HR: how to provide a better employee experience

Employee experience is the reflection and indicator of what happens inside the company, of your employees’ experiences and career path. There are many issues related to improving employee experience. In particular, it helps to:

• Develop employee engagement and build loyalty;
• Ensure a better customer experience;
• Improve the company’s image;
• Increase business performance;
• Attract new talent through a tailored and differentiating recruitment experience.

  There are two goals for companies in providing a better employee experience:

1. To guarantee employees a fulfilling work life, enabling them to commit and contribute to developing the company’s influence and performance.
2. To make employees ambassadors of the employer brand, who embody its values and culture in order to enhance the company’s image.

Employee experience: what your employees expect

By its very definition, employee experience must meet employees’ expectations. However, each employee has different needs: salary, development prospects, interest in the tasks and assignments to be performed, working hours, relationship with the hierarchy, managers, and team, training goals, etc. According to a 2018-2019 Gartner study, 77% of employees would like to have options that facilitate routine tasks, such as booking leave or logging their work hours. Following the first lockdown, another study conducted by consulting firm KPAM in June and July 2020 identified employees’ main expectations as:

• A need for meaning and security that is as strong as ever;
• A more compelling need for work-life balance;
• A great need for social ties and sharing;
• A common expectation in terms of improving working conditions;
• A search for reliable, ergonomic tools that promote information sharing, accessible to all.

To improve the employee experience and satisfy employees in their daily working lives, from their recruitment to the day they leave, companies must implement a genuine employee experience strategy.

Five keys for improving employee experience

Strengthen the company’s culture and values

Shared values, knowledge, and behaviors combine to create the company’s culture. They help engage and retain employees by connecting them to a common identity. To strengthen the company culture, it is important to consolidate group behaviors, to ritualize them, and to increase the feeling of belonging. To do this, you can create rituals within the company, for example, by celebrating the arrival and departure of employees, birthdays, company highlights, etc.

Focus on the onboarding of new talents

Onboarding involves more than welcoming newcomers on the first day and offering them some freebies on behalf of the company. It must be treated as a long-term process. Focusing on onboarding will enhance the way that new recruits view the company. Given that 20% of employees who join a company are already considering leaving it on their first day, the stakes are high. Companies can propose pairings where a senior employee accompanies and helps a newcomer to settle in and find his or her place. Training and regular meetings with the manager can also be set up.

Improve the quality of life at work

The quality of life at work has become one of the main challenges for companies. The work environment must be pleasant, the spaces functional, and the furniture comfortable. By improving the quality of life at work, the company also improves its productivity. Numerous initiatives can be implemented: office and seating arrangements, creation of a relaxation area, or enhancing the decor, for example (cozy atmosphere, subdued lighting, green plants, etc.).

Encourage collaborative management

Modern management is most definitely not the same as old-style management! To develop employee experience and encourage employee commitment, management must be flexible and encourage close contact. Employees are primarily looking for fulfillment at work and to find meaning in their professional activity. The manager is there to help them achieve their objectives and to involve them in the company’s projects. Collaborative management favors benevolence, availability, trust, and listening. Offering flexible working hours, including teleworking days, is a good example.

Simplify administrative processes

Administrative processes can have a negative impact on the well-being and morale of employees, especially when there are many processes in play: leave management, meal vouchers, expense accounts, signing contracts, etc. Employees’ daily lives can be made easier thanks to digital technology, which can reduce time-consuming and cumbersome administrative procedures. Several digital solutions are available to facilitate administrative processes and improve the efficiency of the HR department, such as tools for managing paid leave, electronic signatures, or expense reports.