We have been witnessing a turnover on how employees see their work. The stigma about changing jobs ‘disappeared: sticking with the same job for most of your life is not everyone’s main goal anymore. In Europe, in 2016, the voluntary turnover rate was 7,1%.

Today, organisations face the challenge of retaining top talents working for them. As an answer, “Employee Experience” started gaining attention.

Employee experience is everything a worker experiences during their time as employee in a company, including his/her expectations and perceptions of the company’s workforce, rules, workplace, culture…etc. Organisations need to adopt strategies to strengthen employee experience

Salary is not the only thing candidates focus on while looking for a job. Many other factors can influence their decision of working for a specific company. They are looking for companies that can offer them an experience that meets their expectations: company values, work environment… etc.

To implement Employee Experience, companies need to understand their employees’ needs & motivations to adopt the right strategies. One way to improve Employee Experience is to develop the On-boarding process to ensure integration and avoid turnover. The buddy system is a strategy that can be implemented during the onboarding process. It consists of assigning a “buddy” to the new hires i.e. someone who already works in the company and has all necessary insights to make the person feel comfortable in his/her new position by helping them integrate the company and guiding them. on the day-to-day aspects during the first two months. Another strategy that can be implemented after a new hire is the 30/60/90-day plan, which is a way to organise goals and priorities, on the first 90 days.

Workplaces are also related to employee experience. Given that employees spend a significant amount of time in their office, companies have been trying to create spaces where employees would feel comfortable thanks to a great work environment. Access to new and useful technology, furniture, right temperature, right noise levels, adequate lightning … etc are have a huge impact on an employee’s efficiency and productivity.

Another outgrowing concern for employees is that they want to be heard and involved in the decision-making process by being allowed to voice their opinions and suggestions. Meaning that companies need to empower them. Empowered workers are not only more productive but more committed. On a Steelcase Global Report from 2016 in France, only 34% of participants said that their company values and recognises their employees.

Empowering employees is another strategy that helps improve employee experience. Empowered workers are not only more productive but more committed. A Steelcase Global Report from 2016 in France, showed that only 34% of participants felt like companies’ value and recognise their employees.

A 2017 study conducted by Jacob Morgan, showed that companies investing in Employee Experience outperform the ones who do not as it leads to an improvement on the Employee Engagement – the connection employees feel towards the company, their involvement, and level of integration at work.

Employee Experience became a vital part of organisations. It impacts earnings, absenteeism, productivity and even the costumer’s experience. Companies are realising that their success is strictly linked to the employees’ success.

References:

2. What Exactly Is The Employee Experience?, February 2019, Forbes
3. The Employee Experience: It’s Trickier (and more important) Than You Thought, March 2019, JOSH BERSIN
4. Why the Millions We Spend on Employee Engagement Buy Us So Little, March 2017, Harvard Business Review
5. Engagement and the Global Workplace, 2016
6. Growing Workplace Results Through Employee Experience, September 2018, Kununu Engage