Like “The Great Resignation” or “quiet quitting”, “employee experience” is a term that’s kind of having a moment lately. But don’t be so quick to dismiss it as a buzzword. There are a ton of benefits. Happier employees are more productive and more engaged. That equals better company culture, higher retention, easier recruiting — ultimately, it’s a win-win. And while you can’t just snap your fingers and improve the employee experience, these are five concrete things you can do this year to make a positive difference.
Define clear career paths and ways to grow
With so many Boomers exiting the workforce, your workplace is most likely trending toward a younger demographic. (And if not, don’t worry, it’s coming). We’ve seen that Millennial and Gen Z employees highly value opportunities for learning and growth. One of the main reasons people jump ship is that they don’t see growth opportunities at their organization. Focus on creating clear career paths and work with your employees to identify opportunities. When you make it clear that the company wants to see them grow and succeed, you offer them a more positive experience and a path toward long-term success within your organization.
Invest in manager training and guidance
Managers are a huge part of what makes an employee’s experience a positive or negative one. But here’s the thing. Many people get promoted to a management role because they are really good at what they do. But being an excellent individual contributor doesn’t necessarily equal being an excellent manager. While it’s wonderful to promote from within, you also need to provide them with the resources, training, and support they need to be successful. Emphasize how important their role is in the employee experience and equip them with the skills they need to support and encourage the team.
Recognize your people in ways that matter
While your mind may jump to big bonuses and weird paperweight awards at end-of-year banquets, employee recognition doesn’t have to be splashy to be impactful. The things that really matter? Your manager thanking you for doing such a great job on that project you worked really hard on. Or getting a shout-out from your team during an all-staff meeting. These are little things, but these honestly are the moments that can have a big impact. Look for ways to build these kinds of recognition moments into your company culture and encourage your managers to help it catch on.
Open clear lines of communication
No shocker here. Communication is really important — especially in remote work environments where we’re all a bit more disconnected than we used to be. Create opportunities for the organization to be transparent about what’s going on and make space for people to weigh in. By actually asking employees what they want to see or involving them in the decisions, you create a more inclusive and positive experience. And when you give people a voice, you reinforce a more positive culture and create a deeper sense of connection both among employees and the organization as a whole.
Establish a measurable baseline
You may think something like “employee experience” is impossible to measure. We’ve heard a lot of organizations tell us they can’t possibly get data on how employees are feeling. But there are really so many different ways you can collect data from people. One of our favorites? An employee survey. Kick off the year with an employee satisfaction survey to see how they’re feeling about their work environment, the culture, their benefits, and career opportunities within the organization. From there, you have the information you need to hone your strategy. And you have a baseline to compare it with next year.
While these are my favorite tactics for improving the employee experience, it’s important to tailor them to your organization and what it needs. Go ahead and set the intention, create an action plan, and put some (or all) of these strategies into action. We can’t wait to hear about all the positive impact to your employee experience and to your organization.