The Power of Employee Experience: Why it Matters for Small Businesses in the UK
It’s often something overlooked by busy business owners.
We look at our customer journeys. We look at our relationships with key stakeholders and suppliers… but when your employees are the lifeblood of your business you need to remember that their experience begins from the moment they first see your job advert right through to how they exit your business on their last day.
What does that journey look like for them?
What does their experience tell you (and other people) about your business?
What IS Employee Experience?
Employee experience is the holistic perception and interaction that employees have with their workplace environment, encompassing all aspects of their journey within the organisation, including recruitment, onboarding, day-to-day work, and offboarding. It’s the physical, cultural, and technological elements of the workplace and directly influences employee satisfaction, engagement, and overall well-being.
Why does Employee Experience Matter?
We cannot shout loudly enough about why Employee Experience is so important to small businesses - it directly impacts many and various aspects of your business operations and success. Here's why:
Talent Attraction and Retention:
In a competitive job market, offering a positive employee experience helps small businesses attract top talent and retain valuable employees. Small businesses often lack the resources to compete with larger companies on salary alone, making a positive workplace culture and employee experience crucial for attracting and retaining skilled workers.
A study by the Institute of Leadership & Management found that 37% of UK employees were considering leaving their jobs due to dissatisfaction, with factors such as lack of recognition, poor work-life balance, and limited opportunities for career advancement cited as key reasons.
Productivity and Performance:
Engaged and satisfied employees are more productive and perform better. It’s as simple as that. A positive employee experience fosters a sense of purpose, belonging, and motivation, leading to higher levels of productivity and better performance outcomes for small businesses.
Gallup regularly publishes global employee engagement statistics, including data for the UK. According to their reports, employee engagement levels in the UK have historically been lower than the global average, with around 54% not engaged, and 20% actively disengaged in their most recent report.
3. Innovation and Creativity:
Small businesses thrive on innovation and creativity. An environment that prioritises employee experience encourages employees to feel comfortable expressing their ideas, take risks, and think outside the box. This in turn fuels innovation and drives the growth and competitiveness of small businesses.
4. Customer Experience:
Happy employees lead to happy customers. Wasn’t it Richard Branson who said to look after you employees and they’ll look after your customers? Seemed to work ok for him… Employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to deliver excellent customer service, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. Positive interactions with customers contribute to the reputation and success of small businesses.
5. Employer Branding and Reputation:
A strong employee experience contributes to a positive employer brand and reputation. Small businesses that prioritise employee well-being and provide a supportive work environment become desirable places to work, attracting top talent and enhancing their reputation within the industry and community.
If you’re a small business with a local catchment area, do you really want Gavin turning up at the pub on a Friday telling anyone who wishes to listen what a dreadful he works at?
We also know that more and more, prospective candidates are checking out what people are saying about businesses on platforms such as Glassdoor. Go and take a peek and see if anyone has written anything about you…!
6. Cost Savings:
Investing in employee experience may require resources upfront, a bit of time, some concerted thinking and planning, but it often results in long-term cost savings for small businesses. Reduced turnover rates, higher levels of productivity, and increased employee loyalty all contribute to cost savings associated with recruitment, training, and lost productivity due to turnover.
So what we are saying, is prioritising employee experience is essential to attract and retain talent, enhance productivity and performance, foster innovation, deliver exceptional customer experiences, build a strong employer brand, and achieve long-term success and sustainability.
You do this to find and keep your customers, so why not do it for your people?
Remember, your employees are your most valuable element of your business, and investing in their success ultimately drives the success of your company.
Unsure where to start? Get in touch with us today and we can have a free, no-obligation chat.
Want to know how your team are actually feeling? Take our engagement survey and know what’s really going on and how to fix it!