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6 Impactful Ways to Personalise the Employee Experience

The buzz of personalisation, often linked with customer experiences in the corporate world, begs the question - what about the people powering these companies? Above all else, employees should be treated as individuals, deserving of a personalised experience. Yet, it's often ignored in the quest for efficiency and productivity. But the truth is, personalisation can boost high performance as employees feel more valued and empowered.

Tailoring the Workplace Experience

Every employee is a unique blend of strengths, ambitions, and requirements. It's this diversity that fuels a thriving workplace.

When considering our work processes, we each have:

?? Different learning styles

?? Different emotional triggers

?? Different communication preferences

? Different productivity patterns

?? Different health and wellness needs

?? Different motivational factors

?? Different work-life balance requirements

?? Different career aspirations and growth paths

?? Different cultural and social backgrounds

?? Different preferred work environments

So, how can companies infuse a greater sense of personalisation into the workplace? Here's six of our favourite ways:

1) The Employee User Manual

Imagine having a personalised employee user manual - a tool designed to understand and cater to the unique needs of each team member. The user manual is a window into their work styles, preferences, motivations, and needs. It's like an open-source platform where employees willingly share their operating system - how they thrive, how they communicate, what they value, their strengths and weaknesses, and even what triggers them. A guidebook for efficient and respectful collaboration, asking things like:

?? How do you like to receive feedback?

?? How do you best process information and make decisions?

?? How do you prefer to communicate and at what times?

?? What motivates you to do your best work?

??? How do you respond under pressure, and what do you need from the team during these times?

2) Employee Driven Charity Support

Another powerful way to personalise the workplace is by empowering employees to support causes that matter to them, rather than all-company volunteer days. Take, for instance, the brilliant model of The Social Society . Founded by Toni Finnimore , The Social Society connects its members with local charities looking for volunteers with 21st-century skills. Their community members donate their time and expertise to projects that resonate with them, creating a meaningful connection between individuals and their local communities.

“It's personal to me and it’s flexible. I don’t really want to sign up to our annual events or the same charity each time. I’ve supported six charities to date and love the variety”.

Member, The Social Society

3) Allocated FLOW time

FLOW is when you're at your peak performance, fully immersed in the task at hand, and achieving optimal results. Since everyone’s feeling overwhelmed by constant work notifications - people should be trusted to turn off the constant 'ping ping ping's' ?? to focus and create better. Let's face it, some people are early birds, whilst others are night owls. If you can't offer fully flexible working hours, introducing FLOW time could help employees complete their work to work to the best ability.

In full FLOW appreciation, here's an example out-of-office at HappyHQ ??

4) Hyper-Personalised Benefits

The traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is losing relevance in today’s workplace, which spans three generations, each with unique needs and circumstances. Especially against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis, while pay will always be important, what can set one company apart from the competition is its employee benefits and how personalised they are. Because no matter how generous one-size-fits-all benefits schemes are, they don’t provide an option for employees to tailor to individual circumstances or needs. For example, a young, single employee might appreciate gym memberships or travel perks, while someone with a family might prefer childcare support or enhanced health insurance. This is a topic we recently explored with The Stylist Group about the future of workplace benefits.

5) Individualised Workplace Setup

The physical or virtual environment where employees work has a profound impact on their productivity and happiness. By customising the workplace setup to meet their unique needs and preferences, we can make them feel truly valued and at ease, resulting in better performance. Think ergonomic furniture, personal noise-cancelling headphones, or even SAD lamps for office employees. For remote workers, providing an allowance for home office supplies or allowing them to work from their preferred location can greatly improve their work experience.

6) Giving Employees a Voice

Finally, by giving every employee a voice, employers are acknowledging their individuality and their unique perspectives. This allows employees to be understood as human beings at work, not merely as resources. It can lead to a sense of belonging, respect, and trust. When employees feel heard and understood, they are more likely to contribute their best ideas, show greater commitment, and demonstrate increased loyalty towards their organisation. Empowering through choice extends to hearing and understanding each employee's voice, nurturing a more inclusive, engaged, happy, and high-performing workplace.

Amidst the automation and algorithms, as humans, it's our individuality that sets us all apart. As we navigate the future of work, personalisation will become increasingly critical - it's all about tailoring the employee experience so people can do their best work.

Are you ready for a culture reset? ??

At HappyHQ, we're committed to guiding people-first cultures.

If your company would benefit from a 2024 Culture Re-set then book your?20-minute free consultation here.

Whether you’re a start-up, micro business, or large-scale – we have 3 spots for 2024, so come say hello if you’d like to hear more. ??

#workplaceculture #peoplefirst #futureofwork