Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

10 more ways to support parents working in your organization

In part 1 of our series on how to make life easier for parents working on your teams, we looked at some of the changes and accommodations you can make, such as updating your policies and using inclusive language.

In part 2, we’re exploring some of the day-to-day things you can do to support parents working while juggling childrearing.

Create a group for working parents to connect and share advice

ERGs are one of the best ways to foster a sense of belonging in the workplace. 

Setting up an ERG where parents and caregivers can share their experiences and get advice takes some of the stress away from being a parent working a full-time job. It also means they have people who understand what they’re going through. 

Sharing problems with people outside of a situation can be a great way to work out our problems and feel calmer. That makes us better able to focus and get on with other tasks.

Offer a remote work stipend

Remote working is more challenging for parents working every day as it’s easy to get distracted. This is especially true in a house with lots of other people—or children who may not understand that you’re on a call and shouldn’t be disturbed. 

Remember that professor on the BBC who went viral because his children interrupted his interview? Everyone thought it was cute and could relate.

However, the reaction for women who face similar challenges is often different. Colleagues can perceive it as them not taking their work as seriously. Ultimately though, it’s not their fault and men in the same situation don’t experience the same stigma. 

If parents working at your organization work remotely some or all of the time, offering them a stipend to improve their environment helps them perform at their best. Ensure that their setup isn’t a further challenge they have to contend with.

Introduce parental leave care days

There are some days when a child is sick and there’s only one parent who can look after them. 

It’s important to provide leave where employees can stay with their children without eating into their own wellness or vacation days. This allows them to take care of their child without worrying about work or losing out on time for themselves because of something that’s out of their hands.

Remove the stigma around mental health/sick days

Sometimes people attach judgments to mental health, sick, or wellness days.

Whatever you call them, it should be acceptable for an employee to use the days that are available to them when they’re not mentally or physically able to work.

We all have days where we’re overwhelmed. Offering mental health days where employees can recover makes it clear that you prioritize mental health.

It also means employees don’t sacrifice their health for the sake of their job. Over time, this can lead to burnout and cost you even more than a wellness day or two.

Provide financial support

What financial support could you offer parents working for you? Subsidies, backup childcare assistance, flexible childcare spending accounts?

Including these in your benefits packages not only shows you’re serious about supporting working parents. It also gives them more options for how they spend their paycheck.

Taking these payments out automatically reduces their mental load, giving them one less thing to plan for each month.

Support education

Education can be one of the most expensive parts of being a parent, especially when it comes to college tuition. Or, sending a child to private school to provide them with new opportunities or more help with different ways of thinking, for instance if they’re neurodivergent

You could enable employees to use some of their paycheck toward their own tuition fees, their student loans, or even their child’s current or future college tuition. 

Host family-friendly activities

You can support your working families by hosting family-friendly activities like parties with bounce houses or children’s entertainers. These are great opportunities for colleagues to network, children to socialize, and for everyone to get a break from work.

On-site childcare

If you have an office, providing an on-site daycare where parents can leave their children takes a huge weight off them. 

This allows them to get on with their job while knowing their children are in safe hands. 

It also prevents the children from being in the office itself, where they risk distracting other employees from their work.

Implement a happiness fund

A happiness fund shows your employees how much you value them and their mental health. 

Parents working for you could use it to pay for a nanny or babysitter for a few hours so that they can relax. 

Non-parents, meanwhile, could use it for attending a yoga or cooking class. 

Whatever they need to do for their mental health so that they can keep performing at their best.

Conclusion 

Supporting working parents and caregivers creates a happier, more diverse working environment.

It discourages a culture of people being superglued to their desks at the cost of their mental health. Instead, it focuses on employees leading balanced lives where they don’t neglect their families for their careers. 

This sets a better example to the next generation, too, about not being stuck to their desks. It is possible to have a balance of work and family time without damaging one’s career prospects or work quality.

Once again, if you’re looking to better support parents working on your teams, equipping them with the right tools can help. Workrowd makes it easy for caregivers to connect with what’s important to them at your organization from day one.

If you want to level up your employee experience and better support both parents and non-parents alike, drop by our site to learn more. Or, feel free to send us a note directly at hello@workrowd.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

7 ways employers can make life easier for working parents

Recent figures show that 96.5% of married-couple families with children have at least one parent who is employed. In 62.3% of these families, both partners are working parents.

McKinsey estimates that global GDP could grow by $12 trillion if women were able to engage in the paid labor force at the same rate as men. But, due to family commitments and the cost of childcare, they’re often unable to do so.

A part of this support has to come from governments willing to subsidize childcare. That’s not to say there aren’t things that employers can do too, though.

Working parents can bring huge strengths and benefits to your business, regardless of your industry. This includes the people management skills that come from dealing with children, and the diversity of thought that it can provide.

Here are just some of the ways your organization can make life easier for working parents:

Talk openly

Previously, and perhaps still in more old-fashioned businesses, some working parents might’ve felt unable to talk about their home situation. It would be hard or impossible to ask for accommodations to help them better manage their family responsibilities. 

Hiding this huge part of their life from colleagues can be emotionally draining. That’s especially true if it means missing out on family events because of how it would look at work. 

Women, in particular, experience more judgment when family demands conflict with work expectations. At the same time, they’re often seen as bad parents if they prioritize work over family. On the flip side, males are typically seen as better providers for doing the same thing. 

Talking openly about their personal lives and interests is a good way for employees to bond. It’s important for them to understand each other’s perspectives as working parents.

Use inclusive language

The language we use is hugely reflective of our mindset and beliefs. The nuclear family may have been normal decades ago, but we live in a world that’s more diverse than ever. 

To ensure your organization benefits from the knowledge and skills that diversity brings, you need to use inclusive language, too.

For instance, saying ‘maternity leave’ only reflects the needs of the mother. 

What about the father and if he becomes the primary caregiver? 

What about LGBTQ+ couples or non-binary individuals? 

Using terms like ‘parental leave’ instead is more inclusive for all working parents.

Update your parental leave policies

Do your parental leave policies use inclusive language?

Do they include adoptive or foster parents?

What about non-binary folx?

