Focusing On The Wider Employee Experience
Employee engagement levels within an organisation is quickly becoming on top of leaders’ priority list today. The overall employee experience – from how they feel within their job role to the workplace environment – plays a key role in their productivity levels within the organisation.
As defined by global consulting firm, McKinsey, employee experience is defined as “companies and their people working together to create personalized, authentic experiences that ignite passion and tap into purpose to strengthen individual, team and company performance.” In short, it is about building a strong and trusting relationship between organisations and their employees.
More often than not, organisations tend to think that the employee experience begins when a new candidate walks through the office doors until the day that they leave the organisation. However, the employee experience goes beyond the employees’ tenure within the organisation. Instead, it begins as early as during the application process and continuing even after the employee has left the organisation.
Increasingly, organisations are realising the importance of delivering a robust employee experience and the success of developing a well-rounded employee depends heavily on improving the wider employee experience. Here are four key aspects in which organisations should focus on in developing the wider employee experience.
CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE
The candidate experience is often overlooked by organisations in the entire employees experience. Most of the time, organisations tend to regard it as a separate component and spend minimal effort during this initial stage of recruitment. In fact, as part of the entire recruitment and onboarding process, creating a good impression on candidates at the initial application stage is equally as important as the onboarding stage. In the wider employee experience, a potential candidate plays a key role in the overall satisfaction and positive feedback about the organisation – regardless of whether the job applicant actually gets the job or not – goes a long way in employer branding.
EMPLOYEE LIFECYCLE
During an employee’s tenure with the organisation, they go through several stages – also known as the employee lifecycle. Essentially, it comprises of hiring and onboarding, learning and development, performance and rewards, leadership and career development, flexibility and wellness, team building and growth as well as off-boarding. It is imperative for organisations to focus on each stage of the employee lifecycle and constantly measure employee’s engagement levels as they transcend through each of these stages during their lifecycle with the organisation.
ALUMNI EXPERIENCE
Employees are unlikely to stay in an organisation forever. This also means that employees today can also end up being clients or competitors the next day. Amongst organisations, there is a common misconception that these ex-employees no longer have any influence on the organisation. In fact, these ex-employees can prove to be an effective external brand communicator for the organisation. When these employees leave, they bring about their experiences working in the organisation to others. By ensuring that employees leave the organisation on a good note, this helps to build long-term relationships and a strong and wide network for the organisation in the long run.
ORGANISATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Finally, the last key area of the wider employee experience in which organisations and leaders should focus on would be the organisational experience. This would focus on the experiences that employees gain during their interactions with co-workers, managers as well as the overall workplace environment and culture. Given that employees may have different feelings towards their work and the culture, it is crucial for leaders and HR to build a holistic and open workplace environment whereby employees are able to thrive and perform their best.
In the long run, creating a wholesome employee experience can lead boost employee’s morale and lead to increased productivity in the long run. Given that employees are a key asset to the organisation, it is imperative to motivate and engage employees to constantly perform their best in their work. Concurrently, providing them the necessary growth opportunities and leadership will inspire them to work efficiently and happily.
4 Top Tips For Happier And Productive Employees
Given that we are midway through the year, the time comes of the annual mid-year performance review. For managers and HR, it could also be a dreaded period given that it is when employees voice out their unhappiness and dissatisfaction within the organisation.
According to Mercer’s Singapore Employee Engagement Index 2018, it found Singapore in the second last place for work engagement in the Asia Pacific region. The index found that only 67 percent of employees in Singapore are willing to advocate for their companies as good places to work in, compared to the regional average of 76 percent.
This figure is certainly a cause for concern and the responsibility falls onto HR and the respective managers to ensure that employees remain happy and engaged in the long run.
HEALTH FIRST
Healthier employees translate to happier and productive employees. After all, a healthy employee does not need to worry about health issues and healthcare costs. HR can do their part to encourage employees to be in charge of their health by providing them avenues to do so. These might include lunchtime fitness classes, organising regular complimentary health check-ups for employees or even providing gym membership discounts.
PERSONALISE REWARD PACKAGES
Today’s workplace is made up of various generations. As such, the expectation when it comes to remuneration varies for different groups of employees. Given that a one-size-fits-all remuneration package is not always suitable for all groups of employees, it is imperative for HR to understand what works for each group of employees and then tailor remuneration packages to meet the needs of each employee group. For instance, employees with family commitments might value a flexible work arrangement for personal family matters while younger and single employees might value more paid time-off for vacation or career development opportunities.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Initiatives towards gender equality and LGBT can help to attract and retain these group of employees. At the same time, HR can also organise volunteer activities to provide a platform for employees to give back to society. This can help employees to find meaning in their workplace beyond their daily work tasks.
ENCOURAGE MOVEMENT
Part of encouraging happier and productive employees is to allow employees the flexibility to leave an environment if it does not allow them to work to their full potential. It does not mean the employee leaving the organisation but creating spaces that allow employees to work productively. It could be having a no-phones designated space in the office or a discussion room whereby employees can have meetings without disrupting others. Not only does this encourage employees to take charge of their own productivity, it encourages employees to move around and not be confined to their designated work desks all the time.
Healthy Employees, Healthy Business – 3 Ways To Promote Workplace Health
In recent years, employers are recognising the fact that competitive salaries are no longer the only main driver for talent attraction and retention. While the competition for talent remains fierce, employees’ wellbeing are increasingly becoming a key focal point for employers today.
According to Aon’s APAC Benefits Strategy Study, it was found that 7 in 10 employers in Singapore recognised the impacts of stress and mental health on productivity. However, slightly over half of the survey organisations (51%) have implemented wellness programmes to address this, while more than a quarter (38%) indicated that there are no plans to introduce any wellness programmes to employees.
IMPORTANCE OF WORKPLACE HEALTH
Healthy employees translate to a more productive workforce as it means fewer sick leaves and lower medical costs borne by organisations. Concurrently, given that Singapore is facing an aging population, it means that people are living and working longer. In order for organisations to continue tapping into this talent pool, employee wellbeing is no doubt going to be a key concern.
Likewise, people today are increasingly more aware of health issues such as stress, burnout or even mental health issues and its link to workplace stress. As such, employees today look beyond competitive salaries and focus on how the organisation can take care of them in terms of their well-being.
HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS PROMOTE WORKPLACE HEALTH AMONGST EMPLOYEES?
Integration
The first step towards promoting workplace health is to integrate it into the organisation’s culture. There are various studies which support the fact that workplace health programmes are more effective when integrated to impact the entire organisation – employees, infrastructure and activities. Simple changes such as switching towards ergonomically-friendly desks or chairs can help to encourage a healthy lifestyle within the workplace.
Management
Strong support from top management is imperative to ensure the success of workplace health programmes. This is because management can provide the necessary resources to execute these programmes and increase the legitimacy of these health programmes. Concurrently, management also acts as a role model in championing the acceptance and uptake of these health programmes. With the rising gig economy, these health programmes should be made accessible to employees to work shifts or remotely.
Ownership
Finally, employees should be able to take ownership of their own health. This includes educating employees on how to take care of their own physical and mental wellbeing at work. At the same time, encouraging employees to initiate their own health programmes, utilisation of wearable technology and health monitoring applications can help to provide a sense of ownership and empowerment as well.
Employee health is crucial to drive productivity and engagement levels within the workplace. There are various ways in which organisations can monitor the employees’ wellbeing through applications and employee analytics. These can then help management and HR to create appropriate health programmes to encourage a healthier lifestyle amongst employees.
