Why Employee Experience Management Should Still Be One of HR's Top Priorities
Employee experience management is still a top HR priority. By strategically designing the employee experience, you attract top talent, improve retention and get maximum employee engagement and productivity. Areas to consider include recruiting, recognition and rewards, wellness initiatives and transparent communication throughout the organization.
Employee experience management has a significant effect on performance. Gallup's 2023 Employee Engagement Survey found that 33 percent of U.S. workers are actively engaged at work. Organizations with higher employee experience scores tend to enjoy lower absenteeism, lower turnover, more productivity and greater profitability.
Is the employee experience still one of your top HR priorities?
A 2023 Society for Human Resource Management survey found that the employee experience remains the first- or second-most important concern for 46 percent of HR professionals. That leaves room for improvement — by recognizing the importance of a positive employee experience and making strategic investments in employee experience management.
Start employee experience management with recruiting and onboarding
Designing an effective employee experience begins with the earliest touchpoints. "The employee experience encompasses the full range of interactions, emotions, beliefs and sense of purpose an employee will have with and about their workplace from their first touchpoint with a recruiter until they leave," says Matt Diamanti, senior director of ADP Assist and ADP Mobile.
Assess your job postings, interviews, candidate communications, offers and onboarding processes.
Each touchpoint offers the opportunity to improve your employee experience. For example, Gallup reports that less than half of American employees understand what's expected of them in the workplace. Clarifying expectations and desired outcomes as early as possible lays a foundation for continuous employee engagement.
Anchor your employee experience in 2024
Effective employee experience design requires identifying trends that matter to employees today. Amid a push within many organizations to get employees back to the office following the global pandemic, it's important to recognize that flexibility remains a key concern.
"It's critical in 2024 that employers continue to provide and refine flexible work options that include work from home," advises Diamanti.
Stress and the impact of work on mental health are also hot-button issues. "Mental health and wellness is something that the younger generation finds particularly important, and as they are beginning to move into leadership roles, they want to have these benefits for their own employees," Diamanti says.
From a practical perspective, it's helpful to look at the support solutions in place, such as EAP programs, mental health benefits, workplace wellness initiatives and dedicated time off when mental health challenges occur. Organizations should also consider how aware employees are of these benefits and support systems and whether the company culture truly supports their use.
Prioritize transparent communication
One underlying theme is communication and ensuring employees feel heard, valued and informed. Gallup research found just 26 percent of employees strongly agreed that their opinions matter at work. Similarly, just 30 percent strongly agreed that the company's mission made them feel important while only 30 percent strongly agreed that someone had discussed their progress in the past six months.
Evaluate your employee communication strategies through:
- Anonymous surveys that gather feedback to better understand the employee experience.
- Communicating the company's goals and mission — and when possible, tying individual contributions to the bigger picture.
- Scheduling regular meetings among managers and their teams for regular feedback.
- Looking for strategies to signal that feedback has been heard and valued, even if it's not immediately put into action.
For organizations looking for ways to communicate more effectively, seek transparent two-way communications. "When employees don't understand why the company operates like it does, or why changes to those operations are happening, it is incredibly disempowering and reinforces the perception of being just another cog in the machine," Diamanti says.
Find out how to create a positive employee experience.
Recognize and reward employee contributions
Just 26 percent of the employees Gallup surveyed reported receiving praise or recognition for their work in the past week. Develop the cultural norm of giving regular positive feedback. Formal recognition programs can also help, but Diamonti advises that it's important to leave the glass statues in the past.
Instead, try to tailor recognition efforts to employees' interests. "Today's employees need to have recognition and rewards that align with their personal goals, values and desires. A wide range of reward options should be available given that reality. It's also important that reward programs be transparent. Employees need to thoroughly understand the 'rules' when it comes to rewards," Diamanti notes.
Establish clear ownership of the employee experience
Who owns your employee experience? In many organizations, that question can't be answered easily. By identifying someone at the organization — such as the chief human resource officer or another HR leader — to take point on improving the employee experience is crucial to moving the needle.
"Ultimately, the CHRO is the owner of the employee experience in every organization. Employee experience should not be treated as an initiative or project; it should be embedded within every aspect of the company culture. The best way to accomplish that is for HR leaders and department heads to form a deep partnership focused on defining the cultural and operational changes needed to create a great employee experience and then making the changes necessary to achieve it," Diamanti says.
Considerations for employee experience
Focusing on the employee experience can help improve engagement. Companies would do well to think about exploring their levels of employee engagement and creating systematic practices and processes that enable them to deliver the type of employee experience that supports attracting and retaining today's top talent.
Learn how to design a people-centered workplace. Visit ADP.com/ItsPersonal
