Employee experience is directly linked to the success of any organization. Human resource professionals and organizational leaders must intentionally construct a positive employee experience for the benefit of employee and employer alike. This requires a thorough understanding of how key moments in the employee lifecycle affect the employee experience.
Employee journey mapping is an effective strategy to improve decision making, build employee experience strategies, and optimize key moments during an employee's tenure.
What is employee journey mapping and how can it improve employee experience?
If, as an HR professional, you've ever seen a high quality employee quit and wondered, "When did things go wrong? What could have been done differently to get them to stay?" then an employee journey map might be just the tool you need. Employee journey maps chronologically list key moments at various stages in the employee lifecycle that affect the employee experience. These maps can help HR professionals identify pain points as well as successes, and provide insights on how to optimize these moments to improve the employee experience.
The employee journey includes everything from recruitment to the exit interview - performance reviews, promotions, and everything in between. Key moments can be positive or negative experiences that shape the overall employee experience within an organization.
An employee journey map can empower human resources professionals with the knowledge they need to make significant improvements to the employee experience. Equipped with this information, HR professionals can work with stakeholders across the organization to improve employee engagement, performance, and retention by making the most of the moments that matter. Employee journey maps can illuminate aspects of the employee experience that are working well, and identify the ones in need of attention.
How to create an employee journey map
Define and segment employee personas
Employee journey mapping begins with the understanding that not all employees' journeys will look the same. Rather than trying to develop a one-size-fits all approach to journey mapping, define some distinct segments of your workforce based on their role and/or level of seniority or experience. Then, complete the mapping process for each segment.
Seek feedback
Pull some quantitative data regarding rates of turnover in various departments, or by years of tenure. This is a good first step toward understanding when and where disengagement happens. But the next and highly important step is to gather feedback directly from your workforce.
While employee experiences surely vary, the feedback you receive will likely illuminate some patterns. Alternatively, you may discover inconsistencies regarding key moments that make a big difference.
Define moments that matter
Starting with one segment or persona at a time, identify key moments in their journey that shaped their experience for better or worse. According to a Stewart Leadership study about the employee experience, the moments most in need of improvement included initial experiences like the first day, onboarding, and training processes, as well as major transitions such as a role expansion or promotion. Significant moments at work might also include how the company responded to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, or whether an employee was able to take sufficient parental leave when having a child.
Create an employee journey map
Using these moments as milestones, you can create a visual chronology of the employee lifecycle for each persona or segment of your workforce. Make note of the moments that seem to drive employee engagement, and identify the moments most in need of improvement.
Use the insights to develop improvements
Next, using your employee journey map, decide which moments in the employee journey have highest priority, and/or the most potential impact on employee engagement and retention. Work with key stakeholders at your organization to develop solutions to the problem areas you have identified.
Remember that improving the employee experience is an ongoing process. Think of your employee journey map as a living document that will continue to evolve as you make changes to the employee experience at your company.
