By Mary E. Corrado, courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE
While employee experience is important to HR, it is often overestimated to be more positive than it actually is. A recent survey by Topia, Adapt or Lose the War for Talent: Why Your Employee Experience Needs an Upgrade, shows some insight into how employees really feel.
The survey discovered four indications that HR and employees may not be on the same page:
1. HR believes employees are happier than they are: Employees are twice as likely to rate the organization poorly than the HR team is. The survey revealed that only 17% of employees give their company an exceptional rating for employee experience. Perhaps HR sees and experiences the organization differently. The key is to find a way to gather employee sentiment in an honest, anonymous fashion. Their feedback must be taken seriously and acted upon in order to move the employee experience dial.
2. HR feels more pressure than general employees to hide their true selves: The survey shows that only one in four employees feels comfortable bringing their true selves to work. Respondents stated that they are not comfortable revealing political or religious beliefs and that they feel it could harm their career. 44% of those in HR feel the need to keep their personal beliefs under the radar. This is especially concerning with the ever-growing attention to diversity and inclusion efforts. Employees should not feel they need to hide their beliefs at work.
3. Employees say they are spending more time on HR-related tasks than they feel they should: The survey results indicated that 58% of employees are spending more time on HR-related tasks than they feel necessary. They also stated they feel they are talking over 30 minutes longer per day than necessary. It’s estimated that this is causing an $8.15 billion loss in productivity. HR should ensure that processes such as time keeping are streamlined for efficiency.
4. HR overestimates the importance of office perks: 25% of HR professionals defined the employee experience as “an amazing office space with great perks, like free food and game rooms.” Comparatively, only 16% of employees said the same. Employees (63%) list being trusted to do their job with very little supervision as the number one indicator of a positive employee experience. Organizations need to focus on management style and job satisfaction before office perks. Snacks and ping pong tables don’t retain employees.