s2yn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience Creating an Optimal Employee Experience ‘See your workplace through the eyes of your most important customers By Jennifer Arnold | May 21, 2018 athleen Vegh works fr 8 company where leaders value engagement so much that they made Ita par of her tile, As senor manager ef employee engagement at Hyland (htas:Iiwwnyland coma software fm bases in Westlake, Ohlo—Vegh is tasked with strengthening employee relationships and creating a postive work environment to keep the company's more than 3.200 workers happy, healthy and engaged ‘Sometimes that might even mean recognizing thatthe very concept on which her poston is bullengagement—is becoming less (Over the past five years, Vegh and her team have started looking beyond the typial team-building and worker appreciation events ‘thought to drive employee engagement Rather than offering cookie-cutter solutions they decided to take stock of what it's really ke ‘to work at Hyland day in and day out The diference was going bigger higher, urther to say there are so many facets that make up an employee's experience wit the ‘company’ she says, “Engagement can fall under that, (but experience goes further takes into account everthing” Vegh's title may not have caught up yet, but her new philosophy sin ine witha growing movement within HR. Just as business owners have long stuciec the customer experience, which encompasses evety interaction customers have with an organization, many leaders are looking to build better workplaces by acusing on the employee experience, oF EX. The ciference may seer subtle, but the change isnot just about adopting the latest buzzwor. "Employee experience has come into ‘vogue because is such @ practical concept, say Burt Rea, director of human captal consuking at Delote. “t's the day-to-day ‘moments that matter to employees: A New Paradigm ‘6s can lose their mearing-—and some experts say that’s just what happened tthe term “employee engagement” “For most companies, engagement has become the idea of investing in perks like free food and new programs and intlates," says futurist and author Jacob Morgan, who wrete The Employee Experience Advantage’ How te Win the War for Talent by Giving Employees the Workspaces They Want, the Tools They Need, and a Culture They Can Celebrate (Wey, 2017, ‘But that doesn't change whats lke to Work tere. It's the same cute, the same leadership style; you just put some bells anc whistles on That wasn't the intention, but thats what its become, unfortunately” Morgan spoke last month atthe Society for Human Resource Managements Talent Conference & Exposition, While there's sil debate over whether engagements 8 worthy aspiration for companies, one thing is clear: Employees aren't feeling it. Despite the milions of dollars organizations routinely pour into boasting the measure, a mere 33 percent of workers reported being engaged in 2016 and employee engagement as a whole rose only 3 percent from 2012 to 20%6, accorcing to data fom Gallup's 2017 hitpsiwww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine06 1 ipagestereating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx 18s2yn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience State of the American Workplace report (htpsinews galup.camitepors/199964/state-american-workplace-report-2017 356%) "Wes the day-to-day moments that matter to employees? Burt Rea Experts say viewing employees through 2 customer lens will get companies clase tothe resuls they desire. Impactfl EX intatives focus on employees’ beginning-to-end experience wit your company, from thelr days as ajob applicant tothe ast paycheck and, In some cases, all he way through retirement. "I's the whale te cycle ofthe empalayee, ‘ram recruting te anboarding 1 how! paid to how | interact with leaders,” Rea says. -ntps:twwwshrm.orgir-todaynews/hr-magazine!0618/pagesicreating-an-optmal-employee-experience aspx. 218270123, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience “Westke an audit ofthe current work environment” says Amanda Andrade, SHAN-SCP, chief people officer at Veterans United Home Loans, httossiivmawveteransunitec.com} a VA loan provider headquartered in Columbia, Mo, with nearly 2.400 employees in more than 20 states. Veterans United isa consistent presence on various "best places to work” list, a sure sign of an employee experience focus. [We look at} who we say we are and want to be, where are the disconnects and the strengths." Andrade says. “Then we make a plan to capitalize on the svengths and fk the disconnects What Has Changed he EX movement began in the tech