Employees eating pizza together at a table in a brightly lit room during their lunch hour

The Ultimate Guide to Employee Experience

11 min read | Oct 30, 2024
 Marta Gongos- Ad Culture By Marta Gongos

If you’ve been anywhere near human resource management spaces these past few years, you’ve probably heard of the term “employee experience” (EX)—but what is it, and why should business owners and HR leaders care?  

The employment journey starts before someone joins your company and continues throughout their time there. It’s diverse, touching on their tasks, the company vibe, opportunities, and more.

Improving employee experience is multifaceted. It involves making employees feel welcome and prepared to succeed at work, whether through cultivating a positive company culture or effective performance management plans. Ultimately, when you focus on curating a better employment experience you gain a competitive edge. Plus, it makes hiring easier, because your business becomes a more appealing place for potential employees.

An Overview of the Employment Experience
  1. What Is Employment Experience in HR?
  2. Why a Positive Employee Experience Matters
  3. Common EX Challenges to Overcome
  4. The Employee Experience Framework
  5. How to Measure Employee Experience (+ Identify Areas of Improvement)
  6. 5 Strategies to Improve Employment Experience
  7. Navigate the Future of Employee Experience with Ad Culture’s Recruitment Experts

What Is Employment Experience in HR? 

Employee experience is the sum of all the interactions and perceptions an employee has with their employer, from the moment they apply for a job until they leave. 

Key Components 

There are three main components to consider.

    1.  The workplace experience

Where employees work influences productivity, morale, engagement, and well-being—both positively and negatively. A well-designed workspace can foster collaboration, innovation, and engagement among employees, while a poor workspace can cause stress, frustration, and dissatisfaction.

    2.  The cultural experience

This refers is the set of values, beliefs, and behaviours that define how the company operates—it’s the company’s personality, so to speak. Whether your employees get along with this personality will impact their creativity, collaboration, and sense of belonging. Fostering a strong culture is the key to success.

Related Resource: The Growing Importance of Company Culture and How to Cultivate It 

    3.  The digital experience 

This includes the tools and systems employees use to find jobs, do their jobs, communicate with their colleagues, and interact with hiring managers. When digital tools meet expectations, the employment experience improves. As such, it can often suffer when tools are a hassle or do more harm than good.

Employee Experience vs Employee Engagement 

Many employees and even HR leaders and employers confuse employee engagement with experience. It can be confusing. Engagement refers to how committed, motivated, and satisfied an employee is with their work and employer. 

Generally, employee engagement focuses on employees’ emotional connection to their work and organization. Meanwhile, employment experience is a larger concept that encompasses all the interactions an employee has with their employer throughout their entire employee journey.

A positive employee experience can lead to higher employee engagement, which can result in better performance, productivity, retention, and customer/client satisfaction. Therefore, work experience often shapes engagement.

Related Resource: How to Keep Employees Engaged During a Recession

Why a Positive Employee Experience Matters 

Smiling employees, sitting and standing, in a meeting with plants in the background

Image Source: Canva

A strong employee experience strategy makes happy employees and happy employees drive business success—that’s the big and small of it. The data shows that: 

  • Businesses that invest in employment experience grow 1.5 times faster than those that don’t—they’re also four times more profitable
  • Companies in the top 25% for employee experience report nearly three times the return on assets and double the return on sales compared to those in the bottom quartile
  • Companies with highly engaged employees outperform their peers in profitability, productivity, and customer ratings
  • Improved employment experience and higher employee engagement lead to better customer experience, higher customer satisfaction, and higher revenues
  • Improving employee experience makes employees 31% more likely to stay

A positive employment experience can boost business performance in several meaningful ways: 

  • Higher employee engagement
  • Higher profitability
  • Higher customer satisfaction
  • Higher chances of attracting and retaining top talent

Common EX Challenges to Overcome 

Enhancing employee experience is important, yet what challenges are likely to arise? Here are several: 

  • Attracting and retaining top talent:The Great Resignation” may be over, but competition for talent has intensified
  • Shifting employee expectations: Employees now prioritize work-life balance, meaningful work, and opportunities for growth and development
  • The digital employee experience: Remote workers may feel isolated and excluded from important information or decision-making processes.
  • Managing technology and communication: Implementing the right technology and communication tools can be complex and costly
  • Managing the impact of AI and automation: While technology can enhance EX, it also raises concerns about job displacement and skill gaps
  • Ensuring ethical and responsible use of technology: Implementing technology ethically and responsibly is needed to avoid negative impacts on employee privacy, trust, and overall workplace well-being
  • Well-being and mental health: Demanding work plus economic uncertainty has burnout on the rise, yet many organizations lack the resources and expertise to provide adequate support for employees’ mental well-being

The Employee Experience Framework 

Now that you understand the benefits and challenges of improving employee experience, you’re probably wondering what to do next—understand employee journey stages and relevant factors at each level.

Attraction 

Employee experience journey mapping begins before the hiring process. At the attraction stage, potential employees learn about your company and decide whether they want to work for you or not. When you ask candidates  “Why do you want to work here?” they should have plenty of reasons to share! 

Recruitment 

Hiring the best candidates for your company goes beyond posting on a job board like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Monster. You also have to optimize your job application process and how you communicate with your applicants, including interviews and offers.

