What is Employee Experience? How can you make it a pillar of your HR strategy?
The new HR strategies in companies of the Third Millennium have a person-centered approach. In fact, the concept of employee experience is about people, the urgent need for companies to attract and retain the best talent.In a late 2021 research, Forrester VP James L. McQuivey states that "2022 will go down as the year executives were forced to care about employee experience”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted as never before the expectations of people regarding their work, the balance between work and private life, the need for a positive and motivating experience in the workplace.In particular, the younger generations show a marked attention to the issues of wellbeing, continuous learning and climate change. Above all, they are looking for an employer in which to find their own principles and values. If not, they are ready to quickly take their skills elsewhere.
This is why employee experience is a key issue for the HR department.
Employee Experience: the 5 actions to take
Thinking about the future and the employee experience goals, here are the main challenges and the actions needed to make it excellent:
- Rethinking corporate life
The employee experience is not a set of fragmented actions with which, from time to time, one of the company objectives in terms of people's satisfaction can be achieved. On the contrary, it is a question of considering every moment, from the candidate experience to the last day of work, as a single journey, perfectly aligned with the company vision and mission; - Measuring people's satisfaction
The starting point on which to build an effective Employee Experience is knowing how satisfied our employees are, how they perceive the company's commitment to give them a stimulating and comfortable environment in which to express their talent. It is important to organize dedicated surveys and propose them frequently within the company, analyzing in detail which areas to improve and what actions to take, as well as how to communicate promptly and clearly; - Structuring a dynamic and stimulating employee journey
Employees should work every day as part of a path that increases the sense of belonging to the company, that makes them satisfied and proud to be part of it, that makes them grow and offers the best conditions to work. This allows for the best in productivity, creativity and loyalty. It is a complex challenge, which requires practical tools and careful planning, as well as a large degree of customization to "meet" everyone's needs and leave no one excluded. Training, working methods, corporate welfare plans, social and environmental commitment are just some of the levers to create a unique experience for the person, an Employee Value Proposition consistent with corporate values and in line with CSR objectives.However, Employer Branding must be built starting from a wise leadership, which must be in all business processes and dynamics, in a coherent and transparent manner. This is the era of wise leadership. - Valuing diversity and inclusion
According to a study by Glassdoor, 76% of candidates and employees consider the corporate approach to diversity and inclusion important. A McKinsey study on 366 companies selected from North America, UK and Latin America shows that companies with multi-ethnic teams are 35% more likely to have better financial performance than competitors who do not believe in diversity as a value. It is clear that every company must find its own way to improve these aspects, eliminating prejudices and guaranteeing equal opportunities for all, valuing diversity as a distinctive element in its corporate vision, starting from top management up to the base of the hierarchical pyramid. It is essential that corporate leadership is adequately trained on these issues and with a clear will to action to eliminate inequalities and reward merits without gender, ethnic or religious gaps; - Create a strong business cultureThe companies most prepared to face the socio-economic context of strong uncertainty and volatility have implemented concrete actions to create a shared culture based on collaboration, authentic engagement, respect for diversity, focusing on timely and transparent communication to create an excellent employee experience, hand in hand with performance.
This approach requires acting at multiple levels, identifying more flexible organizational models, with leaner structures, simplified decision-making processes, in favor of innovation and development of human capital and technologies.It is an important challenge, to be faced with the support of cutting-edge professional tools, such as those developed by Glickon Glow.