Or equal time for parents of any gender, regardless of if they’re the one who gave birth? 

Sometimes the parent who gave birth isn’t the primary caregiver. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve plenty of time with their new child to adjust to their new situation, though. 

Big life changes are challenging. Having more time to get used to them without the stresses of work boosts new parents’ wellbeing. It also means they can be more present at work when they do return.

Consider your pregnancy and healthcare policies

What are your policies for employees when they need to visit the doctor? 

What about medical emergencies? 

These should clearly be in place so that if something happens during working hours, employees know how to respond. They need to know what’s expected of them. 

For instance, if a pregnant employee takes time off to visit the doctor, do they need to make it up? 

Or do they have a set amount of time they can use for doctor’s visits? 

Likewise, what are your policies on employees going with their pregnant partner to appointments?

The clearer your policies are, the more you reduce your employees’ stress and anxiety. That way, they know how to navigate being working parents at your organization.

Welcome flexible hours

I’ve spoken to many working parents over the years who’ve stayed at a job they didn’t necessarily like—and that didn’t pay them as well as another job would’ve—because it offered them flexible hours that allowed them to take their children to and from school. 

This saved them money on babysitters and made morning routines easier. It also allowed them more time with their families, something which is important however old children are.

Luckily, since COVID, more companies understand the benefits of flexible working opportunities.

Allowing employees time to pick up and drop off children from school, and attend sports events, plays, or other activities their children are taking part in, boosts the morale of working parents and shows how much you value the next generation.

At the end of the day, does it really matter if someone isn’t working every waking hour if they’re hitting their deadlines and their quality of work is what you expect from them? 

It’s much more productive for someone to deliver what they need, then spend time with their family, than for them to sit twiddling their thumbs at a desk just because they feel obligated to work a set amount of hours that don’t make them better at their job.

Send surveys to find out what they need

Surveys are a great way to find out what working parents need from you and what their priorities/challenges are. 

It’s important to approach these with an attitude of curiosity, not judgment. That way, parents don’t feel you’ll reprimand them for sharing their situations or suggesting ways you could support them.

Introduce checkpoints

Checking in with employees after big life changes shows that you value them and their mental health, as well as what they bring to the company. 

You can work together to find any accommodations they may need, whether that’s flexible hours, new equipment or tools, or the ability to work remotely. 

Distractions are everywhere when working from home, particularly if there are other people in the house. Maybe they need noise-cancelling headphones to make focusing easier, or a better-quality microphone so that call participants can hear them more clearly.

Conclusion 

When an employer is willing to make adaptations and accommodations after big life changes—like a new child, a child suffering from health issues, or just the extra challenges that come with being working parents—it shows employees that they’re valued members of the team who aren’t seen differently because they have children or are about to have children.

Stay tuned for part two next week when we’ll share even more tips. That said, if you’re ready to start better supporting working parents now, equipping them with the right tools is a great first step.

Workrowd makes it easy for working parents to find the information they need when they need it. Plus, the platform empowers them to connect with fellow working parents at your organization from day one. And with real-time analytics, you always know what’s driving impact for them and where you can improve.

Sound interesting? Drop by our website to learn more, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Categories
Employee Retention

7 important touchpoints for your employee listening strategy

There are some milestones within your employee lifecycle when it’s important to check in. Implementing employee listening efforts at these key times can provide you with new insights. You can then use this info to improve your workplace culture, your employees’ working lives, and your retention rate. 

Happier employees are more likely to stick around. So, it’s no wonder that 60% of employers have improved their employee listening efforts. However, only 31% of businesses conduct employee surveys, and only 13% of them use focus groups.

58% of employees wish their employer sent employee engagement surveys more often. And there is a clear connection between their frequency and employee engagement. Yet only 21% of companies conduct surveys three or more times per year.

An always-on employee feedback tool can help you get vital data from your team. In fact, 64% of HR leaders believe an always-on feedback tool is an essential part of any employee listening strategy. But only 20% of them have this kind of tool in place.

The more often you connect with your employees to find out what’s going on with them, the more likely they are to feel listened to, valued, and like they truly belong. It’s especially important to get their feedback when big changes happen, either in their own lives or within your business.

So, where are these crucial touchpoints for your employee listening strategy?

During onboarding

When employees experience a great onboarding process, they’re 18 times more committed to their employer. Those kinds of numbers can do huge things for your business’s productivity, retention, and revenue. In fact, effective onboarding improves retention by 82% and productivity by 70%.

If your onboarding process is poorly organized, badly explained, or your people aren’t made to feel welcome, they’re much more likely to leave in the short-term. This means you’ll need to repeat the hiring process all over again.

Understanding what your employees think during this stage is therefore key. You can find out what they need from you, if they’re understanding all the new information that’s being sent their way, and how they’re getting along with their colleagues.

Employee listening efforts will give you crucial insights to improve their onboarding process and update it for future hires, too.

When changes occur

Change is scary. It’s even scarier if you feel like your voice isn’t being heard.

Even if your employees don’t get a say in the final decision, they should still feel like they’re being listened to and that their opinions are valued. This is good for their mental health and good for your workplace culture.

If they’re concerned about a restructure or layoffs, there should be someone they can talk to who can answer their questions empathetically. This will help remove some of the stress around the changes and provide them with the answers they need.

When an employee program launches

New employee programs can be exciting. However, if you’re not communicating with employees about how to make the most of the new offerings, they’re less likely to take advantage of them. 

If they may perceive the changes as negative, you want to get their opinions as well. That way, you can allay their concerns based on what you learned from your employee listening efforts.

If there are benefits changes

When any employee benefits change, people need to understand what the changes are and how it will affect them. 

Everyone will be impacted differently depending on their role, what benefits are changing, how much they’re paid, etc. So giving them detailed information is important.

Once they’ve got the right information, it’s important to check in with how they’re feeling. What do they think about the changes and how are they processing them?

Through employee listening, you may find that there’s a better way to communicate changes with the team. Or, that you haven’t shared enough information so the rumor mill is in full force.

When they experience a big life change

When experiencing a big life change, it can sometimes feel like your world has stopped while everyone else’s is still spinning. It can be hard to articulate what you’re going through. Unsurprisingly, this can significantly impact your daily life.

