As individuals, employees are increasingly accustomed to personalized experiences in their daily life, from the recommendations offered up by Amazon and Netflix, to the instant gratification of services such as UberEats and the ease of working around traffic delays via Google Maps. In the workplace, that personalized consumer experience may end abruptly as employees are faced with a talent management culture that delivers the same experience to everyone, at each stage of the employee lifecycle.As discussed in Forbes , successful, modern companies are finding that to attract and retain the best talent, they must revisit HR processes from recruitment to onboarding and performance management, and identify opportunities to connect and nurture on a more personal level. Leading companies including GE, have gone so far as to create a “Head of Employee Experience” to holistically oversee the intersection of the physical workspace, the tools and technologies employees use to be productive, the ways in which they learn and develop to optimize their performance.
How the Employee Experience Impacts Organizational Success
In a Future Workplace report titled The Active Job Seeker Dilemma Study , 83% of HR leaders rated the employee experience as important or very important to organizational success, and as a result the same leaders are dedicating greater portions of their budget to three key areas: training, improving work spaces, and expanding rewards programs. As competition for talent continues to grow, HR leaders are increasingly reaching out to other stakeholders in marketing, IT, corporate communications, real estate and other departments to build a seamless employee experience that will help them recruit and retain the very best.Most importantly, the impact of the employee experience can be tied directly to the bottom line. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce Report , the global cost of actively disengaged employees is a staggering $7 trillion in lost productivity.
Agile Recruiting and Employee Experience
Agile methodologies are now being applied to support talent acquisition in many organizations. Agile recruiting operates with the goal of providing high value and satisfaction for the employer and the candidate. It shortens what has traditionally been a long and frustrating process on both ends, but it also is very driven by finding the right fit and is enabled through collaboration between recruiting and managers. 56% of recruiters site the length of time taken to recruit as a big barrier to talent acquisition in a competitive labor market . The steps taken to define the hiring goals for a position typically yield a better fit when an employee is hired, which greatly increases the likelihood that the new hire will be highly engaged and productive in the position.
Enhance Retention Through Predictive Analytics
Organizations that adopt a consumer approach to the employee experience are establishing a culture that values employee happiness and satisfaction. Some companies use predictive analytics to identify retention risks in key roles and are able to alert management so that the can be proactive with retention strategies. Predictive analytics can also be used to mold careers in a way that gives employees opportunities to grow and reasons to stay engaged over the long term .
Wellness as an Employee Experience Tool
Viewing employee wellness more holistically helps to contribute to a more customized employee experience. Companies may, for example, identifyfinancial wellbeing as a potential source of stress for employees, when financial troubles have a negative impact on wellness. Some organizations, including SunTrust Bank and Aetna , are offering employees special incentives for meeting important financial milestones such as creating emergency savings funds and attending financial education courses.
Creating Workspaces to Optimize the Employee Experience
To create a customized experience in the workspace itself, organizations need to consider the needs of all types of workers. A particular distinction can be made between the needs and preferences of introverts and extroverts, as is explored in this TED talk . Understanding the different types of spaces individuals need to get their best work done, and then making an effort to provide those spaces may mean giving up some of the open floor plan concepts that are so prevalent today. A global study of over 12,000 workers in 17 countries found that when workers have control over where and when they work, and are able to choose a workspace based on the specific task of that moment, they are 88% more engaged at work.
Technology as a Driver of Employee Experience
The right technology is essential to gathering and analyzing the data needed to provide a customized employee experience. Asure Software delivers workforce and workspace management solutions to support every aspect of the employee lifecycle, including solutions to support recruiting, onboarding, talent management, hoteling and mobile workforce management.