Employees who enjoy a positive experience working for a company are far more likely to want to remain loyal to it for as long as possible, and naturally, this is something all companies strive to achieve. But wanting to give employees a good experience while working for their company, and actually achieving it, are two very different things.
Implementing and maintaining a positive employee experience isn’t always straightforward, and while there are some simple things you can do to help achieve employee satisfaction, they don’t come without their challenges, and all require great dedication and commitment. That said, giving employees a good workplace experience is always worth investing in from a business standpoint, and here are five areas you can focus on to achieve it:
- Hiring
The experience of every employee begins with recruitment and hiring. During this phase it’s important to try and focus on enticing and hiring the right candidates for the advertised role, and this includes having the appropriate skills, both hard and soft, to match the culture of your company. If an employee has the same (or similar) values to the philosophy of your company, they’re more likely to want to stick around.
- Onboarding and training
Once you’ve hired a new employee, how you integrate them into your company and the workplace, is a crucial part of the overall employee experience. Try to ensure that your onboarding processes include all of the information a new employee could possibly need in order for them to be productive. Simply handing them a manual and then offering them basic training isn’t enough, and you should schedule regular check-ins with them to see what progress they’re making and find out what challenges, if any, they may be facing. Ask for their feedback, and encourage them to be honest about their concerns.
- Pay and benefits
While an employee might enjoy working for your company, ultimately they are there to earn money to pay their bills and feed their families, and whatever benefits you can offer them along the way, could influence their level of job satisfaction and determine how long they remain in their role. Provide all of your employees with competitive rates of pay and enough benefits to help them feel comfortable and protected while they work for you. Not only that, but try to pay them on time and accurately, something that can be consistently achieved by hiring a payroll service provider.
- Technology
Try to automate some important aspects of the employee experience to bring your company in line with modern expectations, and reduce the workload. Some areas that can easily be automated include:
- Job applications
- Onboarding
- Benefits enrolment
- HR, payroll and benefits self-service
- Engagement
That said, employees still hold a lot of value in real human connections, and you mustn’t lose sight of this when automating processes. As such, you must carefully select where automation can be used to good effect, and when it should not be automated.
- Flexible working arrangements
No longer a luxury for employees, flexible working hours are a lifesaver for many employees, and employers should focus on promoting work schedules that are flexible, wherever possible. Some forms of this may include:
- Remote
- Hybrid (a combination of remote and on-site)
- Part-time
- Temporary
- Compressed workweeks
- Alternative schedules
One highly effective way of ensuring that your employees are given the very best experience possible when working for your company, is to outsource your HR and payroll requirements to a professional provider. They can then focus on what really matters to each and every employee, right from training and integration, to pay and benefits.