How Companies Can Accurately Measure and Improve Employee Experience

The success of a business is often dependent on the quality of service provided by its employees. A highly engaged workforce experiencing satisfaction with their allotted roles are found to be far more energized and productive. Yet disturbingly, research has shown that only one-third of your workers are ever likely to feel any kind of engagement. When planning improvements for your business, it seems the starting point should inevitably be your own employees.

One of the fundamental rules in any business is to put the interests of your customers first. Prioritizing the experience of being an employee within the business may appear to be an unnecessary distraction. However, the statistics show that increased employee engagement results in at least 21% more profit. Employee assessment can seem vague, but there are many key strategies executives can implement to accurately measure the experience of their workforce.

What is Employee Experience?

To encourage the growth of your business, you need to understand how to measure qualities that are not immediately apparent. Employee experience defines how deeply each member of staff interacts with the company. It addresses sensitive issues such as how employees feel managers treat them if they feel valued and the problem of why some don't have any loyalty to the company that pays them their salaries. To find the answers, you need to monitor each stage of what could be termed the practicalities of the employee experience. These refer to the progress a typical employee might make from joining to leaving your business.

1. Interviews and Recruitment

Job interviews can be unnerving, even for the most confident of candidates. For the successful applicant, it represents the beginning of their experience within your business. A new employee's first impressions can affect their attitude while working for your company. Many candidates pride themselves on their qualifications and versatility, but if their experience during their first days in your business is filled with negativity, their enthusiasm will quickly disappear.

2. Training Programs

Some employee roles are uninspiring with repetitive work, but it's the total lack of prospects that are detrimental to engagement. Without hope of improvement and easing themselves out of a limited role, the loyalty an employee might feel towards the workplace is understandably low. A positive employee experience would include the possibility of enrolling in further training schemes to provide a hope of personal progress.

3. Performance Initiatives

Promoting greater employee engagement can be as simple as encouraging reward schemes. Initiatives could include financial rewards or bonuses, a minor promotion or additional responsibility. In essence, it's how you demonstrate your gratitude for hard work in any department and not just the most promising.

4. Employee Resignation

When an employee leaves, it's the final stage in their experience of working for your business. The memory of that experience will stay with them throughout their career. A positive experience leads them to promote your business, but a negative one inevitably draws criticism.

Measuring Employee Experience through Surveys

Each of the stages outlined above provides managers with opportunities to measure the employee experience. A routine survey every time a new employee has just been recruited provides clues about their future productivity and loyalty. However, anyone who joins your business isn't likely to be honest if they were treated discourteously during an interview in case the information damages their prospects. A survey on departure could be far more revealing. Surveys asking for opinions about training or incentives could be enlightening. It could encourage your workforce to feel they can make a worthwhile contribution to your business.

Measuring Employee Experience through Practical Monitoring

The productivity and profit margin of your business is influenced by customer satisfaction combined with output or service. Employee experience also has an effect. The more engaged your employees feel, the higher their work rate. Measuring this experience can be fairly accurate when monitoring them during their working day. Activity and enthusiasm for the job are closely intertwined. An engaged employee will complete more tasks, work on their own initiative and generally benefit your business. Disengaged employees can eat into your profits as they'll leave tasks unfinished or provide poor quality service. Some even claim the effort of a virtual meeting can often leave them exhausted, an admission that surely cannot lead to improving the productivity of your business.

Shortage of Skills

As technology continues to disrupt the traditional roles within the workplace, your business must offer the best employee experience. Many companies in a variety of industries report a shortage of skills. Attracting new recruits who are filled with enthusiasm and eager to succeed, is the only way forward for any business. However, with an increased demand for specific skills and a shortfall in supply, your business is more dependent on a positive employee experience than you would ever have anticipated. Few people stay loyal to a business if they feel they can improve their situation by moving elsewhere. If your business has provided a negative employee experience, you could be left with roles that are difficult to fill.

Analyzing Employee Experience

Collating the data from employee surveys and activity monitoring can provide an insight into how you and your employees view your working relationship. For instance, asking for opinions when planning the introduction of new equipment or procedures can help employees feel more engaged. Ignoring their welfare has a negative impact. Ultimately, your analytical results will only lead to increased performance if you genuinely strive to improve the employee experience.

Final Thoughts

Employee experience can affect the fortunes of your business. Encouraging a positive experience can lead to a workforce that's engaged and enthusiastic. You can measure employee experience by monitoring activity and using surveys. The results should help identify any negativity that might occur during an employee's journey through your organization. Incorporating beneficial improvements such as financial incentives and additional training can help increase your employees' productivity and enthusiasm.

It takes time and money to train new recruits, but a negative experience of your business will only encourage employees to move away. A shortage of skills has emphasized the value of competent, contented employees. By taking notice of your employees' comments, you can vastly improve their loyalty. They'll work for one of your rivals if the employee experience there is superior. Therefore, it's vital for the success of your business to accurately measure the employee experience.

Author Bio: This article was written by Eloise Tobler of Wisetek Store. Wisetek Store was created to give our customers access to high-quality, reliable, and affordable refurbished desktops.