Beyond machinery and technologies, the success of light industries relies on its people. Having skilled workers is essential to maintaining the quality and efficiency of your production lines.
Aside from hiring the right people, what can you do to maintain productivity and ensure long-term business success? The key lies in prioritizing the employee experience.
The Importance of Employee Experience
What is employee experience? It is the overall journey and perception of your employees while working for your company. From their physical environment to the relationships they form at work, think of employee experience as a summary of every touchpoint an employee has with you and your organization.
Some leaders consider employee experience a good-to-know instead of what it actually is—a necessity for success. The more positive experiences your people have, the more benefits your company can gain. Here are five advantages of prioritizing employee experience:
1. Enhanced employee engagement
Companies that prioritize employee experience tend to have higher employee engagement rates. An article published in McKinsey found that professionals with positive experiences have 16 times the engagement level of those with negative experiences.¹
In general, engaged workers tend to feel more connected to their roles. They are more invested and passionate about accomplishing their tasks than disengaged employees. They are also more likely to be proactive about contributing to operational success.
2. Improved productivity
Related to enhanced employee engagement is improved productivity. A positive employee experience provides workers with the environment, resources, and support that can motivate them to be more productive. When employees are engaged and harbor a strong sense of purpose, they are more likely to remain focused and driven to create quality products.
According to Gallup, low engagement can negatively impact productivity and overall revenue. They found that about 9 percent of the global GDP, or 8.9 trillion U.S. dollars, is lost because of disengaged or unengaged employees.² This shows the necessity of improving engagement to drive productivity.
3. Increased employee retention
Research conducted in 2022 found that organizations with high employee engagement have 59 percent more employee retention compared to businesses with disengaged employees.³ Another study found that professionals with positive experiences are eight times more likely to stay with their current company.¹
With these statistics in mind, fostering a strong employee experience is ideal to create long-term stability within your workforce. By becoming mindful of your employees’ day-to-day experiences, you’re able to keep your skilled professionals longer.
4. Better employee well-being
As a business leader, prioritizing worker experience involves investing in the holistic well-being of your workers. When an employee is physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, he or she is more likely to perform better.
Good health can help professionals minimize burnout and prevent sickness. This results in reduced absenteeism within your teams, as well as improved motivation to finish their tasks.
5. Stronger employer brand
One of the least-known benefits of cultivating a positive employee experience is the strengthening of your employer brand. According to Glassdoor’s Mission and Culture survey, 77 percent of adults across the global markets consider a company’s culture before sending in their applications.⁴
Ensuring your employees have good experiences not only improves your metrics, but also directly benefits your reputation within the light industry. This makes it easier for you to attract top talent and boost your business’ competitive edge.
Read More: Creating Enticing Job Posts
Step-by-Step Guide to Boost Employee Experience
Now that you’re aware of the benefits, it’s time to learn how you can improve employee experience within your company.
A great employee experience can’t be created overnight. You need to make use of different strategies to improve your people’s employee journey.
With the goal of helping you succeed, this is a step-by-step guide you can follow to boost positive worker experience:
1. Assess your current employee experience.
Gather insights directly from your employees. Conduct surveys, interviews, and feedback sessions to learn about their thoughts and experiences. Focus on learning about the challenges they face daily. Discover which parts of their jobs give them satisfaction.
You can also take advantage of the key metrics that are available to you. For example, you can analyze turnover rates and productivity. This can help you identify existing trends and potential areas for improvement.
2. Define a clear vision and goals.
Once you have an idea about your employees’ experiences, the next step is to set goals and create a clear vision. Specific and measurable goals can range from increasing participation in training programs to improving satisfaction rates of employees.
Make employee experience a priority across all levels. From employee acquisition to leadership decisions, commit to achieving the vision you set.
3. Cultivate a positive work environment.
Physical Workplace
Improve employee experience by upgrading your physical workplace. You can do so by ensuring your workspaces are safe for your people. Maintain necessary tools and resources that can help professionals perform their tasks effectively.
