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2020 was the most unpredictable and ambiguous year for each and every one of us. It changed the work world to such an extent that there may be no going back. It can be marked as the black swan event of the decade. With changing definitions of work, terms such as employee engagement and employee experience have been over a haul. The conventional definition of these terms can no longer be applied. The reason behind this is the changed dimensions of employee engagement and employee satisfaction. They have a lot more to offer than the literal definition of these terminologies.
Employee experience at this stage is more inclined towards a dynamic strategy that requires attention, investment, and proper planning.
Before we jump into the redefined version of employee engagement and employee experience let us revive the definition that has been existing in the fraternity for ages.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement aims to keep the drive of the employee to work hard and invest efforts for better results.
Employee experience
Employee experience is based on the actions of the employer and HR to ensure a healthy work environment with interactive sessions, strategizing, upgrading the skills of the employee, and effective and efficient communication of the teams.
The shift of focus from professional skills to work culture, employee engagement and retention is the base of 2021.
The pandemic has taught us the hard way that employee satisfaction doesn’t rely on increased salary or opportunity for upward mobility. Employee experience has a 360-degree dynamic that needs equal attention in areas such as work environment, and employee engagement within the organization.
Let’s discuss a few factors that have gained attention in these couple of years:
Culture
An organization’s work culture speaks loud for a candidate to predict employee experience. The ingrained company’s work culture impacts on employee’s understanding of the work environment. A healthy work culture motivates the employee to invest their efforts. It is human nature to enhance efforts in such an environment where he/she feels that they belong. A friendly work culture is where each employee has the platform to share their opinions and are recognized for their achievements.
Recruitment
Any candidate who is offered a job by any reputable organization instinctively desires to gain knowledge of the organization’s work culture. Identifying and cultivating your company culture is a great way to make your company more marketable and attractive to potential hires. Websites such as glassdoor provide reviews by the existing employees or prior employees associated with the organization. Hence it explains the requirement of having a healthy work culture. Actively shaping and defining your company culture into an asset and effectively marketing the culture to applicants reaps great rewards in the competitive world of recruiting.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement is one of the imperative pillars in employee experience. A happy employee indicates a motivated employee to perform his/her duties.
The theoretical definitions explain employee engagement and employee experience. In the advanced world, technology has a role to play. It won’t be wrong to predict that technology will be the epicenter of employee experience. In the present decade, employees expect their workplace to be well equipped with software that can decrease their workload. For instance, employee engagement software is designed to enable the employee to experience personalized benefits. A transparent platform to keep track of one’s own performance, a secured platform to communicate with the team, cross-team collaborations for more ideas on the plate are a few such benefits that enhance employee experience.
Technology pushes the employee towards a smart and productive workflow. Employee engagement software includes tools such as chatbots, modbots and tools for collaborative projects. It empowers the employee with the right resources for learning within the organization. These applications have served as a shield since last year. The pandemic made humans isolate themselves to save their lives. In such crises the only mode to function was virtual functioning. Employee engagement software made the transition a little easier. Freedom to use tools designed to fulfill their responsibilities with enthusiasm.
An essential question that arises at this point in time is -
“What changes are expected in the HR policy to incorporate the redefined version of employee experience?”
HR policy is amended by the admin and the human resource team to ensure a friendly yet disciplined work environment. The traditional rules implemented in the HR policy are not the same for each organization and have changed with time. The motto of HR policy for each organization has a bottom line that focuses on maintaining decorum along with amplified employee satisfaction.
The pandemic has made the admin and the HR team press the reset button and change a few elements as a call of the moment. For instance, paying the employee based on their work instead of physical presence. Employee experience is now defined by the usage of artificial intelligence and IT infrastructure.
HR policies are now considering including employee’s well-being. The inevitable toll on mental health due to the pandemic is an underlined crisis that has started to gain required attention. Human resource teams have introduced a secured platform for employees to deal with mental health. The introduction of features such as moodbots and chatbots is a step forward.
It can’t be denied that the pandemic has adversely affected organizations globally. But on the flip side, the changes in the work world have been remarkable. It has taught the importance of a healthy balanced work-life for both the employee and the employer. Employers have started to witness a steep rise in the productivity curve after the introduction of friendly work culture. A work culture that is not abided by a restricted time frame. It has revoked myths that encouraged a work world filled with cubicles. Employers of multinational organizations are in awe of the results so much so that they have considered the implementation of a fully remote module of functioning.
Employee engagement software has a huge role to play in the implementation of the new work world with its firm eye on employee satisfaction. The features that keep the employee engaged with the entire team, focusing on the employee's mental and physical well being is the key towards a successful journey.
Written by Amit Kumar