Big life changes can be lonely. Connecting with employees going through these types of life events is really important. That way they know you’re there to support them. 

Knowing that their employer supports them helps employees to feel less alone. Your employee listening efforts can enable you to take some of the stress away from their situation. 

If the changes require accommodations, such as more flexible working or different office equipment, employees will feel much more able to approach you about it if you already have an employee listening program in place.

After performance reviews

Performance reviews can be an uncomfortable time for some employees. This is particularly true if they had a negative experience with them in a previous role. 

Checking in with employees after a performance review helps them process how they felt things went, the decisions that were made, and the comments they were given. 

They can also provide feedback on the person they had their performance review with, helping that person improve, too.

At the end of the year

A lot can happen in a year. Checking in with your employees at the end of each year, whether that’s the calendar year, financial year, or whatever other year your business runs on, allows you to reflect on the last twelve months and how things have changed. 

You can take stock of successes, mistakes, and failures, so that you can move forward together productively.

Conclusion

Employee listening needs to be continuous and happen at a multitude of touchpoints. It shouldn’t be just once per year or when there’s a problem.

It’s about so much more than the business deciding to conduct an employee experience survey. It’s about making sure employees feel heard.

If you want to level up your employee listening approach, Workrowd can help. Our always-on feedback tool automatically collects data about what’s driving impact for employees, and solicits their thoughts after important events and initiatives.

When you’re ready to just ‘set it and forget it’ on employee listening, drop by our website to learn more, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Categories
Employee Experience

Designing a digital candidate experience that attracts top talent

Your digital candidate experience is a window into what it’s like to work at your company. It plays a huge role in the type of person who finishes the application process. Obviously, this then determines which individuals you get the opportunity to interview. 

Old-fashioned technology, a clunky user experience, or complicated application forms can be really off-putting when someone applies for a role.

If you provide a poor digital candidate experience, the highest quality job seekers will take their time and skills elsewhere. 

The best candidates are off the market within 10 days. The better your digital candidate experience is, the more likely your business is to be the one that hires them.

Despite this, the hiring process takes an average of 36 days. The longer your hiring process is, the lower your chances are of getting those top-quality candidates that bring you greater ROI. 

It’s not just that, though. Bad hires can cost you up to $15,000!

The best way to mitigate that? Invest in your candidate experience—it improves the quality of your new hires by as much as 70%!

So where should you start? What should you consider when evaluating your digital candidate experience?

Start with your website

If your website is ugly or hard to navigate, it will make your business look old-fashioned, too. It’ll put off younger or more technologically savvy candidates because user experience matters to them. They’ll probably switch off before they’ve even started the application process. This shrinks your candidate pool and loses you those great-quality hires you need.

Your website should be easy to navigate. You should also make sure it’s easy for anyone interested in working with you to find the careers section. 

If they can’t find that, unless they really want to work with you, they’re not going to dig for it. 

Instead, they’ll take their skills and perspectives that you could have benefited from to one of your competitors.

Shorten your application process

68% of recruiters believe investing in new technology is the best way to improve hiring performance. Which backs up the statistic we saw at the start, about how investing in your candidate experience improves the quality of your hires by up to 70%.

It starts with simple things. For instance, if you’re asking someone to upload a resume and a cover letter, you don’t need to ask them to manually fill in their job history in an application form too. 

Yet there are still some businesses that do this. It’s repetitive, annoying, and pointless.

If your job application process is overcomplicated, applicants will wonder what other systems you have that are pointless or repetitive.

If you want to ask questions during the initial application process, focus on things that won’t be on their resume or cover letter. For instance, why they want to work for your business, examples of their work, or when they used a skill that’s key to success in the role.

Be accessible

What can you use to make your digital candidate experience more accessible

Maybe you can make sure that any step in your application process is optimized for screen readers. 

If applicants need to read something, is it easy for them to adjust the font size of your website? How does this impact the design?

If they need to complete tasks as part of the application process, do you offer both written and spoken instructions? This ensures it’s easy to understand no matter how someone learns.

These may seem like minor things, but they add up. They’ll improve your digital candidate experience and make your business more inclusive from the very start.

Keep applicants in the loop

There’s nothing worse than applying for a role, then not knowing if anyone has even received your application. Or never hearing back from them. 

Most systems now allow you to send a confirmation email, so that candidates know you’ve received their application. This is a common courtesy that helps reduce some of the anxiety that comes from the job application process.

81% of job seekers feel that employers who send status updates improve the candidate experience.

You could even allow candidates to track what stage in the application process they’re at through your applicant tracking software. Having a progress bar on the candidate side means they can visualize how far into the process they are. 

You could also show them what’s coming next. For instance, if they’re shortlisted, they’ll have a phone interview, then an in-person interview or a task, etc. The more transparent you make things, the less stressful it is for candidates and the better they can prepare.

If a candidate hasn’t heard from you, but they can see in the portal you haven’t reviewed their application yet (for example, because the deadline hasn’t passed), this further reduces some of the nerves they may feel about applying for the role. It also saves you time because anyone who wants to chase you won’t have to.

Conclusion 

Your digital candidate experience is a reflection of your business. Having an amazing website but a poor candidate experience makes it look like your business focuses solely on appearances.

If you truly care about the people who make your business the best it can be day in, and day out, the digital candidate experience has to reflect that. It’ll bring in more awesome people who can help you get the sales your brand deserves.

One way to ensure you have an amazing culture to showcase as part of your candidate experience is to rally everyone around a central hub. With one place for all your employee groups, programs, and events, it’s easy to highlight what makes working for your organization so great.

If you’re ready to elevate your employee experience and streamline the transition from candidate experience to team member, see if Workrowd could be a fit. Drop us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Categories
Employee Experience

Digital employee experience management tips you need to know

Digital employee experience management is key to helping your employees work effectively, connect with colleagues, and enjoy their jobs. 

Poor digital employee experience management leads to frustration, slow processes, and increased churn rate.

Despite this, only 13% of employees are fully satisfied with their employer’s digital employee experience. This shows a huge disconnect between what employees need and what their employers are providing.

