Offering benefits such as PTO and health insurance and thinking they are enough is not useful for businesses in 2023. Leaders must think out of the box to deliver a unique employee experience. Every employee interaction with the business, such as benefits, workplace culture, physical work environment, atmosphere, etc., must be optimized to improve the holistic workplace experience. A global survey on Employee Expectations by Qualtrics in 2023 shows that only 39% of organizations have aligned their experience with employee expectations.

Below are 9 crucial tips to improve employee EX, increase employee retention rates, and bring down talent acquisition costs:

1. Investigate Touch Points Using Employee Journey Map

An employee journey map provides a visual insight into an employee's time with the organization. This detailed look into individual employees will show what action must be taken based on employee feedback to improve each experience. Organizations must create detailed journey maps with clearly defined outcomes involving all relevant stakeholders. Yearly employee engagement surveys are not sufficient anymore since each employee will be at a different stage in their employee journey and employers must understand how an employee’s personal experiences influence the experience outcomes. 

2. Break Down Barriers With Transparent Internal Communication 

Internal team communication is about more than just circulating corporate information. Nurturing internal communication with conscious efforts builds a sense of community among employees. A transparent communication channel will encourage employees to work as a team and target their cumulative efforts to reach business goals. When employees are comfortable sharing their opinions without being judged, they become more productive as they find their purpose. Strong internal communication is critical with dispersed, mobile, and remote workers are trying to collaborate. 

3. Establish Effective Employee Onboarding Programs

Organizations can expect a 70% increase in employee productivity with a good onboarding experience. When new hires have a positive experience in the first few months, they will be more willing to stay with the company. However, many businesses don’t have a properly structured onboarding program to welcome new talents. Using AI and gamified onboarding, organizations must engineer measurable, interactive, and personalized onboarding programs that prepare the employees to meet their goals right from the start. 

4. Nurture Employee Wellness

Employee wellness is not only about the physical health of the employees. Organizations need to look beyond it to create holistic and comprehensive wellness programs. A 2022 LinkedIn research shows that 82% of the Indian workforce is eager to switch jobs when they can work in a company that prioritizes financial, mental, physical, social, and career-wellbeing. Besides standard health and family insurance, employers should create employee engagement strategies to include health and fitness programs, on-site gyms or gym memberships, paid vacation, sick time, paid parental leave, and access to corporate healthcare programs and clinics. 

5. Redefine Employee Benefits Strategies Using Surveys

‘How to make employees happy?’ should be the question that leaders ask themselves. Employees now prefer personalized employee benefits instead of traditional employee benefits that don’t match their unique needs. These pertinent benefits prove to be a much better reward, and this can redefine a company's talent acquisition and retention strategies. With attrition rates likely to hit 24%, organizations must offer more than pay increases and adjust employee benefits strategies. Organizations must implement employee benefits surveys with detailed questionnaires to identify unique and particular benefits employees need to ensure employee happiness. 

6. Create an Action Plan To Address Employee Feedback

Organizations realize the importance of employee feedback surveys, but not all leaders take the necessary action. It can backfire quickly when employees see that their company doesn't show accountability. Employees will only give honest feedback if they believe their company listens to them. To be successful, leaders must establish a communication and action plan and show that the company is taking action based on employee feedback. 

7. Implement Training and Career Development Programs

85% of Indians believe that upskilling will help them future-proof their career. Employees expect their leaders to offer training and career development programs that will help them advance. Such investments will help organizations gain loyal employees who know the company is investing in them. Also, such employees can be groomed to become next-generation leaders, leading to business success. Managers should create individual development plans for their team members and communicate long-term career goals at least once a year. 

8. Leverage Customer Feedback For Employee Engagement

‍Employees are trained to help customers and achieve customer satisfaction in a customer-centric business environment. However, employees don't always hear customer compliments. Encouraging customers to provide feedback on employee performance and sharing that feedback will foster a senseof purpose and boost their confidence. Sharing customer feedback with employees will make them feel more involved and engaged in the organization's success. 

9. Unlock Leadership Potential With Managerial Training

Employee experience is greatly influenced by employees' personal relationships with their supervisors and managers. Managers must know how to connect with employees to improve productivity. An Economic Times survey shows that 15% of those who left their organisation cited manager effectiveness as the reason for quitting. Implementing manager training programs will help the leaders improve their interpersonal, time management, goal setting, and delegation skills to reward and motivate employees with continuous feedback. 

Key Takeaways

84% of employees feel that the employee experience is essential to continue to work in an organization. Employee experience will be the key factor determining business growth at the workplace. If organizations want their employees to become ambassadors, they must treat employees as they treat their customers. Listening to the needs of employees, creating an action plan to implement the changes, and supporting employees is crucial to improving employee experience. Companies must educate their supervisors, managers, and leaders to be empathetic and train them to become better leaders. 

About Batik

Personalized benefits and perks based on employee feedback will help improve employee experience and engagement.Batik aligns benefits and perks with the needs of today’s employees with a platform that is incredibly user-friendly and keeps you informed about your benefit offerings at the click of a button.