When was the last time your organization took scheduled time out of their day to check in with employees around the office? In other words, when’s the last time the company asked workers about their employee experience?

The employee experience is what people encounter, feel or observe over the course of time with a company. This includes things such as the relationships employees make with coworkers, how management handles their concerns, how employees feel about their work, the perks of working with a specific company, and all aspects that impact an employee’s experiences while employed by an organization.

Why is this so important and how does it impact the business? Consider these statistics:

• Satisfied employees are 20% more productive in the workplace.
• Unhappy employees take 15 more sick days each year than the average employee.
• Actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. between $450 billion to $550 billion per year.
• Only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization does a great job onboarding new employees.
• Companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147% in earning per share.
• 32% of workers are looking to change jobs in 2019, citing low pay or a lack of benefits (15%) and poor company culture (10%) as the reasons.

*Stats provided by Sapling, Qualtrics and CareerBuilder.

While it is clear employee experience is important in retaining quality employees, decreasing employee turnover, and increasing profits, how does one begin to improve the employee experience in the workplace?

1. Day One Preparations – How an employee feels about their first day on the job is crucial because a we know, “you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.” One of the best ways to create a good first impression is with the use of a new hire checklist. This checklist helps ensure all appropriate steps are taken to make a new employee feel welcome and appropriately “suited up” for their new job. Doing this from day one shows them you are prepared for their inclusion on your team, and that you care about their experience and contribution there.

The new hire checklist actually begins with preparations to take before the employee starts and covers multiple items to attend to including what to take care of during their the first few days of work. Consider a checklist that includes:  

• Notifying appropriate people such as the IT department to provide for their tech needs.
• Making sure the new-hire’s workspace has been set up with all needed tools and items.
• Filling out all the proper new-hire paperwork.
• Reviewing the company’s mission and values, employee handbook, payroll and benefits and daily procedures with the new employee.
• Introducing the employee to their fellow co-workers.
• Taking the new hire on a tour of the building.

Completing a checklist for new hires will ensure all the proper steps are taken to welcome them into the company and make them feel valued from day one.

2. It’s in the Details – Replacing a light in the breakroom, replacing the empty soap bottle, having extra stock of office supplies or fixing the broken microwave, these are a few of the many small details that can be forgotten but can make a large impact in employee experience, as well as their first impression of your organization. When the small details are forgotten and pile on top of one another, they can lead to frustration for all employees in general. Those small forgotten details can begin to take away from the general work experience and performance motivation.

3. Check in Periodically – One of the most intentional ways to show employees that you care about their experience and well-being is to check in with them regularly. The check-in can be as formal or informal as you see fit for your team. It can be as simple popping by every so often to say hello and ask if there is anything they need. A more formal approach can include setting up a regularly scheduled meeting or sending them a list of questions related to the employee experience on a scheduled basis.

Find what works best for the company and what is most effective to receive feedback. If you find one approach does not tend to provide much feedback, try something different. The key is to be consistent and intentional about letting employees know their concerns, feelings, and experiences are valued.

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If you would like to learn more about how to improve employee engagement specific to your company, contact Close HR Connections. We’re glad to help.