It’s no secret that employee experience is vital to the bottom line of any business. There’s a reason employee turnover rates are called “the trillion-dollar problem.” What can business leaders do?
The key to employee satisfaction is straightforward: Employees want to be recognized as human beings and appreciated for their efforts. They also want to know that you care enough to give them your time and effort at work. This is where employee experience tools can help you.
What are Employee Experience Tools?
Employee experience tools are technologies designed to improve the overall work experience for your employees. These tools streamline communication, help managers better understand employee satisfaction, where employees would like to see improvement, and provide an all-in-one hub for their experience management.
Employees are more likely to stick around if they feel like their time and efforts are valued. One survey found that 63% of people who are recognized at work consider themselves “very unlikely” to seek a new job in the coming months. That’s why it’s vital to meet your employees’ expectations for their workplace experience in 2024.
In fact, new research from TalentLMS and Vyond shows that 41% of employees are prepared to leave their current jobs if their employers don’t meet their experience expectations. Notably, employees desired personalized recognition, managers who care about them, and relationship building among their team.
As they say, praise in public, criticize in private.
Using employee experience tools is crucial to show your employees that you value them and their time. And guess what? Employees who feel cared for are employees who stay!
1. Collaboration and Productivity Tools
Collaboration and productivity tools are the backbone of most day-to-day operations in a modern business. For example, when was the last time you invited someone to a Google Meet on your shared work calendar? Have you recently assigned an employee a task in ClickUp, Asana, or Trello?
It’s virtually (no pun intended) impossible to avoid collaboration tools post-pandemic. While larger corporations have relied on collaboration tools since they emerged for integrated communication, internal messaging, and video chat functions, they’re utilized more widely now.
With 40.9% of the workforce in hybrid or fully remote roles, 83% of employees reported relying on collaboration tools at work in 2024. These tools not only increase collaboration but also engage employees and eliminate the risk of isolation.
So it’s no surprise that these tools are considered an important part of an enjoyable workplace experience. Many collaboration tools boost productivity by allowing your entire organization to communicate on one platform. However, many organizations use separate productivity tools to track big projects, set deadlines, assign tasks, and keep the team on schedule.
Good implementation of collaboration and productivity technology works, increasing employee productivity over time.
2. Training Tools
More than half of job seekers come to new workplaces wanting to learn. Employee training increases employee retention, shows your workers that you’re willing to invest in them, and encourages meaningful contributions. Many training tools are available to organizations, from platforms that gamify learning to those that reward employees when they complete training.
With the dawn of AI, training tools can individualize learning experiences to employees' strengths and weaknesses. Training tools can also integrate with productivity and collaboration software that you already use.
It’s important to remember that technology supports an enjoyable employee experience and can support work-life balance. However, implementing new training technology won’t magically help your organization perform better!
Seek to understand if your training programs are working and get employee feedback on your training tools so that you can continue to improve your employee experience.
3. Engagement and Feedback Platforms
The workforce of 2024 seeks purpose-driven work and personal connections from their employers. Workplaces that have risen to the challenge of higher demands with consistent, personalized feedback have been rewarded with more engaged employees.
How Employees Are Approaching Work in 2024 via Gartner
Engagement and feedback platforms can help assist business leaders in providing personalized, timely feedback. These platforms allow managers to measure the employee experience, their satisfaction, and productivity at work. Feedback platforms are also handy for sending out surveys. One main factor behind employees not responding is when their feedback is not anonymous. This no longer creates a safe space to be honest and provide real, honest feedback.
Despite what you may believe, employees value the opportunity to make their voices heard. In fact, employees who don’t complete the surveys you send them are actually 2.6 times more likely to leave your organization in the next six months.
Put in that light, surveys always help you learn something because if you don’t ask, you can’t understand where you need to improve. Sparck’s #BeHeard survey is effective and engaging. It targets six key areas and tells you your organization’s strengths and weaknesses alongside actionable recommendations for improvement. We will not only tell you where to improve, but what matters most to employees and benchmark it against your industry.
Need help figuring out where to start improving your employee experience? Use the #BeHeard Survey to discover where to begin!
4. Workplace Experience Platforms
Workplace experience platforms bundle all of the services a workplace needs to support your organization’s strategy for creating a superb employee experience.
We’re sure you’ve had someone tell you they wish they didn’t have to use ten different platforms or applications at their workplace. Workplace experience platforms seamlessly integrate everything your employees need in one place!
Workplace experience platforms support work from anywhere and ideally integrate other functions of employee experience. For example, employee engagement surveys and employee recognition software to ensure everyone feels valued for who they are — not just what they do.
Sparck’s employee recognition software integrates existing workflows with our personalized reward recommendations and #BeHeard Engagement Survey.
We empower organizations with employee performance analytics, coaching for management, and employee recognition suggestions. Sparck’s data-driven solutions work to improve the employee experience and, in turn, make your business more profitable.
Elevate Your Employee Experience This Year
The importance of employee experience tools can’t be overlooked in 2024. Collaboration tools allow us to communicate with our colleagues across the globe. Training tools, feedback and engagement platforms, and workplace experience platforms are critical in making the day-to-day experience enjoyable.
Whatever solutions your workplace implements should make your employees' lives easier. When employees feel that their workplace technology improves their experience, they’re more likely to be engaged at work. Investing in employee experience tools is genuinely an investment in your business's bottom line.
If you’re ready to start engaging your employees, download our Appreciation Team Building Toolkit for free and learn more about how Sparck can support your employee experience.
