11 Employee Experience tips for 2023

In 2022, deskless industries, such as retail and hospitality, were confronted with a number of drastic trends and developments. Take The Great Resignation, for example, a trend in which deskless employees resigned en masse. After The Great Resignation, came the so-called Great Attrition. More and more employees are quitting or considering quitting their jobs, often because there is a gap between what they want and what their employers think they want. There are more and more deskless jobs available, but fewer people want these jobs. Many organizations have to deal with staff shortages, closures, and high employee turnover rates. Time for organizations to take a closer look at their frontline. They need to look at their stores and innovate faster than they do within their corporate headquarters. Ultimately, the individuals actually based within your stores (your deskless workforce) are the ones that manage your day-to-day operations. They are the lifeblood of your organization. If they leave, and you just have a corporate staff left, you’re not going to sell much. It all comes down to the enormous gap between the headquarters and the deskless workforce. That is why companies should focus on bridging that gap in the upcoming year and start making their deskless employees more successful and engaged. With these tips, we are sure you will succeed.

Ruben Wieman

March 27, 2023

11 Employee Experience tips for 2023

Table of contents

11 tips for a successful and engaging 2023

There is plenty you can do to ensure that your employees have a positive employee experience throughout their time at your organization. The following employee experience tips for deskless employees will help you on your way. The most important tip? Be especially mindful of the wishes of the younger generation, as these people make up the bulk of your workforce.

1. Adapt your organization to younger employees

Deskless employees are getting younger and younger. Generation Z employees and Millennials expect you to offer solutions that fit today’s day, not those of their parents or grandparents. So get rid of that bulletin board, outdated intranet, and those paper forms. Say hi to digital internal communication tools!

2. Offer employees a mobile-first experience

Your deskless workforce usually does not have access to a computer or work email. It is therefore important to ensure that information ends up directly on their mobile phone. Make sure everything looks good on mobile devices, from the employee handbook, planning, and company updates to digital forms and checklists.

3. Go for an all-in-one employee experience

It is best to unify the entire employee experience into one app. This will save your employees from using multiple systems for internal communication, onboarding, e-learning, schedules, surveys, etc. Logging in somewhere else every time. Which app do I use for what? The new generation of employees simply won’t do this. They want convenience and speed. Read more about the new way to connect with your frontline.

The old vs new way to connect with your deskless workforce

4. Strengthen your employer brand

Research by Q&A Insights & Consultancy shows that shops are not seen as an attractive place to work. No less than 68% of the working population does not want to work in retail because the work seems boring or stressful to them, and the wages are too low. Boosting the industry’s image on your own is difficult. However, what you can do to improve your competitive advantage, is show how much fun it is to work for your organization and focus on activities to strengthen your employer brand.

5. Improve your onboarding process

Are you tired of putting a lot of time and energy into training a new colleague and that this person then leaves after a few months? With a good onboarding program, you give new employees a warm welcome, and you increase the chance that they will successfully integrate into your organization. An invitation to the Christmas party even before the first day at work? Sit down regularly during the first months for a short evaluation interview? Do it!

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6. Support a healthy work-life balance

The new generation wants to work, but not if it comes at the expense of things like family, sports, friends, and time for themselves. So encourage your employees to relax outside of work and avoid bombarding them with notifications from various WhatsApp groups in their free time.

7. Provide flexible and mobile learning experiences

E-learning and microlearning, or updating your knowledge where and when you want, are indispensable in modern organizations. Mobile-friendly solutions for training, surveys, and how-to videos are essential for young deskless workers.

8. Keep your promises

Who doesn’t know them; organizations promising heaven in the job interview and sprinkle with beautiful words and inspiring missions but do not live up to this in practice. You don’t want to be like that! Be honest and give a realistic picture of, among other things, the atmosphere, company culture, and management style.

9. Encourage two-way traffic and feedback

Employees want to be heard. Give them the opportunity to regularly ask what they think of their work and if they have any ideas for improvements. So don’t just give feedback they can use, but also be open to their views. If you regularly send an employee survey, both the organization and the employee will benefit.

Example: an employee satisfaction survey in Oneteam

10. Express your appreciation

Everyone likes a compliment or a tap on the back, especially if they went the extra mile by, for example, taking over shifts from a colleague or coming up with a great campaign. Don’t just think that employees know that you appreciate them, but also express your appreciation from time to time.

11. Organize team-building activities

A team that works together works more efficiently, is more engaged, and attracts customers and new employees. Invest in fun team activities and see how engagement and productivity levels will improve.

Get started today and let your successful 2023 begin

As a company, do you want to appeal to your employees and motivate and keep them engaged in 2023? Then it’s time to adapt to the new way to connect with your deskless workforce. First, map out your current employee experience with your own EX Canvas. Discover the points for improvement, incorporate these tips and let the successful new year begin!

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Ruben Wieman

Ruben Wieman

Ruben Wieman is the founder of Oneteam. He mainly writes about the future of deskless employee experience and key frontline HR trends. Fun fact about Ruben: He started his professional career as a deskless employee at supermarkets and a pizza delivery guy. The frustrations he encountered lead him to build an employee experience app focused on making the deskless workforce successful and engaged.

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