5 Ways to Improve Your Employee Experience

Although employee experience is one of the currently hottest HR buzzwords, there is still a lot of confusion regarding this term, its use and its importance. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of employee experience. You will learn what exactly is employee experience, why it matters and how to enhance it.

What is the employee experience?

In order to improve employee experience, we first need to understand what it is. Even though employee experience is one of the currently hottest HR buzzwords, there is still a lot of confusion regarding this term.

This is in part because there is no official, generally agreed-upon definition of employee experience. Different sources provide different definitions of this term.

➡️ Generally, the term “employee experience” refers to an employee's experience of being employed at a certain company. By (short) definition, “employee experience” is the employee's overall perception of working at a company.

It sounds pretty simple, right?

It may, at first. But if you study it a bit more carefully, you soon realize that it is actually a very complex notion. “Overall perception” incorporates a wide range of different feelings, behaviors and attitudes employees experience during their employment at the company. It encompasses many different touchpoints across time.

Essentially, employee experience refers to everything employees experience throughout their employment journey at an organization. It is the sum of every interaction an employee has with a company, from the first contact as a potential recruit to the last interaction after the end of employment.

Why is it important to deliver exceptional employee experience?

➡️ A new study from Alight Solutions reveals that creating and delivering a positive employee experience is crucial for attracting and retaining talent in today’s job market. Historically low unemployment rates have turned the situation of the job market upside down.

Tables have turned, and candidates are now in a position of power. They get to pick and choose where they want to work. And companies have no other choice but to compete among themselves in order to snatch scarce top talent.

In order to do that, companies have to provide an excellent experience for their employees. If they want to be successful at attracting top talent and retaining their high performing employees, companies have to provide consistently positive experiences for their employees.

This may require some effort, but the outcome is more than worth it – trust me!

Key benefits of delivering a positive employee experience

✅ Here are the most important, proven benefits of delivering a positive employee experience:

1. Easier talent attraction

2. Improved retention

3. Higher productivity

4. Higher innovation rates

5. Better customer satisfaction

6. Greater profitability.

Employee experience statistics

Research from MIT suggests organizations that prioritize employee experience achieve:

• 2 times better customer satisfaction

• 2 times more innovations

• 25% greater profitability.

Similarly, Globoforce’s Employee Experience Study has found that employee experience is positively linked to improved work performance. Satisfied employees work harder – and more effectively.

A growing body of research proving the benefits of positive employee experience has helped to raise awareness about this important topic. Employee experience has quickly evolved from being just another HR buzzword to becoming one of the central HR concepts. ✅

A Staffbase survey of LinkedIn members worldwide revealed that the number of employee experience jobs has grown by 173% from May 2017 to December 2018. This increase is a clear indication that companies are becoming increasingly aware of the utmost importance of employee experience.

Indeed, in a recent study by Deloitte University Press, Josh Bersin et al found that almost 80% of executives worldwide rated employee experience as important or very important.

However, only 22% of them reported that their companies were excellent at building a differentiated employee experience. What’s more, 59% of survey respondents reported they were not ready or only somewhat ready to address the employee experience challenge.

In order to help you address these challenges, we prepared proven tips for excelling at providing an exceptional employee experience. Read on to learn 5 simple ways to improve employee experience at your company!

How can you improve your employee experience?

Here are five sure ways to improve your employee experience:

#1 Get it right from the start

Employee experience starts the second your new employee steps into your office on their first employment day. First impressions are important so you need to do your best to provide an exceptional onboarding experience for your new hires.

Unfortunately, most companies fail at this. According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace study, only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization does a great job of onboarding new employees!

Thus, it comes as no surprise that up to 20% of employee turnover happens in the first 45 days. However, if done right, onboarding helps new employees to feel welcome and easily integrate into your existing team and company culture.

PRO TIP:

Keep in mind that employee experience starts with the candidate experience. Paint an accurate picture of your company culture in your job descriptions and highlight your values and the way you work on your company career page.

That way, you’ll attract the right type of candidates – those who can easily fit into your company. If you don’t present your company culture in an honest and transparent way while recruiting, you risk disappointing your new hires and causing them to quit.

#2 Provide opportunities for learning and growth

➡️ LinkedIn's research has found that career development opportunities are the number one reason why people changed jobs. 59% of people join a new company because of an opportunity for a stronger career path.

