Whether you’ve changed jobs recently or it’s been a while since you were the “newbie,” you probably have a few key criteria that you look for in a prospective employer. Like shopping for a car, there are must-haves (air-con, Bluetooth connectivity, and built-in navigation) and nice-to-haves (turning your car on from your phone, premium speakers, and a champagne chiller).
When considering a new employer, candidates generally have a few things on their list like flexible or hybrid work arrangements, career growth opportunities, and a company that aligns with their values or is known for its innovation. Employees choosing a company to work for are like consumers shopping for a new car – they’ll research the features, read the reviews, and compare the offering to narrow down their shortlist.
In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of Employee Experience Management (EXM) and how training managers and leaders in EXM can help them build positive experiences across the employee lifecycle.
Focusing on employee experience attracts better candidates
Ask yourself what a prospective job applicant would write on their list of pros and cons about working for your organization. Do you have a reputation for being an employer of choice? Are your employees vocal promoters of the company? Do you have strong recognition programs that reward achievements and exemplary actions? Do you demonstrate a meaningful commitment to DEI? All of these questions – and many more that candidates may have – lead to a single overarching concept. What is the employee experience like in your organization?
A great employee experience is a non-negotiable for top talent. The good news is, you don’t need the Googleplex to provide this. Employee experience is about listening to employees at the important touch points in the employee lifecycle and responding to their feedback. Even simple improvements – clearer career progression pathways, regular reviews of workload, or time out for team-building activities – can have a huge impact on morale and employee satisfaction.
And why is EXM so important? Because top companies know that, despite the rise of AI and automation, employees are still the backbone of any organization. Their skills, dedication, and creativity drive the company’s success and growth. When employees feel valued and engaged, they are more likely to be productive and contribute positively to the workplace culture.
Employee experience management can reduce turnover and improve morale
On the flip side, what happens when employees aren’t treated well, feel undervalued, and are underpaid? What if they don’t have many opportunities to advance their career or complete training to develop their skills? In a hyper-connected world, organizations that neglect the employee experience do so at their peril. Not only are they likely to have high employee turnover and a poor culture for productivity and innovation, but they risk reputational damage.
Frustrated job candidates, employees, and ex-employees can be vocal detractors of a brand, spreading negative reviews and feedback across social media and professional networks. This can deter top talent from applying and even drive away customers who value ethical business practices. Ultimately, neglecting employee wellbeing can lead to a vicious cycle of declining morale, reduced performance, and a tarnished company image. Investing in a positive employee experience is essential for long-term success and sustainability.
Most organizations will have areas of strength when it comes to EXM. Maybe you’ve got a great employee onboarding program. Maybe you’ve paid particular attention to setting up successful remote work programs. Maybe performance management is a particular strength. These things are critical to a solid employee experience. But what’s not working so well? Which areas are ripe for improvement? And how do you identify the gaps in your employee experience program?
Stages of the employee lifecycle
In the current climate, organizations need to consider the end-to-end employee lifecycle to stand out from the crowd. The employee lifecycle involves many touch points. Creating positive experiences across these stages of the employee lifecycle can improve your company’s reputation and how it is perceived by both candidates and current employees.
The employee lifecycle can be broadly broken into several stages, including:
1. Recruitment
The goal of the recruitment experience is to convert top applicants into employees. Neglecting the recruitment experience can backfire for brand. Adding empathy into every part of your recruitment process – even the automated parts! – can have a big impact on applicant perceptions. Our Employee Experience Management (EXM) courses on the Recruitment Process and AI in the Recruitment Process courses show managers how to use make stronger connections with candidates while leveraging tools like recruitment videos, social media pages, and career sites.
2. Onboarding
Creating great employee experiences means helping new hires grow into confident, productive employees with the tools and knowledge they need to perform in their roles. When companies onboard new employees, they should be assessing how new employees feel, whether they’re being supported, and whether they have a sense of belonging. Learn how to improve your onboarding process in our Employee Experience Management course on the Onboarding Process and Managing Remote and Hybrid Teams during the onboarding process.
3. Development
Empowering your team and boosting retention requires strong development strategies, including the cultivation of social connections and executing strategic internal transfers. For HR managers and supervisors can benefit from our Employee Experience Management courses on Internal Transfers and Social Connections by leaning how to facilitate transparent, fair, and successful job mobility programs, and foster a connected and motivated teams.
4. Retention
Maintaining communication and transparency, and embedding these concepts into the fabric of your company culture, is crucial for retaining top talent and keeping employees fulfilled in their roles. When applicable, it’s also critical for leaders to facilitate a flexible hybrid or remote workplace that’s suitable to employees, while fitting the constraints of the business. Our Employee Experience Management courses on Communication and Transparency and Flexible and Hybrid Work Programs will explore the importance of transparency and communication and how to overcome the common challenges of flexible or remote work arrangements.
5. Exit
Offboarding is often treated as an afterthought, but ignoring this part of the employee lifecycle is an error that can sour your employees’ previously positive perceptions of your company. Our Employee Experience Management course collection offers courses specifically designed to optimize offboarding, showing you how to avoid wasting years of hard work and relationship-building by treating employees’ exits as thoughtfully as their arrivals.
Beginning to think of the EXM as an area for strategic investment will be a big shift for some companies. But having an employee experience program is now recognized by industry leaders as a critical component of organizational success. Get the employee experience right in your organization and you will have a competitive advantage as a strong brand and employer of choice.
Litmos is excited to release a new series of Employee Experience Management courses aimed at Leaders, Managers, and HR teams. For more information on these fun and engaging courses, explore the Litmos course catalog.