The age of digital disruption has significantly changed and simplified our lives in the last couple of decades. While technology has given us more business opportunities, it has also brought about new challenges as employees now have higher expectations of employers to help them be more productive and efficient.
Employers are increasingly under pressure to leverage technology when designing an unique employee experience that can meet the career motivations of high-performing talent. Companies that do not keep up will risk losing great candidates and their own employees to competitors.
The first step to improving employee experience is to evaluate the employee journey. Start by identifying key lifecycle milestones that can impact the employee experience, including candidate attraction, recruitment, onboarding, staff development, management, staff exits and alumni engagement. Mapping the journey will give employers a clear overview of the experience, helping them to identify gaps and subsequently formulate strategies required for a best-in-class approach.
Here is a simple checklist that business leaders can use to build a roadmap of their talent strategy, and improve the physical, technological and cultural employee experience in their organisations.
checklist for talent strategy roadmap:
1. physical
A workspace should help employees be healthy, happy and productive. Those responsible for designing the workspace need to ensure that the overall employee experience is at the heart of the design process, including:
- everything that people see, hear, smell, touch and taste
- office ambience and design
- quality of the office equipment such as chairs and tables
- number and variety of meeting rooms and working spaces
2. technological
Technology is integral for almost every workplace and highly valued by employees because it helps them solve problems, drive efficiencies and promote innovation.
By providing leading technology and solutions, companies can ensure workers are equipped to manage tasks effectively, and shift their resources to focus on other business-critical initiatives.
employers can harness technology in the following ways:
- access to the latest software, programs and processes
- high-speed broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity levels
- shared channels to communicate project updates, collect feedback and address concerns
- collaboration tools and platforms that allow people to work on projects virtually
3. cultural
While culture was once the sole consideration of employee experience, our understanding of the concept has broadened significantly in recent times. In particular, organisational culture has moved beyond the general feel of the workplace and is being redefined as an organisation’s brand personality – encompassing the beliefs, values, underlying assumptions, interests, experiences and habits of its people.
Hence, it has become increasingly crucial to take into account how your staff feel about their work, their interactions with colleagues, their contributions to the business and if their expectations have been met by the company. All of these elements play a part in how your employees will impact and influence your company culture.
With a recent study revealing that 87 per cent of people joined a company for its culture (1), it is clearly a key decision driver.
organisations can up the ante by fine-tuning or improving the following:
- overall salary, compensation and employee benefits
- open, honest and transparent communication from co-workers
- career experiences over progression
- inclusion, diversity and equality
- job satisfaction, autonomy and trust
Reviewing these cultural aspects of the experience can help employers distinguish themselves from competitors and appeal to the talent they are looking to attract. It is valuable to recognise that even the seemingly minute aspects, whether physical, technological or cultural, will influence an employee’s perception of their workplace.
get your complimentary download: enriching your employee experience whitepaper
The Randstad Employer Brand Research 2018 white paper offers new insights around what it takes to motivate people to join your company and why employee experience is the future of work.
the white paper covers:
- the importance of investing in employee experience
- mapping the employee experience journey
- key employee motivators and detractors
- reimagining the employee value proposition
- solution-focused design to create the best employee experience fit
we can help you
As employer branding and HR experts, we combine both global knowledge and local insights to help you transform your employer brand into the most powerful attraction and retention tool you have.
Whether you are interested in elevating your employee experience or understanding how you can use our research to drive more effective workforce strategies, we can help.
Contact your Randstad consultant or contact us for a confidential discussion.
reference
Savage, M. and Bunda, P. (2014). The Evolving Culture-scape and Employee Expectation. [online] JWT INSIDE. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/JWTINSIDE/culture-scape-1028-sm.