How to Improve Business Performance Through Employee Experience

For a business to be able to create a best practice  workplace, its leaders need to establish great employee experiences. To achieve this, they must be able to ask the right questions regarding pressing internal and external demands and  adjust their employee experiences to accommodate the impacts. 

Achieving a healthy workplace and positive employee experience is especially important these days as most industries and organisations have increased substantial investments from  the setbacks caused by the pandemic. While the stages of the employee life cycle remain the same, leaders must constantly review how employees are engaged at each stage. For example, how well do the digital onboarding experiences you provide help employees establish and sustain internal relationships?

To help you improve employee experiences, your trusted business leadership coach in Australia shares five areas to focus on and what you should do to get positive results:

1. Hiring - Leaders Search for Top Talent in New “Places”

The demand for new hires is high, especially in the midst of the economic recovery. It is also important to note that companies need to get creative in looking for top talent. For example, big companies like Microsoft and Google are now actively searching for good employees not in the usual places such as school campuses but on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

To attract top talent, employers must look beyond what is available and make good use of social media and other online tools. Furthermore you can use digital onboarding programs to set up your online presence, gather the right information and expand your audience. You can also use special events and contests to establish your presence on these sites.

2. Onboarding - First Impressions Still Matter

Onboarding refers to the process of preparing an employee for a role in an organisation. During this process, an employee must be able to learn the organisation’s culture and systems and get to know his co-workers, their roles, and their goals.

When a new hire enters an organisation, the typical onboarding experience will include discussions with a manager and/or a human resource officer, with the completion of training. However, digital onboarding has opened the doors for new and innovative ways of onboarding new employees and increasing engagement.

Nowadays, a great onboarding experience lets new employees get to know the organisation through social networking sites and video sharing sites. Employers can also use apps and games to help employees learn about the organisation and its purpose, culture, systems, and history.

3. Performance - Unclear Role Expectations Have a Significant Effect

To put it simply, employees must be able to perform exceptionally well in their roles. However, many employees have reported that they have unclear role expectations, and this is one of the factors that was exacerbated during the pandemic.

Due to the complexity of their roles, employees find themselves unsure on  how to improve performance. For instance, in the first stage of the employee life cycle, new hires are told to look for opportunities for improvement and growth.

You can achieve clarity in your performance expectations by clarifying your measurement and reward system. For example, you can use metrics like employee engagement and the results of your time and management system to show employees how they can improve performance. It’s also important to include real-time feedback loops to ensure that employees are not waiting until structured performance reviews to have opportunities to improve and grow.

4. Development - Painting a Picture of Growth for Employees Is Important

The employee life cycle is all about moving from one stage to another. If you want to be able to help employees grow and export talent across the organisation, then you must be able to paint a picture of growth for them.

In some instances, leaders present succession planning for employees but fail to explain how this will happen. For instance, , new employees are told that they will be able to progress to the next stage if they invest in themselves.

At this point, leaders need to explain what they mean by investing in themselves. Employees can invest in themselves by completing coaching programs, earning a certification, participating in learning and development initiatives, exploring opportunities outside the organisation, and so on.

To help you explain how employees can improve their skills, you need to develop clear action plans with criteria that can be measured on a regular basis to monitor growth. 

5. Employee Wellbeing - Wellbeing is the Number One Priority

Employees who are not well will find it hard to achieve the goals of their organisations. Lower engagement levels will not only impact individual performance but broader team morale and overall organisational financial results.  

To help employees achieve and maintain well-being, you must show them that they matter to the organisation and provide the support they need to do their jobs. An excellent employee experience must be the top priority, and leaders must be able to show their employees that they are pivotal to the success of the organisation. This includes demonstrating a genuine interest in their personal lives and providing opportunities for growth. 

Some organisations have started to define clear wellness programs, where they are able to demonstrate  to employees how they clearly support them mentally, socially, physically and financially.

Conclusion

In order to ensure that you have game changing  employee experiences, you must be able to establish clear and healthy systems for each stage of the employee life cycle.

By focusing on the five stages discussed above, you can deliver a better employee experience and ultimately improve business performance. Of course, you can invest in this further  by engaging an  executive coach from one of the trusted experts in your area.
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Stuart Andrews is a reputable business leadership coach in Australia who can help you improve the way you do your business. With Stuart Andrews’ strategies at your disposal, you can make huge strides to take your business to new heights. Learn how to be a better business leader from the book written by your trusted business coach!