5 Ways to Deliver a Great Employee Experience

Employee experience is everything your employee's encounter, discover or feel over the course of their time with a company. It can be anything from the general workplace atmosphere to the company’s mission, work-life balance, or the way coworkers interact with one another. 

Impeccable employee experience can affect retention, employee happiness, recruitment and the overall culture of a company. Leaders tend to have ownership of the EX, through fostering a healthy company culture and the environment in which employees can thrive—not just in the work they produce but their general wellbeing. 

How our employees feel about the culture in which they work, is a true test of our leadership. With that in mind, here are some ways to foster and build a great employee experience:

Demonstrate meaning

In order to do great work, not only do you need talented, intelligent individuals, but you also need purpose. In order to get your employees excited to jump out of bed and come to work every day, they need to know that the work they produce is of shared value and meaning. 

This can be done by creating and effectively communicating company values, mission and vision from the top down. Communicating isn’t enough, leadership must eat their own dog food and continuously make decisions based on the mission and values to ensure this radiates throughout the company. Employees must feel connected to the organization’s bigger picture and goals for them to want to show up each day and produce their best work. 

Boost your employee engagement

Growth opportunities are talent magnets. Most people are looking to grow, learn and develop their skills at an accelerated rate. Employees who are stuck in the same role, quarter after quarter, with little change are at risk of disengagement. 

Provide learning and development opportunities for employees to improve their skills, explore career paths and set both personal and professional goals that they can work towards. An engaged employee is a happy employee, and happy employees produce great work. 

Cross-collaboration and communication

When departments remained siloed, communication breaks down creating frustration, pointing fingers and fosters a toxic company culture. Strong cross-collaboration between teams and leadership is key in creating an employee experience that is built up of trust and transparency. 

Providing situations where employees can interact with different teams, not only on a professional level but also on a personal level with help create a healthy company culture. Cultivate an environment where employees know that their opinions and feedback are invited. Listen to your people, and ensure that they not only feel heard but valued. Provide channels of communication that encourage feedback, engagement, ideas and suggestions that foster positive change. 

Foster employee trust

Without trust, well, your employee experience will be less than stellar. Trust is the backbone of a healthy and thriving culture where employees feel safe to voice their opinions whether they be positive or constructive. Leadership should be genuine, and the first way to build trust is to be transparent. Share both wins and failures openly with the company and allow for open and honest feedback. A culture of honesty is an employee experience that should be mandatory—not optional.

Action and accountability 

Lastly, it’s important for leadership to remain accountable and take action, and encourage change when required. The employee experience will and should change over time, especially as a company scales, so it’s important to constantly reflect on feedback and performance to see where there may be EX gaps. Continued progress—not perfection, is what companies should be aiming for when creating a healthy and lasting employee experience.