sector, which has been competing er highly sklled workers for many years. New its spreading to other industies asthe labor market tightens across the board, EX is also an outgrowth of the expectations and ‘demands of modern workers, especialy members ofthe Mllenial generation, whe won't hesitate to switch jobs in search of a better organizational ft “Today's workforce has shite” says Rachel Barker, product marketing manage for employee experience at Provo, Utah-basec oftware frm Qualties, htpsdivnvn.quakrics.com/wihich has 1700 employees. “We heat stats all the time-like $1 llon in annul losses dve to employee turnover and one-tird of workers are sated to switch jobs inthe next shc months, That tess. we need & ew approach’ (Over the years, HR pros have ted myriad intatves to attraet tp talent andl improve retention, with mixed resus, Challenging work and compettive compensation aren't enough on ther own. And freebies and entertainment don't seem to be the ticket, ether "You adapt tothe perks. They lose their impact” Morgan says. A relationship based on gi-gving—that's @ dangerous relationship to be in” He calls this employee engagement style “Pinacchio's [sane It's the cliché of workplaces wth pingpeng tables, rock-cimbing walls and free food, "Don't build your employee experience strategy on giving people perks and benefits” he advises, “They're a tactic, not a strategy ‘So what’ the secret? A meaningful emplayee experience breaks dovn into finding the optimal balance of three areas, according to Morgan: culture, technology and physical environment. Its what others have sighty diferent takes on the EX formula. As part of Andrade’s cultural aut approach, for example, she divides the ‘employee experience into the social, emotional and visual aspects of work Socials about interacting with ethers, emationalis how lone feele about the ob, and visual refers to the actual work enviranment. "When you walk trough the office, what does the furniture ook tke? What message sin the trappings?” she says. The Employee Lens Ltn matter which dimensions you focus on, erating the eptimal employee experience stats with putting yourself in yout workers’ shoes. Picture yourself as a new hte aledgling manager or an employee who just gave bith ther fist cil \Wnat are your interactions withthe company tke? Can you get the information you need quickly? Are the company’s ‘communications effective? Is the reguiree paperwork onerous and redundant? Are the processes convenient? Allo these routine ‘ouchpoints contioute to emplayee experience hitpswww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine!06 1 ipagestreating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx 38s2yn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience \When choosing technology, an EX approach invelves putting the employees who uze your tock front and center in your purchasing ecsions—which feds into the creation of an employee-centic eure By contrast, tadtiona svategies for selecting organizational systems were largely based on what worked best forthe employer's budget, internal processes or bottom line. "Creating a great ccukural environment requires having tools that focus on employees needs instead of business requirements anc making sure the toole are consumergrade;” Morgan says In addition, €X efforts focus on a continuous flow of feedback and information between leadership and employees, a more holistic approach” Andrade says. "The ines are luring between work ané te with technology and flexibility ané the way she workforce is motivatee” Hi and other business leaders are often afraid to as for feedsack for fear of being inundated with unrealistic requests and questions they can't answer “They’te reluctant to ask because they think that they then have te do allthe things (employees) ask fr” Rea says ‘They fe! lice they don't have athe answers. Employees interpret that as holding back inf. Its better to seek input and simply be transparent about what you don't know, experts say. That said, some ways of soliciting feedback are more efectve than others. For example i's net a good idea to rely solely onthe standard annual employee engagement survey Measure What Matters 6 ‘ompanies are obsessed with getting @ high engagement score, but they don't understand why they're doing it Moxgan says, Surveys ae atten toa long the cites one example that has 115 questions) and capture employees feelings only a that pantcular day and time. “It just doesnt give an accurate picture of what's keto work there” (One CHRO told Morgan that a surefire way to boost engagement scores by 10 points was te give the survey ona