Employees are the biggest asset for any company. It is undisputed that a lot depends on the employer-employee relationship and companies with good employee engagement initiatives are the ones to have thrived in the corporate world. It has come down to a point where companies, irrespective of size and field, cannot shy away from this topic in an era where Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at workplace are becoming significant talking and action points. Even though employee engagement initiatives were carried out on the physical level, there has been less focus on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives up until recent times. Most probably, the global pandemic and its aftermaths on corporates have triggered the focus on the psychological aspect of employee engagement.
Employee Experience in a nutshell
Employee Experience is a much broader aspect than it seems on the surface level. It goes beyond the customary team building activities, games, events to focus on driving performance and productivity at the workplace. It is about making sure that employees are motivated, passionate about work, aligning them with company goals and objectives, changing their attitude to work, collaborative efforts, etc.
Employee Engagement is one of the main components of Employee Experience, which refers to: a measure of someone’s attitude to work, how they think, feel and act towards helping their employer meet their strategic goals – how committed they are to their work.
Why does Employee Experience matter?
Enhancing Employee Experience is a key requirement which needs to be looked at by corporates and prioritizing on the DEI initiatives is essential for the long-term success of any company. It creates a win-win situation for both the company and employees by playing a vital role in profitability, brand strength, employee retention, boosting employee productivity and efficiency, employee satisfaction, motivation, etc.
Ways to enhance Employee Experience
While focusing on enhancing Employee Experience on the physical level, it is vital to pay attention to the psychological aspect within the employer-employee relationship. One of the key drivers of Employee Experience is building trust, as it is the starting point for a successful employer-employee relationship. Providing opportunities to share ideas and opinions, constant updates, leadership, defining roles, sharing knowledge about work ethics, regular meetings are also vital. Recognizing the performances of employees lead to motivation and sense of belonging. It is also important to allow employees to be authentic given the fact that diversity is abundant in every company.
Inspiration from companies which focus on Employee Experience
It is revealed that companies with the highest levels of employee engagement leading to enhanced Employee Experience have achieved 23% increase in profitability, 18% increase in productivity, 43% lower staff turnover, 233% customer loyalty, and 19% higher market premium which is an encouraging sign for any company aiming to walk through this transformation.
Enhancing Employee Experience during the pandemic
It is fair to say that the pandemic has a strong say in the reawakening of employee engagement initiatives such as DEI. Today, the entire world grapples with the pandemic and it has resulted in most companies shifting to remote working as precautionary measure to safeguard employees. The need to connect with employees, building trust and confidence, frequent updates and inquiries on the safety of employees and their family members has increased more than ever. Hence, making room for an uninterrupted communication, collaboration, feedback and support are essential to help employees get through these challenging times.
In this background, PR Wire came forward to host a Zoom discussion on Enhancing Employee Experience with an aim to create awareness on this timely topic and promote the importance of facilitating a positive Employee Experience across employees of every sector and industry. The session was facilitated by Victoria Coplans Hope, the Founder and CEO of Hope Communications who brings with her an extensive experience in employee engagement and employee communications. The topic- “Enhancing Employee Experience through DEI initiatives within the Workplace” was brought to light in line with the launch of PR Wire’s latest service offering- DEPICT, which is an attempt to promote DEI culture among corporates through employee-focused initiatives.
Victoria, who herself advocates for employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, went on to share valuable insights on Employee Experience, its impact on employees and how important is employee engagement during this pandemic, the entire world is grappling with.
PR Wire Sri Lanka, through the collaboration with Hope Communications, aims to continue making an impact among the local organizations across a vast range of industries in understanding the importance of Enhancing Employee Experience and its impact on business performance and the overall reputation management strategies of each organization.