In a Willis Tower Watson study, 90% of employers agreed that employee experience has become a top priority for their organization. However, many organizations are unaware of how to fill the gap and match employee expectations in their employee experience strategy. In today's job market, hiring a replacement will cost twice as much for an organization than retaining talent. So, leaders must learn how to improve employee experience management to enhance the workplace environment.

Understanding Employee Experience 

Employee experience (EX) is the cumulative sum of all that employees feel during their employee journey. This starts right from the moment they apply for a job at an organization. A prospective candidate’s perception of the organization they are interested in is influenced by all the interactions they encounter while applying for the job. Businesses should start to consider employees as their in-house customers. By understanding employee needs and implementing custom EX strategies, employers can keep their employees happy, satisfied, and engaged. Leaders must empathize with their employees and identify solutions for their persistent problems. 

Role of HR in Shaping and Improving Employee Experience

About 31.3% of engaged employees feel that their organizations could do more to improve the employee experience. HR Professionals must try to use HR Tech and AI Tools to learn and understand how their employees feel about their workplace experience. They have to update their employee experience strategy to reflect the changes in employee expectations. Some of the factors that compel changes are:

Changing Employee Demographics

The workplace is now rapidly changing as more and more millennials become employees. Millennials look for purpose and meaningful work. They pay more attention to the mission and value statements and they expect their employers to create an environment that aligns with their personal beliefs and values. Organizations can meet these requirements only if they take steps to personalize employee experiences. Millennials expect their employers to invest in them, and identify and appreciate their uniqueness. They expect leaders to give them growth opportunities and support them in becoming leaders. 

Raising Awareness Due To Social Media 

The rise of social media has brought with it many influencers who encourage employee advocacy across business verticals. Words spread quickly on social media, influencing brand image. Organizations that invest in their employees and care for them will be praised publicly when employees have positive employee experiences. Such organizations will have a huge advantage in attracting and retaining talents compared to competitors. 

Volatile Economy

Business disruption is brought about by digitization and intensified by the business disruptions such as layoffs, the great reshuffle, etc. Companies should always invest in their biggest assets, the people. Employee-centric HR approach that aligns business goals with employee expectations will assist businesses to experience success even during tough times. 

Employee Experience – Employee Engagement Relationship

Often, leaders confuse employee experience with employee engagement. Both are related, but they are different. Understanding the difference is critical to establish a good employee experience. 

• Employee Engagement is the Outcome of a Satisfying Employee Experience - Employee experience is the effort that the company has to put forward to improve employee engagement. By treating employees well and giving them a positive and supportive workplace, leaders can expect them to be more productive and engaged. If the goal of the organization is to improve employee engagement, focusing on enhancing the EX should become their primary objective. 

• Employee Experience Is Building Up While Employee Engagement Is A Top-Down Concept - Employers must take efforts to make the workplace inviting, exciting, and motivating for the employees. The right tools, technology, and people can create the best work environment that keeps employees happy. When employers do this, employees get more involved and committed. They feel engaged and they must feel valued to provide better results for the organization in the long term. 

• Employee Experience Centres On Employees And Employee Engagement Centres On Workplace - Employee experience is inherently employee-centric. The focus is on what employees want and expect. Employee engagement is based on outcomes such as productivity, workplace culture, and business environment. A company that focuses on a strong EX should implement transparency, technology, recognition, collaboration, and diversity in the workplace. These will encourage the workforce to get more engaged. 

Impact Of Employee Experience On Customer Experience 

Employees are vital assets for an organization. Managers delegate employees the task of interacting and transacting with clients. Ultimately, employees are responsible for delivering superior customer experiences. So, employee experience with the company influences the customer experience. Happy employees will go above and beyond to exceed the expectations of customers. Forrester reports show that companies with more engaged employees achieve 81% higher customer satisfaction. When the organization offers a great employee experience, employees will be more enthusiastic and they pass this positive attitude to the customers. They will be more eager to solve customer problems, increasing brand equity and customer retention. On the contrary, if the employees have a bad employee experience, it will impact their performance and lead to absenteeism, resulting in poor customer experience.

Prioritising Employee Experience For A Culture Of Success

Qualtrics report shows that companies that invest in improving employee experience achieve 2.1 times profitability. The ROI on the employee experience management strategy will improve if it focuses on improving the experience for the C suite leaders and every employee in the organization. 

Some of the benefits of prioritizing employee experience are:

• Increased productivity and engagement – Employees with a great experience will be more engaged and work harder to fulfill productivity goals. They will be more loyal to the company, leading to better business outcomes and general well-being. 
• Reduced employee turnover – Unhappy workers are more likely to leave the company even if the new company doesn't offer great pay. Happy employees will stay longer and find the benefits more rewarding than the salary. 
• Improved customer experience – A good employee experience encourages employees to innovate to solve customer problems. It leads to a great customer experience. 
• Higher job satisfaction – Engaged employees will perform well and have great job satisfaction. They won't put in half-hearted efforts because they know their company is helping them reach their full potential.  They will be proactive and this minimizes workplace burnout. When the employee experience is good, they will be able to achieve a good work-life balance and be happy outside of the workplace also. 

Key Takeaways

HR leaders should shape their employee experience management strategy based on employee needs and expectations. According to Gartner, when this approach is used by applying motivational, psychological, and social principles, 47% of employees can turn out to be high performers. Focusing on employee experience ensures that employees are given the tools, technology, and technical and emotional support to excel at work. It improves employee engagement and productivity. Employees who feel that their company cares for them will be more satisfied. 

About Batik

Batik empowers employers to improve the employee experience by customizing health, benefits, perks, and rewards programs. Batik aligns benefits and perks with the needs of today’s employees with a platform that is incredibly user-friendly and keeps you informed about your benefit offerings at the click of a button.