Think beyond the first impression
From creating ad campaigns to conducting rigorous screening and interviews – organisations put a huge amount of time and money into recruiting the right people. But once new talent has signed on the line, all this effort can come to a grinding halt.
Industry leading employers know that making a great first impression at interview is crucial. But how can you ensure the employee experience is just as good as the recruitment one? And does it really matter? Research shows that the answer is a resounding YES.
The benefits of creating a great employee experience
Invest in creating the best possible employee experience and your people will repay you several times over. Retention rates are an obvious benefit of a great employee experience, but what’s less-known is that your customers will also get the benefit. And of course, you want to do right by your employees for their own wellbeing and job satisfaction, too.
Think of your people as powerful brand ambassadors who are out there sharing what they think about your organisation with the world. An obvious example would be an overworked, disengaged barista who sighs and grumbles their way through a customer’s order. But even non-customer-facing employees will be making a positive or negative impact on your brand image that carries far more weight than your marketing or PR activities.
So how can you improve your employee experience?
To tackle any issues, you first need to know what they are – in much the same way as you need customer feedback to improve your customer experience. It’s a given that your employees should all have regular one-on-ones with their line managers. But you should also think about other ways to get their point of view on things like:
- Why did they join you instead of one of your competitors?
- What do they really love about their role?
- What do they like the least?
- What would they most like to change about the organisation and how?
Employee interviews and digital listening can be a great place to start. Perhaps you can use technology to create an ongoing, anonymous suggestions box. Or design a new, more engaging employee survey with incentives for completion. Once you have the insights you need, you can then set about making changes.
Do you need to create more opportunities for training? Create more uplifting employee communications? Establish a mentor programme? Or take a fresh look at your benefits and approach to work-life balance? Collaborating with your employees to improve the customer experience as well as their own is also a great way to build engagement in an innovative way.
Don’t know where to start? We can help, using our consultative approach to evaluate your issues – and find ways to help you solve them. We’ve helped clients with all of the above in the past, as well as creating other more out-of-the-box solutions such as internal events and games, and even motivational videos.
