied, supported, engaged employees deliver better customer service and relationships. They go the extra mile to anticipate customer needs and are proactive about solving problems. Companies that offer a superior employee experience doubled their customer satisfaction (industry-adjusted NPS), according to a study by MIT Sloan School of Management
Improved Culture and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
A positive employee experience is characterized by a sense of belonging, which factors into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Improving your employee experience requires an understanding of all of your employees’ diverse needs and challenges. It also requires companies to hold themselves accountable when it comes to hiring and promotion practices.
Smoother Digital Transformation
Focusing on improving your employee experience can lead to a smoother digital transformation. With an emphasis on employee experience, management can ensure that employees receive the training and support they need when adopting new technologies or processes. Tech solutions can be introduced to improve communication and information sharing, enable learning opportunities, and connect your workforce with company leadership in a digital environment.
Productivity
Employees who have a positive experience at work become more engaged, more motivated, and more involved in helping their organization reach its goals. Companies who invest in creating a positive employee experience ultimately reap a return on investment via increased performance, productivity, and profits.
Attract, Engage and Retain: The Employee Experience Advantage
In addition to ROI, employee experience measures help companies succeed at retention and recruiting.
10+ Easy Ways to improve Employee Experience strategy
Here are some ways you can improve the employee experience strategy at your organization.
1. Deliver Excellent and Personalized Communication
The key to improving relationships with your employees is the same as in any other relationship – communication.
Employees should feel seen and heard as individuals, not cogs in a machine. There are two sides to personalized communications, one happens at the management level while the other happens via technology. Most HR professionals and business leaders agree that communication is important, but they ultimately spend more time communicating with the media, with stakeholders and with their target audience than with their own employees.
At the management level, which is controlled by human interactions, personalization is about getting to know one another so information is relevant and helpful. This requires dedicated one-on-one time to encourage and remove roadblocks, while also holding each other accountable.
At the technological level, intranet platforms must be set up to deliver the right messages to the right people. Communication systems must have the data structure in place to segment employees, and the ability to support employees across regions, devices and work environments.
To improve communication, make sure you’re offering more than a conversation platform, like LumApps, that’s more than just email. Use communication tools to share good news and bad news, to celebrate major accomplishments in your employees’ professional and personal lives, and to clearly identify your purpose and values.
2. Respond to Feedback
The best way to know what your employees need from you is to ask them, and then to listen when they respond.
Today, many tools are available to help capture continuous employee feedback, like pulse survey tools, open survey tools, and performance management tools. Using them freely and frequently will allow you to understand what employees like about your organization while also learning what employees still feel they’re missing.
To receive honest feedback, however, it’s vital that a culture of respect and open communication already exists in the organization. If your employees feel neglected or disrespected in regular, day-to-day communication, they’re not likely to take the time to communicate honestly with you.
3. Focus on Employees
This strategy might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s important to focus on employee experience at every step of the employee life cycle. From onboarding to departure, view each interaction as an opportunity to create a positive employee experience.
For example, viewing employee experience through the lens of the entire employee life cycle can lead to questions like:
- Does our hiring process feel fair?
- Do new hires experience our values during onboarding?
- Do employees feel they are growing and developing with us?
- How do people feel about their time with us when they leave?
The answers to these questions will allow you to see your entire work environment from an employee’s perspective and may show where there’s room for improvement.
➝ Read more: How to Create a Great Onboarding Experience for Remote Employees
4. Promote Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a key driver of your employee experience. Prioritize identifying and eliminating biases in your company. Give all employees an opportunity to make their voices heard.
Build a diversity and inclusion strategy that focuses on attracting, retaining, and promoting talent from diverse backgrounds. Mentorship programs can be helpful in nurturing the development of a diverse workforce. A study made by Russell and Reynolds Associates in 2017 found that the presence of a diverse workforce directly improved human capital outcomes, including:
- decreased intent to leave
- increased employee engagement
- increased creativity
- greater employee belonging
The same study found even greater improvements among organizations with established D&I strategies, as well as those with leaders committed to implementing those strategies. To make sure your workforce stays diverse and experiences the many benefits that come with diversity, develop and implement a D&I strategy that focuses on talent attraction, development, and retention.
Additionally, promote diversity and show your employees you support them by ensuring your tools and systems support multiple languages.
