Finding, hiring, and training top talent is a big undertaking for any business. Especially when it comes to specialized skill sets, assembling the right team can take months or years. But, for as much effort as companies invest in onboarding, far less is spent on improving the employee experience (EX).
Before you envision fully stocked beer fridges and a bring-your-dog-to-work policy, we’re not necessarily talking about some of the headline grabbing perks of Silicon Valley. Sure, there are some awesome examples of EX from icons like Google, but a great experience doesn’t always require such extremes.
That said, if you’d like some tips on policies your team will love, just ask one of Forbes top-rated startup employers (hint: it’s us)!
Across every industry, there are a few easily deployed tech tools that deliver a measurable ROI in terms of retention and employee outlook. Creating an environment people love is simpler than you might think!
Why you want to invest in EX.
First and foremost, EX is a great investment because working with happy people is more enjoyable than working with unhappy people. As much as we love data and metrics, that alone is a pretty great reason to show employees you care.
Second, onboarding is costly. Even after taking the time to read resumes, interview, and finally hire, estimates show it takes up to two years for new employees to become fully productive. With the right tools and policies in place, you can invest more in your business and less on replacing lost talent.
Third, positive employee engagement returns a tangible ROI. According to a recent study, experience-based businesses saw 4.2x higher profits than those who scored poorly on EX metrics. Additionally, companies with winning EX strategies saw 2.8x more revenue per teammate with 40% less turnover.
Whether you’re with an SMB or a wall-street behemoth, those numbers are hard to ignore!
Lastly, data indicates a disconnect. According to Deloitte, nearly 80% of execs believe EX is important, but only 22% reported that their companies were successfully giving employees a great experience. Moreover, nearly 60% of those execs felt ill-prepared or only somewhat ready to address the challenge of CX.
The take-away? EX is an investment orgs choose to make proactively, or a later problem to pay for in turnover and lost productivity.
1. Accessible knowledge for teams on the go.
By 2021, it’s estimated that 73% of teams in the United States’ workforce will be at least partially remote. Making remote work easy is crucial to the best EX, especially when up to two-thirds of the professionals in this country will spend a significant amount of time doing their jobs outside of the office.
Fortunately, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) like AI-powered helpdesks make organizational knowledge easily accessible. From anywhere with an internet connection, teams can securely retrieve crucial data and tacit knowledge through a single portal.
For the best CX, state-of-the-art helpdesk systems have integrated guided conversation technology. Through a series of clarifying follow-up questions, an AI-powered helpdesk can hone-in on the most helpful answers to your team’s inquiries.
Continuing on the concept of next-level knowledge access, Capacity’s human in the loop (HITL) feature seamlessly transitions teammates’ questions to dedicated support staff when the answer can’t be found in a knowledge base. Once a reply is sent, machine learning (ML) automatically records the exchange to ensure duplicate questions receive the same response.
2. Effortlessly connect with experts.
The bigger the business, the more frustrating it can be to find subject matter experts (SMEs). Illegible email threads, shoulder-tapping busy co-workers, and phone-tag aren’t uncommon when hunting for in-depth answers.
Thankfully, there are tools (like Capacity’s expert finder) that facilitate faster communication, more accurate information, and above all, more enjoyable work.
When employees need in-depth answers from an internal specialist, they can do so via a chat portal embedded in their preferred communication tool. Once an inquiry is submitted, Capacity’s expert finder tool follows a dynamic knowledge graph to find a teammate in the know.
The SME’s reply is then recorded via ML, and added to the company’s knowledge base for any future inquiries.
3. Centralized organizational knowledge supports productivity.
With plenty of businesses deploying 200+ applications, it’s no wonder that fact-finding can be a serious EX detractor. In fact, according to Interact Source, teams spend nearly 20% of their time simply looking for information!
More than just a time drain, the siloed information held within your team’s apps can lead to mismanaged projects, delayed product launches, and so much more.
To address this, application integration solutions make accessing knowledge a breeze. Through chat, employees can instantly search each of your org’s programs for the information they need. From CRM tools to project management software, app integration puts previously siloed information right at your fingertips.
Further lowering the barrier to knowledge, enterprise search tools are becoming standard in businesses that keep great employee experiences top of mind. Through the same chat portal we alluded to earlier, Capacity’s enterprise search function combs apps, documents, spreadsheets, and even recorded tacit knowledge for instant answers.
As an employee, liberating nearly 20% of the workweek for higher ROI activities is a huge win. Instead of combing through countless systems or scanning spreadsheets, teams can focus on work that requires emotional intelligence and creativity (two key components of human happiness).
4. Ask for feedback often, and take action.
Last, but not least, in our list of employee-first recommendations is a digital survey tool. By simply asking for feedback, leadership can identify opportunities for improvement long before talent leaves.
Using our guided conversation builder, Capacity’s survey functionality enables surveys to be easily built and quickly delivered via your team’s favorite communication medium. Best of all, the surveys can be tailored to a specific department, team, or role.
Leadership can choose from multiple-choice, open-ended, and complex branch questions to get the feedback they’re really after. You’ll gain actionable insight that teammates might not feel comfortable disclosing during a 1:1—empowering you to create the best EX possible.
Investing in employee experiences.
Obviously, the best EX-driven organizations around the world aren’t solely relying on technology to keep employees happy. That said, the right tools go a long way towards a positive, productive environment where teams feel fully supported.
If you have questions about improving EX, give our team a shout. Not only are we shamelessly proud of our support automation platform, we love bragging on our EX-centric policies (bottomless coffee and unlimited PTO for the win!).