EX Is The New Sexy
What do I mean by saying EX?
Of course it does not mean example or previous girlfriend/boyfriend.
Here it is 'employee experience.'
"Happy employees make happy customers" says most of the heads of HR at famous companies. Why are they famous? Is it because they take 'employee experience' as a priority rather than customer experience? Recently, I may say YES.
More or less, employee professionals beat their heads on employee experience. Because, rather than it is popular, it is important.
Even though we are aware of that a company aims to increase its profits as a root of business facts, profits are come by customers. There is a big 'BUT' here: Customers are come by employees, thankfully. So, we should accept that "Employee experience is the new customer experience."
"A virtuous cycle, market-leading organizations recognize that a thoughtful and deliberate focus on managing employee experience (EX) is not only good for their workforce but also good for their company." -Rachel Rane for Digital Workforce
How can you create a successful employee experience? Rachel Rane clears some useful tips up regarding to a successful EX:
- Internalize the vision of “moments that matter” in the relationships between employees and the broader organization
- Focus on individual experiences versus collective engagement (as viewed from the top)
- There are four levers to a holistic EX:
- Clear philosophy ("Who EX is for, what it is, and how it differs from employee engagement.")
- Supportive culture ("Five essential behaviors in a culture that supports EX: collaboration, transparency, psychological safety, alignment and sharing feedback.")
- Articulated accountability ("HR holds many of the cards in an organization.")
- Aligned measurement (“What gets measured is what gets done.”)
Related article: https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/why-employee-experience-is-the-new-customer-experience/
WHO?
What are some famous companies applying successful EX? How they do it?
Arby's Brand Champion Program
Arby's believes: “It is important to take the time to understand Arby’s goals, Arby’s will try to understand the employees' as well”.
“What we’re teaching people is to champion the Arby’s brand and to champion their own life, and that’s the split we’ve always been committed to.” -Rick Gestring, VP of brand operations and integration
They have been training more than 80,000 employees across 3,350 locations.
How they do it?
- Defining a Brand Purpose (At Arby's, it's all about inspiring smiles through delicious experiences.)
- Caring About Employee Happiness ("They may be bored, but the brand wants them to be happy." So, it is important to recognize their goals and dreams that may fall outside the company.)
- The B.L.A.S.T. Guest Recovery Model (Believe, Listen, Apologize, Solve, Thank.)
Related article: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/how-arby-s-inspires-its-employees
Sephora
3 elements are important.
- Training (On perfume, makeup, and skincare / They even developed Sephora University with three locations globally.)
- Technology (ColorIQ is their own high-tech system applied in their stores. 93% of Millennials consider this one of the most important aspects of their workplace.)
- Development (Providing mobility for its cast members; whether that’s between positions, stores, departments, or even countries!)
Related article: https://www.nudgerewards.com/blog/brands-taking-the-employee-experience-to-the-next-level/
Starbucks : "Your personality. Our heritage. The perfect blend."
"A global brand with more than 28,000 stores in 76 countries, Starbucks serves more than 5 million customers a day."
How can such a company with huge amounts of customers only per day can manage its employee experience?
Values
- Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome
- Delivering their very best in all they do, holding themselves accountable for results
- Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow the company and one another
- Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect
The culture
"We're committed to upholding a culture where inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility are valued and respected. The entire experience—starting with your application—is designed to be the beginning of an inspirational journey, where you are treated warmly and with transparency, dignity and respect. "
- All Starbucks staff can earn company shares through their “Bean Stock” program.
- Starbucks supports the staff by paying tuition for university and online programs.
- Starbucks managers refer to their team members as “partners” instead of employees.
Corporate & social responsibility
- They aim to employ 100,000 Opportunity Youth, 10,000 refugees globally and hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses.
- They plan to build and operate 10,000 greener retail stores, improve the recyclability of our cup and invest in 100% renewable energy as the goals for 2020.
- They plan to invest in training and financing for coffee farmers, and providing 100 million coffee trees by 2025.
- They aim to rescue 100% of food available to donate by 2020 in U.S. company-owned stores and have 100% of their stores worldwide participating in community service annually by 2020.
Related article: https://www.starbucks.com/careers/working-at-starbucks/culture-and-values
Dr Martins ‘On the Record'
An internal newspaper featuring articles written by employees:
The Four Seasons “Secret Sauce”: Empowering employees
More than 50 years ago, Isadore Sharp opened the first Four Seasons motel in Toronto. Yes, it was a motel at the beginning.
Today, Four Seasons is one of the most respected hotel chains globally.
Customer satisfaction is one of the most important key that they hold in their hands. How do they manage their customer satisfaction? The answer is: "By empowering its employees to go out of their way to create outstanding experiences."
Democratize Innovation ("Every employee is an innovator, and each hotel functions as a miniature lab.")
Eliminate the Fear of Failure ("Failure is simply viewed as an opportunity for improvement.")
Data to the People ("It is important to empowering the frontline with key customer data, so they can understand and act on issues. They can see their own customer experience performance indicators & compare among regions.")
Related article: https://www.medallia.com/blog/the-people-create-the-experiences-how-four-seasons-built-an-army-of-customer-champions/
Employer Brand
Michèle Richner, Strategist at Saffron Brand Consultants made up a study on employee experience. Her study is named as "Employer Brand: What Radical Personalisation means for your workforce."
She answers the question that "How could you personalise your organisation’s employee experience to gain competitive advantage to attract and retain top talent?"
"We believe that the overarching trend of radical personalisation will have a profound impact on the work experience, and by extension on your employer brand."
At Saffron, we have suggested 4 specific areas of the employee experience most impacted by personalization that your company may want to consider:
- Customizable Workspaces
- Customer-grade technology
- Personalized Benefits
- Tailor-made Learning
You can read the full article here : https://saffron-consultants.com/insights/employer-brand-what-radical-personalisation-means-for-your-workforce/?utm_source=Direct