5. Provide Meaningful Work
Particularly among millennial and Gen-Z employees, a sense of purpose and meaning is important for job satisfaction. Find out what your employees care about, and help them find ways to incorporate their passions into their careers.
This could be corporate social responsibility efforts such as sustainability goals or local causes. It could be as simple as clear communication about the ways in which their contributions matter to the company’s mission and goals. According to a study by Deloitte, the ideal organization will provide its employees with meaningful work by:
- Encouraging autonomy: Empower your employees by allowing them to shape their work environment in ways that help them perform at their best. Hire autonomous people, don’t overreact when mistakes are made and give your employees the tools they need to reach their goals.
- Creating small, independent teams: Be open to new ideas, recognize and encourage your employees regularly, and give team members the authority to make decisions. If you’re afraid to give employees that kind of authority, consider giving them the training they need to make wise business decisions autonomously.
6. Make Management Supportive
Great managers make employees feel supported during day-to-day operations. For example, they set clear and transparent goals for teams and for the organization so that no one is left in the dark when big-picture decisions are made.
Great managers also provide coaching for employees by giving frequent feedback, encouraging employees to learn from others, building their confidence and sincerely asking how they can help the employee achieve their goals.
However, great managers are made, not born. Without investing in manager development, your organization may find itself lacking the leadership it needs to improve the employee experience.
➝ Read more: 15 Tips for Successfully Reboarding Employees
7. Create a Positive Work Environment
A positive work environment is the result of a combination of factors, like:
- flexibility
- inclusivity
- diversity
A flexible work environment allows employees to work in their preferred environment at their preferred hours. Allowing job flexibility has been proven to increase productivity, health and job satisfaction while decreasing stress, costs, and absenteeism.
Additionally, it’s important to promote diversity and inclusivity by watching employees interact, then by recognizing and rewarding inclusive behaviors. Providing unconscious-bias training to all managers and taking measures to mitigate hostile interactions in the workplace are equally beneficial steps.
Finally, a culture of recognition is a great way to make employees feel valued while motivating others to achieve similar success. Creating peer-to-peer awards, asking employees to write featured blog posts on the organization’s website or even sharing their success on corporate social media channels, are excellent ways to showcase employees’ accomplishments.
8. Offer Growth Opportunities
Research by DecisionWise found that :
only 43% of employees feel that their employers offer good opportunities for growth and development.
This is an alarming statistic since findings also suggest that high-performing employees will only remain in jobs that challenge them and provide meaning.
There are many kinds of growth opportunities you can offer employees to improve their experience with your organization, including:
- increased income
- more significant duties
- more impressive job titles
- job-specific training
- social gatherings outside of work
- tuition remission for continuing education or earning a certification
- assigning stretch projects where employees work outside their current skill set or comfort zone
- identifying opportunities for promotions or lateral mobility
- mentorship and leadership development programs
9. Cultivate Trust in Leadership
In order to fully trust your organization’s leadership, your employees need to be aware of its mission and purpose. Communication from top managers should always be honest, transparent and inspiring.
Your employees also need to feel that you’re continually investing in them since they’re investing so much time and effort in your organization. Employee experience platforms can help you inspire employees while investing in them by providing you with the tools to:
- Show your employees you trust them.
- Incentivize your employees to do great work.
- Include your employees in the organization’s big decisions.
10. Use the Right Tools
Clearly, there’s a huge variety of ways to improve the employee experience, ranging from delivering excellent communication to providing employees with meaningful work.
However, these improvements can be difficult to implement if you don’t have the right tools. To sufficiently support your employees, an intranet software solution like LumApps can help you simplify productivity, streamline communications and promote a positive employee experience.
11. Create Effective Onboarding And Offboarding
The onboarding process is an extremely important moment in the employee journey. Onboarding creates a first impression about company culture, and can set new hires up for success - or not. The quality of the onboarding experience not only affects morale, but can have costly effects on new employee productivity during their first weeks and months.
Develop an onboarding protocol that demonstrates your company’s investment in its people, and empowers new hires to be successful in their roles from day one.
Provide new employees with necessary information from small details like where to park or make a cup of coffee, to useful information like an up-to-date company directory or organizational chart. But more importantly, don’t forget to help employees develop a sense of belonging and reinforce their strengths.
When you’re onboarding new hires, tell them *why* they were hired.
It gives folks a huge boost of confidence right when they need it.
It’s also a chance to positively reinforce a strength ID’d in interviews.
