One of the most striking facts about the ‘Great Resignation’ is just how many people are willing to walk out of their current job with nowhere else to go. Workers are no longer willing to settle for poor experiences simply to guarantee an income. As people search for more fulfilling roles and career paths, companies must think long and hard about the experience they provide to their employees. Will it be rewarding enough to attract and retain that talent, help them grow and achieve their career goals? You must drive positive employee experiences as well as remuneration, personal development and how valued employees feel.
Embrace new ways to work
In the post-pandemic world, employees want the flexibility to choose where – and when – they work. Research suggests 80% of workers would turn down a job that did not offer a flexible work schedule. Flexible or ‘hybrid’ work models make employees feel more empowered and organizations are responding. In an April 2022 survey, almost 80% of companies stated that they have already implemented some form of hybrid working within their organization.
The pandemic certainly caused a huge number of people to re-assess what’s important. It also highlighted another significant fact: Giving employees the freedom and autonomy for more flexible working environments doesn’t lead to reduced productivity or poor-quality work. In many cases, organizations found that employees were more productive than when they were in a traditional office environment[1].
Find the right balance to meet the needs of your workforce
What’s missing in our new, isolated work bubbles are those interactive moments that make a difference in our daily work like informal water cooler conversations that act as sounding boards for new ideas, or in-person brainstorming sessions that drive creativity through interactive exercises. It’s these that boost the level of collaboration and creativity that just doesn’t seem to happen over Teams or Zoom.
While more robust collaboration tools are improving virtual interactions by adding new capabilities that aim to boost engagement and ease sharing of information, it’s difficult for some to accept the idea that they’ll never experience these in-office interactions again. To get the best of both worlds, many organizations are now implementing hybrid work environments where employees have the flexibility to work from the office or home as they require.
Remove barriers and simplify the complex
In the new world of hybrid work, employee experiences are quickly becoming a key measurement for success. It’s not just about offering the flexibility to work from anywhere, it’s about empowering employees with the right tools and information to do their job well and removing the barriers that cause friction, which often leads to frustrated and unhappy employees.
By removing information barriers and simplifying complex processes through technology, you can deliver employee experiences that allow your workforce to focus on the things that matter, like impactful customer interactions, innovative thinking, and future business growth.
What does this mean in practice? It means creating highly automated, engaging and personalized employee experiences through:
- Integrated content experiences within the lead applications that employees use every day
- Personalized information related to specific tasks and workflows
- Secure information available from any location or device
- Intelligent automation that surfaces relevant information rather than employees searching for it
- AI-driven insights to empower the employee and improve their decision-making
[1] Gartner®, Take These 3 Actions to Make Digital Workplaces Happier, Faster and Smarter. (September 2021).
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