Insights
The needs of employees are evolving. As we enter the next phase of returning to the workplace, employers must adapt and embrace more nuanced approaches to the workplace experience. Benchmarking and measuring a company’s workplace experience program helps ensure that the organization’s values and culture are promoted, and essential needs of employees are met. For the best results, companies should rate workplace effectiveness and then employ a sustained process of review and modification based on data from employee feedback.
Whether your company has a robust workplace experience program, or you are in the early stages of developing one, the following are four metrics that have become even more vital in a post-COVID-19 workplace to evaluate the program’s impact and effectiveness:
1. Net Promoter Scores
ISS uses an Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) to measure employee loyalty and satisfaction. The eNPS measures employee’s willingness to recommend their workplace to family and friends.
Various studies have concluded that employee experience is a strong predictor of outcomes such as productivity, efficiency, customer focus, service quality, and profitability.
In addition to eNPS, ISS uses a Customer Net Promoter Score (cNPS) to measure customer loyalty—specifically whether or not a company’s stakeholders would recommend it to others. The cNPS is an index that ranges from -100 to 100. It is used as a proxy for gauging the client’s overall satisfaction with a company’s product or service and the client’s loyalty to the brand.
ISS has validated a correlationbetween a company’s eNPS and its cNPS– seeFigure 1.Thedatashowsthat companiesthat receive high marks foremployeesatisfaction also tend toreceivehighmarks forclientsatisfaction. At a practical level, this makes sense—engagedemployeescan positivelyimpactservice behaviorandclientexperiences, which in turn can result inpositive outcomes andeventuallythe bottom line.
2. Turnover Rate
This metricidentifies the annual rate ofemployeeswholeave a company.The national average for turnover is around7%—companies with lower percentages are doing well and those with higher percentages have room for improvement, especiallybecausethecost of employee turnover can be significant.1Forexample, the replacement cost ofan employee making $45,000 per yearis estimated to be $15,000—this iswithoutfactoring in impactsonemployee moraleorprojects that are delayed as a resultof the departure.2Moreover, employeeturnover is 40% more likely to occur in an employee’s first year, underscoring the importance offocused recruiting and purposefulonboarding practices.3
The good news isthat employersthatactively work to engagetheiremployees from the moment of hirecan prevent87% of the employees from leaving,according to arecent study.4Additionally,employeesurveys andsimilartoolsthat demonstrateemployee value by way ofcultural, physical,and technological environmentshave proven to be effective means of increasing engagement.
Five ways to increaseemployeeretention:51. Right candidate hiring
2. Great first impression andsuccessfulonboarding
3. Employee engagementwith workplace experience
4. Ongoing employee training
5. Competitive compensation
Top11reasonsforemployeeturnover:5
- Compensation
- Lack of Flexibility
- Work-life Balance
- No Recognition
- Benefits
- Poor Management
- Work Environment / Culture
- Learning and Development
- Meaningful work
- Onboarding
- Inadequate Technology
3. Absenteeism
Tracking absenteeism is anotherway togaugewhether an employee is happy, healthy,andperforming effectively. Absenteeism can cost upwards of $3,600 per year per worker.6This not only costs the company money but also results in lower productivity and may indicate future turnover.
There are several reasons for absenteeism:
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Bullying and harassment
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Burnout, stress,and low morale
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Childcare and eldercare
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Depression
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Disengagement
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Illness and injuries
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Job searching
These reasons can be mitigated with an effectiveworkplace experienceprogram. By benchmarking the absentee rate prior toimplementingworkplace experience initiatives, an employer can assess its impact on its employees’ engagement and wellness.Another best practice istoidentifythe root cause of the employee’s absenceso that a reasonable accommodation may bemade,or corrective action taken,to create and maintain amutuallygratifyingand responsive workplace.
4.Productivity
Productivity can be measuredthrough employee reviews, peer reviews,and other management assessments of employees’performance.Mid-year and annual reviews should be designed to assess productivity and contribution based on individual job function.
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Are taskscompletedin a timely manner?
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Aretraining programsused?
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Doestheemployeetake part in employee engagement activities?
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Does the employee attendcompany socialevents?
Companies with a highly engaged workforce are 21% more profitable than those without.7
The review framework shouldprovideinsightinto the impact of the workplace experience on their performance. Peer assessmentsshould be part of every review andwill inform a manager ifthe employee iscollaborating and connected. The employerreview should also allow the employee opportunities to suggestworkplace improvementsto ensure their individual needs are being met.
Companies that provide their employees with a vibrant workplace experience outperform the S&Ps 500 by 122%.7
Conclusion
Workplace experience programs require corporate commitment and employee buy-in. They also require goal setting, measurement,and tracking to ensure they remain effective for both the employer and employee. While there are operational costs to standing up and maintaining these programs, those costs are minimal compared tohigh turnover and lowemployee engagement.
References
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/
- Work Institute. 2019 Retention Report.
- Fast Company. What To Do During Your Employees’ First Week To Avoid Losing Them.
- Qualtrics. 2020 Global Employee Experience Trends.
- Access Perks. Employee Retention – 10 Reasons for Workplace Turnover and the Statistics Behind Them.
- Dailypay. How Much Are Your Absent Employees Affecting Your Bottom Line.
- Accenture. The employee experience as a competitive advantage.
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