Company Culture
Aside from their physical surroundings, employee experience is greatly affected by your company’s culture. Therefore, it’s necessary to create an environment that’s inclusive to accommodate your diverse teams.
Foster open communication between professionals to motivate them to collaborate. Always advocate for respect between individuals, no matter their position. This can help you cultivate a positive environment.
4. Build a strong sense of community.
To further push the creation of positive relationships, organize fun team-building activities and events everyone can participate in. This can help encourage a sense of community within your company.
No matter how great your workplace is, people may still have negative experiences. Instead of seeing this as a sign of failure, take it as a sign to improve the support systems.
You can remedy this by promoting peer support networks like mentorships and buddy systems. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)—employee-led groups created as a safe space for specific cultures, interests, or religions—are also something to consider.⁵
Read More: Conflict at Work
5. Provide development and growth opportunities.
In today’s world of work, professionals are dedicated to self-growth. When connected to employee experience, people who feel supported instead of stunted are more likely to become satisfied. It might help to plan training programs to offer your people.
Provide your workers with access to upskilling and reskilling opportunities. Strengthen their knowledge with professional development programs to foster their career growth. If you have the extra time to plan, it’s also wise to establish well-defined career progression plans. These can motivate your workers to stay with your organization.
6. Prioritize health, safety, and work-life balance.
A 2022 article found that 63 percent of workers with good work-life balance are motivated to go above and beyond for their companies. This, paired with proper health and safety, can ensure positive employee experience.⁶
How can this be done? Begin by continuously improving safety protocols within your organization. Conduct consistent safety training and maintenance to prevent accidents. Consider banning excessive overtime to promote work-life balance. You can also invest in employee wellness programs to further support your people’s holistic health and positive work experience.
7. Establish recognition and reward systems.
Employee experience also considers how your professionals feel on an emotional level. Show them that they are valued for their efforts. The most effective way to do this is to establish recognition and rewards systems for their roles.
Establish performance-based rewards if possible. For example, you can offer monetary incentives to top-performing employees. If this isn’t financially possible, you can also opt for other rewards such as extra paid time off or even simple verbal recognition of their hard work. No matter the system you create, the important thing is to acknowledge your employees and show your appreciation for their hard work.
HIRE QUALIFIED WORKERS THROUGH HORIZON AMERICA
Established in 2013, Horizon America has been dedicated to providing service to light industrial and manufacturing companies in different states. We pride ourselves on delivering personalized staffing services. When you require temporary or temp-to-hire staffing, we have qualified and highly vetted workers ready to step in at a moment’s notice.
Want to learn more about what we can offer? Reach out to us today!
References:
- Emmet, Jonathan, et al. “This Time It’s Personal: Shaping the ‘New Possible’ through Employee Experience.” McKinsey & Company, 30 Sept. 2021, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/this-time-its-personal-shaping-the-new-possible-through-employee-experience.
- “State of the Global Workplace.” Gallup, 2024, www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx.
- Gotian, Ruth. “The Overlooked Way To Reduce Employee Turnover By 59%.” Forbes, 19 Apr. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/2022/04/19/the-overlooked-way-to-reduce-employee-turnover-by-59/.
- Glassdoor Team. “New Survey: Company Mission & Culture Matter More Than Compensation.” Glassdoor, 11 Jul. 2019, www.glassdoor.com/blog/mission-culture-survey/.
- Hastwell, Claire. “What Are Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)?” Great Place to Work, 07 Jan 2023, https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/what-are-employee-resource-groups-ergs
- “Employee Burnout Vs. Shrinking Budgets: Qualtrics Announces Top Workplace Trends for 2023.” Qualtrics, 16 Nov. 2022, www.qualtrics.com/news/employee-burnout-vs-shrinking-budgets-qualtrics-announces-top-workplace-trends-for-2023/.
