Episode 100: Day to Day Life as an Employee: Employee Experience Series, Part 3

Exciting new idea: we are doing a series on employee experience! Today’s episode is number 3 talks about the employee experience of every day life as an employee.

This is about understanding what each employee needs and wants and providing the training, tools, mentorship, and guidance to help them be successful.

And for employees, it means showing up and being the best you can be.

Generally, people leave companies because of lack of a supportive manager and/or a fear about the company’s future. They also leave because of career development, compensation, and logistics like commutes.

The #1 important thing about being an employee is the mutual understanding of what is expected and what it’s like to be in each role (meaning the manager needs to understand what their team member’s days are like). How do you find out? Do your 1:1 meetings and learn what their day is like. What do they like or not? Understand if your people are happy.

One great question to ask in a 1:1 is: what surprises have come up? Another is: what surprises have you experienced?

We share an example of a person having 2 jobs at competitors at once….and we blame the managers for not knowing they have the capacity for more. But, we also tell employees to communicate their capacity, their issues (along with solutions), and their goals so that their manager understands their role.

Companies, groups, and managers need to create psychologically safe places to bring up issues and when bringing them up, ICs, try to bring solutions. Oh, and managers, you don’t have all of the answers so get your team to brainstorm together to come up with the best solution.

Good managers understand an employee’s desire for challenge. Performance and career management are separate, but both related to employee experience which is why managers need to talk with employees to understand what they want from the job. You need to communicate with your manager about what you like and don’t like.

Performance management and Career Management are NOT the same thing. That said, you have to do a good job in your current role, even if you’re not looking to move up the career ladder. Being able to communicate that you’re happy to stay in your current role and not take on new challenges should be safe (managers listen up!), but you need to perform in your current role or ask for time off/accommodations to keep your performance strong.

A key piece of employee success is communication. Putting promised deliverables in a note or email, preemptively explaining missed deliverables, and keeping all stakeholders informed of progress.

Getting stuck and not asking for help can lead to performance issues. We recommend you reaching out so that you don’t remain stuck in the mud, missing deliverables, and having poor performance. You’d help others, so check your ego at the door and let them help you.

That said, don’t be the person always in crisis- it’s a performance issue. Being a team member is about give and take, so do your piece in the give and take of the team to avoid getting stuck. And when someone on your team is stuck, come up with solutions and try to help, even if there’s another solution that’s adopted.

Net net, communication is the key to employee experience. Keep information, solutions, and updates flowing and your experience will be a good one.