The onset of Covid-19 introduced unique challenges to companies and employees across all industries and causing a shift in supply and demand. Months later, workers across the globe continue to face disruptions to both their jobs and home lives. Leading organizations have since stepped up to address the well-being of employees by focusing on employee experience and wellness offerings.
Changing Employee Expectations
The issue of wellness is a top concern amongst employees. In a recent Peakon survey, overall employee concern on the issue of well-being increased by 17% across all demographics; among Gen Z respondents, the increase was 28%.
The survey also noted an 18% increase in concern around flexible and remote working. A recent LinkedIn survey of 1,590 business professionals confirms a large majority of workers want flexibility. When asked to choose to return to the office, continue to work from home or go to a flexible, blended model, only 5% of respondents want to return to the office full-time. A whopping 73% want a flexible, blended approach.
Being on the frontline of candidate conversations, Talent professionals often notice these signs of changing expectations early and can pass along feedback to HR teams.
Ways Talent Acquisition Teams Can Support HR Business Partners Promote Employee Experience
Human resources professionals have a crucial role in the design and management of employee experience, and are often assigned responsibility for the following:
- Advocating for the importance of employee experience to senior leadership
- Evaluating wellness program options
- Implementing and overseeing employee wellness programs
- Promoting and encouraging employee participation in wellness offerings
- Evaluating the success of employee experience strategies and making necessary improvements on the fly
In today’s post-pandemic work environment, HR professionals have faced major transformations in their roles. On top of helping organizations adapt to the new world of remote work, it may be challenging for HR to commit to designing and promoting a positive employee experience. In many cases, enlisting the help from your inhouse or outsourced talent acquisition team can be extremely helpful in building a superior employee experience. Read on to see how talent acquisition can provide support to your employee experience strategy.
A Thorough Understanding of Employee & Candidate Expectations
Through industry exposure and extensive market research, talent acquisition experts stay up to date on what job seekers and employees want in a potential employer. By bringing a thorough understanding of employee and candidate expectations to your organization, a talent acquisition partner can provide recommendations on how you can modify your employee experience for the better.
Branding Strategy & Employee Value Proposition
A positive employee experience is crucial to a successful EVP. With expectations around flexible work schedules, remote work opportunities, and wellness on the rise, job seekers and current employees want to know what businesses are doing to support their workers both now and in the long run. The best talent acquisition partners offer brand and EVP consultation to help you develop an effective strategy for creating the positive impressions you’ll need to attract and retain qualified talent. As part of that strategy, a talent acquisition partner will also work with your internal HR team to echo candidate and job seeker expectations in your brand and EVP. Additionally, a talent acquisition partner can help promote your efforts to improve employee experience amongst prospective candidates and existing employees.
Monitoring
Talent acquisition providers can conduct an objective assessment of your employee experience strategy. They will measure factors such as employee retention offer acceptance, and employee engagement—all of which can reflect on whether existing employees are responding to your organization’s employee experience. A talent acquisition team can also audit how your organization is perceived on social media and in online employee reviews; often, they will provide a comprehensive overview on how well you are faring in comparison to competitors. By monitoring the success of your employee experience, a talent acquisition partner can implement continuous improvements into the design and management of your employee experience strategy. Monitoring impacts of employee experience on quantitative factors such as employee retention will also give HR the leverage needed to acquire further leadership investment into candidate experience.
Even with a Decrease in Demand, Talent is Still Prioritizing Employee Experience
Prior to the pandemic, we were in a strong employee-driven market. Candidates were driving major investments in employee experience. While the pandemic and subsequent economic effects have driven demand down, the focus on employee experience still holds value for candidates and corporate brands.
Curating a positive employee experience that takes into account employee wellbeing leads to higher employee productivity, improved collaboration, and loyalty to your organization. In turn, this can benefit your business performance, client experience, and bottom line overall.
