The tough market competition has led companies to dig deep and look for different ways to achieve customer satisfaction which in turn allows them to reach their business goals. Companies have now realized that employees can play an important role for them to be able to adapt to the ever changing customer demands and help serve them better. So now the firms are focusing their attention on improving the employee experience first which will eventually lead to customer satisfaction.
This new approach of focusing attention on the employee is known as employee centricity. The employee centric organization can thus be defined as an organization which takes care of its employees so they can take care of their customers. Following are the ways to be an employee centric workplace.
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Having a positive company culture
A company culture is the personality of the organization, which shows the beliefs and values of the organization. A company’s culture is tied to employee experience. Based on research, organizations which land in the top spots of the employee experience statistics achieve two times the innovation and customer satisfaction and more profit than companies who are not in those top positions. A positive culture is also directly tied to other components of an employee centric workplace like productivity, employee wellness, etc.
Creating a comfortable workplace by focusing on employee centricity
Employee wellness is a major concern for employers. Most employees prefer working with companies that put a greater focus on well-being. This is the reason it is all the more important for employers to prioritize the health and wellness of employees. High healthcare costs and loss in productivity because of employee absenteeism caused by their or their children’s illness or high stress levels are very common in businesses today. Most of the workplace accidents are due to stress.
The workplace has an impact on employee health, studies have shown that access to sunlight and technology to monitor temperature and lighting of the workplace creates a healthier environment that leads to high productivity and overall better employee health and well-being. Companies have to now focus on developing the workplace with employee health in mind.
Supporting collaboration and teamwork
There is always room to improve communication and collaboration whether it’s within a team or across teams. In most cases, most employees are satisfied with their colleagues. Employees working with their own team are found to be more productive than those that have to work with teams other than their own. Information is also easily accessible within a team than across different teams.
To sort out this lack in proper communication, mainly across teams, some companies have started to encourage less emailing and more video calling in favor of face to face conversation. Although some conversations are awkward face to face, being able to use verbal and non-verbal gestures does help lessen misunderstandings and improve communication in general. Some companies have even started providing lunch on a daily basis to improve collaboration with both inter and intra teams.
Emphasis on diversity and inclusion
Multiple studies have shown that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances employee performance. Companies with inclusive talent practices in leadership, development and other departments generate more revenue than their competitors. Although to achieve this higher revenue, companies have to follow diverse and inclusive workforce practices sincerely and not just hang a poster on the wall saying that they value diversity and inclusion. Companies that do follow inclusive and diverse practices in talent acquisition and retention are able to reap the benefits. In these companies there is a connection between diversity and employee engagement that is based on trust.
Employee centricity mission
A mission defines what a company does and helps to communicate the values of the organization. In the mission statement, the company’s function, markets, and competitive advantages are mentioned. But in an employee centric organization, the mission statement also talks about how we are all in it together. How the aim of the company can only be achieved if all the employees and management work together as a team. According to a study, people are connected to each other as persons rather than employees by the common objective of finding meaning in our work. It is the most important factor in creating and maintaining a positive employee culture.
Community care
Employees want to know that their employer sincerely cares about issues rather than just being interested in making a profit. The new generation has been able to share their ideas and views through social media better and faster than previous generations who also cared about these issues. Through community care, firms can show that they actually care. Whether by supporting the political or social issues of the times or by charities, community care is a great way to demonstrate the values of the company. Companies that are doing well and experience consistent growth year on year are found to support small and local businesses.
Employee experience remains one of the main priorities for human resources. Many companies have already started working towards it while there are others that are finding it tough to prepare to address this challenge. Undoubtedly, the main challenge in the coming time for human resources would be to incorporate and align customer centric and employee centric strategies, which are aimed at thorough understanding of their employees and customers.
References:
- Employee Centricity: A New Approach to People Management |Glocal Thinking | January 17, 2018
- Beyond the Beanbag – The components of a truly employee-centric workplace | FM Systems | Brian Haines | September 4, 2019
- 6 Simple Ways to Be an Employee-Centric Workplace | Tyme Commerce
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