Every company should do this, it’s stupid simple but powerful. https://t.co/o5HZPnI4r4— Jennifer Kim (next Recruiting Bootcamp June 29th!) (@jenistyping) May 29, 2019
HR teams usually spend significant time and resources in a successful onboarding process, but may not pay as much attention to the offboarding process. This is a major missed opportunity. Exit interviews can lead to important insights about employee satisfaction and highlight actionable improvements to make for future hires. Taking the time to effectively offboard your employees can demonstrate a commitment to improvement that will shape the way your former employees speak about your organization after they’ve left.
12. Facilitate connection and belonging
Positive employee experiences are built on effective communication among peers and between employees and managers. Connection and relationships also have a powerful impact on employee experience. Particularly for hybrid and remote employees, it is important to create opportunities for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
Employee experience communities by LumApps, based on department, region or interest, allow employees to connect in meaningful ways, including the ability to work more efficiently. Employees from all departments can ask and answer questions, share updates, access a hub of informational resources, and learn about each other and their company culture.
13. Invest in Employee Wellness
Workers in all industries are suffering from burnout and mental health challenges that can leave them isolated, disengaged, and at risk for attrition.
According to Harvard Business School research,
(...) Work-related stress is responsible for $190 billion in healthcare costs and an estimated $300 billion in losses from absenteeism, low productivity, and turnover.
Employers can improve their employee experience and take a proactive role in supporting their employees’ well being.
There are several methods for applying employee wellness:
- Allowing flexible work hours, especially for new parents
- Encouraging team members to unplug during off-hours, especially vacations
- Providing health-related benefits like gym memberships and competitive healthcare
- Free mental health screenings
Overall, employees should strive to build a healthy workplace culture free from hostility, discrimination, and unrealistic pressures to prevent work related stress and burnout as well.
14. Offer Flexibility
Flexibility and autonomy are two of the most important aspects of a career choice for the modern worker.
According to LumApps and CMSWire research, flexibility is one of the top things employers could offer to entice employees to stay
— 44% of employees across geographic regions would consider staying if given more flexible working arrangements or the option to work from home.
The myth of remote work causing productivity drops has been busted year after year. Giving employees the autonomy to decide when and where they get their work done can enhance the employee experience.
15. Enable Employee Listening
Improving the employee experience begins with understanding the needs of your workforce. Employers who actively seek and respond to employee feedback will be positioned to make meaningful improvements to their employee experience. And, employees who feel seen and heard will be more likely to remain engaged. Seek feedback with focus groups, face-to-face conversations, and employee experience surveys.
Surveys should be given frequently and at key moments in the employee journey, such as after an onboarding or training session, after a scheduled performance review, after a company-wide town hall meeting, etc.
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To further enhance your employee experience strategy, it’s essential to incorporate modern solutions and approaches that address the evolving needs and expectations of your workforce. Here's how you can expand and improve efforts to improve the employee experience within your organization:
What about Digital : how to enhance the Digital Employee Experience ?
Digital tools play a crucial role in shaping the employee experience. Investing in employee experience platforms that offer seamless integration, user-friendly interfaces, and comprehensive features can significantly improve the digital touchpoints across your employee lifecycle. These platforms provide a centralized hub for communication, collaboration, and access to essential resources, fostering a connected and engaged workforce.
Implement Real-Time Feedback Mechanisms
Utilizing tools that offer real-time feedback, such as pulse surveys and experience solutions, allows HR teams to gather actionable insights into employees’ feelings and engagement levels. This ongoing feedback loop encourages employees to share their experiences and make suggestions for improvement, allowing management to respond promptly and effectively to their needs.
Focus on Professional Development
Offering robust professional development opportunities is key to improving the employee experience. This includes access to training programs, mentorship, and career advancement paths that align with individual goals and the organization's objectives. Encouraging continuous learning and growth not only boosts employee satisfaction but will also enhance your company’s talent pool.
Strengthen Employee Engagement and Retention
Improving employee engagement involves creating a positive work environment that recognizes and rewards contributions, promotes diversity and inclusion, and fosters a culture of trust and respect. By focusing on initiatives that enhance engagement, organizations can improve employee retention rates and attract top talent. Key strategies include personalized recognition programs, inclusive team-building activities, and transparent communication channels.
