Employees' experience with the company begins long before they apply to an open position or accept an offer. It starts the moment they learn about the existence of the organization. Employers should strive to make positive impressions from the start and proactively shape their employer brand.
Each interaction with potential and existing employees contributes to their experience and directly impacts satisfaction and retention. Starting off on the wrong foot makes it an uphill battle to convince employees that you're a great employer. But investing time and resources into shaping their experiences can help you build and hold onto a powerful team.
In this post, we'll discuss what companies can do to improve employee experiences and how they can make this process easier by partnering with a PEO.
How Improved Employee Experience Leads to Better Business
Satisfied employees will remain with companies for a long time – and they will contribute more to its success. Providing excellent employee experiences helps companies improve employee engagement, which increases productivity by making people feel more devoted and connected to the organization.
Better employee satisfaction can lift companies higher and increase their overall output. Happy employees who work directly with consumers make a better impression on customers and clients, leading to improved sales, better customer relationships, and higher customer lifetime value (LTV).
By improving employee experience, you reduce churn, prevent burnout, and increase your chances of becoming an employer of choice.
Empower Employees with PEO Support
Improving employee experience can be resource-intensive. Many HR teams don't have the opportunity to streamline their operations to help employees feel supported and happier in the workplace. Companies often lack the resources to achieve these optimal work environments despite their good intentions and desire to do so.
Partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) can empower your company to achieve this goal faster and easier. Here are some of the key changes they can provide.
Creating a Positive Company Culture
Almost 90% of job seekers pay significant attention to company culture, and it's increasingly a priority for new workers to join a company that offers an excellent work environment. It's critical in attracting top talent and also a crucial benefit to your existing employees. Taking steps to improve your culture helps them stay engaged, included, and respected – and it can show your investment in your people, helping to convince staff who may be thinking of leaving to stick around longer.
A PEO can help improve your company culture by sharing best practices for its development. An experienced team of HR experts can work with your internal team to optimize its approach to shaping the culture.
Streamlined Recruitment Strategies
The recruitment experience makes a significant impression on candidates. A complex, time-consuming process doesn't just turn top talent away. It takes a toll on the HR team. Recruitment is a challenging and taxing process, and when it's disorganized, it can demand a lot from your staff and leave terrible impressions on candidates.
A professional employer organization can help you streamline recruitment by standardizing processes, making it simpler for your employees to see the process through, and showing candidates that you are a well-structured organization. That will improve the first impression candidates have and bring more qualified employees on board faster. Meanwhile, it can free some time for the HR team to let them focus on other tasks.
Flexible Work Arrangement
Flexibility is one of the most in-demand work conditions currently. Surveys show that 94% of employees want flexible work hours – and accommodating these demands reduces burnout and boosts productivity significantly. It allows your company to show that you trust your people and fully support them. The more you support them and let them balance their lives, the more they will be appreciative and productive in their roles.
Being able to provide flexibility isn't always simple for your staff. One of the reasons why some companies can't do so is the lack of knowledge, resources, and online processes. A PEO can help manage schedules, ensure compliance with labor laws, and provide access to self-service employee portals to simplify the process.
Comprehensive Benefit Packages
Both existing and potential employees pay significant attention to the quality of the benefits package. However, many companies hold back because of budget issues and lack of management. A PEO can leverage economies of scale to provide clients access to higher-tier benefits. That way, you can provide for your people without its high costs.
In addition to helping you cut costs, this team of HR experts can also handle benefits management. In addition to the costs saved, your PEO will give your team time back to focus on your people and give them full support.
Professional Development Opportunities
According to surveys, 68% of the employees say they will likely stay with an employer who invests in their professional development for many years. Improving employee skills keeps them onboard, improves productivity, and makes team members feel valued.
Added HR support can help your team organize employee training according to their requirements and your budget. Many PEOs also offer learning and development software, where you can develop courses to use when bringing on new workers or increasing their skills.
Improved Onboarding Processes
A streamlined onboarding process can improve retention by 82% and productivity by 70%. It sets the stage for optimized operations and employee satisfaction. However, many companies either don't pay enough attention to onboarding or lack the support to improve it, often leaving new employees struggling for assistance.
A PEO can provide tech that makes onboarding smoother, faster, and more satisfactory for everyone involved by letting employees complete their onboarding before their start date online, ensuring the information is complete and accurate. Your PEO can also offer guidance to set up a training plan that gives your employees a clear path when they start so they feel remembered, supported, and ready to work.
Employee Wellness Programs
As the population becomes more aware of the importance of wellness, employees are paying particular attention to wellness programs. Besides making employees happier, these programs can reduce the number of sick days, decrease workers' comp claims, and boost productivity.
When you work with a PEO, they can help you implement and manage comprehensive wellness programs that your internal team doesn't have time for, whether educating people about healthy habits or encouraging them to use their healthcare benefits by having regular checkups.
Regular Feedback and Communication
No matter how hard you try to improve employee experience, some tactics may not work. To determine which areas need your attention, you must ensure regular two-way communication. A professional employer organization can offer performance management systems that facilitate feedback and provide insights into existing HR tactics. You can conduct surveys or hold regular meetings to check in with your staff.
A New Focus on Employee Experiences
How employees feel in the workplace is critical to maximizing their engagement and productivity. Many companies don't have viable strategies for improving these experiences, leading to low productivity and higher turnover.
A PEO can help by providing expert advice on improving employee experience, taking over administrative tasks, cutting costs, and sharing access to technology. With the help of this external team, you can make employees happier and improve your bottom line.