Here are some best practices to help you level up your digital employee experience management efforts.

Establish a baseline

What’s the minimum your employees need to succeed? Is it a laptop? Home office equipment? Tools like a CRM for salespeople or accounting software for finance?

Providing these must-haves as soon as your new employees start streamlines employee onboarding and offers a better experience to your new hires.

Many businesses give employees an office budget, allowing them to customize their setup to suit their needs. This helps them feel more comfortable in their surroundings and more able to do their jobs.

Designing a form where employees can request new equipment means they can easily choose what they want based on their individual needs. 

Pay attention to employee feedback

That really great tool you think will change everything? Your employees might hate it.

What you want to provide, and what they need, aren’t always the same thing. 

Paying attention through employee surveys or regular chats helps you look for patterns. It means you can spot the challenges people are facing and then find software they might even enjoy using. This is much better than purchasing something you think will work, but that you can’t guarantee will succeed.

Review your policies

If your business didn’t start out as a remote or hybrid employer, you’ll need to review and update your policies as part of your digital employee experience management process. 

The rules for remote and hybrid workers are different from those who are office-based. You want to make sure they’re clearly communicated in any employee guides or handbooks and that you aren’t still sharing information from 2005.

Do you still expect employees to work 9-5? What time zone? How will these rules be enforced? What are the consequences of breaking them?

The more clearly you explain things, the better it will be for you and your employees. Clarity is one of the cornerstones of effective digital employee experience management

Prioritize employee experience alongside customer experience

Focusing on providing a great customer experience is a given in any business. But how many value their employee experience just as much?

You want your customers to say great things about you and have a seamless experience. Why should it be any different for your employees?

After all, they’re the ones in your business day in, and day out. They’re the ones keeping things running smoothly for your customers. 

If things are difficult for them because they have the wrong setup, they’ll feel more stressed. That will impact their productivity, their quality of work, and how they deal with your customers.

On the flip side, if the tools they use enable them to do their job better, and they’re happy in their roles, they’re going to provide a better customer experience. This will then bring in more return customers and spread more positive word of mouth.

Document processes

Organizing a process starts by writing down as much as possible. 

While this can sound like a chore at first, the more you document processes—how to do things, what’s expected of people, where things are—the easier your employees’ jobs will be. Which also makes them more efficient in the short- and long-term.

Thinking strategically is key to other areas of your business, like marketing and sales. Why should digital employee experience management be any different?

Start by making a list of things you might need to document. Ask your employees what they’d like to know, too. 

Then, you can assign the guide-writing to the employees best suited to each topic. Make sure they’re reviewed by someone else before publication to ensure they’re clear and easy to understand.

Offer training for new and old tools

Providing training on tools—whether they’re new or old—is key to getting employees to use them. Otherwise, they’ll only use them when they really have to, if at all.

Learning portals where employees can study at their own pace, and refer to information when they need it, is one way to do this.

Training days, particularly on a more complicated tool, can be useful to provide time for focusing on the benefits of the new tool and how to use it. 

For some employees, this may be too much time to concentrate on one thing or impact their ability to do their job. 

That’s why offering different learning methods is an important part of digital employee experience management (and your new tool’s adoption rate).

Start with your candidate experience

Digital employee experience management doesn’t start once someone joins your organization. It starts when they’re considering applying. 

How easy is it for someone to navigate your website? How easy is it for them to understand what you expect of your employees? What about the application process?

The more laborious this is, the more likely you are to lose great candidates. It’s not just the bad candidates who get put off by this clunky process—the great ones do, too. They know their time is precious, so they’d rather spend it applying for roles at businesses that make a better first impression.

Make collaboration easy

Successful collaboration helps businesses be more creative, solve problems faster, and achieve their goals. 

When teams work remotely or hybrid you need to find ways to make collaboration as easy as possible. 

This includes choosing communication apps that are efficient and user-friendly, conferencing tools that enable effective meetings, and creative tools like whiteboards and mind maps. 

These tools allow your employees to visualize what’s happening, provide feedback, and work together on projects.

Conclusion 

Digital employee experience management affects how people see your organization. It has a dramatic impact on your employees’ abilities to do their jobs. The wrong equipment can lead to miscommunication, stress, and tasks taking longer than they should.

Providing employees with the right equipment makes them happier and better at their roles.

If you’re looking for ways to make digital employee experience management easier, consolidating tools can make a big difference. Giving employees a one-stop shop for important information, programs, events, and more, means they always know where to find what they need.

Workrowd’s platform reduces admin time and gets everyone on the same page from day one. If you’d like to learn more, drop by our site, or send a note to hello@workrowd.com.

Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

7 DEI best practices every company should implement

Companies with more diverse and inclusive workforces are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors. Not surprising when you consider that diverse leadership teams deliver 19% higher revenue. So, if you’re not already implementing these DEI best practices, now’s the perfect time.

Education, education, education

It’s only through knowledge and understanding that diversity, equity, and inclusion can truly grow within a business. 

You could expand your employees’ understanding through workshops, webinars, books, mentorship, or other means. 

Offering a variety of formats will help you educate more employees in a way that works for them. In doing so, you can increase the likelihood of success for your DEI program. It’ll also help with employee engagement because people will feel valued.

In addition, you have to educate the outside world about your practices. This is particularly true if you’re an older business that isn’t known for its inclusivity. Anything that gets you out into the community, talking about what you do and how you’re different from your competitors is a good idea.

Similarly, you could interview employees from underrepresented backgrounds and share their stories on social media. This gives them a voice, grows their personal/professional brands, and shows you appreciate them. Make sure it feels like an integral part of your business, though. Tokenism certainly isn’t on any DEI best practices list.

Recruiting initiatives

Over 75% of job applicants feel a diverse workforce is an important factor when deciding where to work. Being truly inclusive starts with your recruitment process.

A lot of recruiting practices just aren’t all that inclusive. They can be stressful, especially for people who are neurodivergent or who belong to a community more likely to face bias.

People who experience the world differently can lead to new ideas you may never have considered before. Not making your business attractive to them means you’re never going to benefit from those different perspectives. 

Instead, you run the risk of groupthink, fewer creative ideas for new products and services, and fewer opportunities to solve problems. 

