Only 19% of employees say they are extremely satisfied with their company as a place to work.
From recruitment to development to everyday interactions, the experience employees have within an organization directly impacts their motivation, their productivity and, ultimately, their engagement.
Many organizations fail to fully realize the power of the employee experience -- an oversight that leads to disengagement, higher turnover and missed opportunities for growth.
When the Employee Experience Is Untethered From Engagement
- Disconnected culture: Mission statements aren't meaningfully acted upon, which provides little direction for current employees and doesn't deliver for prospective employees or customers.
- Inadequate development opportunities: Employees believe they don't have opportunities to grow professionally and may feel stuck, disengaged or undervalued.
- Aimless initiatives: Engagement efforts are empty exercises that leaders aren't invested in -- and employees don't take seriously. Because employees feel like these initiatives and their day-to-day work do not connect to the company's purpose, they often experience a range of negative emotions.
How Leaders Should Respond
A compelling employee experience strategy is key to fostering and retaining a highly engaged workforce and a strong culture. Leaders must be intentional in shaping this experience to ensure employees feel valued, supported and connected to the organization's purpose. That means considering every touchpoint employees have with the organization as an opportunity to improve engagement.
Leaders can design an effective employee experience strategy by infusing every touchpoint with purpose:
- Hiring: Hire for talent and role fit rather than just experience or credentials. This creates a path for employees to develop and thrive.
- Onboarding: Onboarding is your chance to clearly communicate the micro and macro expectations of your organization's culture and how each employee's role drives the company's brand promise.
- Performance: Employees need feedback. Ongoing conversations and coaching from a manager allow them to know if they're on track and provide the feedback they need to improve.
- Development: High-achieving employees continuously seek purpose and development -- and highly productive organizations invest in their employees via ongoing development.
- Exit: Purposeful exit surveys are a valuable tool to hone your employee experience strategy and continuously improve.
By focusing on these key areas, organizations can design an employee experience that creates the ideal conditions for higher employee engagement.
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This content first appeared in our "10 Lessons to Improve Employee Engagement" microlearning email series.
