Finding it difficult to engage your employees virtually? Well, most companies across are facing the same situation. In fact, they are trying hard to improve employee experience digitally! Employee experience to a great extent impacts how your business performs. And as the saying goes – ‘ If you treat your employees right, your customer experience will be taken care of – not to mention your business. Therefore, having an employee experience strategy is equivalent to requiring food and water to survive. Especially today, when the world has shifted to a remote work phase! And this employee experience starts right from the day you recruit a person, onboard, and to the day he/she quits. It doesn’t end there, you have to work on it even after he/she leaves the company. Maintaining the relationship is very important and its benefits are long-lasting.
Do you have an employee experience strategy in place? If yes, then give a pat on your back! If no – it’s time you build one. And don’t you worry, we are here to help you design one or improve/re-check your existing ones. It’s important to get your employee experience strategy right. Let’s look at the different ways to improve your employee experience in this digital and remote work world.
6 Ways to improve your employee experience
1. Easy application and onboarding process
Employee experience starts even before a person can join your company. In other words, you need to create an excellent experience right when they are applying for a job role in your organization. In addition, your employee experience strategy must include everything from the online application process to the specific programs that are part of their workflow, and also the digital tools they use to communicate and collaborate with each other. Because an excellent digital workplace employee experience takes into account all the interactions employees have with your organization. And examines them through the eyes of the digital tools with which your people interact every day.
That being said, it’s important to design a hassle-free application process that’s easy to understand and makes the initial interaction with your company easier. A poor onboarding process can prove to be deadly. Did you know? 1 in 5 new hires is unlikely to recommend the employer to a friend or family member after the onboarding process, as per the 2018 Digitate report. Most importantly, make sure to keep the promise you committed to the employees at the time of recruitment. This is important!
2. Implement a buddy and mentor system
Regardless of working remotely or in the workplace – there are times when employees feel lost or confused in the first few days of joining. Not only at the first few days of joining – some may need help and guidance even after that! And chances are that most of them may feel uncomfortable asking questions to their reporting managers all the time they have doubt or a query. The best way to deal with this is to create a buddy or a mentor system. Buddy system – to give them an opportunity to interact and bond with fellow colleagues. And mentor system – to help them with their workflow and skill development.
3. Conduct employee surveys
Asking for feedback has proved to be critical in understanding how engaged your employees feel. And a study reveals that more people report feeling engaged at work when they’re being asked for feedback (59%) than those who aren’t (49%). In other words, conducting digital employee surveys from time to time will help you analyze areas in your workplace that are doing well and the ones that need improvement. Not just that, it will send a message to your people that you actually care for their inputs and most importantly – “their well-being.”
And there are many types of surveys you could run, like – onboarding surveys, engagement surveys, pulse surveys, 360-degree feedback, etc.
To sum it, conducting these surveys frequently will help you analyze where you stand in terms of employee experience and what you need to do to improve the same.
4. Embrace great productivity, collaboration, and communication tools
Embracing productivity and communication tools is the most important aspect of offering an engaging employee experience, especially today when people are working remotely. So, the key is to choose the right technology tools that align with your team’s and organization’s needs. The right tools will fuel communication and collaboration among your employees, reduce misunderstandings, and help resolve conflicts – if any. Thereby, helping you a great deal in improving your employee experience and engagement.
5. Conduct team building activities
Another great way to improve employee experience and keep them engaged in this remote work era is by conducting team building activities. These activities will help take the work pressure off and reduce stress among employees. Thereby, providing an opportunity to interact and spend time with each other. As an added bonus, it strengthens the team bond – thereby spiking employee experience, engagement, and most importantly, productivity!
6. Appreciate your employees
To feel appreciated and acknowledged is a primary human need. Don’t leave out opportunities to recognize and appreciate your people’s good work! Make them feel good about themselves and their work. Appreciating your employees will send out a message that you are noticing the good work they are doing and that you value their efforts. Thereby, encouraging them to contribute more, achieve their goals, and most importantly – stay loyal to your organization. The human approach is all it takes!
To add on, you could conduct regular appraisal programs – wherein you track your employees’ performance from time to time. And guide him/her to perform better if need be. This will also provide them the opportunity to upscale themselves and offer an open space to communicate their experience working on different projects and share their suggestions.
Final thoughts
Employee experience comprises the entire journey an employee takes when they are associated with an organization – from joining till they leave the organization, and beyond that as well! So, it’s important you have a solid employee experience strategy. A good and positive employee experience will improve your customer experience, spike productivity, and double the company profits. We hope the above-mentioned pointers help you build or improve your existing employee experience strategy. If we have missed anything, share it with us by dropping a comment!