Three ways to deliver an enhanced employee experience

A manager speaks to his employee. [Getty Images]

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about many changes, but when it comes to the world of work, one thing is now crystal clear: the employee voice matters and must be heard.

Increasingly, people want to work for companies that align with their values and where their individual needs are supported and met. This shift has culminated in record resignation numbers and the widely discussed “Great Resignation”.

It’s a moment of reckoning for organisations; to bounce back quickly and plan for future growth, companies need to retain their talent and attract new employees. But it’s also a once in a generation opportunity. Organisations have the chance to hit the reset button and reimagine their people strategies. Leaders must prioritise the employee experience, starting with earning their employees’ trust.

1. Earn employee trust

Traditionally, leaders moulded employee experiences based on what they believed or assumed would make their employees happier. However, during the pandemic closer attention has been paid to individual employee needs and it’s revealed a stark disconnect between what employers think their people want and what they really want. Over time, this disconnect has caused some employees to lose trust in their employers, and to question if their policies really reflect their values. There’s no silver bullet when it comes to creating an employee experience that works for everyone, especially as the workforce is diverse and expectations are always shifting. 

2. Grant greater autonomy

As we’ve explored, earning the trust of your employees is critical. But to create the best possible employee experience, employers need to learn to trust their employees too. Our latest Employee Expectations Report found that the freedom to work with greater autonomy and flexibility became significantly more important to workers during the pandemic. Therefore, autonomy must play a more substantial role in the future of work too. Autonomy doesn’t have to mean letting everyone do what they want all of the time. Rather, in this context, it’s about granting employees the freedom to explore what works best for them.

3. Take a personalised approach

Once you’ve established two-way trust between employee and employer, the potential for the employee experience is limitless. No longer do leaders need to rely on assumptions about which benefits might boost productivity, or where and when their employees do their best work. The continuous flow of data provided by employees through feedback and collated by the right technology enables leaders to create bespoke, equitable, and personalised employee experiences.