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What is employee experience management, and why does it matter? An employee’s experience is made up of every interaction they have with your company, and how it makes them feel – from recruitment to departure. And since it has a direct impact on business performance, a lot of companies are taking a closer look at the internal experience they deliver, and how to improve it.
Just like customer experience, every company has an employee experience. You can’t avoid it. So, you have two options: take control of your employee experience, or let it control you.
Fortunately, with a solid strategy and the right tools, you can take control of your employee experience.
Employee experience management (EXM) defined
Employee experience management is the practice of intentionally designing and delivering employee experiences to drive positive business outcomes. From recruiting top talent to managing organizational change, it touches every stage of the employee lifecycle.
EXM goes beyond traditional employee engagement tactics. It focuses on collecting employee feedback and using that to foster employee success and happiness.
With EXM, companies apply their customer experience strategy to their employee experience.
Business benefits of employee experience management
EXM is based on the understanding that engaged employees are good for business. Companies with high employee engagement boast serious advantages, including:
- 41% lower absenteeism
- Lower turnover
- 10% higher customer ratings
- 17% higher productivity
- 21% higher profitability
No wonder 92% of HR leaders made employee experience a top priority in 2021.
How does employee experience impact business performance?
A positive employee experience helps drive the success of a company, from both a financial and social point of view.
A positive EX will also help you attract and retain top talent. This is especially true for Millennials, who are more likely to take a job where with good benefits, where they feel valued and appreciated—even if it means earning less.
Not only that; how you treat your employees is becoming increasingly important to your customers. People want to do businesses with brands that share their values. Especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, taking care of your people will be rewarded.
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Deliver a great employee experience with a clear EXM strategy
Ready to tap into those benefits? Start by developing your employee experience strategy.
Outline your goals and vision for your employee experience. What brand values are most important for you to embody? What outcomes are you trying to achieve? And of course, what matters to your employees? Establish a process for collecting employee feedback. Determine who in the organization owns the employee experience.
Your strategy should be clear, specific and actionable. Here are some tips for bringing it to life:
- Approach employee experience like customer experience
- Train and empower people managers
- Leverage EXM technology
Approach EX like CX
As we mentioned earlier, employee experience management asks you to see your employees as customers. That means getting to know their wants, needs, pain points, and priorities, so you can design an experience they’ll love.
So, when creating your EX strategy, use similar methods as you would for your customer experience strategy. Define audience segments, collect their feedback, and use those insights to uncover trends and patterns to inform your EX approach. Personalize their experiences as you would a customer’s.
Empower your people managers
Managers have the biggest impact on the employee experience, and should be a key component of your EX strategy. How will you enable them to create a positive, productive environment?
Dedicate some time and attention to your manager experience. Consider trainings that give managers the tools and strategies they need to foster a positive work culture.
Adopt powerful EXM tools
Employee experience management solutions help companies listen to employees so they can improve their employee experience.
Invest in tools that allow you to manage every stage of the employee lifecycle – from recruitment to retainment. Collect employee feedback, develop impactful performance review processes, and even manage employee benefits.
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Take care of the sum of your parts with employee experience management
So let’s recap: What is employee experience management? It’s an ethos that your company is only as good as the sum of its parts.
It’s a belief that taking care of your people will not just be good for your brand – it will be good for your business.