Cognitive diversity enhances team innovation by 20%. Bringing in people from different backgrounds is key to business growth.

Some businesses have started to realize they’re missing out on a very large talent pool and have chosen to do something about it. 

For instance, extended interview processes can give candidates the opportunity to show off their unique talents while assessing the employer at the same time.

Managerial involvement

When managers actively support DEI best practices through their actions, not just their words, it can have an even bigger impact. 

That said, open communication is a huge part of any successful business. Holding regular check-ins with employees mean managers can deal with challenges before they arise or turn into something bigger. 

They can also learn about other ways the business can be more inclusive and accessible. Obviously, this helps the organization, and the people within it, to grow and further embrace diversity.

Employee groups

Employees who have a greater sense of belonging and inclusion at work report 167% higher eNPS scores

A strong sense of belonging also results in a 50% lower turnover risk and a 56% increase in job performance.

Employee groups are a powerful way to build these levels of inclusion and belonging. 

They empower employees to connect with people who have similar interests or backgrounds to them. 

Without these communities, it’s harder for employees to build real relationships with their colleagues, particularly those from other departments in a remote or hybrid business.

Employee groups are easy to set up but can be a challenge to manage. Incorporating some relevant tools can help make them one of the most effective DEI best practices you implement.

Mentoring and sponsorship

Mentoring can be a positive way for someone to find, and lean into, their strengths. 

We often don’t realize what or where our own power is, but it can be obvious to other people. 

Having a mentor who can nurture our skills and help us grow is a huge part of developing in the workplace. It can go a long way towards speeding up our growth trajectory.

Mentoring and sponsorship also open up opportunities to employees that they may not have otherwise had. It’s one of the time-tested DEI best practices you should definitely have in your toolkit.

Physical visibility

Seeing is believing, as the old saying goes. Employees, and outsiders, need to see you being inclusive to believe that you really are. 

If you say your business is inclusive and accessible, but your office is on the third floor with no elevator for anyone who can’t use the stairs, it sends a conflicting message that reflects badly on your business.

True inclusivity isn’t about expecting everyone to achieve the same thing with the same resources. It’s about adapting the resources so that everyone can achieve their goals.

Workplace policies

Having policies in place to deal with problems before they turn into bigger issues ensures employees know what their rights are when something happens, whether that’s a new pregnancy or a chronic illness flare up.

It also shows candidates and new hires that you take DEI initiatives seriously. You don’t just talk about DEI in your job descriptions as a way to pay lip service to a trending topic or legal requirements.

Even if you’ve never had an employee go through a particular situation—like menopause, for example—while at work, creating a policy in advance means everyone knows how to handle it when it does arise. 

This results in less stress because everyone knows where they stand. Plus, you’re not scrambling to put something together to retrospectively fit your needs.

Conclusion 

Businesses that implement these DEI best practices are more profitable, have happier employees, and do more good in the world. There’s really no downside to creating a more inclusive business. 

So whatever industry you’re in, consider adopting these practices so that your employees know what to expect from you. New recruits will feel more welcomed into your environment, and you get to reap all the business benefits.

If you want to put some supports in place to help you achieve these DEI best practices, consider implementing an inclusive employee experience platform.

For instance, Workrowd makes it easy to manage DEI programs, groups, and events, and enables you to easily track their impact with real-time analytics. If you’re interested in learning more, visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Categories
Company Culture

The importance of work friendships, plus 10 ways to foster them

Just as in other areas of life, work friendships can drive a wealth of positive outcomes. Unfortunately, only 20% of US employees strongly agree that they have a best friend at work. 

This is a missed opportunity, because 21% of people believe that work friendships make them more creative. 22% feel more productive with friends, and 57% feel it makes work more enjoyable. So why do so few of us have work friendships nowadays?

It’s not always easy to foster work friendships in the modern world. This is especially true if you have a remote team or distributed workforce. So here are some strategies to support work friendships and reap the benefits for both employees and your bottom line:

Employee groups

Employee groups are one of the best ways to connect your team members with like-minded people. 

You can set up a group for anything. Whether that’s a location, a skill, a favorite TV show, pets, or something else. 

It’s then up to the group’s organizer(s) to set up activities and discussions for members to take part in. They’re totally flexible, which means there are infinite possibilities for you and your employees.

These communities can also go a long way towards furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion. For instance, employee resource groups are a great way to create spaces for team members with shared backgrounds, ethnicities, and/or life experiences to connect.

Pairing people for one-on-one chats

One-on-one chats are another easy way for people to get to know their colleagues. 

There are lots of approaches you could take to organizing this. From having an employee experience manager who connects people with similar interests, to a chat channel or krowd where people can request meetups, or even having managers play matchmaker.

Team activities

No, I don’t mean those terrible ice breakers that cause everyone to panic because they don’t know what to say, so they pay no attention to what anyone else is saying and it defeats the point of them. Instead, I mean fun activities that encourage teamwork and out-of-the-box thinking.

To find something that will resonate with your team, ask them what they’d like to do. 

Maybe it’s axe throwing, or darts, or archery. Or something that doesn’t involve sharp objects. (I keep getting ads for axe throwing at a new venue nearby, which is why it’s on my mind, in case you were worried about me for a minute.)

Providing opportunities to bond around shared experiences is a standard approach to fostering work friendships.

Book or film club

When we love something, we want to share it with others. Book clubs or film clubs are a great way to share those things with other people. I’ve made many friends from sharing a love of a particular book series, TV show, or film.

You could offer clubs for specific platforms or genres. That way employees know the people in that group are exposed to similar things and can offer other recommendations they may enjoy.

Watercooler chat

Talking about nothing in particular is often underestimated, but it can be an effective way to get to know someone. 

It doesn’t have to happen around a literal watercooler anymore, either. It can be a virtual one, in a digital space that’s designed for thoughts, observations, or anything else that’s unrelated to work.

Beyond collaborating on projects, simply chatting is the way work friendships have always formed.

Pet chat

Our dog is almost always present when I’m on a call because she gets FOMO if I close the door on her. As a result, she usually makes a cameo and says hi to everyone, particularly if she hasn’t met them before. 

