Enhancing Employee Experience

                                                                           Source: https://www.peoplefirst.blog

What Is Employee Experience?

Employee experience is defined as the total of a worker's experiences in a company. It includes cultural experiences such as interactions with coworkers, leaders, and HR, as well as user encounters with workplace technology and even experiences with their workspace or environment. Just as customer experience (CX) is a catch-all term for all consumer interactions with a brand, employee experience (EX) encompasses all employee interactions with an organization. Employees are increasingly viewed as "customers" of the organization. This is especially true in departments responsible for aspects of business culture, such as communications and HR,

Stages of the Employee Life Cycle

The employee life cycle comprises the 6 important stages that an employee goes through while working for your company. Employers have the most effect on how their employees perceive them during these stages of the employee experience. Employers may make targeted efforts and adopt best practices during these important periods to improve employee engagement, employee performance, and talent acquisition – the potential to hire excellent talent in the future.

                                                                           Source: https://www.employeecycle.com/

Attraction

The first stage of the employee lifestyle refers to the process of attracting suitable people to fulfill the needs of your company. At this point, your employer's brand is critical. Track your ratings on review sites like Glassdoor or Indeed to assess your employer brand. The number of applications per job or the time-to-fill will tell you how many individuals are interested in your organization. Consider tracking your company's social media engagement via mentions and postings. All of this will give you an idea of how your firm is seen as well as its employer brand.

Recruitment

After recruiting exceptional talent, the next step is to find the appropriate person for the right job. This is where the processes of sourcing, screening, and interviewing come into play. There are numerous measures for measuring performance in recruitment. Cost-per-hire is useful for determining where your money is going and which procedures are the most cost-effective. Time-to-fill indicates how long it takes your recruitment staff to fill a position. Longer time-to-fill can indicate either a failure in your recruitment processes or a team struggling to discover talent.

Onboarding

Onboarding is a vital stage in the third phase. It guarantees that the employee is well-acquainted with the organization and their function. Employees are not set up for success until they are properly onboarded. Time-to-productivity and new hire turnover are two excellent indicators for measuring onboarding. Time-to-productivity measures how long it takes a new employee to become productive in their employment. The number of new hires departing the organization is indicated by new hire turnover. Poor onboarding contributes to higher new hire turnover rates.

Development

The fourth phase examines the process of training and developing employees throughout their tenure with the organization. As duties change, business needs evolve, and industry standards shift, it is critical to value continuous growth. Promotion rates indicate how many people are moving up in your organization, which is an indication of individual development. A low promotion rate should make you wonder why your employees aren't being promoted. Are they not being developed sufficiently to fulfill the requirements?

Retention

The fourth phase examines the process of training and developing people throughout their tenure with the firm. As roles change, business needs evolve, and industry standards shift, it is critical to value continuous growth. Promotion rates indicate how many people are moving ahead in your organization, which is an indication of individual growth. A poor promotion rate should make you wonder why your staff isn't being promoted. Are they not being developed sufficiently to meet the requirements?

Separation

Separation is the last stage, which isn't always a bad thing. All employees must leave the organization at some point, whether for another opportunity, retirement, or a poor fit. However, it is critical to understand why people are leaving. Track and measure the reasons why your employees are leaving. Exit interviews conducted during offboarding or separation are the most effective way of gathering this information. People will always claim to be leaving for a new job. But the real question is why they accepted the role or began looking for work in the first place. In addition, if you have a high number of involuntary terminations, inquire as to why. If it's a lack of performance, are employees being under-trained or were they lousy hires? Are you effectively training and communicating with your staff about policy violations?

 There are numerous measures for each stage of an employee's lifespan. Keeping track of and monitoring those indicators can be difficult and time-consuming. It is made easier by using an HR dashboard. The program will calculate your metrics automatically by importing data from your various HR systems. It then generates simple graphics to assist you in effectively communicating the numbers. With an HR dashboard, you can be the strategic business partner to top management that your organization requires.

Ways of Enhancing Employee Experience

1) Map up the EX journey.

The employee journey encompasses all aspects of an employee's employment with your organization, beginning when they apply for a position and ending when they leave. A trip map for employees identifies the "moments that matter" for improving EX. Their first day on the job, their first performance review, or their promotion are all examples. This data is critical for anticipating the knowledge and tools that employees will require to be more motivated and engaged.

2) Foster open discussion

Employees report that three main communication-related concerns have a favorable impact on their work experience: when their job matches what was described to them, when management has clearly conveyed a motivating vision, and when they have open and two-way communication. When these requirements are addressed on a consistent basis, it leads to a greater sense of community and a desire to cooperate toward common goals. Employers can learn more about their present employees by conducting "stay interviews," which might be more helpful (and less expensive) than exit interviews.

3) Improve the onboarding process

The higher your retention rate and staff productivity, the better the onboarding process. One of the simplest and quickest methods to improve the onboarding experience is to use knowledge management and employee knowledge-sharing software, which assists new workers in the following ways:

- Have a clear understanding of what is expected of them from the start.

- Learn how to finish specified chores as quickly as possible.

- Determine who can assist them in carrying out their responsibilities.

A knowledge base for employees expedites the entire onboarding process by offering a full run-through of your systems and procedures, making the experience for new employees simpler and more pleasurable.

4) Respond to feedback

Listening to criticism is a good starting point, but acting on it is what truly improves the EX. Employee engagement and trust are increased when their opinions are respected. It also contributes to a more diverse, egalitarian, and inclusive workplace, which attracts top talent.

5) Provide leadership development training

Keep staff development at the top of your organization's priority list. Professional leadership training equips individuals with success in their current jobs as well as future positions as they advance through the firm.

Conclusion

In conclusion, improving the employee experience is critical for firms seeking to attract, engage, and retain top personnel. It entails building a workplace that promotes employees' physical, emotional, and mental well-being while also giving possibilities for growth and development. Organizations may enhance employee satisfaction and productivity, minimize attrition, and boost their employer brand by putting the employee experience first. Investing in employee experience can have a substantial impact on staff retention, engagement, and overall business performance. As a result, firms should make it a point to analyze and enhance the employee experience they provide to their workers on a regular basis.

McKinsey (2022) Shaping the “new possible” employee experience |, McKinsey. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/.(Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Content Marketing Manager Milton Herman (no date) 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Employee Experience Strategy, LumApps. Available at: https://www.lumapps.com/employee-experience/employee-experience-strategies/ (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Stephen M. Perry, (2021) OpX Addresses Workforce Challenges With the Employee Lifecycle Approach, ProFood World. Available at: https://www.profoodworld.com/business-intelligence/article/21735248/opx-addresses-workforce-challenges-with-the-employee-lifecycle-approach (Accessed: April 28, 2023).

What is the Employee life cycle? | Meaning & Definition | Keka HR (no date) Keka HR. Available at: https://www.keka.com/glossary/employee-life-cycle (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

SemiColonWeb (no date) Employee Life Cycle | HR Diagrams | Download 9+ PPT Slides, Powerslides. Available at: https://powerslides.com/powerpoint-industry/recruitment-templates/employee-life-cycle/ (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Wride, M. and Maylett, T. (2017) The Employee Experience: How to Attract Talent, Retain Top Performers, and Drive Results.(Accessed: April 29, 2023).

McLeod, J. and Tetzlaff, S. (2016) The Employee Experience.(Accessed: April 27, 2023).

Hawker, N. (2018) From Hire to Fire and Everything in Between: Managing the Employee Life Cycle - Hire, Manage, Wellbeing and Exit.(Accessed: April 28, 2023).