Some of the most successful businesses these days are the ones that prioritize the employee experience within their organization. Let’s face it: it’s competitive out there, more so than ever since Covid and the rise of the remote workforce.
The companies that value their teams and pay attention to what creates a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in their roles are the ones coming out on top. But what does that look like, exactly? Keep reading as we explore this concept a little more deeply.
Why is Your Employee’s Experience So Important?
Though it sounds like just another overused buzzword, there’s actually something meaty to the concept of the “employee experience.” If you think of it holistically, it essentially encompasses a team member’s journey through your organization at every touch point, from the time they’re recruited to the time they make their exit.
The goal is to make that entire experience as positive and fulfilling as possible. When you do that, you set your team up for higher rates of engagement and levels of productivity, lower rates of absenteeism, put forth more quality work, and even build better relationships with your customers.
What Are the Key Factors to Creating This Kind of Employee Experience?
There are quite a few, actually. Let’s break down a few of the most important.
Mutually Trustworthy Relationships
No matter the relationship, trust is always a two-way street. Your team needs to be able to trust you and your organization, and your organization needs to be able to trust your team. When it goes both ways, your team will feel more empowered, more creative, and more collaborative, and ultimately, they’ll stick around a lot longer than they would otherwise!
Accountability Among Leadership
You’ve got to have C-suite accountability within your leadership team. How you and others lead from the top are crucial elements to creating an experience with your team that’s fulfilling and authentic.
That means your leaders must be responsive not just to the business at hand but also to your workers in a way that tangibly demonstrates their commitment to prioritizing their experience within your company.
Team Alignment with Your Values and Vision
Your team truly wants to be aligned with the values and vision of your business, but it’s up to you to make sure there’s clarity within both and that you set clear goals and a strong path forward. Your milestones and success metrics should be defined well so that your team members can connect with your company’s mission and steer it in the right direction.
Recognizing the Successes of Your Team
Everyone likes to be noticed and commended for a job well done. Employee recognition is an important factor in boosting the loyalty, productivity, and engagement levels of your team members. Make a point to identify and nurture potential, and prioritize equipping your team with the skills they need to advance and grow.
User-Friendly Tech Tools
If your technology is making your team’s job harder and less productive, you should reconsider whether that tech is truly as helpful as you first thought it to be. Your team needs tools that are seamless and user-friendly, and that ideally integrate into your existing systems without copious amounts of head-banging and aspirin.
Space for Your Team to Build Meaningful Relationships
A big factor in how fulfilled your team members feel in your organization will be linked to how connected they feel to their other team members and how strong their sense of belonging is. Being intentional in creating space and opportunities for your team to connect and build relationships will go a long way in increasing their overall job satisfaction.
Feeling They’re Making an Impact
For most people, a sense of fulfillment comes when they believe they are serving their purpose in their role and making a difference somewhere. They want to feel as though they have an impact on something they believe in.
If you can show your team members just how much their work contributes to the success and goals of your company, they will feel as though the work is more meaningful and, as a result, will often be more committed and engaged.
Receiving Plenty of Chances for Growth
This can apply to both professional growth as well as personal growth. Make sure you give your team plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and overcome challenges. Both can contribute heavily to how fulfilled your employees feel at the end of their work day.
Tips for Creating a Fulfilling and Positive Employee Experience
The biggest thing to keep in mind throughout this process is it’s not going to be a one-and-done kind of thing. It’s an ongoing process, and your organization has to be committed to your team and a biz strategy where your mission, values, and higher purpose are front and center. Some of our favorite ways you can begin to do this are by:
- Make space for your team members to create meaning by encouraging them to engage in reflection and exploration exercises. The goal is to help them identify their own personal sources of fulfillment.
- Provide structure via formal programs and initiatives for your employees. These might be innovation labs, stretch assignments, rotational apps, and milestone experiences that help your team members grow and foster more diverse, deep relationships with one another.
- Cultivating a culture of purpose by focusing on specific behaviors that prioritize growth, impact, and relationships. Give your leaders free rein to embody and model these behaviors to those who are underneath them throughout your organization.
- Building your teams with intention and utilizing shared experiences to help bring people together in ways that are meaningful, ways that allow them to grow, and ways that offer a collective impact.
The bottom line is if you want your team members to feel fulfilled, engaged, and valued for their contributions to your business, you must prioritize making their experience a darn good one. Yes, it takes work, yes, it takes being intentional, but at the end of the day, it’s crucial.
Take some time today to evaluate how successful your business is versus how successful it could be, and honestly assess how much the experience of your employees is contributing to that. If there’s room for improvement, don’t wait. Your team is your most valuable asset.