Offer Growth Opportunities
Employees crave the ability to learn and grow within their organizations. The opportunity to grow within an organization is one of the top issues impacting employee experience. Investing in your employees’ growth and professional development is a powerful way to improve employee experience.
Business leaders can do this in several ways:
- Training and upskilling
- Tuition remission for continuing education or earning a certification
- Assigning stretch projects where employees work outside their current skill set or comfort zone
- Identifying opportunities for promotions or lateral mobility
- Mentorship and leadership development programs
Managers should focus on gaining a deep understanding of employee interests, talents, and goals, then use this information to inform a personalized professional development plan for each employee.
Facilitate Connection and Belonging
Positive employee experiences are built on effective communication among peers and between employees and managers. Connection and relationships also have a powerful impact on employee experience. Particularly for hybrid and remote employees, it is important to create opportunities for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
Employee experience communities by LumApps, based on department, region or interest, allow employees to connect in meaningful ways, including the ability to work more efficiently. Employees from all departments can ask and answer questions, share updates, access a hub of informational resources, and learn about each other and their company culture.
Enable Meaningful and Purposeful Work
Particularly among millennial and Gen-Z employees, a sense of purpose and meaning is important for job satisfaction. Find out what your employees care about, and help them find ways to incorporate their passions into their careers. This could be corporate social responsibility efforts such as sustainability goals or local causes. It could be as simple as clear communication about the ways in which their contributions matter to the company’s mission and goals.
Purpose at Work – Time for HR to Act
Using Purpose to Transform the Workplace
Invest in Employee Wellness
Workers in all industries are suffering from burnout and mental health challenges that can leave them isolated, disengaged, and at risk for attrition. According to Harvard Business School research, work-related stress is responsible for $190 billion in healthcare costs and an estimated $300 billion in losses from absenteeism, low productivity, and turnover. Employers can improve their employee experience and take a proactive role in supporting their employees’ well being.
There are several methods for applying employee wellness:
- Allowing flexible work hours, especially for new parents
- Encouraging team members to unplug during off-hours, especially vacations
- Providing health-related benefits like gym memberships and competitive healthcare
- Free mental health screenings
Overall, employees should strive to build a healthy workplace culture free from hostility, discrimination, and unrealistic pressures to prevent work related stress and burnout as well.
Offer Flexibility
Flexibility and autonomy are two of the most important aspects of a career choice for the modern worker. According to LumApps and CMSWire research, flexibility is one of the top things employers could offer to entice employees to stay — 44% of employees across geographic regions would consider staying if given more flexible working arrangements or the option to work from home.
The myth of remote work causing productivity drops has been busted year after year. Giving employees the autonomy to decide when and where they get their work done can enhance the employee experience.
Enable Employee Listening
Improving the employee experience begins with understanding the needs of your workforce. Employers who actively seek and respond to employee feedback will be positioned to make meaningful improvements to their employee experience. And, employees who feel seen and heard will be more likely to remain engaged. Seek feedback with focus groups, face-to-face conversations, and employee experience surveys.
Surveys should be given frequently and at key moments in the employee journey, such as after an onboarding or training session, after a scheduled performance review, after a company-wide town hall meeting, etc.
→ Read more: 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Employee Experience Strategy
Attract, Engage and Retain: The Employee Experience Advantage
Read this white paper created by HR Dive and LumApps to get insights from enterprise leaders and a better understanding of employee experience components and strategy
Technology Adoption and Effectiveness
Technology can contribute to a positive employee experience and smart working in meaningful ways. The right tech tools can help your employees do their jobs with greater ease and efficiency, and allow them to connect with one another and the information they need to succeed. Using a solution such as an employee experience platform enables workers to connect with each other and gives employers insights into the health of your employee experience.
If your workforce is reluctant to engage with a digital platform, it signals that the platform - or the level of training and support provided when implementing the new technology - is not meeting users’ needs.
What does a good employee experience look like ?
A good employee experience is one where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated in their work. It involves creating a positive workplace culture that prioritizes employee well-being and provides opportunities for growth and development.
In order to achieve a good employee experience, employers should focus on building strong connections and relationships among team members, enabling meaningful and purposeful work, investing in employee wellness, offering flexibility and autonomy, actively seeking feedback from employees, and utilizing technology effectively.
By incorporating these elements into their overall strategy, employers can create an environment where employees are engaged, productive, and satisfied with their work. This not only benefits the individual employees but also contributes to the success and growth of the company as a whole.