On the other hand, 45% of employees leave their current employer because of their concern for career advancement and the lack of opportunities for growth.

Thus, if you want to attract and retain top talent, you should definitely provide opportunities for learning and growth in your company. Make sure that your employees know exactly what career development opportunities you offer – and help them achieve career progression at your company.

PRO TIP:

Encourage your employees to continually learn new things and upgrade their skills. Consider implementing innovative training techniques, such as using VR/AR technology.

#3 Recognize and reward your employees

Employee recognition is a very important factor in creating a positive employee experience. You should regularly acknowledge and reward your employees’ hard work and dedication. If you don’t you risk losing them!

➡️ According to a Gallup Analysis, employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they’ll quit in the next year. On the other hand, Qualtrics research has found that employees whose managers consistently acknowledge them for good work are 5 times more likely to stay at the company.

So why don’t more companies have recognition and reward programs in place? A recent Gallup poll reported that 65% of employees haven’t received any form of recognition for their good work in the last year!

The reason is that most companies think that the only way to recognize and reward their employees is by giving them more money. But this is wrong! Gallup Analysis discovered that there are other forms of recognition that employees value even more than financial rewards.

According to a Gallup Analysis, when asked what types of recognition were the most memorable, respondents emphasized six methods in particular – and money isn't the only (or the top) form of recognition.

Here are the top 5 forms of employee recognition rated as most memorable by employees:

1. Public recognition or acknowledgment via an award, certificate or commendation

2. Private recognition from a boss, peer or customer

3. Receiving or obtaining a high level of achievement through evaluations or reviews

4. Promotion or increase in the scope of work or responsibility to show trust

5. Monetary awards such as a trip, prize or pay increase.

PRO TIP:

The message is clear – you don’t need a lot of money to recognize and reward your employees. An honest and timely acknowledgment of their work can do wonders as well!

#4 Offer flexible working arrangements

Another sure way to improve your employee experience is by offering flexible working arrangements for your employees. If possible, consider implementing flexible working hours and at least occasional work from home options for your employees.

➡️ PowWowNow survey has found that employees want flexible work arrangements:

• 67% of employees wish they were offered flexible working

• 70% of workers feel that offering flexible working makes a job more attractive to them

• 40% of people would choose flexible working over a pay rise.

Additionally, this survey also found that employees believe that flexible working arrangement would increase their productivity and job satisfaction:

• 58% of people believe that working away from the office would help them become more motivated.

• 53% of people feel that they would be more productive if they could work outside the office.

It seems that research confirms this hypothesis. For example, Harvard Business Review that employees who have a choice in when, where, and how they work have higher levels of satisfaction, innovation and job performance.

PRO TIP:

Remote work has become especially popular among employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gallup’s research has shown that most employees want to continue working remotely even after the pandemic ends!

Luckily for you, remote work has a lot of benefits for employers as well!

#5 Ask for feedback and act on it

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Unfortunately, most companies don’t track and measure their employee experience regularly.

➡️ A recent Deloitte Insights study found that only 22% of companies survey their employees quarterly or more frequently, 79% survey their employees annually or less frequently, and 14% never survey their employees at all.

Don’t be among these companies! Ditch your existing annual or biannual engagement surveys and replace them with regular pulse surveys. You should also consider implementing open feedback systems, such as:

1. Employee satisfaction surveys

2. Stay interviews

3. Performance reviews

4. Exit interviews.

PRO TIP:

Asking your employees to regularly share with you feedback on their employee experience is the only way to build a complete, real-time understanding of the issues your employees face. Understanding your employees’ wants and needs and acting on it is the best way to improve your employee experience. ✅

TLDR: Employee experience – a quick guide & top tips

What is employee experience?

“Employee experience” is the employee's overall perception of working at a company.

Why is employee experience important?

Creating and delivering a positive employee experience is crucial for attracting and retaining talent. It also improves employee engagement and productivity.

How to improve the employee experience?

Here are 5 sure ways to improve your employee experience:

1. Provide onboarding

2. Provide opportunities for learning and growth

3. Recognize and reward your employees

4. Offer flexible working arrangements

5. Conduct employee experience surveys – and act on the feedback you get!