Organizations: Create Moments That Matter to Employees
In the past, employers might have shied away from discussing some more personal subjects with employees like health, family, or finances. And we all know the reasons why. Because we don’t want our biases to negatively impact our relationship with the employee. So, we’ve adopted the policy of work is work and home is home and the two shall never meet. The less we know, the better.
However, if the past couple of months have taught us anything, it’s that our work and personal lives are very intertwined. During last year’s SuccessFactors conference in London, one of the themes that speakers talked about was that organizations need to provide moments that matter to employees. The five areas that those moments should cover are (in alpha order):
- Family. I must admit that when I decided to alphabetize the list, I’m glad this was first. Whether we’re talking about an employee’s biologically connected family or the group of people who help the employee when they need it, we all have people that are important to us. Organizations need to realize it.
- Financial. Not going to lie, money is important. Employees want to feel they are paid fairly for the work they do. They want competitive benefits. Employees also want to work for organizations that think about their future in terms of retirement and offer opportunities for saving.
- Career. In addition to money, employees want to work for organizations that invest in their career. It could be by offering training programs. Or through mentoring. And even by receiving feedback from their manager and coworkers about their performance.
- Health. Organizations want employees to be healthy. It allows them to do their best work. As a result, organizations need to create wellness and wellbeing programs that encourage employees to be healthy and give them a way to seek the proper attention when they’re not.
- Time. While our work and personal lives are very interconnected, it’s important to realize that we need moments when we can shift the balance. There will be times when we’re asked to make work the priority. Employees also want moments when their personal lives are the priority.
In addition to creating moments that matter, organizations need to focus on how those moments are delivered. We’ve become a very “instant” society. We’re used to doing things right away and getting immediate results. For example, we can check the news on our phone, order food online, and chat with our friends from anywhere around the world at any time. Employees also want this instant component in their work lives, and they expect organizations to deliver it.
What does this have to do with moments that matter? Well, the more time we spend focused on delivering moments that matter, the better the employee experience. Organizations will want to keep creating moments that matter as they think about the type of candidate and employee experience they want to create. The goal is to align moments that matter with expectations.
For instance, is it possible that we create a disconnect when we meet people in-person during a career fair or a college recruiting trip and then tell them the only way we can consider them for a job is for them to apply online? Then when we tell someone to apply online, instead of accepting a link to their online profile or social resume, we require a candidate to upload their resume, which is what they were trying to give us in the first place. Oh, and I get it, we want all the information to be in the applicant tracking system (ATS). We want the system to scan the information for keywords, etc. But there’s got to be a better way to connect the process.
Employees want moments that matter in their workplace. I’m not sure that their motivations, values, and purpose have changed. But with today’s technology, expectations have. Organizations need to deliver.
P.S. SuccessFactors is holding a virtual event on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. It’s a free event where you can learn more about HR technologies as well as Human Experience Management (HXM). I’m planning to listen in and hope you will join the conversation. Registration details can be found on the SAP SuccessFactors website.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Tampa, FL
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