Ozi Uwadia
HR TRANSFORMATION PROJECT MANAGER
H.2.2.
How can organisations create employee experiences that drive employee retention?
An effective employee experience (EX) strategy should be built on an understanding that organisations are a collective, made up of individuals. A one-size-fits-all strategy might mean a great experience for one person, but it is unlikely to meet the needs of all.
When it comes to EX planning, we can not be generic. We want colleagues to have a sense of belonging, which can happen through recognition, acknowledgement and encouragement of their personal and work lives. Growth and development through career architecture should be part of this EX strategy.
In practice, this means moving away from a single, standardised experience towards a flexible experience that recognises the individual needs and preferences of a diverse group of colleagues. Investing just 5% of turnover into EX will deliver better quality output, and potentially higher profits.
A young person might value a workplace experience that gives them the opportunity to work abroad, while someone with a family might stay in a job with flexible hours. Raising salaries is rarely enough to provide a positive experience or drive up retention, especially in an employees’ market. Companies need to take a more individual approach, with a flexible list of benefits that tally with colleagues’ preferences and needs.
This approach improves retention but has wider benefits. Organisations that offer great EX to diverse groups of people find recruitment easier, with a broader talent pool available, and a positive reputation in the marketplace as an employer of choice.
Companies need to take a more individual approach, with a flexible list of benefits that tally with colleagues’ preferences and needs.
In reality, improving culture isn’t about change management; it’s about transformation management, which means delivering lasting change over time.
What can I do to improve my organisational culture?
Many people think cultural change management is created by a new policy or documentation. In reality, improving culture isn’t about change management; it’s about transformation management, which means delivering lasting change over time.
Achieving transformation requires intentionality and careful planning. How will you get colleagues to buy into this transformation? How do you bypass natural cynicism about corporate initiatives?
Transformation must deliver change beyond what’s printed on paper. It needs to be reflected in how you communicate, your branding, mindset and way of working. These changes can be cascaded through the organisation through town hall meetings, or via influential employees who act as champions.
If you want to build a culture around work/life balance then you need to show employees you care about their views and their priorities. It’s important to be grateful, to tell colleagues you see and appreciate how hard they work. Most companies will offer maternity leave, but only a few companies will send flowers when someone has a baby.
These little gestures show colleagues that we value them as people, that we want them to be happy and to enjoy their lives outside of work. These gestures are small, but they’re hugely welcome and even a small investment goes a long way.
Do you think that artificial intelligence has a role to play in creating positive employee experiences and moments?
We’re at the beginning of the process but AI is the next logical step from data analytics. Now is the time to think about how AI could improve EX planning, by offering insight into what our colleagues want and need, and how that can be delivered.
AI could be used to make smarter decisions around employee policies and benefits. Understanding what pages people look at online or on an intranet could help us make decisions around which benefits people want to know about most, or potentially where people have worries that we can address proactively. Employee surveys are always going to be important, but we could see AI-supported decisions within the next three years.
Now is the time to think about how AI could improve EX planning, by offering insight into what our colleagues want and need, and how that can be delivered.
H.2.2. Is a UK business and management consultancy specialising in project, change and business improvement. The company supports clients with the full recruitment lifecycle, along with corporate strategy, operations planning and expert advice on business growth and sustainability.