The events of 2020 have had an incredible impact on business and the way we go about it and these changes will no doubt continue to take place in 2021.
As many organisations look for ways to improve their performance (from both an internal and external perspective) there is a growing trend toward optimising and combining the outcomes of both Employee Experience (EX) and Customer Experience (CX).
It is easier to create great customer experiences when you have great company culture & happy employees. After all, your employees are the face of your organisation and the ones that deliver the end customer experience. But with the rise of flexible work and much less face to face interaction how companies monitor and manage the experience of their people needs to change.
Here are some things to consider when looking at how you manage your teams in 2021:
1. Communication is more important than ever
With people no longer coming to the office and meeting everyday (whether it be in organised team meetings or just the small interactions that occur in and around the building) it is harder than ever to get a gauge on how people feel. On top of that, it is also a lot harder for people to express how they feel – not everyone is comfortable putting things in writing or sometimes those channels aren’t necessarily clear. Having open lines of communication with all employees and making sure they have the opportunity to be heard will be key for successful organisation in 2021.
2. Eliminate Uncertainty
In general, people don’t like uncertainty – especially when it comes to their livelihood – and 2020 certainly gave us plenty of uncertainty! Regularly updating teams, big and small, with things that are happening within your company and industry at large will give people a greater sense of surety. Even if those updates aren’t particularly positive, just knowing will help people feel less in the dark and able to continue with confidence.
3. Everyone’s experience will be different
Some of your people will thrive working from home, others will not. Some of your people will openly come to you with problems or ideas, others will be scared or ashamed to do so. A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to cut it in 2021. Organisations will need to empower people to speak up in ways that they are comfortable and encourage team leaders to seek and act on that feedback.
A “once a year one page survey” won’t be enough to monitor and improve your employees experience at work. Regular check-ins on an individual and team level and frequent employee pulse surveys will form the backbone of a successful employee engagement program and provide organisations with the opportunity to properly monitor, gauge and adapt to improve their employee’s experience. While this will result in a lot more feedback generated, the use of text analytics will provide you with actionable insights in real-time and allow you make changes that improve your business at every level.
Talk to Resonate to see how we are partnering with organisations to bring employee insights to make the workplaces of the future less uncertain and more productive.
