Let’s start with a rather obvious statement: when people are satisfied and feel valued, they work better. Productivity goes up, the company’s reputation improves and the office climate is positive.
This isn’t the case when the same people have little motivation: deadlines are not met, discontent is created among colleagues and everyone cannot wait to go home. This second category of workers is most likely experiencing an unsatisfactory employee experience. But what exactly does this mean?
The term Employee Experience (EX) includes everything the worker experiences and observes in the company, such as comfort of the furniture, technological equipment, remuneration and interactions with colleagues and managers.
Each of these factors has consequences on the person’s experience in terms of motivation, personal and professional goals, satisfaction and productivity.
Improving Employee Experience is a long-term strategic choice, which has positive consequences on business efficiency and new talent attraction.
5 ways to improve Employee Experience
Before starting this list of tips, a premise is necessary: adequate and competitive remuneration is the first step to keeping good employees in the company. However, this is often not enough: here are some useful actions you can take to make employee experience more positive.
1. Design the office with a focus on ergonomics and comfort
Design is important, but when you work at your desk for many hours a day, a high-quality workstation is necessary. This means having (at least) an ergonomic and adjustable seat, a sufficiently spacious table and adequate lighting.
However, this is not enough: lounge areas and multi-purpose shared spaces are now a reality in many companies. Comfortable sofas, lounge seating and areas for short informal meetings must be present.
2. Implement flexibility
In recent years there has been increasing talk of smart working, agile working and hybrid working, but there is no 100% effective solution. What is common to all, however, is the need to give people more flexibility, within the limits of shared objectives.
3. Promote diversity and inclusion in the corporate culture
Many people feel compelled to hide their identity (e.g. sexual or religious orientation) when they are at work, for fear of not being accepted. These workers certainly do not have a good employee experience.
There are many ways to make the workplace more diversity-conscious and inclusive: we have discussed them in the following article.
4. Improve onboarding policies
The Employee Experience starts when you enter the company, so you need to create a positive base already from this moment. How? By promoting socialisation with newcomers, through regular 1-to-1s with managers or by creating a mentorship programme.
5. Give room for growth
Satisfaction also comes from professional improvement. This growth, especially in terms of skills, cannot only take place in one’s own time, but must also come from the company itself. Training courses are an excellent starting point!
There are a multitude of ways to improve the working life of employees, but as always we don’t find ourselves in a one-size-fits-all situation. Listening to people and their needs is the first step to create the most effective strategy!