Including her is a great ice breaker that puts everyone at ease. 

It’s a nice reminder that, no matter what the topic, we’re all human. And it doesn’t matter what your job is, your pet will never care so long as you can give them attention and food.

Providing a place for people to share about their pets is a great way to give colleagues insight into each others’ personal lives. This type of sharing that extends outside the bounds of the workplace is a great way to support work friendships.

Parenting chat

Parenting is hard. Having people who get it, who are going through it, or who’ve been there, can be key to staying sane. 

Why not put together a parenting affinity group? Or have regular conversations set up for people who want to discuss parenting life with other parents? 

You could take it one step further and have spaces for adoption, fostering, pregnancy, etc. These all come with unique challenges. Knowing you’re not alone when battling them can ease some of the strain and stress involved. This can make not only people’s work-lives easier, but also their home lives.

Health chats/talks

Being ill all the time—or even temporarily—really sucks. And most of the time, we don’t want to bog our colleagues or loved ones down by whining about how we’re feeling. 

Or, we get stuck in a negative cycle about our situation and end up feeling like we’ll never get better.

Having a safe space where employees can talk about their health challenges can really help them connect with people in similar situations, easing some of the emotional burden. 

With the right people in charge, it can encourage a positive atmosphere where employees can seek support and solutions, rather than spiral in their helplessness. 

The atmosphere is key, because long-term health challenges can eat you up inside if you’re not careful. 

But, if you can encourage people to treat each other with kindness and respect, it can be rewarding and insightful. And of course, work friendships can bring both mental and physical health benefits!

Hackathons

These can be really good for meeting new people. A team organizes it, explains the rules, then splits everyone up into small groups of no more than five people. 

Then, everyone gets to share a little about themselves and any challenges they may be facing, before deciding what problem or solution to work on. 

This encourages cooperation between teams, gives employees insight into other departments, and generates ideas that may not have otherwise appeared. Plus, the creation and collaboration process can build work friendships that extend beyond the surface.

Internal networking event

If in doubt, why not set up a good old-fashioned networking event at your HQ? Or somewhere near where many of your employees work?

They don’t have to be huge and expensive to put together (although they can be if you prefer). You don’t even need a speaker if you don’t want one. 

The key is to find somewhere with a comfortable atmosphere, some munchies, and a diverse group of people.

Conclusion 

Work friendships are hugely powerful. The more you encourage employees to develop them, the happier they’ll be in their roles. And, the more your business will benefit as a result.

The world of work has changed, leaving many people feeling isolated. Accordingly, we need new ways of building up these connections.

An all-in-one platform like Workrowd gives employees a central place to connect across an array of interests and activities. Plus, real-time analytics make it easy to see what’s driving belonging and work friendships.

If you’re ready to tap into all the benefits that come from a more connected workforce, visit us online or drop us a note at hello@workrowd.com today.

Categories
Employee Experience

6 reasons why you should hire an employee experience manager

As both the workforce and the workplace continue to change, many organizations find themselves wondering whether they need an employee experience manager.

The employee experience is more complex than ever before, with people working remotely, based in the office, or taking a hybrid approach. You can have employees located anywhere in the world. Plus, you can also have freelancers or consultants filling out your workforce when you need it. 

All of this is a lot for HR teams to juggle and consider. Each situation has different needs and requires different management approaches. 

You also have to factor in employees’ individual needs based on their personal situation. This could include their health, location, neurodiversity, disability, household type, and even their personal preferences. 

The more of these things you factor in, the more likely you are to retain employees. 

However, it all adds up to a lot to manage on top of someone’s existing responsibilities. That’s why it helps to have a dedicated employee experience manager whose sole responsibility is to focus on these things.

77% of job seekers say that employee experience is a deciding factor when considering where to apply. So not investing in yours means you might miss out on the best candidate for a role. This then risks harming your business’s long-term growth.

Let’s take a deeper look at the benefits of having an employee experience manager in the new world of work:

Better customer experience

When it comes to existing employees, 85% of people agree that an improved employee experience, and higher employee engagement, means a better customer experience and higher customer satisfaction. 

When employees are happier and more engaged at work, they’re much more likely to provide a great customer experience. This is true for both new and old customers. It reflects well on your brand, meaning you’re more likely to get high reviews and repeat customers who spread the word about you and your business.

As a result, you get to earn more money, attract more customers, charge more, and grow faster.

Greater sense of belonging

25% of American employees feel they lack a sense of belonging in the workplace. And 40% of employees now feel isolated at work. 

When employees feel this way, their performance suffers and they’re more likely to leave. 

A lot more likely to leave: the turnover risk for someone who feels unhappy at work or like they don’t belong is 50%. How many of your employees can you risk feeling that way?

An employee experience manager prevents this high turnover risk. It’s their job to help employees feel like they do belong. 

They can organize things like employee groups, networking events, individual accomodations, whatever someone needs to feel appreciated.

And they can manage your feedback surveys to spot any problems before they evolve into bigger issues.

Reduced churn rate

As mentioned above, the risk of someone leaving if they’re unhappy at work is 50%.

Every time an employee who doesn’t feel like they belong leaves, it costs you money. You have to hire and train someone new to fill the gap they left behind. 

And if you haven’t fixed the issues the original employee faced, their replacement may not stay all that long either. This same cycle could end up repeating itself just a few months later.

More tailored approach to employees’ individual needs

HR teams are busier than ever before. That means they simply don’t have the time or the head space to take an individualized approach to someone’s needs. 

Having an employee experience manager whose job it is to focus on ensuring everyone can build a work-life they love means it doesn’t add to the stress of other HR team members. It complements the efforts of the larger people team and boosts employee satisfaction.

The more we learn about people and their different ways of working, the more important it is for us to tailor our approaches and our office environment to employees’ individual needs.

Some employees might work better in a busy, open-plan office environment, while others will thrive in silence. 

Not all employees are comfortable asking for what they need. Or, HR managers dealing with certain situations may not know what help is available. Having an employee experience manager who’s knowledgeable about these things is vital to helping workers achieve—and exceed—their potential.

