We all know how hard it can be to recruit the ‘right’ staff on a small island like Jersey. And once you’ve recruited them, keeping them can be an even greater challenge. But have you thought about what kind of employee experience you’re offering new recruits? If not then read on…….because we’ve done the hard work for you.
What is the employee experience?
The employee experience starts the moment someone applies to your organisation for a job until the second they leave. It includes how they feel about being part of your organisational culture – which is really important reputation-wise when they’re talking to their friends and family – and also whether they want to stay working with you! Research by Gartner in 2023 revealed only 13% of employees are fully satisfied with their experience at work and may have been driven by the huge rise in remote working. Even more work is needed post-Covid to make an employee to feel a valuable part of your business.
What you need to know
Many offices are no longer the physical epicentre of the business so the culture of your organisation is predominantly experienced through how you all work together. Employees may have smaller work groups as a result of home working and may feel more isolated. The employee experience is about how people feel, the human emotional reaction to situations. So to enable people to feel connected require an emotional approach.
What you need to do
- To know what you need to do, you first need to understand how your current culture is impacting your employees and it’s a great deal more than just asking them if they’re happy with their working environment or feel valued. Be prepared to ask questions you might not like the answer to – like did you feel well managed during covid and if not why not; does your team and team leader enable you to do your best work and do you feel you have the right support to inspire you? These answers will show the true picture about how an employee feels about their working environment.
- Spend time identifying members of your management team who can champion the cultural change and environment that you need. This could help identify training requirements.
- Overcome tensions and misunderstandings by communicating effectively. If you need people to NOT work from home for a specific operational reason, explain it clearly and follow up with the chance for staff to feedback.
- Good data on your staff is essential. Automate any processes you can to collect data which will highlight when someone is failing to achieve their full potential or taking more time off than usual for example. It will save you time and better inform your decision making
Remember we’re here to help. HR Now can assist with assessing and improving your working culture. We can act as an independent third-party expert advisor to review how your employees feel their working environment and culture meets their needs.
Get in touch with us today: Email us: hello@hrnow.je or call: 01534 747559
Our top five tips to creating a great employee experience.
- Give your new recruits clear expectations about their responsibilities, roles and performance expectations – then provide regular feedback to help keep them motivated and focussed.
- Everyone loves to be rewarded, so make sure you recognise contributions from your staff to help foster a culture of appreciation and recognition.
- Lead by example. Strong leadership shapes the employee experience and empowers them to reach their full potential. Asking for feedback on policies in the workplace also engenders a feeling of inclusion.
- Support your employees work-life balance with offers of flexible working, hours etc to help them better manage their personal and professional commitments. Offering wellness programmes and providing mental health resources also promotes healthy and happy working.
- Creating a supportive and inclusive culture within your organisation helps with a sense of belonging, connection and shared purpose.