Create a Top-Notch Employee Experience, Gain a Competitive Advantage

In the midst of labor market tightness and inflation-driven demand for better pay, creating an employee experience where your people feel good about delivering on your company’s strategy and goals is crucial.

And doing it right means relying less on perks and more on listening and using the data that comes from it.

According to Lisa Sterling, chief people officer at Perceptyx, an employee insights and manager effectiveness software platform, the results include significantly improved customer experience and overall business success.

“If you get the investment right with your people, they absolutely will deliver exceptional customer experiences, which in turn will deliver great shareholder experiences,” she said in an episode of HRMorning’s “Voices of HR” podcast, titled “Designing a Top-Tier, Holistic Employee Experience.”

“Organizations who are more intentional about their people strategy … actually are six times more likely to exceed their financial targets. They are six times more likely to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction and engagement, which we know has a direct correlation to annual recurring revenue growth, to margin growth, etc.,” Sterling said, citing the 2023 edition of the “State of Employee Listening Study” that her company conducts.

Employee Experience Begins With Listening

Sterling advised organizations to develop and keep track of an ongoing listening strategy for understanding employee experience, noting what keeps them engaged and motivated, as well as identifying areas for improvement.

“Probably 80% of the challenges that we’re faced with as organizations, people somewhere in the organization already know how to solve those problems. They’re just not being given the voice or the podium or the opportunity to talk about them. And so go to where the action is. Go to the people closest to your customers. Go to the people closest to other people in the organization and ask them; get their insight,” she said.

Sterling shared a case study of a beverage company that discovered a correlation between employee engagement and workers’ compensation claims, which led them to understand the financial impact of disengagement on the organization.

It’s also important to appropriately act on employee feedback to make your people feel valued and that their voice matters.

In addition to surveying employees, listening also involves paying attention to how people show up on Zoom or Teams and what they’re saying about your company on sites like Glassdoor.com and FairyGodboss.com to get a holistic view of your employees’ experience.

“If you’re only using the internal data, a lot of times you’re missing an important element of the story. Because people aren’t always 100% authentic and transparent internally,” she said.

For HR leaders seeking to align their HR strategy with the corporate strategy, Sterling recommends starting with an assessment of their organization’s current employee experience and getting the right stakeholders (especially the CEO and CFO) involved in the conversation. Aligning the two strategies, while keeping the future needs of the organization in mind, is crucial for success.