Your employees are an invaluable asset to your organization. When they are happy, they are highly engaged and productive. However, without proper support, even your most talented employees may become burnt out and discouraged. To avoid high turnover rates and the loss of key employees, it is essential to create and maintain a positive employee experience. This can be achieved by intentionally designing the employee journey and mapping out the employee experience. Doing so will inspire and engage your team and attract high-performing employees.

Employee Journey Mapping

The employee journey refers to the entire experience an employee has while working for your company, from the moment they apply for a job to their last day of employment. Journey mapping is a useful tool that provides an overview of the entire employee experience, enabling you to identify areas that need improvement and opportunities for enhancing the employee experience.

Why is it Important?

  1. Assess your current employee experience before making any changes.
  2. Identify what is working well and take note of the lessons you can apply to other areas.
  3. Determine what needs improvement and find solutions to fix problem areas.
  4. Explore opportunities to grow. Small changes can lead to meaningful transformations.

How to start the process

(Step 1) To start the process, first, clearly identify and write down your specific goal, whether it be to improve retention or attract better talent. Your objective will depend on your unique situation.

(Step 2) Next, assemble a team that has expertise in various aspects of the employee experience, being intentional about who you bring together. Consider the insights they can provide and how they will contribute. Determine if they need to be involved from the beginning.

(Step 3) Different employees have different needs based on their roles and career stages. Create employee profiles to better understand their experiences. For example, front-line employees will have different needs than those at headquarters. By gathering information, you can create a persona that represents the average employee.

You can as questions like:

  • What are their pain points?
  • What are their goals?
  • What are their motivations?
  • How old are they?
  • How long have they been with the company?
  • How often do they get promoted?

(Step 4) It’s important to consider the different stages of the employee experience. Ask questions such as who the employees come in contact with, what activities they need to carry out to succeed, how culture impacts their experience, and how your organization supports them

Key Components of the Employee Journey Map

The employee journey can be broken up into three stages and five subsections:

Stage One – The Beginning

  1. Recruitment – This is where it all begins. When you draft your job description, you begin to set expectations and make promises, whether you do it intentionally or not. Your job posting sets the tone and communicates who your company is and what it values. In the interview process, candidates meet key people in leadership positions. Your offer letter concretely lays out how much you value your employees and the work they do.
  1. Onboarding – The onboarding process is essential for the success of new employees. It’s when they learn how to excel in their new roles and become familiar with your company culture. Cultural integration is crucial for their long-term success.

Stage Two – Life

  1. Development – Employers should remember that developmental needs constantly change and require ongoing attention. The development process involves various activities such as measuring productivity levels, offering constructive feedback, and investing in your employee’s professional growth. Engaging in these activities can help your employees reach their full potential while improving your company’s performance
  1. Retention – Retention activities aim to maintain a high level of employee engagement and productivity. Nonetheless, this can prove to be a daunting task since engagement cannot be uniformly standardized.

Stage Three – End

  1. Exit – At some point, all employees will leave your organization, whether it’s due to retirement, dissatisfaction, or other reasons. When an employee does leave, it presents a valuable opportunity to receive honest feedback. Those leaving the organization are often more candid and straightforward about any issues.

(Step 5) Analyze your findings. To improve employee performance, consider asking questions such as: where in the process are you failing your employees? Are you setting them up for success? Is your process designed for the wrong type of employee?

(Step 6) Brainstorm solutions. Examine the situation and come up with ideas to address any issues you come across. Collaborate with a team from various departments to gain diverse insights.

(Step 7) Test, measure, and repeat. To ensure that you have achieved the desired outcome, it is important to implement your solutions and test their effectiveness.

Creating a detailed plan for your employees’ experience may require significant time and effort, but it can yield substantial benefits. By aligning your workforce’s expertise, you can gain valuable insights into how it can be improved, which can increase employee satisfaction and engagement. Happier employees are more motivated to contribute to the success of the organization. If you want more insights about Business and HR, consider subscribing to our newsletter.