In last week’s blog, we explored how the coaching style of leadership helps foster an empowered employee experience. This week, we want to continue building on that theme by offering some additional best practices that create a positive employee experience for your people. Employee engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have to be a successful organization and a high-performing one, too.

According to Gallup, businesses with higher levels of employee engagement showed 21% more profitability and 17% more productivity. When employees are engaged, they are inspired and motivated to do their best work.

Leaders must help nurture an environment where their employees can not only succeed but thrive. 

Think holistically about the employee experience. What factors are working for or against creating an ideal experience for your people? What needs to change to generate more positive outcomes?

You can leverage numerous employee experience frameworks to better understand these factors and be more strategic about how you go about addressing areas of opportunity. We want to focus on best practices within your direct control that influence the experience your people will have with you and how they work together as a team to deliver on organizational goals and objectives.

Best Practices to Create a Positive Employee Experience‍

• Understand their needs & goals. It is your responsibility as a leader to understand what inspires, motivates them, and in turn, what is getting in their way of doing great work and creating disengagement for them. Tune into what is happening from their point of view, then support them by addressing roadblocks and challenges so they can focus their efforts on doing great work, knowing you are there to support them. 
  
  
• Foster open two-way communication. We addressed this through the lens of coaching in our last blog. Are you offering both positive and constructive feedback and encouraging them to give you feedback in return? Keep the flow going by being inclusive and encourage open candor within and across teams. Let them come up with ideas. Then play a supportive role. This takes pressure off you as their leader and creates individual and team accountability and ownership.
  
  
• Support their growth & development. We all own our own career development, however it is your responsibility as a leader to understand what your employees' career goals and aspirations are through ongoing coaching conversations and by creating development plans with them to help them achieve their goals. Look for stretch assignments and projects that align with their goals. Provide ongoing support, resources, and the tools they need to do their job to the best of their abilities.  
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• Foster collaboration & teamwork at all levels and across the organization. Encourage your people to support one another and leverage each other for support. Gallup has repeatedly shown that having best friends at work is key to employee engagement and job success. Having a best friend or confidante at work helps keep people engaged and committed, fueling them to go the extra mile no matter what challenges arise. 

Do not underestimate the role you play in creating a positive employee experience for your people. Your role as a leader within the company is a critical component of what drives their overall satisfaction and level of engagement.

We Want Your Insights…. What’s Working for You?

What are your thoughts on your role as a leader and how it impacts creating a positive employee experience for your people? What additional approaches and best practices are highly effective for you? We want your insights so please reach out to us; we want to collaborate with you!

You can email me at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca or call me at 1.855.871.3374.