There are so many different needs out there that understanding them all is a full-time job. An employee experience manager can monitor and manage employees’ needs without it distracting from other HR tasks.

Stay competitive

Innovation is moving faster than ever before. You need a highly engaged workforce and a low turnover rate to remain competitive. 

Otherwise, you risk spending too much money on the hiring process and on trying to retain your employees. These are resources you could be spending on growing and staying competitive.

Exceed employees’ expectations

As the world of work continues to change, employees’ expectations of their employers are growing. 

Many employees aren’t just going to accept the status quo anymore. They’re demanding better because they know they deserve it. 

An employee experience manager shows the outside world, and your employees, that you’re dedicated to helping your team achieve their potential and ensuring they’re happy and fulfilled in their roles. 

It also shows you’re a part of the modern world of work and not stuck in the Dark Ages like some businesses still are. 

And it differentiates you from your competitors—particularly if they don’t prioritize their employee experience. 

It could even be the difference between someone choosing to work for your business or going to your competitor.

Conclusion

An employee experience manager helps both you and your employees feel happy, fulfilled, and successful. 

They take the burden off of HR teams who may already be feeling overwhelmed with everything they have to juggle in the ever-changing world of work. 

And they ensure that employees are more productive by providing a better employee experience. This then allows your business to grow and stay competitive. 

Whether you’re considering hiring an employee experience manager or trying to succeed without one, having the right tools is key. With a one-stop shop for all your employee programs, events, announcements, files, calendars, and more, everyone can tap into the best your company has to offer from day one.

Plus, with automated surveys, data tracking, and analytics, you’ll have the power to optimize your employee experience in real-time. Don’t fall behind the pack and lose out on top talent. Visit us online today to learn more, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Categories
Employee Experience

HR software tools to get you more bang for your buck in 2023

HR software tools can be a huge asset to overworked people teams. Or, they can take up more time than they save you.

The HR software market was valued at more than $15 billion in 2020 and is expected to exceed $33 billion by 2028. There’s a tool for virtually every use case, from tracking employees’ details to payroll to perks.

And it’s no longer just about everyday employee management tools. For every $1 you spend on employee wellness, you get $1.50 in return. The bigger your workforce, the more this adds up.

So, let’s check out some of the HR software tools that can help you drive more value in 2023:

Core HR (personnel tracking)

Life is so much easier when all the information you need is in one place. 

Personnel tracking software enables you to store employees’ names, contact details, and other vital information together. 

Employees can update it when they need to, such as if they change addresses. 

If there’s something you need to change for a group of employees, such as when you move offices, it can be done with a few clicks instead of manually typing everything into a spreadsheet.

Time and attendance

If you need to track how long projects take for billable hours, or how long employees spend working for you, time tracking software can make things a lot easier.

Employees click a button to start and stop, then it works out how long projects take or how long they’re clocked in for. This helps you make more informed decisions about time frames and pricing for future projects.

Payroll

Payroll can be hugely complicated and time-consuming to manage. 

You can use payroll software to automate payments, benefits, taxes, and more. This enables you to focus on other areas of your business, safe in the knowledge your finances are handled efficiently.

Employee self-service/knowledge hub 

A new employee can have lots of questions. Even long-term employees can have questions if you’ve got a complicated product or have implemented something new. 

Having a one-stop shop where they can find everything they need to know about your products or services, how to do stuff, and why things happen a certain way, can ensure they get the answers they need when they need them. 

It’s much quicker than asking in a group chat thread or reaching out to a colleague directly. And it avoids anyone feeling awkward for asking basic questions.

Benefits administration

From healthcare to discounts, benefits can play a huge part in your employee experience, as well as in talent attraction and retention. 

Using HR software tools to manage employee benefits automates the process, making it easier to enroll people in programs and allowing them to see what they have access to.

Recognition and rewards

A little recognition goes a long way. It could be anything from a virtual high-five to more substantial rewards like brand discounts or goodies. Keeping them all in one place using HR software tools means employees won’t miss out because they didn’t know you offered certain perks.

Performance review

Using HR software tools to track performance reviews gives you somewhere to store what everyone has said in the past, and holds people accountable to their performance goals. It also gives them a place to track how well they’re doing in relation to their goals.

This makes future reviews easier because everything from previous reviews is documented in one place.

Applicant tracking

Some jobs can get hundreds, or even thousands, of applicants. Using applicant tracking software keeps everyone’s details in one place. 

Certain systems can also vet applicants’ resumes for you before a hiring manager looks at them. This reduces the admin burden, although keep in mind it can introduce another layer of bias.

Learning management

94% of the 3 to 4.5 million Americans who leave their jobs every month would stay if their employer offered them more long-term learning opportunities. 

Learning management software is a low-cost way to help employees grow skills that are relevant to their role and industry, allowing them to learn what they need at their own pace.

Coaching

As mentioned above, the ability to learn and grow is a huge part of why someone stays or leaves a company. 

Coaching software allows your coaches to track what they’ve worked on with their students, schedule appointments, share resources, and more.

Employee experience management

Only 16% of businesses use technology to track the progress and engagement of their employees. But knowing how your employees really feel is key to retention. Engaged employees are happier employees, after all.

Employee experience management software enables you to send out pulse surveys, gauging how employees feel in the moment. You can then act on the results to improve situations or fix any problems before they interfere with your business or cause you to lose employees.

No-code customized tool builders

Not everyone knows—or wants to know—how to write code. 

No-code customized tool builders enable employees to design what they want without needing to learn how to write code first. They can simply drag and drop elements where they want them to go. This saves countless hours and can reduce development costs, too.

Onboarding

Research by the Brandon Hall Group found that a great employee onboarding process might increase retention by as much as 82%

And a more organized onboarding process results in a 60% increase in yearly revenue.

HR software tools focused on onboarding help you lay out everything an employee needs to know when they join your company. You can then pace it so that they don’t feel bored or overwhelmed.

AI assistants to answer employee questions

AI is particularly useful for onboarding employees and can save other team members a lot of time when it comes to FAQs. 

To keep it personal, you can offer people the option to discuss things further with a colleague if the answers they get need more explanation.

Productivity

Effective task management can play a huge role in how productive employees are, whatever size your team is.

