How would you define the Employee Experience at your organization?
In The Future of Work, Jacob Morgan describes Employee Experience as the combination of an organization’s cultural, physical, and technological environments.
It’s only when People leaders thoughtfully design these three environments that they can deliver an effective Employee Experience to their staff. Continuously managing that experience creates a culture of happiness and high performance, and an environment in which employees want to work and succeed.
But as a relatively new topic in the HR space, your team might need some convincing when it comes to the importance of Employee Experience. To help your organization realize the benefits of happier, more engaged, higher performing employees, here are 8 stats to persuade your team that Employee Experience matters.
1. Increased happiness leads to increased performance.
Happy employees are up to 20% more productive at work.
A positive Employee Experience breeds happy employees, which not only builds a stronger work culture, but also impacts business performance. For increased productivity in your teams, it’s important to invest in employee happiness through employee experience management.
2. You can’t afford disengaged employees.
Actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. between $450 billion to $550 billion per year.
Investing in Employee Experience management is the first step towards building an engaged workforce. And with the high price tag on disengagement, it is in your company’s best financial interest to strategically and thoughtfully address the state of engagement at your organization.
3. If you think your work culture is “just fine”, think again.
64% of employees feel they do not have a strong work culture.
If your team thinks that your organization’s work culture is strong, the fact that the majority of employees disagree might change their minds. Employee Experience management shapes an organization’s cultural environment, and listening to and acting on employee feedback is fundamental in a healthy organization. So before ruling that your company culture is “just fine”, your team should survey employees to find out what they think.
4. Financial incentives aren’t enough to foster satisfied employees.
Employee satisfaction at Google rose by 37% as a result of employee support initiatives.
Google, consistent title-holder for The Best Places to Work, knows that Employee Experience matters. Google has invested in employee support, with employee satisfaction substantially rising as a result — teaching us that a paycheck alone isn’t enough to foster satisfied, productive employees.
5. Unhappiness leads to absence.
Unhappy employees take 15 more sick days each year than the average worker.
Not only are unhappy employees less productive when they’re at work, but they actually show up less often than content workers. Absenteeism can cause a decrease in productivity, company finances, and morale — but creating an Employee Experience in which your staff actually wants to come into work can reduce the high cost of absenteeism.
6. Engaged employees increase profit.
Companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share.
While disengaged employees cost your organization money, engaged employees earn it. As Employee Experience and Employee Engagement go hand-in-hand, managing an effective Employee Experience doesn’t just mean higher levels of happiness and morale, but a concrete increase in earnings growth.
7. Your physical office environment can create a more effective workforce.
Employees who have a choice in when, where, and how they work have higher levels of satisfaction, innovation, and job performance.
Thoughtfully designing your employees’ physical work environment has a real influence on performance, creativity, and overall employee satisfaction. With physical environment being one of the three elements that creates the Employee Experience, physical work space deserves to be thoughtfully designed and invested in.
8. Your employees’ minds will work significantly better if they’re happy.
Research shows that the brain works better as a result of happiness.
As Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, explains, "Only 25% of job success is based upon IQ. 75% is about how your brain believes your behavior matters, connects to other people, and manages stress."
A happy brain functions at a higher level, so investing in an Employee Experience that increases the happiness of your teams can enhance overall job success.
A study by The Future Workplace and Beyond.com found that 83% of HR leaders see Employee Experience as either important or very important to their organization’s success.
These leaders understand that an investment in company culture, their employees’ physical work environments, and the tools and technology that enable their productivity, translate into overall business success.
All companies should seek to build a culture around helping their employees succeed. For optimum performance, simple Employee Experience management practices can be seamlessly integrated into company DNA.