When we talked about well-being at work just a few years ago, the emphasis was first and foremost on the environment (location, equipment, practical working conditions). Then Covid-19 turned the tables, and the rapid introduction of telecommuting raised other questions: mental health, the organization of work and time away from the office, the redefinition of management, the role of the workplace… The need for a global approach became apparent, and the employee experience attempts to respond to this by looking at the professional as a whole. The employee experience is not only an intelligent way of building employee loyalty (like building customer loyalty), but also of integrating the notion of well-being beyond questions of employee services and ergonomics.
What is the employee experience?
The employee experience echoes strongly in our ears with the user experience. In marketing, UX (User Experience) is concerned with the quality of the experience a user has in any interaction situation, whether the environment is digital or physical. For example, when navigating a website, it’s a good idea to take into account what the user experience will be, his or her journey through the website leading to a product purchase or service call-up.
In terms of the employee experience, we’re talking about the professional’s journey through the corporate system, from recruitment to departure. This global approach takes into account the interactions, emotions and perceptions that an employee experiences during his or her life with the company. Its strength lies in the fact that it focuses on the 3 dimensions (organizational, relational and individual) that shape a professional’s profile.
Employee experience and well-being at work: what are the links?
The WHO defines well-being at work as “a state of mind characterized by satisfactory harmony between the aptitudes, needs and aspirations of the worker, on the one hand, and the constraints and possibilities of the working environment, on the other”. In short, to reconcile the human with the economic. This is precisely what theemployee experience proposes to do, putting the employee back at the center of attention and rebalancing the relationship with the company.
More than a trend, a real need
In a context of multiple mutations, companies are forced to reinvent themselves. This includes their ability to attract and listen to their employees. In certain sectors that are struggling to recruit or retain talent, the crucial question is “how do we talk to our employees? Looking at well-being at work through the employee experience means listening to all the parameters that make up a professional’s profile: skills, of course, but also soft skills, organization, interpersonal and emotional skills. It’s about asking the question of your career path, in the sense of your path within the company.
QWL Quality of Life at Work
Well-being refers to an employee’s feeling of overall satisfaction with his or her company. Satisfaction that will enable them to become fulfilled professionals, and therefore successful in their jobs. This notion goes far beyond physical and mental health. Applied to the world of work, it encompasses everything that promotes the right balance between corporate objectives and individual professional fulfillment. This is summed up in the QWL (Quality of Life at Work) approach, which brings together actions that reconcile the improvement of employees’ working conditions and corporate performance.
Here are just a few examples:
- participative management,
- social life at work,
- organization,
- job content,
- professional equality,
- career paths within the company, etc.
Concrete benefits for the company
There are many benefits to be gained from thinking about the employee experience, not only for the employee (whose career path is thus enhanced), but also for the company:
- Enhanced productivity: a well-managed employee experience creates a work climate that is more conducive to productivity, as employees who receive feedback on their work are more willing to commit. A climate of coherence also makes for better teamwork, which in turn stimulates creativity – that coveted soft skill!
- Enhanced attractiveness and reputation: a company’s image is also shaped by what applicants or employees think of their recruitment experience or their experience within the company. If this interaction is positive, word-of-mouth will circulate positively and create attractiveness.
- Talent retention: frequent staff turnover is never a good sign for a company, and undermines its image both internally and externally. Paying close attention to the employee experience helps them to evolve within the company, to feel good, to stay longer and to be fully productive. It’s a virtuous circle.
- Employee commitment: we realize that a sense of belonging to one’s company is a fundamental element of commitment, and therefore of a company’s growth. Employees also identify more closely with a company that cares about their well-being and, in response, are more keen to get involved.
- Reducing costs (linked to absenteeism, sick leave, health care): taking an interest in employee well-being helps prevent a number of management or health problems, thereby reducing costs.
Employee experience: fairness is essential
Avoiding employee departures has become a major challenge for companies. The departure of a team member is always a little “traumatic”, and can even lead to disruption among employees, domino departures and so on. A company is looking for stability, and therefore has a vested interest in ensuring that its employees feel good and flourish, in order to perform well. One might think that promotion would be an unstoppable argument for retaining talent. However, it is clear that promotion alone is not enough.
We are not all really equal. On the other hand, we can strive for fairness, particularly in the “society” that is the company. Put into practice, fairness as a basis for the employee experience can make it possible to :
- equitable access to opportunities (training, career development, promotion),
- a fair distribution of resources and support for all employees, in a totally inclusive and diverse approach,
- an equitable (in the sense of healthy, inclusive, respectful) work environment, supported by an equitable organizational culture,
- the implementation of safeguards to prevent any problematic situation (discrimination, harassment).
As a guarantor of fairness, the company becomes a healthy space where employees can flourish, give their best and contribute to the company’s success.
Tips for a successful employee experience
For these efforts to bear fruit, the company’s approach must be carried out from A to Z, and with sincerity. Beware of the temptation of greatwashing (the discrepancy between communication concerned with employee well-being and the reality within the company), which would be ruinous for the company’s image!
There are key moments in the employee career path that deserve special attention and preparation:
- recruitment, the first contact in a possible working relationship, which can be seen as a pre-integration process,
- integration, known as onboarding, needs to be well prepared and carried out to lay the foundations for the job,
- during their time with the company: attention to physical and mental health, training opportunities, active management, appropriate facilities,
- offboarding: often neglected, this is a milestone that must not be overlooked, not only for the person leaving, but also for the company and the teams remaining.
Good to know HappyTech: are you familiar with the HappyTech movement, initiated by French start-ups? It’s a trend that aims to put people back at the heart of working relationships, thanks in particular to technological tools. Comeet, Ourcompagny, Boostyourfit… Inspired by positive psychology, these companies use digital resources (applications, AI, etc.) to, for example, help employees create links around areas of interest (sports, leisure activities) or express their feelings, ideas and desires for development.
Would you like to have a general look at the theme of “well-being at work”? Read ourdedicated article . And you, what applications would you like to implement in your company? Tell us in our social network comments!