Bozzuto

Evolving the human resources function from traditional people and culture, payroll, and benefits to a dedicated employee experience (EX) team is a necessary and critical strategic evolution. This strategic direction is more than a name change. When successfully implemented, it enhances organizational effectiveness and drives success.

The customer experience is at the center of everything an organization does to be successful. Creating an exemplary customer experience requires employees that are highly engaged, appropriately skilled, represent the culture in every action, and consistently ensure alignment with the brand. Executed with care, employee behavior and customer experience can build loyalty in a brand that has material financial value, similar to compound interest that will build over time.

Accordingly, human resources must be viewed through a different lens—the lens of the employee experience (EX).

The EX approach emphasizes nurturing talented employees that embody organizational culture and can deliver a special experience to the customer that can be taken to the bank.

Designing, developing and delivering through the EX lens takes a holistic approach to employee relations, providing employees with the experience of trust, pride in a job well done and empowering delivery on our promise to our customers.

This does not preclude accountability and should not be regarded as a soft concept echoing “only think positive and it will happen” or “that won’t work with employee performance issues.” There will of course be times when an employee falls short and established organizational process for addressing such concerns may need to be implemented. However, upfront transparency about expectations and the associated rewards builds trust with employees, furthers employee satisfaction and compounds with every customer interaction.

The most critical factors for successful EX are:

• Internal Communications: Many organizations rely on corporate communications to deliver messaging and important information to employees. Connecting to employees is different than outwardly facing PR or brand messaging to customers. Building trust and ensuring that employees receive and hear messaging is a different voice. The best people to deliver that message is an employee experience team. PR and corporate communications will provide support when necessary, but it is critical to meet people where they are:

• Tailored Messaging - communications that ensure employees at all levels feel informed about organizational initiatives and changes.

“Reframing HR to an Employee Experience Team is a strategic move towards greater organizational success, which is the end goal of all organizational efforts.”

• Feedback Loops - fostering two-way dialogue to strengthen trust and engagement by creating avenues for meaningful employee input that is heard and acted upon appropriately.

• Inclusion: Employee resource groups or special interest groups are sometimes led by other corporate teams since these groups are outwardly facing and important to attract potential talent. They are used as PR for the organization to demonstrate corporate values to the world. Highlighting those same values internally to the employees is just as, or arguably more, important.

Organizations should, of course, prioritize bringing in new talent, but ensuring that employees are not leaving through the back door from lack of engagement is at least as critical. An employee experience team can lead that effort through established HR internal communication channels and leveraging tools like the corporate intranet to engage current employees.

• Targeted Initiatives - workgroups and programs that safeguard community and inclusion, to ensure that all employees feel valued, connected and part of organizational efforts.

• Retention - prioritized employee engagement to minimize turnover rates, preserve institutional knowledge and retain and build culture.

Accountability – Empowering employees to take ownership of their roles fosters a positive Employee Experience and spotlights accountability for their work. Clear and transparent expectations, and a supportive culture, allows accountability to be foremost. Accountability creates trust that motivates employees to strive for success.

• Transparency - clear and understandable job roles, performance standards, and career progression help employees understand their daily work and contributions in relationship to achieving organizational goals.

• Recognition - visible recognition and rewards drive accountability and motivate employees to own their performance.

• Talent Management: Perhaps the most critical piece of the employee experience is proper and careful management of existing staff’s talents, skills, experience, knowledge, needs and wants. Ensuring those serve both the staff’s goals and organizational goals is the key to success.

• Personalized Development Plans - individual and personal career development plans align organizational needs and employee goals.

• Tailored Benefits - meaningful and useful benefits are a critical piece of the employee package and employee achievements.

• Succession Planning - understanding employee strengths and career goals allows an organization to prepare future leaders.

• Wellness Programs - targeted traditional and financial wellness programs improve employee morale, and thus productivity and organizational performance.

In summary, reframing HR to an Employee Experience Team is a strategic move towards greater organizational success, which is the end goal of all organizational efforts. Prioritizing a holistic approach to investing in employees—any organization’s most valuable asset—fosters engagement, trust, accountability and pride-of-accomplishment, thereby boosting employee efforts to meet or exceed organizational goals.