What is Employee Experience?
Employee experience, otherwise known as EX, is a buzzword in the HR world right now. Before diving into its buzz, what is employee experience?
EX encompasses every interaction an employee has with their employer, from the application and interview processes to their daily tasks to their offboarding and outplacement services. Employee experience describes every facet of their journey with your organization.
Why does it matter, especially right now?
According to Gallup, in 2023, only 33% of US employees felt engaged in their work and workplace, and 16% of employees were actively disengaged. Although those numbers are a small improvement from 2022 — which had an engagement at 32% and active disengagement at 18% — it still indicates widespread dissatisfaction, probable lessened productivity, and a lack of loyalty. In the era of quiet quitting, this is particularly concerning.
Quiet quitting is the new term for disengaged employees doing the bare minimum to avoid being fired, but never going above and beyond. They won’t volunteer for additional tasks, don’t work overtime, and don’t participate in meetings.
Did you know that a disengaged worker costs your organization 34% of their salary in lost productivity? Low engagement also costs the global economy $8.8 trillion annually and accounts for up to 9% of the global GDP.
It’s clear that there is an issue with the employee experience for employers, who are losing significant amounts of money on employees who aren’t contributing actively to their teams, but this also means that there are many flaws in the EX at companies facing the quiet quitting epidemic.
Only 51% of employees feel that their organization is delivering on the experience they promised. Not sure how to measure EX?
Key metrics include satisfaction levels, which indicate overall happiness, and the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), which measures how likely employees are to recommend your organization. Internal referrals fortify relationships within the organization and also foster loyalty. Employee productivity can assess task efficiency, while retention rates show long-term satisfaction and loyalty. Tracking employee absenteeism helps identify engagement or well-being issues. Recognition frequency measures how often employees are acknowledged for their contributions, promoting a culture of appreciation.
With these key metrics in mind, let’s break down 5 of the biggest and best ways that your organization can improve the employee experience and encourage engaged employees.
Onboarding and Orientation
First impressions matter! Start off every employee’s experience on the right foot. Set the tone for an engaged employee from the very beginning: during the interviewing, onboarding, and orientation processes. Here are a few ways to lay a strong foundation:
- Ensure recruiters and interviewers are on time to every appointment, with prepped questions and a thorough understanding of the applicant’s resume.
- Following the interviews, communicate promptly and effectively to establish your investment in the candidate.
- Once hired, establish clear expectations and goals, and share details about the role, including information about their team or department, benefits and how to access them, an any other logistics that they’ll need on a daily basis.
- Engage the new employees with the company’s culture as early as possible! Educate them on company values, and mission, and introduce them to the appropriate members of leadership and potential mentors.
- Equip new hires with the skills, tools, and knowledge they’ll need for the role. Whether it’s showing them new software or handing off the detailed processes for their job function, giving them the tools they’ll need to succeed is vital.
Offer Professional Development
Your employees are your most valuable asset! When you invest in them and their professional development, you are directly supporting your organization long-term and showing your employees that you care about their success. Take a look at some of the most effective strategies to help promote continuous learning and growth among your team:
- Host workshops and seminars on relevant topics and skills. Whether you bring in experts from the community or ask your leadership team to share their wisdom. This gives employees a chance to gain more knowledge without sacrificing their personal time!
- Have a “continuing education” stipend to let them take classes or attend industry-wide events. This financial support can open doors to more opportunities and can help your team stay up to date on industry trends and collaborate with industry peers.
- Promote a mentorship program or invest in executive coaching. Giving your employees an expert to guide their journey through their careers is an invaluable asset! The transfer of skills combined with stronger professional relationships gives your already valuable employees even more expertise.
- Reward employees for their advancements; bonuses, promotions, raises, etc. With some kind of recognition offered for hard work and dedication, employees will feel more motivated and appreciated for their contributions.
- Learn where your shortcomings are and address those areas. Conduct regular assessments and surveys to understand where both you and your staff are falling short. With this new knowledge, you can target your training programs and resources to fill the gaps.
