In a global market where organisations across multiple
sectors are struggling to not only attract but retain key talent, it’s
essential to demonstrate an attractive and engaging employee experience. At CSG
Talent our team of experts are specialists in hiring, talent, and branding
strategies to ensure businesses successfully attract talent to their
organisation. We have strong relationships with clients and candidates in the
specialist areas we operate, putting us in a prime position to gain deep level
insights, enabling us to effectively advise our clients on the best employee
experience to support an effective talent strategy.
The overall employee experience has shifted dramatically
since the start of the pandemic. Prior to this, employee experience was heavily
focused on physical work and office environment and benefits centred around the
office. With the increased presence of hybrid working and some entirely remote
business models, the employee experience now needs to be enhanced and more personalised
in the modern workplace.
Here are CSG Talent’s top tips to enhance employee
experience:
Listen to your employees
It’s important to demonstrate open and transparent communication lines with both your existing and potential employees. Conduct regular and consistent internal surveys and / or focus groups to give your employees an opportunity to provide honest feedback. This will prove valuable in building your employee experience. Reaching out to employees and giving them a voice plays a big part in employee engagement. According to Qualtrics, there is a clear correlation between people feeling engaged when they are asked for feedback (59%), in comparison to when they are not (49%).
In-depth exit interviews with employees who leave is a
useful process to carry out to establish the reason an employee is leaving. In many
situations, there is nothing more an employer could have done to reverse the
decision or avoid it altogether. Obtaining feedback allows employers insight
into the reasons employees choose to leave. With this, they can act upon areas
within their control to enhance the employee experience for future or potential
employees.
Evaluate your benefits package
In a candidate driven market, businesses need to factor in
time to review and re-assess what they offer current and potential employees.
Employee benefits and perks need to be inclusive and competitive. CIPD highlight how employee benefits offer a
way to attract and retain employees while contributing to improving wellbeing,
achievements, values, and skills. Candidates have many considerations when
deciding on their next career move and employee benefits can be a huge driving
factor in that decision. Offering a competitive benefits package which adds
value to an employee’s life and overall wellbeing is a great way to enhance
your employee experience.
Consider the career paths available to your employees
An important consideration for an employee thinking about the length of time they may stay with a business, or when initially joining a business is the career progression opportunities available to them. Chris Mercer Jones, People and Performance Director at CSG Talent comments on the significance of clear career paths within an organisation. “It’s essential to ensure all employees are considered when highlighting career paths available in a business. At CSG Talent we recognise this ourselves and review opportunities for development and progression across our sales and support functions, a current priority for us as a business. Being able to effectively demonstrate how a potential career path may look for someone at an entry or mid- senior level not only engages existing teams but is important for potential employees and talent attraction.”
Review your salary benchmarks
Regularly conducting salary benchmarks and establishing how competitive
your current salary offerings are in your market is a key exercise to carry out.
By doing this, you will not only enhance your employee experience but engage
employees considering new opportunities with higher salaries. It will also
reduce the risk of being in a counteroffer position. Offering competitive
salaries will help support talent attraction and employees will feel valued and
engaged with your organisation. In a market where significant salary increases
are being offered, some of which we have seen increase by over $120,000 above
market averages for senior level executive positions, employers need to ensure
they remain competitive. Salary is still one of the key motivators when
selecting a new role and company.
Assess your D & I policies
and activities
Creating an
inclusive and diverse work environment not only contributes to greater business
performance through increased input and difference in ideas, but it will also
help increase engagement and employees’ sense of value and respect. Diversity
and inclusion should be a priority for all organisations to ensure employees
feel a sense of belonging, aligned to the company culture and values. Equal and
diverse representation from an employee and leadership perspective will
encourage potential employees to relate to the company and picture themselves
as part of the team, a feeling of inclusion.
CSG Talent’s Head
of Talent, Miriam Pedersen-Smith places great emphasis on the importance of
D & I contributing to an engaging employee experience to support talent
attraction, “We strive to employ a multigenerational group of employees that
includes differences in sexual orientation, experience, physical ability,
religion, education, and socio-economic status to create an environment where
all individuals feel represented and inclusive. There is strong evidence of a
direct link between a diverse workforce and improved financial performance, engagement,
and high business activity levels, all contributing to the success of the
business and enhancing the employer brand to potential employees.”
Maintain a positive and supportive work environment
Creating a positive work environment where your teams
receive support from leadership, autonomy and flexibility with their role will
significantly contribute to productivity, engagement, wellbeing, and commitment
to the organisation. A business who has highly engaged employees will promote
an attractive work culture, this will support both talent retention and talent
attraction.
Engaged employees are also more likely to support with your
talent attraction and contribute to employee referral programmes. By sharing
positive stories and insights into working at an organisation, it can encourage
connections of existing employees to consider joining themselves.
Sha Marthenis, Marketing Executive in
Australia comments on the marketing benefits behind engaged employees. “When
the team feels valued and engaged at work, they are more likely to share these
experiences on their social media channels. We often find employees sharing
posts about work trips, functions, and employee benefits. This is not only
fantastic for an employee's sense of fulfilment but from a marketing
perspective it provides genuine and effective content to help promote the
company’s employer brand.”
At CSG Talent, this is a big focus for us internally, to
ensure we offer the prime work environment for our employees to ensure they
feel valued, supported, and engaged. Not only this, but our talent experts also
ensure they stay up to date with market trends and competitor insights to
enable them to advise and guide their clients through the journey of enhancing
their own employee experience. Our consultants have a huge network of
candidates within their vertical markets, gaining crucial insights into
candidate motivations and priorities when it comes to the full employee
experience. This in-depth knowledge is also relayed to clients to ensure they
are appealing to candidate needs.
It takes time to create an engaging employee experience that
supports both the attraction and retention of employees and it’s an ongoing and
evolving process. At CSG Talent this is a big focus for our HR and People
Teams, with regular surveys and focus groups to gain insight from our employees
to hear what’s most important to them. We’re in the process of finalising a
revised benefits package for our teams across the globe with our primary focus
being on providing benefits centred around family and overall wellbeing.
If you’re keen to establish how you can successfully enhance
your employee experience to attract high calibre, senior level talent to your
organisation, please get
in touch with a member of our team. Our expert consultants can support your
overall hiring and talent strategy, explore our services and expertise in more
detail here.
