Transforming modern workplaces to provide a comprehensive employee experience
- Abid Hasan
- September 28, 2023
In a recent HR Tech Conference, Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL Tech and Founder and Chairman of Sampark Foundation, asked a meaningful question about the workplace. He wanted to know, “Why do people visit places of worship, invest their own money, and experience a sense of upliftment, but when they step into the workplace on a Monday and earn their salary, they feel disconnected?”
The answer to this question can be plenty of things. Most prominently, it’s employee experience that people are not feeling connected. A bad or upsetting experience in the company leads to being inactive, less productive, and high on attrition, but good employee experience can lead to productivity, organizational success, good customer experience, and an excellent work-life balance. It is hard for organizations to give employees an environment where they feel comfortable to speak their minds and work with their full potential and creativity. The people leaders of today are working in this direction because EX has become the top priority, especially after the crisis.
New Age Workplaces
By 2025, the workforce will be dispersed, digitally enabled, and liquid in nature.
Hybrid, remote, and physical have become the key aspects of the new age workplaces, which must be developed inclusively. Whether your workforce can be a Gen Z or a millennial, it should easily incorporate everyone. People who design these workplaces should transform and create them to prioritize well-being and overall satisfaction.
While enabling efficiency and collaboration remain essential for employers in this current environment, facilitating more profound engagement with enhanced experience is crucial. The work culture must be driven by a unified purpose that promotes collaboration, belongingness, and resilience.
Recommended Read: Workplace Community – Hack For Elevating Employee Engagement Experience
Technology Integration
The convergence of people and technology creates a powerful synergy to help organizations drive business growth, boost productivity, and also attract and retain top talent. The confluence gives employees more control over their work environment.
We embrace digital tools and platforms that facilitate seamless communication, project management, and remote collaboration. This includes video conferencing, messaging apps, project management software, and virtual reality for remote team building. Be prepared to adapt to changes in circumstances and technological advancements. Embrace new ideas and approaches that align with the evolving needs of employees.
Employers are betting on tech to engage employees with rewards and recognition platforms. Distributing rewards and incentives based on achievements and contributions works incredibly well in all companies across sectors.
By leveraging technology, companies can nurture a more positive and supportive employee experience, increasing engagement, productivity, and overall satisfaction. However, it’s important to strike a balance between technology and human interaction to maintain a healthy work environment.
Continuous Learning and Development
Provision for providing opportunities for the workforce to upskill and reskill through online courses, workshops, mentorship programs, and attending industry conferences. Learning enhances job satisfaction and helps employees stay relevant in a rapidly evolving work landscape. The crisis gave rise to learning, and CXOs are worried about the upskilling and reskilling of their employees. HR professionals must engage the workforce in L&D to curb attrition and enhance employee career-building.
Enhancing their skills will enable employees to bridge the skill gap and develop the necessary skills to remain competitive in the workplace. Employers providing relevant learning courses will give employees a sense of responsibility to work better and learn new things. Offering such learning opportunities demonstrates a commitment to employees’ professional development.
When employees see their company is invested in helping them acquire new skills and grow in their careers, they are more likely to feel motivated, engaged, and loyal. Employees are more likely to continue with a company that invests in their growth and development. Upskilling and reskilling initiatives demonstrate that the company values its employees, which can lead to improved retention rates and reduced turnover costs.
Employee Engagement
The most significant thing is communication to foster a sense of camaraderie among colleagues. Maintaining clear communication between employees will lead to trust. The second thing is to create opportunities for team bonding through social events, team-building activities, and virtual hangouts.
Apart from engaging them in fun activities, bringing them together for projects and brainstorming to discover the challenges of a complex problem is necessary. This should not be restricted only to a particular team but needs to apply among cross-functional teams.
For example- Engage the sales and product teams to go for a sales meeting. It’ll help the product team understand clients’ challenges and enhance the product according to the feedback. At the same time, the sales team should sit with the product team to understand their challenges, which can be conveyed to their clients and demand accordingly. These cross-meetings and project ownership will consolidate the team and help them perform better.
Revolutionizing the modern workplace requires a deep understanding of employee needs, a willingness to adapt, and a commitment to fostering an environment prioritizing well-being, growth, and engagement. By combining these strategies, organizations can create a workplace that resonates with the values and expectations of the new generation of employees. As India progresses to becoming a $ 5 trillion economy over the next decade, the thrust on the digital economy is setting the pace of growth. It can be accelerated when businesses leverage a workforce that has reset their expectations and needs.
Currently, employee experience is one of the most important pillars of an organization, and going forward, it’ll become a critical discussion point in the boardroom. Employers and employees need to understand how sensitive it is because a good employee experience leads to a good customer experience.
