Is Everybody Happy?

Ted Lewis, a popular musician in the 1940s is credited with being one of the first, but certainly not the last person to say those words.  While it’s not realistic to think that all employees within a company are happy, almost 80% of company executives surveyed about top business priorities cited employee experience as being number one.  However, what they said and what’s being practiced are two different stories.

What’s Employee Experience?

In short, employee experience means recognizing and creating a workplace that environmentally and emotionally embraces and invites the entire workforce.  One of the first industries to go down this path were high tech firms. Classified ads for workers included enticements like a fitness center, nursery, flexible schedules, and a coffee bar.

Why Employee Experience?

Progressive employers discovered that it’s wise to nurture employees like their own customers.  They also learned that more employees become more engaged with customers when they’re empowered.  The result is greater employee performance and improved interaction with customers.

A Fitness Center and Coffee Bar Are Easy Fixes

Employee experience goes far beyond physical amenities.  The foundation is employee engagement. A “we” mentality versus “them” as workers and “us”  as management. Creating environments like a fitness center or coffee bar are merely the physical parts to the puzzle.

Consider how certain office layouts like cubicles discourage camaraderie.  Today’s employees want to feel engaged. They want more flexibility. Another study reported that 40% were even willing to consider taking a pay cut if they could have a flexible working arrangement.

What about these statistics from the same survey?  55% said it was easier going online and finding new movies on Netflix than locating information about their own benefits.  48& wished their workplace computers and technology worked as well as their own personal pcs.

Most employees want to do a good job, but many feel underappreciated and unsupported.  Many millennials, as indicated earlier, want more flexibility in their lives. Astute employers are wise to recognize, cherish and connect with their workforce

And the Other Half

A workplace’s significant other is the “touchy feely” part or emotional experience.  One study reported that only 19% of employees believed that what their company espoused publicly about the work experience matched up with reality, just 19%!

The above number should be extremely worrisome to company leaders because, true or not, it portrays worker perceptions of the disparity in what their employer’s values in how it achieves its goals compared to how they are disseminated to workers.

Solutions

Of the many ways to enroll and engage employees, two-way communication heads the list.  So, too, is a system that invites and welcomes employee feedback. And this doesn’t mean a suggestion box.  Open and candid meetings head the top of the list.

Genuine employee recognition is also valuable, especially if it’s associated with company values.  Be sure to highlight these in company publications.

Transitioning to employee experience is not only a good investment, but will help boost productivity, morale, and revenue while reducing turnover.