You can create Kanban boards, calendars, Gantt charts, or another form of tracking in most productivity tools. 

They’re often fully customizable to you and your needs. That means you can break down the tasks involved in a project, assign them to different people, and check whether they’re done or need to be worked on.

Internal talent/skills marketplace

Being able to connect people with relevant skills to another person or team within your business that needs them means you can solve problems sooner. It also streamlines the process of finding out who can help with something.

Conclusion 

There are so many forms of HR software tools out there that can help you manage your business better. This list should give you a solid place to start, but you’ll need to identify what your organization truly needs.

For instance, you may need a better way of keeping everyone connected and ensuring your employee programs and events are delivering results. In that case, a central hub with all your offerings, complete with real-time analytics, can help.

If you’d like to learn more about these types of HR software tools, we here at Workrowd would be happy to chat. Our platform makes it easy for every employee to tap into the things that can drive real value for them. Drop us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

Categories
Employee Retention

6 benefits of employee retention that may surprise you

The Great Resignation made everyone painfully aware of the costs of turnover. While the financial impact is certainly significant, the benefits of employee retention extend far beyond your organization’s bank account.

According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 3 to 4.5 million US employees leave their jobs every month.

Even if you’re able to replace these leavers quickly, new employees take an average of eight months to hit full productivity. 

And let’s not forget that’s an average—for more technical roles or products, this will take longer.

It’s easy to focus on the downsides of turnover, but instead we’re going to look on the bright side. So what are the benefits of employee retention? Some of them may surprise you…

Save money 

Of course, we had to start here. Hiring is expensive, which means the more you have to do it, the less money you have to spend elsewhere.

It’s not just that, though. It’s all the time it takes for your new hire to get up to speed. They’re starting at a lower level of productivity than the person they replaced, which means they’re not earning you as much money.

And other team members are bringing in less, too, because they’re spending time training their new colleague. Not to mention all the money you had to spend on the recruitment process to hire that person in the first place.

When employees stay, you save on hiring costs and training costs. And this money can be re-invested in other areas of your business, like expansion, new technology, or further increasing employees’ skills so that they stay even longer.

More workplace friendships

In 1985, 50% of US employees had a workplace bestie. Gallup found that it’s now down to just 20%.

Despite this, 46% of workers believe that friends at work are important to their happiness. Having a best friend at work also results in a 36% reduction in safety incidents, 7% more engaged customers, and 12% higher profit.

Plus, there are the additional benefits to employee mental and physical wellbeing, which extend far beyond your business and long into workers’ futures, too.

If there’s frequent turnover at your organization, there will be fewer friendships and you’ll see the impact across the organization. What’s more, the bonds that do form may be weaker since people only stay for a short time.

Strengthened workplace relationships that lead to better business outcomes is one of the most frequently overlooked benefits of employee retention.

Higher morale

A few years ago, I took a job somewhere working for someone I knew. 

In the first week, a few people from different departments were let go, but we assumed our team was fine.

We were very, very wrong.

By the end of my second week there, the person who’d hired me had been let go, too.

So had several more people.

There was a revolving door of employees, leading to low morale and output. Nobody wanted to be there, but no one really saw a way out, either.

Every time someone was fired—often with little to no explanation—we all looked around, wondering who’d be next. Was it us?

Nobody felt able to speak out. Morale, mood, and confidence were all pretty low. All because we worked in an environment defined by fear.

When employees feel safe, they stay for longer, and—surprise surprise—they’re happier doing their jobs, too!

Better customer experience

Look after your employees and they’ll look after your customers, as Richard Branson famously said.

When your employees are happy, they’re more likely to want to make your customers happy, too. 

When they hate their jobs, they’re going to go through the motions and do little to nothing else to uplift the people they deal with. 

Moods of any kind are contagious, which means happy employees are more likely to leave your customers smiling, too.

This has the opposite effect as well, though. If someone is in a bad mood because of their job, they could take that out on a customer.

A couple of years ago, I was looking to update my phone contract. I called my carrier and shared with them some cheaper deals I’d found with competitors. 

Despite having been this company’s customer for over a decade, the person I spoke to insisted they had the best coverage in the country (they didn’t) and that they couldn’t offer a cheaper rate (they’d done it before…). 

And when I said I wanted to leave, he told me the wrong process.

While I had dealt with far nicer people from the same company in my ten years as their customer, it’s that experience that sticks out to me and caused me to hang up on him and jump to another provider ten minutes later.

One of the benefits of employee retention is that the effort you put into retaining folks will show up in their performance. It will create a self-reinforcing process: when you make your employees happy, they’ll make your customers happy. Obviously, that should then make you happy!

Better reviews

Since happier employees provide better customer service, is it any wonder that when employees stick around customers leave more complimentary reviews?

This has a ripple effect on your business, leading to more prospects and happier customers.

Most people research businesses before contacting them these days, which means the more positive reviews you have, the better.

How employees deal with customers is often one of the things highlighted in reviews, too. So you want them to leave a lasting, positive impression on the customer and anyone reading their review.

Growing internal knowledge and skills

Don’t underestimate the value of internal knowledge and skills, particularly in businesses with steep learning curves. 

The more complicated your infrastructure is, the longer it takes someone to understand it all. 

When employees stick around, they can train new people in how it works and hopefully get them up to speed faster. 

Their deeper understanding also means they can help you find solutions faster, saving you even more time and money.

A growing institutional knowledge base is one of the most important benefits of employee retention in today’s competitive market.

Conclusion 

The benefits of employee retention are virtually endless; there’s very little downside to retaining your top talent.

They have brand knowledge that will take time for a new person to learn. This knowledge can be the difference between solving a problem right away, or spending days, weeks, or even months scratching their head.

There’s also the impact it has on employee morale. When employees feel happy and safe in their roles, it rubs off on their colleagues and everyone works harder and collaborates better.

If you want to tap more deeply into the benefits of employee retention at your organization, consider incorporating some helpful tools. By ensuring every one of your team members can get fully immersed in all your employee offerings from day one, Workrowd makes it easy to drive retention and track what’s working.

Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more. We love making employees happy just as much as you do.