As companies compete for the best talent in their industry during historically low unemployment, providing a high quality employee experience has proven an extremely cost-effective solution to businesses large and small. It’s no surprise; with the average cost-per-hire around 4 thousand dollars, retaining employees is a great way to save money. Retained employees also tend to provide better service, since they are familiar with how their “home” company functions, and their positive experiences translate directly into their work.
From recruitment through promotion, technology is helping companies optimize their employee experience, so that they can facilitate an excellent customer experience.
Recruitment
Recruitment has totally changed with the introduction of artificial intelligence programs that can help take care of more iterative screening tasks. Everything from sourcing, to guiding candidates through the system, to providing offer details can be automated. Even more helpful are online skill assessments, which more than half of employers say are integral to candidate screenings. Webinars and livestreams can help spread the word about your recruitment opportunities, and video interviews help to reduce in-person interviews, saving wasted time and money for your HR department. Employees in return are well informed and given the best first impression of your business.
Training
“Blended Training” that combines use of online classes as well as in-person training has been introduced as an excellent method to help employees improve and grow their skillset over time. It has been touted as a more efficient and effective tool in the hands of business leaders trying to onboard and provide continued learning for employees. If courses are offered online, this can be a cost savings in training time, personnel costs, travel costs for employees and instructors, and work missed.
Agile work environments require employees to always be learning and improving their skillset. With a more efficient training method, it becomes easier for employees to engage in “upskilling” and learn about new ways they can grow and develop at the company.
Connectivity/ Communication
Modern workplaces require the ability to connect and communicate in easy, reliable ways across your organization. An employee experience marked by poor communication costs businesses a lot of money; bridging that gap with software that is easy to access and use helps to streamline projects in every department. It also helps employees engage with one another and participate in company culture, helping them to feel more connected to both their coworkers and company mission.
Teams that communicate effectively are more efficient, get more work done, and see better results from the work they do. Tech alone can’t solve a company’s communication woes, but the right application can be an asset to leadership and workforce alike.
Emplyee Experience: Overload Vs. Enablement
Technology can be hard to unplug from, and today’s workforce has been increasingly connected to work, even after hours. This can cause employees to burn out, loose focus on where priorities truly lie, and can even impact their ability to effectively build positive relationships with their managers and team members, when all communication (including conflicts) are handled via digital means. As you integrate technology into your business, it is also important to ask yourself how you are enabling your workers to do their best work, rather than overloading them with processes and approvals through several systems.
