How Industry Leaders are Creating Great Employee Experiences

INTRODUCTION

HOW FIVE COMPANIES ARE IMPROVING THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE.

You are hearing a lot these days about the importance of “the employee experience.” Some of the buzz is coming from service providers who offer new tools for generating feedback from employees, fitness and wellness programs and other self-service initiatives.

However, the employee experience is not just about a list of perks or programs. It’s an approach to deliver a positive experience to all employees.

This report presents five examples of how HR practitioners are enabling more meaningful employee experiences, from pre-hire to retirement.

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});

RECRUITING

Developing more engaging candidate experiences to attract top talent.

Creating great candidate experiences has never been more important. Your company’s ability to engage job seekers will significantly influence its success in the war for talent. The overall recruiting experience is particularly important to millennials, who comprise 72% of today’s active job seekers. According to our 2017 Engage2Excel Trendicators survey, 81% of millennials believe that receiving recognition or praise during the recruiting process is very important or important.

In the energy sector, where retiring baby boomers outnumber new hires by two-to-one, effective strategies for recruiting and retaining millennials is mission critical. When Clean Energy, a pioneer in natural gas for transportation, needed to ramp up its recruiting efforts, they partnered with Decision Toolbox, Engage2Excel’s talent acquisition division.

Decision Toolbox understands that creating great hiring experiences requires four things:

• Discerning and enunciating what is truly unique about your company culture and employer value proposition
• Discovering what active and passive candidates really want
• Displaying truthfulness and candor throughout the recruitment process, from initial job description to the final offer letter
• Demonstrating respect and delivering recognition to all candidates, regardless of their level of qualification.

By putting these principles into practice, Clean Energy has been able to increase its candidate-to-hire ratio by 18%, while reducing its cost per hire by nearly 40%.

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});

ONBOARDING

Building emotional connections before day one.

In this competitive job market where candidates are still considering other offers even after offer acceptance, companies must face the challenges of engaging talent before day one. According to our 2017 Engage2Excel Trendicators survey, nearly six out of 10 job seekers would consider another offer if they didn’t receive communication from their new employer between offer acceptance and day one on the job.

Par Pacific, a leading oil and gas exploration and production company, recognizes the negative business impact when candidates decline offers. They partner with Engage2Excel to make recognition and appreciation an essential component of their pre-boarding phase.

Par Pacific’s goal is to strengthen that emotional connection to the organization before the new hire starts. To do that, each new Par Pacific employee receives a branded welcome box designed to spark that connection. Delivered to each new hire’s home before day one, the boxes contain a reusable tumbler and lunch bag with the Par Pacific logo, along with a welcome card. As best-in-class companies are now understanding that an effective recognition and rewards strategy needs to start before day one while spanning the entire lifecycle, Par Pacific is ahead of the curve.

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

Recognizing excellence in healthcare.

According to research by Dr. Jack Wiley, Engage2Excel’s Chief Scientific Officer, the thing employees want most from their employer, after equitable compensation, is recognition.

In healthcare, amidst widespread talent shortages, recognition is playing a critical role at Carolinas Healthcare System. As the leading non-profit healthcare provider in North and South Carolina, they successfully use the following recognition programs to improve quality of care and patient satisfaction:

• Values in Action: A program for nominating peers for outstanding efforts
• Infectious Disease Prevention: A team-based program that rewards nursing units for achieving goals
• WOW Program: Enables patients and visitors to recognize staff that demonstrate the core values of Caring, Commitment, Integrity and Teamwork

When CHS launched its eCard recognition program in June 2016, leadership challenged every teammate to “send five eCards by the end of the week.” The response has been overwhelming. To date, more than 220,000 eCards have been sent.

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});

ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS

Providing associates with a trusted environment for expressing their opinions.

Employee engagement surveys provide more than an opportunity to measure engagement. They enable associates to express their opinions and facilitate improvements in two-way communications across the organization.

Last year, Sally Beauty Holdings, a leading hair and beauty specialist retailer and distributor, partnered with Engage2Excel in administering the RESPECT Engagement Survey to associates across the company’s U.S. operations. The survey explored the seven dimensions of engagement, summarized by the acronym RESPECT: Recognition, Exciting Work, Security, Pay, Education & Career Growth, Conditions and Truth.

The survey revealed that the majority of Sally Beauty Holdings associates like their work, feel that they are a part of a team of highly supportive coworkers and are proud of the organization. The survey also identified key opportunities for improvement. Managers now report their progress in addressing these opportunities on a quarterly basis.

“The survey has helped create a new level of transparency and meaningful dialogue that is helping us transform into a talent-driven enterprise.”

Liz Barracliffe, VP Talent,
Sally Beauty Holdings

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});

POST-EMPLOYMENT

Creating meaningful experiences for retirees.

As a significant portion of the workforce approaches retirement, many organizations are scrambling to avoid a mass exodus of knowledge and skill. Furthermore, many don’t have the formal programs in place to engage their retirees.

UPS understands that retirees are a valuable asset to the organization’s continued success, and for that reason, they are treated as alumni. Similar to colleges and universities, UPS maintains an extensive database of their alumni and can easily reach out to them for part-time employment opportunities, talent referrals, mentorship programs and much more. Knowing that recognition and appreciation represent an essential component of an alumni strategy, UPS launched a formal alumni initiative with Engage2Excel. The program enables alumni and active employees to exchange eCards to express appreciation, recognize success and celebrate milestones.

“The number of alumni engaged has quadrupled since we launched the alumni initiative,”

Robert Witcher, Global Director
Alumni Retiree Engagement, UPS

Strengthen your competitive advantage by increasing engagement through a unique candidate and employee experience.

Download hbspt.cta.load(123973, '01905cd0-dc02-4e6d-8f76-51f099017925', {});