What do employees feel working in your organization?
The answer maybe some of the most important factors that influence your organizational culture – from onboarding, retention, performance, to new customers, increased profitability, and functional efficiency.
Employee Experience, or EX, is the summation of all the experiences an employee has with his or her organization. It includes everything from hiring until exit-interview and everything that falls within the employee circle. It also includes the office workspace, bonding with the co-workers, and the job satisfaction level. EX brings the same joy to employees, as CX does to customer satisfaction.
According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 80% of employees considered employee experience as very important in the organization. In contrast, only 22% of employees said their companies brilliantly built a differentiated employee experience. Employee satisfaction leads to employee branding. Employees who have a positive and impactful experience are your brand ambassadors. Employees tend to stay with the company for longer because they are happy with the work culture, and they think the work environment is safe for them to thrive and succeed. At the same time, some employees leave the organization because they didn’t find what they wanted to grow and survive.
Leaders and reporting managers are the first points of contact. As frontline people, who have to take things in your hands, and drive it mutually. Managers are the force that builds the gap between leadership and frontline employees. Managers are the most committed employees and also the most important critics. They provide feedback that matters the most to the organization’s growth and effectiveness. Great managers are great leaders because they help employees understand organizational dynamics, value them, and make them a part of the organization’s mission and vision.
6 Tips Leaders can Adapt to Build a Strong Employee Experience
Here are a few tips leaders can adapt to build a strong and unique employee experience.
Open Feedback-Loop
Listen to all employee feedback as they come. Focus more on identifying what employees need to be productive and stay productive. Work on the dynamics of employee feedback. Create an open platform that allows employees to speak up openly without any hesitation or fear.
Employees should be allowed to make suggestions, share accomplishments, and be informed about leadership decisions. Employee experience is about knowing what’s going on in your employee’s minds. The main point is that the feedback cycle must always be on and remain active. Make changes to the current process, depending on the feedback. Otherwise, the entire feedback system is futile and just on papers – fictitious and unrealistic.Create space for your employees
Help your employees structure their calendar with the do’s, and the don’ts. Ask them to create a quarterly calendar and revisit every week for modifications. Check for the things which fall under short-term goals, and which fall under long-term goals. Identify what’s working and what’s consuming your employee’s time and energy. Don’t over-burden your employees with a heavy presentation. Ask them to make only a few important slides.
Invite your employees to the meeting only if they are required to engage. Otherwise, take updates through short phone calls. Send an email if necessary. Create space for your employees so that they can breathe social and professional life together. Make sure you have the best employee engagement tools which can help them to engage.Create memorable moments
Employee experience is also about different touch-points with your employees. Create moments of remembrance, and employees will stay—every small interaction with your employee’s counts. Intentionally, listen to your employees, and see their reaction. Please make a note of how they behave and appreciate them doing the right thing.
Reproduce special moments of rewards and recognition. Give shout-outs, face-to-face recognition, or circulate an email appreciation about their accomplishments. Celebrate team wins, and take the onus on you for the losses like a great leader does. Take the time to share feedback. Run an audit, and check for the things you missed out. In doing so, you will become aware of how to create memorable moments better.Make employees technology-friendly
Make your employees use online team apps for better communication while working remotely. Having the right employee productivity tools will help you to drive efficiency and increase productivity in your employees. Through online apps, reporting and attendance is just a piece of cake. More importantly, it connects all the employees on the same page. Even HRIS, PEO’s, and payroll have app versions for easy access.
Augment your work culture with online training and webinars. Conduct virtual training or meetings online instead of face-to-face meetings to include work-from-home employees. Streamline the protocol to create a seamless employee experience. By connecting employees to technology, you are making their life easy and less dependent on the traditional approach to doing work.Encourage cross-functional collaboration
Often, employees in one team or department become bored doing the same task. They always think that the other team is doing great. You can superhead the opportunity to collaborate with your team with other teams in the organization. Show them how your team can add value and drive efforts.
It creates opportunities for your employees to understand the company’s objectives and the goal they want to achieve. It also makes your team members believe that you want them to excel professionally. Moreover, they will consider you a bridge-builder, and a fantastic team manager, which will help you build trust and loyalty.Wellness matters
Employee well-being as part of employee development. It includes personal wellness, as well. Employees want their managers to know about their mental and physical health. They want managers to know if they are sick and still working; they might not perform well or become less productive.
Encourage employees to go on a vacation or take leaves. Remind them to leave early on Friday, and have the best weekend. Indulge them into various activities to freshen them and rejuvenate their body, mind, and soul. Ask them to participate in the marathon. Get a fitness trainer once a week. Make your employees enroll for the gym membership. Wellness is much needed these days, and as a manager, only you can make it fun and entertaining.
Final Thoughts
Work-life and social life go hand-in-hand. Employees want more from their job than just a paycheck and job title. You can make your employees feel valued and make them come to work every day. You, as a manager, can define the working atmosphere that is safe and secure. A good manager leads by example. You have to replicate the same feeling in your employees too. A happy employee is your brand ambassador. They speak highly of your company and you.
By building a culture of employee centricity and a positive environment, you’re looking at employees with an intention. It will help improve employee experience and create an experience that will drive employee experience, productivity, profitability, and revenue.