How about employee recognition ? How is it linked to employee experience ?
Employee recognition is an essential aspect of creating a positive employee experience. When employees feel recognized and appreciated for their contributions, it boosts their morale, motivation, and overall satisfaction with their job. Recognition can take various forms, such as verbal praise, bonuses or rewards, public acknowledgement, or even small acts of appreciation like a thank-you note.
These gestures not only make employees feel valued but also reinforce desired behaviors and contribute to a positive workplace culture. When employees feel recognized for their hard work and achievements, it enhances their sense of belonging within the company and strengthens their commitment to the organization's goals. This ultimately leads to a better employee experience where individuals are motivated to perform at their best and contribute positively to the company's success.
So, incorporating employee recognition into an overall employee experience strategy is crucial for creating a fulfilling and engaging workplace environment.
Employee experience - best practices & tips
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Employee Experience FAQ
The employee experience is the journey an employee takes with their employer. It includes the employee’s attitude, interactions, milestones and overall relationship with their employer. Companies that invest in employee experience initiatives and technology are able to improve employee engagement and positively impact their company culture.
- Reduces employee turnover.
- Productivity increases.
- Absenteeism levels drop.
- Company attracts higher quality candidates.
Companies looking to improve the employee experience should invest in employee experience technology. These investments enable employees to do their best work which benefits the overall employee experience. Employees are able to effectively communicate, share knowledge and find purpose at work with employee experience technology.
Companies looking to improve the employee experience should invest in employee experience technology. These investments enable employees to do their best work which benefits the overall employee experience. Employees are able to effectively communicate, share knowledge and find purpose at work with employee experience technology.
An employee experience solution is a comprehensive approach or platform that organizations use to manage and improve all aspects of the employee journey, from on-boarding to exit interviews. These solutions typically include tools and strategies for communication, feedback, performance management, and professional development, designed to enhance engagement, productivity, and retention.
By focusing on these strategies and incorporating the right employee experience solutions, organizations can create a more engaging, supportive, and fulfilling workplace for all team members, ultimately leading to improved performance and business outcomes.
An employee experience platform is a technology solution to enhance employee journeys through effective collaboration and communication. These platforms help companies communicate, collaborate and accomplish digital transformations. Employee experience platforms benefit the C-Suite, HR departments, internal communicators and IT professionals as they enter the future of work.
An employee experience framework is a strategic approach to managing and improving the overall employee experience within an organization. It involves identifying key touchpoints throughout the employee journey, from recruitment and onboarding to daily work duties and career growth opportunities, and understanding how these touchpoints impact employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance.
The framework provides a structured way for organizations to analyze and improve their employee experience by considering various factors such as company culture, communication practices, leadership styles, learning and development opportunities, recognition and rewards programs, and support for work-life balance.
By implementing an effective employee experience framework, organizations can create a positive work environment that fosters engagement, productivity, retention, and ultimately contributes to the success of the business. So, it is crucial for organizations to continually assess and refine their employee experience framework to ensure they are meeting the evolving needs of their workforce. This can be achieved through regular feedback, data analysis, and a commitment to continuously improving employee engagement strategies.
With an employee experience framework in place, organizations can not only attract top talent but also retain and develop them into valuable assets for the company. It can also contribute to a positive employer brand, as satisfied employees are more likely to speak positively about their workplace and refer others to join the organization.
As the workforce landscape continues to evolve and become increasingly competitive, implementing an effective employee experience framework is key for organizations looking to differentiate themselves as employers of choice and drive sustainable business success. So, organizations should prioritize investing time and resources into developing a robust framework that meets the unique needs of their workforce and aligns with their overall business goals. To learn more about creating an effective employee experience framework, check out our comprehensive guide on the topic.
In conclusion, prioritizing employee engagement through KPIs and implementing a strong employee experience framework can have a significant impact on organizational success. By understanding the importance of measuring engagement, addressing common challenges, implementing best practices, and continually refining strategies through an effective framework, organizations can create a positive work culture that attracts top talent and drives sustainable growth. So, it is essential to make these areas a priority in any organization looking to thrive in today's competitive business landscape. Keep learning, experimenting, and adapting to create a workplace that employees are proud to be a part of and where they can reach their full potential.
Remember, engaged employees are the backbone of any successful organization! So, let's work together towards creating an engaged workforce for a better tomorrow.
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