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Hello everyone, this is Tom Hallett from the Learn Grow Succeed Podcast.

In today’s podcast, I’m going to be talking about improving employee experience in your organisation.

I’m recording this in the early summer after what has to be one of the strangest starts to the year I have ever experienced; what about you??!

25% of the U.K. workforce is on furlough, and the other 75% are navigating a huge to-do list, either working from home or socially distanced at work.

….. and don’t start me on working with two young children under four!

Before I get into the subject of improving the experience your employees have in your team – if, you are new here… Welcome!

By the way, you’ll find a transcription of our podcast over on the Excel Communications website.

Over the last few years we’ve run many leadership training webinars, and if you would like access to these, please visit https://excel-communications.com/lwrecordings. 

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So let’s start with a topic many of us are handling right now, and that is working with our employees, so they have a great experience; something I suspect all of us have been struggling with this year.

The 2019 Gallup workplace survey found that while 89% of employers think that employees leave for a higher-paying role, in reality, only 12% do. Attracting and retaining the best employees actually comes down to the experience they receive.

This hit home last week when a colleague of mine working in the recruitment space told me that she had received a call from someone she could have placed ten times over.

Unheard of in the particular sector she recruits for.

Anyhow, this individual was considering a move because she had finally had enough of her employer’s lack of flexibility.

She is a senior manager who could have worked from home along with the rest of her team only instead she was ‘required’ to hold the fort at work; no discussion, no flexibility.

This individual was now looking for a company willing to be flexible.

Though you might think the job market is going to shift, and in some sectors, it will, you can’t ignore the fact that employee experience will be pivotal to keeping hold of the best people around.

An IBM report entitled ‘The Financial Impact of a Positive Employee Experience‘ found that organisations that score in the top 25% on employee experience report nearly three times the return on assets compared to those in the bottom quarter.

Henry Ford, once said: “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay”, and whatever your preference of car, I think we can all agree that he knew what he was talking about when it comes to business.

Of course, employee experience is not only about training, but this quote illustrates the importance of investing in your employees for the long term.

Here is a quiz fact for you.

Did you know that worldwide each year, companies spend one trillion dollars trying to understand their customer’s behaviour? Still, they spend a thousand times less ($750 million) on trying to understand their employee’s behaviour and experience.

Employers who are afraid to invest in their employees over fears they might get short-changed are being severely short-sighted, and missing out on the benefits of having a fully engaged and thriving team.

Employees do not up and leave for a similar position elsewhere for a slightly higher salary. The vast majority of employees stay in jobs because of more than just their salary; they remain where they are being developed, where they have progression opportunities and where they feel valued.

In short, they remain where they have the best employee experience.

So how can you improve your Employee Experience?

Let’s start with first impressions.

First Impressions and Their Road Map

We talked about my friend in recruitment earlier, and the whole recruitment and onboarding process will make a huge impact followed by the road map you lay out for them.

Though each employee needs to be treated as an individual, each employee should have a map detailing their journey throughout your organisation.

The Importance of Energy

Let’s be honest; we all want to feel ‘alive’ at work.

Christine Porath is the Associate Professor of Management at Georgetown University, HBR author and TED speaker and has people like Google on her client list. Prof Porath has written extensively on the subject of thriving in the workplace, and how critical it is to have an engaged workforce.

In her book ‘Toward human sustainability: How to enable more thriving at work’, she states:

“When thriving, employees are energised to grow and develop. They are creating resources rather than merely depleting resources; when thriving, people feel passionate about what they do. They produce their own energy through excitement for their work”.

When you create an environment where employees can explore and nurture their energy towards their role and the company, you will see a drastic improvement in your results. Employees who demonstrate energy and enthusiasm are sick less often, they’re more productive, and much in the same way that negativity can easily spread through an organisation, so can energy – it’s contagious.

Diversify

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are high on the agenda, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it drives employee engagement, and logically a positive employee experience.

If you want more confirmation here are a few facts worth considering from recent Mckinsey research.

• Companies who have gender diversity at an executive-level have a 21% likelihood of outperforming their industry peers.
• Teams that follow an inclusive process make decisions twice as fast, with half the meetings than those that don’t.
• Decisions made by diverse teams deliver 60% better results than non-diverse teams.
• Workers in highly diverse teams and inclusive organisations result in a 26% increase in team collaboration and 18% in team commitment.

As this data shows, a diverse workforce is not just more productive, but they are happier and more motivated in their roles, which improves their employee experience too.

Finally, let’s talk about celebration as a lever for improving employee experience.

Celebration

Now, we’re not talking about the annual Christmas party here.

I’m talking about celebrating your team’s individual and combined successes and making your organisation a positive, enjoyable place to work.

Recognition of your employees is a great way to make them feel valued and naturally improves their employee experience.

The celebration doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, either. Many employees appreciate a simple acknowledgement of their achievement.

Deloitte’s 2019 Employee Recognition Study found that over 40% of professionals prefer a simple ‘thank you’ for their accomplishments over a celebration (7%) or a gift (also 7%).

However, there are times when a tangible bonus or celebrations are the ideal way to recognise and acknowledge your employees.

Today I have mentioned four ways to enhance your employee experience, none of which are that hard to do either.

For more information about our digital training programmes – head to our website, I’ll leave a link in the comments.

This is Tom from the Learn Grow Succeed Podcast Saying bye for now.

Until next time!

About Excel Communications   

LEARN, GROW, SUCCEED

Excel Communications is a learning and development consultancy based near London in the U.K. For more than 30 years, we have been collaborating with clients across the globe.

Partnering with Excel empowers you to evolve your people and business by fuelling a love for learning.

We work with you to create unforgettable, customised learning experiences to achieve your vision of success and growth, with tangible results.

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