Do Free Fruit and Yoga Really Create a Better Employee Experience?

by Niamh Madden, Community Manager at Talivest

To free fruit and yoga! The cause of, and solution to, all of your organisation’s problems.

Yep, that’s right. If you’re still focussing on rolling out mini perks like these, then you’re missing the bigger picture. Although lovely to have, they are just one part of your overall Employee Experience.

So what exactly does an awesome Employee Experience look like? Well, there are more than a few strings to its bow but if you nail them all, you’ll be able to craft a truly effective People Strategy.

The Rise of Employee Experience

Employee Experience (EX) was born out of the concept of Customer Experience (CX), but relates to an organisation’s employees – the internal customer.

Customer Experience is a well-defined, mature model that is used to map out the customer journey. The framework includes measurements like Net Promoter Score (NPS) to understand how likely a customer is to recommend your business to a family member or friend.

Think about a great customer experience you had. Now think of a time when you had a good experience at work. Are there similarities? You might find that as a customer you were listened to, you trusted the product or service, and got a high quality result. Great communication and top quality work – sounds like a good employee experience too, doesn’t it?

Applying customer experience concepts to the Employee Experience will help you to develop an integrated focus on the employee lifecycle.

Pulse surveys, which gather real-time feedback throughout an employee journey, are an effective way to collect insights that measure the Employee Experience is in your organisation.

 

Talivest Employee Lifecycle
Employee Lifecycle

So what exactly is EX?

Employee Experience affects the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding to offboarding, and even when your employees leave and become corporate alumni.

Here’s how Employee Experience (EX) is defined by Jacob Morgan, author of The Employee Experience Advantage.

Company Culture

“This is how employees feel when they are inside of an organization, the vibe that they get, the organizational structure, leadership style, compensation and benefits, and so on.”

Physical Environment

“Anything that can be seen, heard, touched, and tasted like desks, chairs, art, and meals. This is crucial because employees spend most of their time inside the organization so it should have a positive effect.”

Technological Environment

“The tools an employee needs to do their job, including user interface, mobile devices and computers. An organization should provide relevant and modern tools that allow employees to get their job done.”

Why does Employee Experience Matter?

According to Deliotte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends Report, “The Employee Experience: Culture, Engagement, and Beyond”, nearly 80% of executives rated employee experience as very important (42%) or important (38%).

However, only 22% reported that their companies were excellent at building a differentiated employee experience.

Building the Business Case

In the age of the digital workforce, with the influence of millennials and now centennials in the workforce, employees expect an engaging and enjoyable working experience.

But let’s not forget the business benefits. Organisations that focus on Employee Experience achieve the following benefits:

  • 2X customer satisfaction
  • 2x innovation
  • 25% more profitability than competitors

Organisations most invested in Employee Experience are included 11.5 times more often in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work

Employee Engagement Statistics