Most of us understand the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences to drive loyalty, repeat business, and growth. But have you considered the impact of a bad employee experience on your customer experience and, ultimately, your bottom line? A robust strategy is essential. Why? So, you can increase productivity, retain talent, enhance the customer experience and drive profitability. Here, we explore the high cost of a bad employee experience and how to avoid it.
Table of contents:
- What do we mean by the employee experience?
- How do the employee experience and employee engagement differ?
- How does a bad employee experience impact the customer experience?
- What’s the actual cost of a bad employee experience?
- How to avoid the high cost of a bad employee experience
- From bad to best-in-class: Transforming the employee experience
What do we mean by the employee experience?
Simply put, the employee experience refers to how employees feel about their interactions with their employer, including their work environment, job duties, and relationships with colleagues. A bad employee experience can harm productivity, job satisfaction, and the customer experience (CX). Therefore, a great employee experience creates a positive work culture and drives business success.
How do the employee experience and employee engagement differ?
While employee engagement refers to an employee’s emotional investment in their work and motivation to go above and beyond, the employee experience encompasses a broader range of factors, including the work environment, company culture, and opportunities for growth and development.
A bad employee experience can lead to disengagement, low morale, and ultimately, a negative impact on the customer experience (CX). Therefore, companies must prioritise employee experience and engagement to create a positive workplace culture and drive business success.
According to a recent Engage for Success Task Force report, only 36% of UK employees are highly engaged in their jobs, and the UK’s productivity levels lag other major economies. The UK Working Lives Report by Mercer found that 71% of UK employees are looking for new job opportunities, indicating a significant dissatisfaction with their current employee experience. With many sectors suffering from a skills shortage, these statistics should concern employers about how to retain top talent.
How does a bad employee experience impact the customer experience?
The employee experience and customer experience (CX) are closely linked – happy, engaged employees are more likely to provide exceptional customer service and drive customer loyalty. On the other hand, a bad employee experience can lead to disengagement, low morale, and ultimately, a negative impact on the customer experience.
Employees need proper training and support to gain the skills or resources required to provide exceptional service. Additionally, employees who are unhappy or feel undervalued may be more likely to negatively interact with customers, leading to decreased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
As companies struggle with supply issues and staffing shortages, a bad employee experience can harm the customer experience (CX). The Institute of Customer Service recently reported a record number of service issues, costing UK firms £9.24bn monthly in complaints handling. A hostile work environment affects employees and damages the company’s reputation and customer satisfaction.
Conversely, companies who invest in their workforce and are committed to delivering a positive employee experience reap the benefits. Studies have shown that companies with highly engaged employees experience a 10% increase in customer satisfaction and a 20% increase in customer loyalty.
What’s the actual cost of a bad employee experience?
Creating a positive employee experience has become critical to running a successful business in today’s competitive landscape. Unfortunately, many companies struggle to prioritise employee experience, leading to negative consequences that impact their customers and bottom line.
According to Mercer’s UK Working Lives Report, disengaged employees in the UK cost businesses an estimated £52-£70 billion per year in lost productivity and increased recruitment and retention costs. These statistics highlight the significant impact a bad employee experience can have on the success of UK businesses.
How to avoid the high cost of a bad employee experience
Businesses must prioritise creating a positive employee experience that drives engagement, productivity, and customer satisfaction to avoid the high cost of a bad employee experience. Let’s explore best practices for creating a best-in-class employee experience.
- Develop a clear employee experience strategy. Define your goals and objectives for employee experience and align them with your business strategy. Doing this will ensure your efforts are focused, and you can measure your progress.
- Foster a positive workplace culture. Cultivate a workplace culture that values employees and prioritises their well-being. You can provide opportunities for professional development, work-life balance, and recognition for a well-done job.
- Invest in employee development. Provide ongoing training and development opportunities to help employees grow and develop. Ultimately, this benefits them, improves their ability to serve customers, and contributes to the business’s success.
- Listen to employee feedback. Ask for regular feedback about their experience working for your company, and act based on their input. Doing this helps to build trust and engagement among employees and demonstrates your commitment to their well-being.
- Measure employee experience and engagement. Use metrics such as employee satisfaction surveys and engagement scores to evaluate the effectiveness of your employee experience strategy and identify areas for improvement.
By adopting these best practices and creating a positive employee experience, companies and organisations can improve employee engagement and productivity, reduce turnover and recruitment costs, and ultimately drive customer satisfaction and business success. Remember, a happy workforce leads to satisfied customers!
From bad to best-in-class: Transforming the employee experience
By prioritising employee engagement and creating a positive employee experience, your business or organisation can differentiate itself from the competition, win new business, and, ultimately, drive long-term profitability and growth.
As a customer experience (CX) business, we have seen first-hand how employee engagement affects customer interaction and how that impacts the brand for better or worse. Your employees play a pivotal role in delivering your product or service. Disengaged staff do not go the extra mile for your customers.
To transform the employee experience, you must first understand how you perform in your employees’ eyes. Our total feedback solution, instant insight, is an easy, cost-effective way to regularly and consistently analyse the feedback from your team and customers.
Using instant insight will:
✓ Allow you to gain employee feedback.
✓ Help you gain customer feedback.
✓ Analyse/report on real-time feedback.
✓ Obtain actionable comments.
✓ Improve your products and services.
✓ Benchmark against your competitors.
✓ Increase positive online reviews.
In summary, enhancing the employee experience is critical to creating a positive workplace culture that translates into a superior customer experience (CX) to drive business success ultimately. Investing in your employees benefits them and positively impacts your bottom line. By partnering with insight6, you will better understand the factors that affect your employee experience and how to enhance it to drive business success. Don’t let the cost of disengaged employees impact your bottom line! Get in touch today for a no-obligation chat or request a demo to see how instant insight can transform your business!