Five proactive ways to build a happier workforce

In just a few years, employee experience has gone from a trend or a buzz word to a strategic must. Business leaders are at a critical juncture as they work to mitigate ongoing challenges in a post-pandemic, economically shifting world with today’s challenging talent marketplace. The disruptions leaders have been facing aren't just operational — they’ve brought a significant and unpredictable impact to the underlying health, wellbeing and productivity of the workforce.

For businesses across all industries, finding the right balance across human and digital HR experiences has become key to improving employee loyalty and engagement.

Optimizing workforce experiences to drive retention and engagement is one of four key focus areas discussed in our eBook, Business strategies for turbulent times: A leadership guide to recession-proofing. It’s a timely guide designed to help business leaders identify ways their organizations can thrive despite economic turmoil.

Below are five proactive steps overviewed in the eBook that can help HR organizations stay strong through economic turbulence and lay the groundwork for better employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and business growth:

Reinvent talent journeys.
Enrich employee experiences by starting with a human-centered mindset around workforce experience. Use that vantage point to design processes based on the experiences and “interesting moments” or friction points of your end-users.
Personalized onboarding, employee development opportunities, tailored communications and informed feedback surrounding health, wealth, and retirement can help create a relevant, fulfilling and enriching journey for each individual.
Build business resilience.
Construct an adaptable HR technology and delivery ecosystem that enables scalability and agility to support changing market, workforce and workplace conditions.
This includes embracing centralized cloud-based solutions, artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics-driven interactions, and advanced automation to optimize HR processes and foster agility and productivity in your workforce. These advancements allow your workforce to interact in their preferred method of engagement — when they want and how they want — while enabling informed decisions, next-best actions and productive outcomes.
These HR ecosystem technology elements not only improve transactional speed and quality, they’re foundational for enabling scale, flexibility and always-on HR service delivery.
Manage workplace stress.
Workforce stress impacts effectiveness, productivity and “presenteeism” at work. Expanding access to health, wellness and financial tools and expert resources can go a long way in alleviating common sources of stress.
With 89% of the C-suite in a global study by Deloitte indicating that improving employee wellbeing is a top priority, it’s time to take a holistic approach to workplace stress that addresses physical, mental and financial wellness. Implementing health and wealth advocacy and guided navigation — where employees are paired with live experts and digital coaching tools — can significantly improve employee confidence in their immediate strategies and decisions, while by paving the road to long-term wellbeing and preparedness.
Working to understand and accommodate the unique individual needs of your workforce will cultivate an employee-centric workplace culture that helps your business — and your employees — thrive.
Simplify employee interactions and communications.
A centralized employee hub with a single access point for policies, benefits and other HR information is a great way to make HR inquiries, interactions and management easier and logical for employees and foster better outcomes.
From leave policies to rewards and incentive programs and retirement-savings options, a centralized employee experience platform with secure, cloud-based multichannel capabilities enables employees to access information anytime, anywhere, on any device. That means 24-hour convenience, and less time needed to navigate benefits and total rewards — and more time available to maximize them.
An experience platform should also integrate tools like chatbots or AI-powered virtual assistants to further expand real-time support, facilitate access to essential information, resolve queries and expedite a variety of HR-related tasks.
Empower and enable your workforce.
Distance/blended learning and development tools, including newer trends like “learning in the flow of work” and gamification keep employees engaged while enabling professional growth. They also facilitate continuous skill enhancement while providing a sense of ownership in their professional growth, which can lead to increased motivation and loyalty for your organization.
Mentorship programs and peer-to-peer learning can also foster a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

More than ever before, workforce experiences are crucial to business success. Those experiences make or break the ability to attract and retain talent, optimize productivity, and build trust and loyalty that fuels growth into the future.

To keep pace with today’s everchanging dynamics, HR organizations need to increase their adoption of smart digital strategies and tools to be able to deliver the right blend of high-touch digital and high-touch human interactions for a strong, satisfied and motivated workforce.

Conduent has been a leader in HR outsourcing solutions for more than three decades, working closely with businesses across industries to maximize their HR investments and systems with a comprehensive menu of services and innovative technology that protects the bottom line and lays a resilient future-ready foundation.

Read more details on this topic and three other key focus areas for recession-proofing in our eBook — including additional ways Conduent can help your organization build lasting resilience.

About Conduent Human Capital Solutions
With 35+ years of industry expertise, Conduent Human Capital Solutions offer a dynamic approach that helps employer organizations accelerate their HR transformation journey and optimize employee wellness through health and wealth benefits. Our combination of services, digital platforms and advanced automation empowers employees to manage the complex landscape of employment, health, wealth, career and retirement through a personalized journey — while empowering HR teams with the information and insights they need to succeed.
Learn more on our website or email us HR-Services@conduent.com