6 Employee Experience and Engagement Trends in 2024
Ecoxtrem - Teambuilding & Employee Engagement Services
The Full Service Agency
“I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”
— Larry King, CNN
The Ecoxtrem team of consultants is in constant dialogue with their beneficiaries - be it HR Managers, Employee Experience & Comms or Internal Branding Experts. Listening to their concerns and pain points is part of the job of offering custom services that benefit the organizational goals.
Based on recent conversations, we have extracted 6 major trends that will shape the employee experience and engagement landscape in the following year.
Here we go!
Wellbeing for everyone
The importance of employee wellbeing lies in its direct correlation to enhanced productivity, job satisfaction, and overall organizational success.
Implementing wellbeing programs is crucial for companies to be perceived as good employers, fostering a positive workplace culture that prioritizes employees' physical and mental health, ultimately attracting and retaining top talent.
What to do?
Implementing integrated wellbeing programs that offer year-round interventions that cover the most important aspects of employee welfare. Wellbeing should be a constant concern, not a time-bound one. As such, wellbeing programs are the key.
Wellbeing activities ideas: Wellbeing in the workplace
The year of the Olympics
Capitalizing on major social events in employee activities is important as it fosters a sense of inclusivity, boosts morale, and strengthens team cohesion by aligning the workplace culture with broader societal moments.
The Olympic games offer a very generous range of activation and internal communication opportunities. The core values of the Olympics encompass excellence, friendship, respect, and determination, promoting a spirit of fair play, unity, and inclusivity in the global sporting community.
A well tailored association with the Olympic values can result in more powerful internal communication campaigns.
What to do?
Team event activity idea: Summer Olympics
Embracing the AI
Employees may exhibit reluctance towards AI due to concerns about job security, fear of skill obsolescence, and a potential loss of the human touch in work interactions.
What to do?
Employers can support employees in a smooth transition to digitalization and AI by providing comprehensive training programs, about the benefits of technology integration for both individual growth and overall organizational success.
Light and friendly team interventions can be a very useful platform for dialogue and embracing change.
Team event activity idea: Age of Digital
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are crucial as they not only enhance creativity, innovation, and problem-solving but also cultivate a positive and equitable environment that fosters employee engagement and reflects the varied perspectives of a globalized world.
In 2024, we still have ethnicity, age gaps, gender and overall bias lingering in the workplace.
What to do?
Employers can bridge differences among employees by promoting open communication, implementing diversity training and activities, and fostering a culture of inclusion that values and respects the unique perspectives and backgrounds of all team members.
All in all, it's about showing the team what unites them, and not what divides them.
D&I activity idea: Battle of the generations
The voice of the employees
The voice of employees is crucial in large organizations as it provides valuable insights, enhances employee engagement, and fosters a collaborative work environment, ultimately contributing to improved decision-making and organizational success. Not to mention booting morale when one perceives that their input and opinion is taken into consideration.
But offering dialogue opportunities and platforms is not enough. Employees may struggle to express and argue their opinions effectively due to a lack of communication skills, hindering their ability to contribute constructively in discussions.
What to do?
Employers can empower employees to speak up, support, and take ownership of their arguments by fostering a culture of open communication, providing communication training and activities, and acknowledging and valuing diverse perspectives within the organization.
Communication activity idea: Challenge your senses
The new ways of onboarding
Former adult learning formats may not work for new generations in the workplace because younger employees often thrive on interactive, technology-driven, and experiential learning methods that cater to their digital fluency and preference for hands-on engagement.
In an era where fast onboarding is key for business agility and continuity, HR departments need to come up with new ideas to integrate team members.
What to do?
To onboard new employees in a modern way, utilize a digitalized and interactive orientation process, incorporate virtual or gamified means for immersive training experiences, and provide access to online resources for continuous learning and integration into the company culture.
Onboarding activity idea: Custom In-Office Escape Room
There you have it, 6 Employee Experience and Engagement Trends coupled with 6 solutions. But that's not all!
Ecoxtrem has extensive&proven experience to create:
For tailored solutions, reach out at: [email protected]