What is the employee experience and why is it important?

Across the globe 92% of employers said improving the employee experience will be a top priority at their organizations over the next few years- a dramatic increase of 40% from before the pandemic.

What is the employee experience and why is it so important?

In a global survey, nine out of ten employers (92 percent) said that improving the employee experience will be a top priority for their organizations over the next three years, compared to just 52 percent who said the same prior to the pandemic, according to a survey of 1,550 employers conducted by Willis Towers Watson and released in June 2021.

Andrew Walker, the Atlanta-based head of talent for Willis Towers Watson's east region in North America, describes this as a substantial growth over the course of 12 to 18 months.

Employees have numerous employment options. They anticipate a workplace environment that excites, respects, and satisfies them. Many workers will leave if their expectations are not met. This can be expensive for employers. It is estimated that the United States realizes up to one trillion dollars annually in turnover expenses. In addition to the expense of employee turnover, a negative employee experience can harm a company's brand, diminish productivity, and lower staff morale.

What exactly is employee experience?

The employee experience is a holistic experience that encompasses every aspect of the employees' interaction with and at an organization. It includes their experience with their work, colleagues, leadership, and with the culture of the organization.

The employee experience is ultimately how people feel about the organization, a measure determined internally based on the sum of their experiences relating to every aspect of interaction associated with their employment at an organization. These interactions can be direct or indirect and perceived as positive or negative according to each individual.

Ultimately, the employee’s experience is what is lived and felt by the employee.

Why Employee Experience is important?

Simply put, employee experience is the way in which your employees view their employment and your organization. It comprises all interactions throughout the entire employee lifecycle and influences their well-being, a sense of purpose, motivation, and job satisfaction.

To comprehend, measure, and enhance EX, you must first comprehend and map all the interactions that your employees have with your company in the context of the employee-employer relationship, determine which are positive and which are negative contributors, select those with the greatest impact, and then enhance them.

Companies with a focus on people who recognize this and provide an atmosphere in which their employees may thrive will experience an increase in both employee productivity and corporate performance. According to a survey by the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute, companies in the top quartile of employee experience report twice the sales return of companies in the bottom 25%.

In addition, they are capable of attracting and retaining personnel, especially in highly competitive industries, and of filling skill gaps before they lead to bad performance.

A negative employee experience might deter both prospective employees and customers. Unhappy personnel will not exert much effort to provide an exceptional client experience, are more likely to leave the organization, and will spread word of their poor experiences.

Impact of employee experience on business

Your greatest investment should be in good people, yet it might be difficult to find them. When you've gone to great lengths to recruit and hire talented individuals, you don't want to risk losing them. Employee turnover not only wastes your HR team’s time but also has a negative impact on your company's bottom line. It is essential to make investments in employee experiences that are good if you want to have a workforce that is engaged and wants to remain with your company. This is also an excellent method for lowering staff turnover.

Compared to businesses that do not invest in their employees' experiences, those that do so enjoy four times the level of profitability.

Employee retention

It's likely that when a candidate applies for a job with your company, they've done some research on it, either through Glassdoor or LinkedIn, to find out more about how people feel about working there and why they prefer working there. They are searching for particular examples of a fantastic employee experience, one in which workers feel that their opinions are valued and heard. They are looking for a company that provides them with a supportive culture, high-quality technology, and workplace amenities.

These requirements not only serve to attract potential recruits but also aid in keeping current employees. 62 percent of workers who quit their jobs in the previous year cited a toxic workplace culture as the primary reason for their decision. The ability to provide a satisfying experience for employees can have a substantial impact on a company's ability to recruit and keep high-caliber workers.

Improves employee well-being

A negative experience for an employee can be caused by a variety of factors. It might be due to stress among your staff from technology not working properly. It's also possible workplace culture is becoming toxic due to poor management skills or toxic employees. Or even a place of employment that doesn't encourage productivity and innovation in its employees. In any event, this depletes the energy of your staff, leaving them feeling exhausted and unhappy in their jobs.

On the other hand, a great experience for an employee can increase both the employee's well-being in and outside of the office as well as their morale. In addition, workers are more likely to produce higher-quality output when they have a sense of being engaged, refreshed, and valued in their work environment. According to research, when people go into their jobs with a positive frame of mind, their performance increases on practically every level, including productivity, creativity, and engagement.

Prosperous workplace culture can be a major factor in an organization's overall success. It is important for businesses to make investments in high-quality technology, comfortable working environments, and positive company cultures. The entire quality of the work experience can be improved by making the workplace a more encouraging and self-determining environment, which can benefit both employees and managers.

The EX is the perception of the employer-employee relationship your company has created for the employee

The employee experience encompasses all aspects of interaction an employee has related to their employment relationship with your organization. These experiences can be perceived differently by each individual, making standardizing the employee experience very challenging. However, as HR professionals, if we can manage to identify things we can do to establish a consistently positive experience among our team a positive EX will pay dividends for our organizations.

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