cloudy day ene year and a sunny ane the next While that might sound ike a joke, there is real research showing that surveys are often skewed by factors ‘that have nothing to do with what they've measuring, For example, a 20% study of more than a mili antine restaurant reviews found that ratings were negatwvely influenced by poor weather on the day reviews were witten, according toa recent article (nipsiwmorrytimes.com/2014/08/02/dininglontine-reviews-keep-thisinmind himlin The New Yorker magazine. ‘The most successful EX strategies for capturing feedback rely ona combination of surveys, face-to-face encounters with incividuals or small groups; ane mechanisms for collecting immediate, anonymous and unsolicited feedback at any tne, We do alot of surveys, casual conversations with people, focus groups, one-an-ones, stay interviews” Andrade says of Veterans United's strategy hitpsiwww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine06 1 ipagestereating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx 48s2yn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience ae ics, based in Provo, Utah, has made the employee experience a key part of its work culture. Ht teacers a Hyland take a simlor approach but zero in an ane key question-—"How Healy woul you be to refer @ frend to work at Hylan” instead ef baraging employees with lengthy survey instruments, "That takes all things into account” Vegh says. Employees «an respond to that question at any time yearound via Hyland’ intranet. By getting constant feecback, “we can make changes pov Performers to find out what makes them stay, what the company does well and what it can do beter throughout the year” Vegh says. Th sagagement team (2 segment ofthe HR department also meets regulary with top ‘There are many tole avaiable to automate surveys ang analyze data, The team at Veterans United uses some provided by high-end ‘vendors ike Great Place to Work and seme developed internally on SurveyMonkey. Quali leaders developed thelr own employee ‘xperience survey too, whieh they now market external And those at Hyland use Net Promoter the assessment tool the company’s customer service team has used for years, to analyze employee experience. Remember, there is such a thing as asking for oo much feecback."TSome employers} disengage ther employees with allthese feedback requests” Barker says. “The organizations don't have time to act and imarove on anything before the next one goes out” [Ex teams can alzo use survey tole te dril dovn on an issue raised in a broader context. For example, when survey results at Hyland revealed that employees were overwhelmed by too many communications channels, the company followed up witha targeted 10- question survey focused solely on communications methods. ‘Ax Veterans United, survey feedback trom new hires showed that they oten ‘el eisconnected curing the lag time Between accepting ‘the job and their start date. This led the HR team to revamp the enboarding process to include more touchpeints between offer eter and orientation -ntps:twwshrm.orgir-todaynews/hr-magazine!06 18/pagesicreating-an-optimal-employee-experience aspx.s2yn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience Employee-First Communications re ofthe worst things you can dois ask for input and then ignore it. That ereates a negative employee experience that leaves workers thinkin, Why did you even ask me?" Vegh says ‘Committe sharing the feedback you receive and your plans for responding tot, including how you wil prirtze the follow-up. “Let Yom know 'l's great that you want all these things. We're going to focus on these two to start!" Rea says. Form cross sectional workgroups to aly deeper into the Issues of greatest importance to your woratore, To create the best EX, use a variety af methods for sharing Information and do it consistently “We keto sultch up our communications style Andrade says. For example, her eam makes use of Menday morning vides distributed on the company intranet, an internal blog, a closed employee Facebook group, eters and videos from the CEO, and hard-copy “bathroom blogs” poste inside stall doors (talc about a captive audience’, Hylane’s leaders spene! ime at every quarterly business meeting reviewing employee survey results and other Key data, VPs and department leaders are encouraged to discuss major issues with their teams and clase the loop. The message is “Here's what we heat ftom you, an here's what we're doing aboutit” Andrade says, ‘This ino once-andilone project Emplayee experience isnot so much an initiative as a methodology. “Every function of HR is Impacted by tis, but