Why Swiss business leaders should focus on employee experience

Each and every business faces its own unique and complex set of challenges. That being said, some things are universal right now – from rising inflation, to the ongoing talent crisis, and even the turbulent political landscape. Dealing with any of these see added pressure on company wallets, and that means your budget is more valuable than ever. If there’s a way to get business costs down, chances are, you should take it.

But there are exceptions: consumer demands remain extremely high, with recent research showing that 8 out of 10 consumers across Europe believe customer experience needs to improve. The takeaway is, if you’re not providing a top-tier experience for your customers, you risk falling behind – or worse.

Anything that poses a threat to this experience is ultimately not worth risking. So, the question remains: how do we strike a healthy balance between saving money and keeping our customers happy?

The answer lies in knowing what to protect. Allocating budget to the right areas means business leaders can improve employee experience, implement efficient and time-saving processes, whilst protecting customer satisfaction. As for what the right areas are, well, I have a few thoughts.

Happy employees, happy customers

For me, money spent on your employees is money spent wisely. To put it simply, happy employees equal happy customers.

Look at it this way: providing the best employee experience possible means you’re much more likely to attract (and retain) the people best equipped for the job. This is only becoming more crucial as the talent crisis develops: at the beginning of 2021, 83% of Swiss employers reported difficulties in filling vacancies with suitable candidates.

Clearly, the landscape is extremely competitive. Employers must put the employee experience first in order to remain attractive to candidates, and, ultimately, attract the people who can best cater to your customers’ needs.

However, it’s more than just winning people over. Once you’ve done the leg work when it comes to attracting potential candidates, you need to work out how to actually keep them.

Inefficient technology and slow processes don’t go hand in hand with job satisfaction, and if your team doesn’t have the tools it needs to work most effectively, you’re likely to lose members quickly. Asking yourself the right questions and investing in the right kit upfront is likely to reduce your turnover — and save you costly recruiter fees.

You might want to think about whether everyone has been onboarded effectively and efficiently? Are you wasting valuable staff hours on laborious, manual tasks that could be done by a computer? Have you actually checked in with your employees recently? The list goes on.

Without a satisfied, efficient workforce, you can’t expect to be able to deliver on your promises to the customer. So, how exactly do we best fulfil employee expectations?

How Saab improved its employee experience

Few moments matter more in employee experience than the beginnings, and it’s true what they say: you only get one chance at a first impression. That’s why the key to providing a better employee experience starts with better onboarding.

With hybrid working becoming the ‘new normal’, you need to ensure your employees are given everything they need to do their job effectively from day one, wherever they are.

The right technology is crucial to making this happen. Take Saab, for example. The aerospace organisation has more than 18,000 employees, and onboards thousands of candidates each year.

A slow, outdated system meant that the team was wasting thousands of hours on paper-based processes and failing to make a great impression on new starters.

By replacing the old onboarding process with a new, digital workflow and automation technology, previous frustrations and hold-ups were reduced. Now, new hires feel fully integrated and engaged within the company culture from day one.

The result? An estimated 25% lift in employee satisfaction, and a saving of 12,000 hours per year — hours that can now be spent on customer service activities or growth initiatives.

Put your people first

There’s no getting around the fact that your employees are the key to business success. By all means, save on costs where you can, but sacrificing your employee experience ultimately means sacrificing your customer experience in the process.

For more information on tangible ways you can improve employee experience in your business – including the best onboarding tactics – head to our website.

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