Getting the Employee Journey Right: Where to Focus

women colleagues gathered inside conference room

Employee satisfaction is crucial for businesses. Happy employees lead to a more productive and profitable company. In fact, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, organizations with delighted employees (67% or higher) report two times the earnings per share (EPS) growth and 1.5 times the revenue growth of their peers.

There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is that happy employees are more engaged in their work. They take pride in their work and are more committed to achieving results. This increased engagement leads to several positive outcomes for businesses, including:

  • Higher productivity – Employees are more productive when they are engaged and motivated.
  • Reduced turnover – Satisfied employees are less likely to leave their jobs, which saves the company time and money spent on recruiting and training new employees.
  • Improved customer service – Happy employees provide better customer service because they care about giving a good experience.
  • Greater creativity and innovation – Engaged employees develop new ideas to improve their work and the company.

The bottom line is that employee satisfaction is key to a successful business. If you want your company to thrive, you must ensure your employees are happy. Here are a few areas to prioritize for your employee’s company experience.

Interview Process

The interview process will always be the starting point of the employee journey. You must make a great first impression even if the talent is not part of your company. A study by Glassdoor showed that 50% of active job seekers had a negative experience during the recruitment process. This could be due to long wait times, complex application processes, or a lack of communication. As a result, they might not want to move forward, making it an unpleasant experience.

Fortunately, you can improve the process by making it straightforward and personalized. Keep the application simple, provide clear expectations, and communicate with candidates throughout the process. If you do this, you can provide a positive experience that will start the journey on the right foot.

Onboarding

The onboarding process is an integral part of every employee’s journey. It sets the tone for their entire experience with your company and helps them understand their roles and responsibilities. To ensure a successful onboarding process, you must ensure new hires feel welcomed and supported from day one. This could include providing information about the company culture and expectations, introducing them to their team members, and helping them learn more about the job they are doing. Doing this will help new hires adjust quickly and start contributing sooner rather than later.

If you don’t have the resources to improve it, you can hire a company that assists with employee onboarding. The right onboarding partner can help ensure the onboarding process is efficient and effective so that new employees have a great start to their journey.

Employee Engagement

Once a new hire has been properly onboarded, it is essential to foster employee engagement throughout their journey. Without engagement, employees will not be motivated or productive. Instead of simply providing incentives, you need to give your employees meaningful work and create an environment where they are encouraged to collaborate, innovate, and grow. This could include giving them challenging tasks that allow them to use their skills and knowledge, offering training opportunities and development programs, recognizing their accomplishments publicly, and providing feedback regularly.

Employee engagement should be present throughout the employee journey. It will create an environment of trust and respect and help foster a positive workplace culture that leads to increased job satisfaction and productivity.

Employee Retention

Retaining top employees is essential for any business to succeed. You must ensure your employees remain engaged and satisfied throughout their time with your company, so they choose to stay rather than look for other opportunities. This could include providing competitive benefits packages, offering flexible working hours, or encouraging team-building activities.

It’s also essential to keep communication open between managers and employees so that their needs are being met and dealt with accordingly. Additionally, it would help if you created feedback channels where employees can express their ideas on how the company can improve its operations, as this will help keep morale high.

Finally, it’s essential to recognize and reward employees for their contributions. Whether through financial incentives or verbal recognition, employees need to feel appreciated to remain loyal and motivated.

Final Thoughts

By taking care of the employee journey from start to finish, you can ensure your company has a successful and productive workforce. Working hard to get the employee journey right will boost satisfaction levels, increase retention rates, and ensure your business runs as smoothly as possible.

Infographic created by Insperity, an employee benefits outsourcing company