I was having a recent conversation with a dear friend who is the QUEEN of Customer Experience (CX to those in the know) – Stacy Sherman of Doing CX Right. We were having a serious mind meld about how Employee Experience (EE) is just as important as CX.
One of our former clients still swears he will write a book, Skipping to Work – where he shares how everyone can be as happy heading to work as they are heading home. So happy, in fact, that they literally skip both ways!
Whether or not anyone is actually skipping to work, happier employees lead to increased productivity and improved collaboration, as well as less attrition and fewer “at work but not really at work” staff members. Unfortunately, many companies, and their leadership teams, forget that. Or at least they let it slip to a lower priority or claim they’re not sure what they can do to engage their employees and keep them happy.
My dear friend and I were discussing how similar it is to creating happy customers – you find out what they want, and then, when and how you can, you give that to them.
Before many team engagements with our clients, we interview as many of the employees or team members that we can. We generally hear many of the same wants and/or needs, no matter the organization:
- They want transparency – a clear picture of the future and future plans of the organization – Obviously it’s not always possible to have a clear future, especially with the change and uncertainty surrounding many things these days. That said, employees want to know as much as organizations can share, which is often more than organizations think they can share. We recommend “overcommunication” – tell them what you know, tell them what you don’t know, tell them what you can’t tell them, and tell them when you’ll tell them more. Gaps in communication create more stress and uncertainty for employees, and this does not make them happy.
- They want a clear path of their own future – Many if not nearly all employees are looking for ways to advance. To advance their learning. To advance their career. Even if you don’t have clear career paths mapped out, make time for conversations with employees to learn what they’re wanting so that you can figure out how you can help them achieve their goals and dreams.
- They also want more time for their lives outside of work – Especially now with all the uncertainty and change, many employees want and need more down time, de-stress time, and personal time. All of these things bring less burnout – thereby fewer sick days and fewer “at work but not at work” employees. Find ways to help employees find their balance and de-stress time and model healthy work/life behaviors as well. In fact, recent studies have shown that employees are happier when they have the flexibility for work at home.
- They often want more community – Whether we’re in person, virtual, or hybrid, we are social, hive animals, and we crave that community. Create simple ways to build community and stronger relationships for your employees. Bring them together for fun, for supportive conversations, for whatever they need. Every time our clients bring their teams together to share with and learn from each other, the culture of the organization deepens and strengthens.
- They want to be heard and appreciated – Again, being heard and appreciated is a simple, yet complex, human need. A need your employees have. Be open to and ask for their feedback on what they want, what’s working well, and what’s not – and then take the feedback into consideration and let them know what you’re doing differently because of their feedback. Catch them doing things right, and thank them for their contributions.
Sometimes I think we forget that the people around us – our colleagues, our customers, our employees – are people too, with wants and needs and things that make them happy. Remembering this and acting on it enhances the experience for your employees AND your customers.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in strengthening your organizational or team culture through enhancing the Employee Experience, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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