The CIO at the service of the employee experience

Temps de lecture : 4 minutes

The experience your employees have while working at your company—also known as employee experience—has a profound impact on the success of your organization. For example, when you create a positive employee experience, it can drive employee engagement—and when employees are engaged, they perform at a higher level, which can help take your organization to the next level. 

According to the Gallup State of the American Workplace Report, employees that are engaged with their work are 17 percent more productive, have 41 percent lower absenteeism, and have 10 percent higher customer satisfaction metrics than disengaged employees. And it doesn’t stop with engagement. Creating a positive employee experience for your team can also have an impact on everything from company culture to productivity to your company’s ability to attract and retain top talent.

So, if you want your team—and your organization—to thrive, employee experience needs to be a top priority. But as CIO, what part do you play in employee experience? How can you ensure that the experience of working for your organization is a positive one for your team—and that the experience keeps them engaged with their work and committed to your company for the long haul?

Let’s take a look at four ways CIOs can positively impact employee experience:

Make your employees’ jobs (and lives!) easier

People value ease, convenience, and simplicity. So, if you want to have a positive impact on employee experience, a great place to start? Looking for ways to make your employees’ jobs (and lives!) easier, simpler, and more convenient.

Also read: [Expert Opinion] Evolution Of The Workstation: What CIOs Need To Know

As CIO, there are a variety of ways to do this—starting by looking for ways to cut out unnecessary effort or hassle on the employees’ end as it relates to technology. For example, if you issue work devices to your employees (company laptops, tablets, or cell phones), instead of making them get everything set up on their own, give them the device with all the apps and software they need already preloaded and ready to use. Or, if you take a BYOD approach and allow your employees to use their personal devices for work, make sure you’re rationalizing your application portfolio—and aren’t loading their personal device with a bunch of unnecessary, redundant apps.

Another major way to make your employees’ jobs easier and more convenient is to build a tech stack that empowers them to more effectively do their work. For example, if you’re managing a hybrid team, you’ll want to invest in collaborative tools that allow employees to work together seamlessly—whether they’re in the office or working remotely.

Also read : Collaborative tools: a new way of working

The point is, as CIO, you have the power to make your employees’ jobs (and lives!) easier in the way you manage your organization’s technology—and doing so will create a better employee experience.

Invest in training

When employees don’t feel prepared or equipped to do their jobs, employee experience can take a nosedive—which is why training is such an important element of creating a positive employee experience.

As CIO, make sure you’re investing in the training your employees need to effectively do their jobs. For example, if you roll out a new company-wide collaborative software, make sure you offer robust training on how to navigate the software—and how employees should work the software into their daily workflow. If you develop a new set of security protocols that impacts how your employees work, make sure to hold an all-hands meeting to walk your team through the new protocols—and answer any questions they may have about the changes.

Also read : How to facilitate the adoption of new collaborative tools

The more you invest in proper training, the more you empower your employees to do their jobs and do them well—and when your employees feel like they have what they need to do their jobs well, it has a positive impact on their experience at work.

Empower employees to be productive—no matter where they’re working

Employee experience doesn’t stop at the office. If you have team members that work remotely (or if your entire team is remote), it’s important to ensure they have everything they need to be successful—no matter where they may be working.

Also read: What the COVID crisis has changed for CIOs

How you do this will depend on your company, your employees, and your team structure. For example, you might offer employees that work remotely a stipend to upgrade their internet service. That way, you can prevent connectivity issues and make sure they have the high-speed internet they need to successfully perform their job duties. Or, if you’ve previously kept important data on a local server, you might consider moving to a cloud-based infrastructure so employees can easily access the data, information, and files they need—whether they’re working in the office or at home.

In order for employee experience to positively impact your organization, it needs to extend to all employees. So make sure you’re creating a positive experience for your remote employees by giving them what they need to be productive and successful, no matter where they’re working.

Ask your team how you can improve employee experience 

As CIO, you can research plenty of ways to improve employee experience within your organization. But every company—and every team—is different. So, if you want the best insights into how to improve employee experience for your employees? Ask them!

Your employees have first-hand insights into what’s working for them, what’s not working for them, and what they’d like to see change to create a better employee experience—making them your best resource for improving employee experience at your organization. Send out employee feedback forms to ask how, as CIO, you can improve their experience at work. Schedule 1-on-1s with managers to develop strategies to improve employee experience for their teams. Create an “open door” feedback culture and encourage your employees to share their insights, concerns, and feedback in real-time (on employee experience and anything else).

Bottom line? Your employees are the one having the experience at work—so if you want to know how to improve employee experience, they’re the best people to ask.

As CIO, make it a priority to improve employee experience

As CIO, you have a lot of competing priorities to manage. But if you want to give your team what it needs to do their best work, employee experience needs to be one of those priorities. And now that you know how to improve employee experience for your team, all that’s left to do? Get out there and move “create a more positive experience for my employees” to the top of your to-do list.

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Are you looking for more ways to improve the employee experience of your hybrid teams? Read our white paper to find out:

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Author: Deanna deBara