Redefining the employee experience by generating pull—not pressure

Eighty percent of global customers say they’re unhappy with the customer service they’ve experienced, according to joint research by ServiceNow and Qualtrics.

That dissatisfaction often stems from employees who are perhaps equally unhappy with their employer. Considering employee morale shapes the customer experience, getting both right could make the difference between succeeding and muddling through.

To get on the path to success, you need to not only trust your employees, but also provide them with the correct tools and technologies so they can work effectively. That means they should have the right information, at the right time, and be able to work together.

What does that look like? Here are two trends to be aware of if you want to get your employee experience on the right path.

When customer experience meets employee experience

Your customers are no longer your one and only priority; your employees are equally important. This is because when your employees aren’t treated well, your customers suffer.

The “great resignation” is still running its course—with more than one in four (27%) workers planning to quit their job over the next year, according to the Adecco Group. This makes it more difficult to establish long-lasting customer relationships.

To ensure your customers are well taken care of, you need to find a new way to retain top talent and attract new hires. Keep in mind that salary is no longer the only thing employees care about. They’re also in search of flexibility, transparency, growth, and work-life balance. They’re looking at your branding to see if you offer those things.

Your work culture plays a huge role in shaping public perception, including on employer review sites such as Glassdoor and Kununu that potential hires watch. That’s all the more reason to listen to your employees to learnwhere you can do better.

At ServiceNow, we listen to our employees to ensure well-being. This allows them to focus on what matters most in both their work and personal lives. We make employees’ daily work easier by providing them with the right technology to break down communication silos and transform complex processes into simple, digital workflows. Employees can then enjoy their work and, in turn, provide exceptional customer experiences.

Putting technology where it needs to be

Inefficient technology and slow processes are obviously detrimental to employee satisfaction. Improving workers’ experiences starts with identifying repetitive tasks and automating them.

Many tedious processes can be simplified and automated—and your employees will reap the rewards of increased productivity and being able to focus on high-value tasks.

Your organisation will benefit too. According to McKinsey research, two-thirds of companies surveyed saw reduced operating costs, improved quality control, a better employee experience, and higher customer satisfaction.

To make it all work, however, you also need trust, nurturing, and training. It’s what I call “generating pull instead of pressure,” where you draw in your employees to be their best selves because they want to.

We see great things as a result. Just look at the management of Germany’s vaccination centres, where 120,000 people were able to register for vaccination appointments within the first two hours of their launching, or the Blau-Gelbes Kreuz e.V. when it organised supplies for Ukraine through the Now Platform.

Putting employees first

The employee experience is one of the most important factors in business today simply because it shapes customer satisfaction. Yet many companies, especially large ones, still struggle with complex work processes that make their employees’ lives harder.

By eliminating those complicated work processes, you ultimately can create a better working experience where your employees can enjoy their jobs—all because they’re supported by technology in the best possible way.

Find out more about how ServiceNow can help you create the best possible employee experience.

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