Optimize the Employee Experience for workplace success

Traditionally, most organizations focused their efforts on pleasing the customer. Many signs above counters featured the phrase "The customer is king" in elegant script. Every effort was made to prevent consumers or clients from defecting to the competition.

The roles seem to have reversed. Many companies are on shaky ground—not due to a lack of customers, but a lack of employees. The focus has shifted from Customer Experience (CX) to Employee Experience (EX). What does a good EX look like? And how do you ensure that your employees remain convinced that your organization is the right choice for them? We’ll guide you through it in this blog.

What is Employee Experience?
Let’s first zoom in on what we actually mean by a successful Employee Experience. When you have created an optimal EX, you know exactly what your employees think, feel, and want. They feel free to share with you what is going well and what could be improved within the organization. And you pick up on those signals and take them seriously. This means: solving bottlenecks, answering questions, and, above all, listening closely to your employees.

Collaboration as a prerequisite for EX
You might be tempted to hand off that important "EX" package to HR to handle. That seems logical, as we are accustomed to housing everything related to personnel within HR. But a truly great EX requires a strong partnership between all disciplines within the organization; HR, IT, Facilities, Finance, Communications, and the shop floor must join forces and work in a multidisciplinary way.

Of course, every department contributes to EX from its own role: IT provides the right tools, Communications informs, HR develops good employment conditions, Facilities supplies the resources, and Finance checks if it’s all affordable. But EX relies on more than just that traditional division of labor. If you really want to get to work on engaging and retaining your employees as an organization, all departments must be able to learn from one another and collaborate strategically.

So, take a look at how other departments operate and share trends and developments within your own field with other disciplines. Share information with your colleagues and discuss how that knowledge can be used to motivate and retain your employees. This creates the broadest possible scope and allows you to determine priorities together. That is how you ensure a serious, strategic EX policy that can be supported throughout the entire organization.

The specific wishes, questions, and bottlenecks will vary by organization. However, we can provide some EX tips that are useful for every employer.

1. Effective onboarding

We cannot emphasize this enough. The first impression you make as an employer determines the rest of the employment relationship. Give every new employee a warm welcome. Ensure everything is perfectly arranged, from a clear employment contract to a ready-to-use laptop and company clothing that fits perfectly. And above all: provide plenty of personal attention. Develop a modular onboarding program that you can easily adapt to the individual and the role of the new colleague.By using a flexible learning environment, such as a knowledge platform like Pluvo, you can easily create a warm, customized welcome.‍

A hybrid setup is very useful here: appoint a personal buddy who tells the employee one-on-one how things work in the organization, from the coffee machine to the company culture. Additionally, create an online environment where all information can be found easily at any time.

2. A pleasant work environment

A work environment must be comfortable for every employee and meet the expectations of new colleagues. If job interviews took place in a luxury office, a dilapidated branch as a workspace can be a major turn-off. Invest consciously in every workspace within the organization and respond effectively to functional requirements and needs. This not only reduces absenteeism but also staff turnover. To get you started, consider, for example:

• ergonomic furniture (chairs, sit-stand desks, adjustable workbenches);
• well-functioning equipment (laptop, phone, machinery);
• intuitive systems and apps that work together and facilitate hybrid working;
• sufficient daylight and a good lighting plan;
• individually adjustable climate control;
• sufficient spaces for collaboration as well as quiet work;
• attractive break and recreational facilities (from good coffee to a ping-pong table).

Do you want to know what an employee really needs? Ask them! That works better than making things up from an ivory tower, no matter how well-intentioned. Ask for ideas and feedback through various channels and at different times: during work meetings, performance reviews, or by using an online questionnaire. You can’t start early enough: begin during the onboarding of new employees, and keep your finger on the pulse thereafter. Make it easy on yourself, for example, by using an online employee satisfaction survey.

3. Career development

If you want to retain employees, you must provide an interesting future perspective. EX isn't just about promises of gold, fancy cars, and sky-high salaries. Being able to develop yourself within your field, mastering completely new knowledge, or having a job that perfectly fits a certain life stage are much more important. It is therefore a good idea to put together a wide range of training facilities, with something for everyone. Create a platform with e-learning or microlearning in all sorts of areas, where you can refresh or expand your knowledge whenever it suits you.

The possibilities of such an online environment are almost limitless. Make full use of them: alternate professional knowledge with practical instructional videos, a fun quiz, chair yoga, or healthy recipes. It sounds more complicated than it is: for example, use our super-handy authoring tool, and you will quickly put together a stunning platform that employees will enjoy clicking on again and again!

4. Be flexible

Being more flexible with employees is the best way to increase your organization's EX score. The younger generation, in particular, assumes there is more to life than just work and expects an employer to think along with them flexibly. But you will find that the older generation also thrives when more is possible than the rigid constraints of strict schedules, ironclad job descriptions, and the need to be "always on." It is not only good for vitality but also for motivation and productivity. It is absolutely worth investigating where there is room for improvement in areas such as:

• hybrid working: is it possible to work from home (or abroad)?
• job carving: tailoring a role to an employee's talents and capabilities (or limitations)
• working hours: can a schedule be adapted to someone's circadian rhythm?
• vacation days: can you be flexible with the number of vacation days or when they are taken?
• secondment: gaining work experience elsewhere or sharing knowledge with other companies can be refreshing.

Employees can come up with interesting ideas themselves. Invite them to share their needs with you and each other. Of course, not every wish can be granted, but the mere fact that you are willing to have a serious conversation about it does wonders for your EX. It is therefore a great idea to facilitate social learning: create an online environment where it is easy to chat, discuss, and collaborate with one another.

5. Leverage your own USP

Take stock of what makes your organization stand out and show it to the outside world. Have you (together with your employees) come up with something original, or are you proud of your organizational culture? Shout it from the rooftops. It is good to dare to be different and to surprise people as an employer. This helps you stand out from the crowd and boosts your employer branding.

Can't think of what your USP actually is? Ask your employees. Why did they choose you instead of working somewhere else? It is also interesting to ask what they experienced as positive at previous employers. Perhaps that could be applied in your organization too. There is a reason why "good artists copy, great artists steal" is a popular saying.

Need to brainstorm about online solutions?
Approach improving EX on different levels. Personal attention during one-on-one meetings and group sessions is definitely number one. By also utilizing online opportunities, you can take things to the next level. From sending out and following up on surveys to creating a knowledge platform, performance management system, internal communication, or suggestion box: there are online possibilities for everything. Curious about our ideas?Contact us, we would love to help you think it through!

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