In 2021, a record number of employees quit their job. The organisations that take the time to reflect, analyse and improve their Employee Experience will retain and attract the best talent.
Dubbed the Great Resignation, millions of workers world-wide have quit their jobs throughout 2021. Whilst you would expect many are changing employers, the ONS revealed that over 400,000 people dropped out of the workforce entirely between February 2020 and November 2020. This offers no relief as vacancies rose to over 1,000,000 in conjunction with the shrinking workforce.
In such a competitive marketplace, an organisation’s ability to retain and attract the best talent centres on implementing the best Employee Experience. Employees are looking for more than just financial gain. After a draining, overwhelming and, for many, an emotionally exhausting pandemic, employees are looking for a wide range of factors such as flexibility, purpose, work-life balance, cultural and environmental credentials.
Do you understand your team as well as your customers?
Just like yourselves, every organisation is usually very good at understanding their customers. We spend a significant amount of time defining our buyer and customer personas, figuring out where our audience is located, and working out how to reach and resonate with them.
But, how often is such an effort made towards our own teams? How well do you feel you understand your team’s wants and needs. How well do you feel your manager understands your wants and needs?
Gallup have been tracking employee engagement levels for over two decades and it turns out it hasn’t budged. In the U.S., just over one-third of employees (34%) were engaged, and 16% were actively disengaged in their work and workplace in 2021.
What has been attempted so far?
An influx of online tools, wearables and surveys are all part of the mix in an attempt to improve employee engagement. However, care has to be taken to ensure this does not become a reactive strategy.
Carrying out surveys of your employees often takes away the human element and you have to ensure you are comfortable with the answers you receive. Surveys can also be designed in a way that results in a particular outcome.
Particular tools and technology can definitely help with Employee Experience, however, this isn’t a quick fix, and effort should be made to implement a strategy and create a culture that takes significant consideration towards its employee’s experience.
You must also become comfortable with feedback and criticism. Between the complaints about the water-cooler’s temperature and people trying to sell their pyramid scheme “side hussle” in the office, there will be integral points that give a clear insight to how your team is feeling.
How can we improve our Employee Experience?
Organisations must borrow the skills and practices from marketing and sales, and scrutinise every touchpoint an employee has with your organisation. You have to create a “employee-journey” and treat every employee as if they were a valued customer.
A myriad of factors influence a person’s experience within an organisation. These fall into three categories:
- Social experience - employees must feel they are a valued contributor, they trust and collaborate with each other and feel they belong to a community.
- Work experience - employees must feel they have interest work, are learning and progressing, are supported in their growth which integrates positively within their life.
- Organisational experience - employees must feel the organisation has a purpose and has a real impact on their customers. They must also feel the workspace are safe, comfortable and human centred.
How is Loop improving the Employee Experience?
Loop is focused on employee experience through centralising company-wide communication and education in one, easy-to-use place.
We believe that purpose, learning and alignment are a required piece of the employee experience. Too often, as organisations expand, communication and message can become fragmented and communication worsens. Siloed departments can emerge in immature organisations and there isn’t an understanding of how every person and division is contributing to the success of their customers and organisation.
Giving your organisation a central platform to share your message internally - whether that be company milestone, team achievements, upcoming events or educational opportunities - allows your company to feel valued, seen and gives them a sense of purpose.
Book a demo today to see how Loop can benefit your organisation.