The 3 fundamentals of a great employee experience

One in 4 employees are looking for new jobs, according to a survey by Investopedia. The groups of people looking for a change in the workplace are typically Gen Z (aged between 9 and 24), technology professionals, working parents and people who have been in employment with an organisation for between 2 and 4 years.

Engaging, retaining and attracting talent is the number-one thing keeping leaders awake at night. To understand why your employees might be looking to leave, you need to understand what they are looking for and why they are not getting an employee experience that makes them stay.

What do employees want today?

Talking to your people should be part of everyday life, not just written in a strategy document. You can find out if they are happy by asking them. Maintain open communication channels to make sure your team’s employee experience is good enough to stick around for and learn how to make it better. 

Survey results show that when browsing job adverts, people look for compensation, remote work and benefits.

Compensation

Be honest and transparent by making salaries visible from the moment a job position becomes available. This helps to manage people’s expectations and provides a clear path of development for employees. 

Remote working

Incorporate flexible working options by offering hybrid or remote working if these options are viable for your business and develop processes that support this way of working. 

Benefits

Benefits are layered because everyone’s idea of a great benefit is different. 

Relevance is key. If the benefit is relevant to someone and makes their life better, it holds value. People’s idea of value depends on external factors, like the cost of living and changing dynamics of their personal life. For example, over 30% of people aged 18 to 41 are concerned with having pet insurance available as a benefit. Over 80% of people older than 42 are looking for jobs that offer employer-covered healthcare.

A Forbes survey showed that 62% of businesses have changed their benefit offerings in the past year. Adapting your benefits to suit the current climate and workforce is key to engaging, retaining and attracting talent.

The fundamentals of a great employee experience

Offering fair pay, flexible working conditions and personalised benefits are all key factors in creating a positive employee experience. If you have the ability to make all 3 happen, you are allowing your people to personalise their work. 

Gartner highlights 3 key points relevant to the future of work. These can help organisations understand and deliver on what people really want from their employers. Adopting the right mindset is important in providing a better employee experience.

1. Employees are people, not just workers

As an employee, it is your responsibility to see and understand the person behind the worker. Only then can you provide them with a great employee experience. 

2. Work is a subset of life, not separate from it.

If your employees are provided with the opportunity to personalise their work, it will fit in better alongside their personal life, making for a happier, more productive employee.

3. Value comes through feelings, not just features.

Benefits are not necessarily materialistic. The reason personalisation at work is so important is because everyone values benefits differently. If you offer more relevant benefits, you will appeal to a wider talent pool and retain the talent you already have.

Key takeaways

Personalisation is a work trend that is here to stay. 

Honest conversations and an infrastructure that supports flexibility in the workplace mean that everyone's unique needs can be met. This allows your people to personalise their work, which is the only way to foster a positive employee experience.

For guidance on how you can offer a more personalised way of work for your employees, contact the Heart Talent team.