Taking care of the employee experience is essential to the success of the organization. Companies that work on employee well-being generate trust and satisfaction among their team, thus turning them into a driving force that accelerates business’ development.
According to research conducted by Gallup , companies that have engaged teams are 10% better valued by customers, are 22% more profitable, and 21% more productive than those that do not work on the employee experience.
Also, another study, this time carried out by MIT, classified companies according to their level of employee satisfaction, and those that were located in the upper quartile proved to be more innovative and had double the income than those in the lower quartile. In addition, they also had an eNPS score twice high.
On the other hand, an unmotivated or dissatisfied workforce can have a negative impact, not only on the company’s results but also on its reputation.
For this reason, it’s important that HR managers and team managers make an effort to create strategies to maintain a positive and healthy work environment that reinforces the quality of the team member’s time at the company.
So pay attention, because in today’s post we talk about the best practices to manage the employee experience, and we also tell you what tools are the ones that will make this job easier for you.
What does Employee Experience mean?
The employee experience is a subjective perception and is linked to the level of satisfaction that people have when going to work.
When employee satisfaction is high and, therefore, the organization provides a good employee experience, workers enjoy time in the office, appreciate the company of their colleagues, have a good relationship with their bosses, and feel that their work challenges them to continue growing professionally.
But, when the experience is bad, employees get bored, peer relationships are strained, and tasks are not challenging to motivate them.
Knowing the opinion of the team allows talent managers to identify which part of the employee experience is the most satisfying for them, and in which areas there is the greatest dissatisfaction.
With that, it will be much easier to outline all those aspects that directly influence employee experience until you achieve a workplace that everyone would recommend to work.
How to manage Employee Experience?
The first thing to keep in mind is that the employee experience varies depending on the stage where employees are.
This means that it is a dynamic variable that will evolve as the person within the company also does.
During recruitment process
The journey begins when candidates get in touch to send their resumee and become part of the recruiting process. During this stage, future employees are already beginning to gain perspective and get an idea of what they can expect if they are finally hired.
A hiring process where candidates feel comfortable, their time is valued and communication is constant and fluid is more likely to generate positive expectations to nourish their motivation.
During the adaptation process
Once inside the company, the new recruits go through an integration stage: the onboarding .
This is one of the most critical phases of the employee journey, and it directly influences the employee experience.
In fact, a Wynhurst Group’s report highlights that a positive experience during the onboarding process increases talent loyalty by 58%. In the same way, a study by Brandon Hall indicated that a strong and well-structured Onboarding plan reduces turnover by 18% and, in addition, improves productivity by 70%.
For a better Onboarding experience, there are a few key things you need to keep in mind:
- Each person and each position has its times, so it will be necessary to address onboarding individually.
- Onboarding are progressive experiences, and do not end until people are fully integrated and familiar with their functions.
- Feedback it is essential, and continuous monitoring is necessary to know if the adaptation of new employees meets the objectives.
During the time in the company
Although salary continues to be an important factor, in recent years employees prioritize other advantages relatedlated to work-life balance, well-being and a feeling of accomplishment.
So, for an enriched employee experience, it’s important that from talent management we are able to:
- Understand individual needs. Practice active listening to identify team members’ expectations.
- Drive purpose. Employees want their work to be meaningful. So make sure they understand “why” they do what they do, conveying the values and purpose of the organization in a clear, authentic and visible way.
- Connect people. It’s important to offer a workplace that supports people’s needs, fostering communication and connecting colleagues with each other.
- Reduce gaps. All the components of the organization (space, technology, processes and people) must be united and work together for a common goal.
During termination process
Finally, don’t forget that the employee experience must also be watched out in their departure from the company.
Offboarding is one more process in the ecosystem that makes up talent management. But, many HR departments do not give it the importance it needs, and this is a mistake because a bad impression at the end can ruin all the efforts invested in the previous stages.
Satisfactory termination for employees includes:
- Being clear, concise and orderly.
- Allowing employees to finish unfinished business and say goodbye to their colleagues.
- Providing constructive feedback from both parties, maintaining open and transparent communication throughout the process.
- Allowing access to professional references and job search assistance.
- Helping employees feel appreciated and valued, even when they are leaving the company.
A positive experience during the termination process allows companies to leave the doors open to reconnect with employees in future opportunities.
And, in addition, employees will recommend and promote the company even after leaving it, fostering attraction and a good employer image.
How to measure the Employee Experience?
If you want to improve the employee experience, it’s essential that you have the necessary resources for it.
There are different tools that you can use to measure employee satisfaction.
One of them is the annual performance appraisal, in which employees share their impressions of the company over the last 12 months.
However, this measure is inadequate because the information it returns is biased by time.
Instead, the use of employee pulse surveys allows managers to take control and monitor in real time the state of the Employee Experience in their organization.
With Team Insights’ software, you can follow the evolution of the satisfaction, motivation and commitment of your employees in a dynamic way.
Through surveys that are automatically sent to all your employees, you obtain a large amount of data directly reflected in simple and intuitive charts, very easy to understand even if you do not have notions of People Analytics.
In this way, instead of carrying out the most tedious work of data analysis, you can invest your time in making decisions that mean a real improvement in the employee experience and in the company’s results.
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