A company's workforce is a reflection of its livelihood. If you want to find out how well a company functions, a glance at its team members can explain a lot. And at a time when people are navigating work in a new way, the importance of the employee experience has never been greater. With employers fighting to find and retain great talent and reignite the culture of innovation, it is critical to understand what makes an experience meaningful.
The Employee Experience
Employee experience is about much more than the office layout and social perks. Instead, it’s a holistic understanding of how employees engage with their organizations. Every touchpoint, from the first phone interview to major professional milestones, encompasses this experience. In the same way customer experience refers to all consumer interactions with a company, employee experience is made up of all employees’ experiences dealing with an organization. A strong employee experience feels distinctly human – it empowers individuals to grow professionally and connects them to the business mission.
How do we move the needle?
A key to improving the employee experience is understanding what matters to individuals. This applies to all employees within an organization, not only leadership and senior hires. Employee input makes people feel heard and offers insight into the strengths, gaps, and nuances of the employee experience. Are mentorship programs functioning effectively? Are the right channels in place to communicate with leadership? Are workplace policies too rigid? Too flexible? What kind of amenities could deliver high value for the team?
Equipped with these insights, employers can implement strategic changes to improve their employee experience. This may mean revamping the interview process, updating workplace amenities, or piloting a new cross-team ideation program. It is important to remember that every worker’s ideal scenario will look different. The goal is not to curate the perfect experience for everyone, but to develop the organizational infrastructure that can flex with individual preferences and provide support across teams and business functions.
Is this really worth the investment?
Organizations are now learning that investing in employee experience is an extremely valuable endeavor. As reported by Forbes, “the future of work is the future of worker wellbeing.” These days, employees recognize the hazards of professional burnout and are working to ensure they don’t fall victim to it. They prioritize experience and wellbeing in their work more than ever, and many members of the so-called “Great Resignation” have cited experience as a key factor in their decision to leave their employers.
How to Foster It
There is significant research that demonstrates the key to attracting and keeping employees in today’s job market is a strong employee experience. But it goes far beyond something that’s cultivated strictly by an organization’s leadership. The employee experience is an overarching environment where ideas and entrepreneurship are welcomed and encouraged. It emphasizes partnership with employees in a way that everyone, not just the elite members, can succeed, and involves employees in problem solving and decision making.
Bringing Technology into the Mix
As you can see, many components go into a successful employee experience, which can feel overwhelming for organizations of any size to take on. But, don't worry; you're not alone. Luckily there are existing employee and workplace experience platforms, such as HqO, to consider helping you provide an exceptional employee experience. In addition, by introducing a data-driven technology platform into the workplace, you can create meaningful engagement strategies for your organization and discover how to get the most out of your real estate investments.
In order to differentiate their organizations, employers should redouble their commitment to employee wellbeing and a holistic, purposeful employee experience. By providing the tools and support for employees to thrive, organizations will see meaningful gains in employee retention, innovation, and human connection in the workplace. Through our consulting and workplace solutions service lines, Cresa can help ensure your real estate and workplace support a successful experience for your current and future employees.
