In 2020, we can always use another round of happy hour. Luckily, TTEC’s Liz Glagowski reunited with CX expert Dan Gingiss for their second LinkedIn Live ask me anything, EX for What’s Next: Most Standout Trends in Employee Experience for 2021.
Here’s a recap of Dan’s best insights for driving positive and productive employee experiences in their happy hour discussion. Cheers (again)!
Takeaway #1: Champion the champions
A memorable customer experience starts with employees who feel valued. No other business has the unique individuals that can champion your brand story, but this is meaningless if you don’t champion your employees. An employee who is not valued, represented, or does not believe in the values of their organization can just as easily, if not more, impact customer experience compared to those with positive experiences.
It’s critical to focus on the values your customers cherish and look inwards to see if that translates to your employees. Happy employees are your brand cheerleaders and it’s important to ensure that they are seen and heard.
This approach is for more than just customer-facing employees. Every job role has a direct and indirect impact on customers. Ensuring a healthy and proactive environment for front- and-back-office employees leaves no customer experience untouched. More importantly, you’re treating everyone how they deserve to be treated.
Takeaway #2: Level the playing field
The days of strict corporate hierarchy are for now over. The complete takeover of communication software like Zoom has ordained every individual to the same box, literally. This more direct form of communication has leveled the playing field for employees who want to communicate with their peers and leaders in a direct fashion that forgoes the hierarchy of the traditional workplace.
This is a prime opportunity for employees to share innovation and ideas within their organization. In a digital remote world everyone is in the same predicament, so there’s opportunity to find common ground and explore how to make the new-normal extraordinary. This starts with ditching the power dynamic and looking at each other eye-to-eye (webcam-to-webcam).
Takeaway #3: Embrace the tangible
Employees might be in a digital-first world, but there are still plenty of opportunities to create physical connections. The simple act of sending a card to celebrate a birthday, work anniversary, and more can create small moments of delight for employees who have come to expect everything in the form of an email.
This can even apply to team building games. Dan recollected one activity where everyone would be sent individual Starburst candies to rank amongst each other. Activities like these would fit perfectly into the remote environment where everyone can enjoy a break from instant fulfillment. Not every activity needs to be done at lighting-speed, sometimes it pays to take it slow and enjoy the moment.
Leaders who show appreciation for employees can go a long way, tangible items and activities are authentic and genuine way to bring people together.
Forge a better employee future
Organizations will return to normalcy at different rates, some will embrace a return to full officers and others may never come back. Each visitor at happy hour faced a different future, but the experiences that bring them together need to remain consistent regardless of locations. Tomorrow’s employee experiences lay in understanding and acting on how to make your brand worth championing for everyone.
If you’ll like to learn more about the trends shaping 2021 please visit our CX Trends: The 2021 Edition today.