Pro-tip: Save time, money, and effort in the recruitment process by using a recruitment agency to find the best candidates for your company. 

Hire Talent With Ad Culture

Onboarding 

Once you’ve recruited talent, get them acquainted with your systems and culture. This stage is not a one-and-done thing (that’s orientation). Onboarding sets the stage for the employee experience, welcoming them and providing essential knowledge for their roles, laying the foundation for success!

Related Resource: New Employee Onboarding Guide

Development 

The employee journey starts by fostering growth, retention, and engagement throughout their career, vital for motivation, performance, and career satisfaction. Your employees can choose to leave, and they might if you don’t nurture them. Provide them with career development opportunities like mentorships, training, or workshops. Expanding skill sets may prompt role changes, promotions, performance reviews, and career discussions.

Retention 

Employee retention is the stage of the journey where you as the employer need to keep your employees satisfied, loyal, and productive. Retention is influenced by various factors. While some are beyond your control, many relate to employee experience and are within your grasp. Think work environment, work-life balance, flexibility, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement. 

Related Resource: 15 Tips for Retaining Top Talent

Exit 

Many relationships inevitably end, and the same goes for employee-employer partnerships. Last impressions matter, so make it a good one. Whether they left voluntarily or involuntarily, the exit stage is a critical time to measure and understand employee perceptions. Use this chance to gain valuable employee feedback and insights on how to improve your employee experience.

Advocacy 

Not every employee who leaves their job is fired, meaning sometimes those who leave will become advocates for your brand. They can help boost your brand reputation from their word-of-mouth, testimonials, and recommendations. They can also help you attract more talent, customers, and partners by sharing positive experiences and insights on company review sites.

A group of happy employees fist bumping

Image source: Pexels

How to Measure Employee Experience (+ Identify Areas of Improvement)

For business leaders, enhancing work begins with precise measurement. The employment experience also requires data collection and analysis to pinpoint areas for improvement. But how do you measure employee experience? The best way is to break it down into different metrics or KPIs. Here are some metrics to measure employment experience:

  • Satisfaction levels
  • Productivity
  • Absenteeism
  • Internal referrals
  • Retention rates
  • Recognition frequency
  • Employee Net Promoter Score
  • Wellness

Develop employee surveys strategically based on these indicators, or you can use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. A combination of surveys, polls, analytics, interviews, focus group discussions, or feedback sessions is a great way to capture your employees’ thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you plan to do it
  • Segment and personalize data as different groups of employees may have different preferences, motivations, and challenges
  • Measure employment experience throughout the employee life cycle
  • Act on your data and communicate your results

5 Strategies to Improve Employment Experience

 

5 Strategies to Improve Employment Experience

You’re ready to get strategic once you’ve measured key metrics and identified which aspects need overhauling. Your employee experience strategy largely depends on your goals and data, but we can help you get some ideas! Improving your company’s employment experience is an integral ingredient for business success, so we’re here to help with five tips. 

1. Focus on the Work Itself 

Improving employee experience starts with improving employee perceptions by:

  • Providing professional development opportunities.
  • Setting clear goals, responsibilities, and performance expectations 
  • Empowering employees to make decisions and take ownership of their work
  • Offering flexible or remote work arrangements

2. Foster a Positive Environment 

If you want you want higher productivity and better wellness levels for employees, create a positive environment for them at work by: 

  • Creating a clean, safe, and comfortable workspace
  • Building a culture of trust, respect, and inclusion
  • Implementing meaningful reward systems that align with employee values and encourage peer-to-peer recognition
  • Investing in cutting-edge technology and tools that support efficient work, communication, and collaboration

3. Embrace Diversity and Inclusion 

Creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected enhances overall employee satisfaction. Make a deliberate effort to:

  • Actively recruit and hire talent from diverse backgrounds
  • Create a company culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and heard
  • Implement programs and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion at all levels
  • Provide training to help employees recognize and address unconscious bias

Related Resource: Diversity and Inclusion: 5 Best Practices for the Workplace

4. Invest in Employee Well-Being

A positive environment is just the beginning. Improving employee experience should also prioritize employee well-being, which you can do by:

  • Offering comprehensive health insurance and wellness programs 
  • Helping employees develop their skills and advance their careers
  • Fostering social connection and belonging through team-building activities, social events, and employee resource groups
  • Encourage employees to take breaks, disconnect from work after hours, and use vacation time to recharge

5. Build a Strong Leadership Team

Corporate leadership shapes the employee experience, as your leaders are the role models who set the tone and embody your values. We recommend: 

  • Leaders who are inspiring, transparent, and value employee feedback
  • Creating safe spaces for employees to voice concerns and ideas
  • Being transparent about company decisions, challenges, and goals

Improve the employee experience with Ad Culture

A group of employees in discussion in a meeting room with glass walls

Image Source: Canva

Navigate the Future of Employee Experience with Ad Culture’s Recruitment Experts 

Improving employee experience (and reaping the rewards of the associated business outcomes) starts with attracting and hiring the right people. You can start by optimizing your recruitment process or you could leave it up to AdCulture. Not only will we help you hire top talent, but we help you take steps to ensure you’re retaining those new hires, too. 

Contact AdCulture today to get started and take the first step toward improving your employment experience. Finding unicorns is what we do best!

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