t goes beyond HR” Rea says. “t's a shated responsibilty between all areas” And while “employee experience” Is ‘the lingo du jour, experienced protessionals say the mindset aehind the words matters mest. As Vegh says, “If youve truly aligned to bull a huran-centic environment, you're going tobe successful Building a New Ship re way that experts recommend HR folks get in 1 EX mindsets to, wel, stop thinking tke HR foks—or at least the way the function has been traditionally defined. "Never before have we needed HR to not be Hit mare shan we éo now Morgan says. He emphasizes the need for HR pros to change thelr focus from transa nal functions ke compensation, benefits and legat compliance to transformational leadership, “Human transformation is what [HR's] responsibilty is” he says By that he means “unlocking the potential ofthe people [an transforming the organization EX is a means to that end. “I's a notion of ‘mining and extracting az much as you can from your empleyees” Mergan says, notin terms of productivity but rather for data on what top performers want—so you can use that information to attract and retin the best talent "You need to get the pulse of wnat is going ‘on in the world of work and bring it back te. make some kindof change” This won't be possible without a huge shiftn prioniles—which is why Morgan recommends HR leaders spend roughly 20 percent of ‘their time on taeltional “HR stuff" and 80 percent on “vransformational stu "Youre never going to get anywhere i you're just patching up holes, he says. "There's ne wansformation injust keeaing the ship afloat You need to move toward building a new shin” [And wino knows? if you follow this advice. your fture may even holé 2 promotion toa new rele: senior manager of employee hitpsiwww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine06 1 ipagestereating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx 6s2rn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience How to Tanstorm EX at Your Organization Experts recommend the fllewing sx tps for bulding an emplayee-centic workplace: + Put yourseif in employees’ shoes. Look at each part of an employee fe cycle, trom eancidate to retiree Also, determine how employees interact wih the organization during major life milestones such as mariage, the birth of a child othe {death of a loved one. Crticaly examine the processes and procedures ané ask yoursel I this necessary? Can we make it ‘more convenient for employees? How can we better support workers? 1 Ask employees what they think. Don't just estbute a survey once a year Find citferent ways to collect feedlaack and suggestions year-round in a variety of ways: ane-on-ones with tap performers, maller focus groups, quick anne survey and anonymous submissions, for example. + Identity target areas. Don't ry to fk everything a once, Focus on one 0 two areas that eame through loud and clear, and let employees know what they are, “Employees apprecite being heard ang understand the balance” says Burt Rea, rector of human capital consulting at Dette. + Report back. Establish a regular communication loop to share feedback received and plans to address problem areas. Again, use various methods: memes, videos, social media, blogs and facee-face meetings, name afew. + Evaluate. Use your feedback tools to evaluate the impact of interventions. And be patient. “Yes, takes ie,” says Kathleen Vegh, senior manager of employee engagement at Hyland, “But even though [a eertain issue may] emain a theme, you may hear fewer negative comments [about it" + Repeat. Improving employee experience i 2 continuous process. As the world of wark changes, so willthe components of employee experience, Jennifer Amold i @ freelance writer bosed in Jacksonvile Beach, Fla, YOU MAY ALSO LIKE hitpsiwww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine06 1 ipagestereating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx 18s2rn012a, 12:00AM Creating an Optimal Employee Experience Leading with Vulnerability: A Q&A with Jacob Morgan SHRM: Half of Workers Wish to Remain Remote Permanently How to Make a Merger Successful Leadership Critical to Organization Change Efforts CONTACT US (WWW.SHRM.ORG/SHRM-INDIA/PAGES/INDIAOFFICES.ASPX) | (1)800.103.2198 | © +919810503727 (HTTPS://APLWHATSAPP.COM/SEND?PHONE=9198105037278TEXT=Hi) | SHRM INDIA CORPORATE INFORMATION (WWW.SHRM.ORG/SHRM-INDIA/PAGES/SHRMI-CORPORATE- INFORMATION-PAGE.ASPX) 2023 SHRM. All Rights Reserved Disclaimer (www.shrm.org/about-shrm/Pages/Terms-of-Use.aspx#Disclaimer) hitpsiwww.shrm org todayinewsihy-magazine06 1 ipagestereating-an-optimal-employee-experience.aspx ae