Work-Life Balance
A healthy balance between professional and personal life makes employees more likely to be engaged, motivated, and loyal to your organization. It will benefit overall well-being and productivity, two things that will benefit both the individual and the organization. Here are some ways to help promote this balance:
- Offer flexible work hours when possible! Give your team the ability to have time for things like childcare, medical appointments, and walking their dogs without taking time off work. Giving them the opportunity to work their 40 hours with flexibility will also reduce stress and can reduce commuting time!
- Encourage vacation days and don’t make your team feel bad for taking sick time! Taking time off is a key part of maintaining productivity and health. Make sure your employees understand that taking time off is a positive and necessary part of working!
- Limit overtime and after-hours work. Some employees may want the monetary benefits of working overtime, but expecting your team to work more than 40 hours a week regularly is not sustainable. Avoid contacting them outside of work hours to give them time to focus on their home lives!
- Give paid holidays. While promoting regular vacations and time off, don’t forget to have paid holidays that are company-wide. Let your team celebrate holidays with their families without worrying about work.
- Create a supportive culture. Encourage teamwork, offer mentorship programs, and regularly check in with your employees to make sure they have what they need, aren’t overloaded, or don’t have something else that’s hindering their work.
Recognition and Feedback
Your team likely has some incredible members! Acknowledge them. Recognizing your team’s achievements and hard work, and providing constructive feedback after completing a project, is key to maintaining high morale around the office. Employees who feel appreciated are more likely to feel satisfied with their role and loyal to the company. Here are some tips for effectively recognizing and providing feedback to employees:
- Highlight employees’ wins in your next big meeting, in a newsletter, or even just in your Slack or Teams channel. You’ll also help note to other employees whose example to follow in order to succeed in your organization!
- Privately acknowledge them. A handwritten thank you note, one-on-one chat, or email to your employees who’ve been putting in their best effort lets them know their work is appreciated and noticed. A thank you can go a long way and can encourage that employee to continue to do good work.
- Regularly meet with your employees for feedback. Use these meetings to provide constructive criticism, mention things they’re doing well, and discuss overall professional development. An employee who feels seen and understood will be more likely to want to improve and be loyal to the organization.
- Offer incentives! A bonus, a raise, or even a pizza party are all ways to say thank you to your team. Extra time off is another appreciated incentive. These can motivate your team to achieve more and earn these “prizes” and shows that your leadership values their contributions.
- Recognize an employee of the month or employee of the quarter. Formal recognition for outstanding work, with a reward like a certificate or a gift card, can inspire your team to reach a goal.
Regular Employee Surveys
Feedback goes both ways! Give employees the chance to share their thoughts to help your leadership ensure they are satisfied with the company. Here are five ways to implement surveys in your organization:
- Anonymous feedback mailboxes. Whether digital or an old-school box in your office, Anonymity encourages honest feedback and suggestions and gives employees a feeling of safety to express their opinions without retaliation or repercussions.
- Conduct regular surveys to always have your finger on the pulse. These can be done monthly, quarterly, biannually, or annually to help track the progress of various initiatives the company implements over time. Depending on the frequency of the surveys, they can also identify trends in employee satisfaction!
- Ensure that surveys ask actionable questions. While questions like “how satisfied are you with your team” can provide valuable insights, survey questions that ask questions that have solutions the organization can implement are vital for actually making changes that will benefit the employees.
- Share survey results with employees! Transparency is key. Share what the survey findings were and how the organization is taking action to address the issues illustrated by the survey. This is a great way to show the company is taking responsibility for its employees and demonstrates that leadership values the input of the team.
- After changes are implemented, don’t forget to follow up! Conduct follow-up surveys to determine the effectiveness of the solutions put in place based on survey results. This will emphasize that the company is committed to continuous improvement and bettering of the employee experience!
Bettering the employee experience isn’t just a buzzword, and is your organization’s best strategy to combat quiet quitting and decreased productivity. Enhancing every possible interaction every employee has with your organization can promote a culture of engaged, satisfied, and loyal employees.
Considering onboarding, professional development, work-life balance, and feedback from both leadership and employees are all impactful ways to invest in your organization’s long-term employee experience. With a better employee experience, you’ll attract and retain top talent, while also encouraging a more satisfied, engaged, and loyal team.