Press release -

Create an authentic experience to boost employee engagement: Benify keynote at HR Strategy Forum, Oxfordshire, England February 27-28

HR Strategy Forum, Oxfordshire, England

On February 27th and 28th, Benify will participate in the HR Strategy Forum, Oxfordshire with our Executive Vice President of Global Enterprise, Chris Wakely speaking about creating a consumer grade experience for employees as the best way to increase their engagement. Chris will discuss why being a modern global company that engages employees doesn't have to be a challenge- even if your talent is spread around the world. The goal should be to figure out what employees want and how (and when) to communicate to them so as to boost their satisfaction with and commitment to their organizations.

"Building relationships with employees throughout their journey by minding their experience— as you do with your customers— is key. Luckily, recent developments in technology and the growth in Internet usage has made it easier than ever for companies to be more in touch," says Chris Wakely. He continues, "Targeted, meaningful, and authentic interactions throughout the employee life cycle have a strong effect in boosting employees’ retention and productivity. And of course: presenting impactful information digitally optimizes the employee experience."

Why focus on the employee experience?

The employee experience is one of the trends we note in our 2018 HR Trends to Watch summary. For employers, the goal should be to make it special and move beyond "just" finding ways to motivate (i.e., engage) their employees. According to some experts, organizations have shifted their thinking from viewing employees as resources to nowadays, focusing on building a meaningful connection with them. Futurist Jacob Morgan calls it the "evolution of employee experience" and the model focuses on acknowledging the development and self-realization needs of the employee. Relationship-building, open dialogue, and transparency are also themes.

Communicate Well— Boost Employee Engagement

Communicating well creates a positive employee experience and can drive employee engagement in all that’s on offer—benefits, social activities, training programs, team building events, town halls and more. Employers can differentiate their organizations in the marketplace and improve chances with talent attraction when they highlight their total reward offering. It is important to get employees to take part– to enroll in what is offered, too.

"A key aim in employee communications should be to make the total reward known, appreciated, and something exciting to participate in. Keeping the employee’s perspective in mind and understanding their objectives throughout their journey adds a layer of information for HR that helps guide them in communicating benefit availability at key stages," adds Chris. "In fact, communicating in a way that employees prefer, that is, digitally, is just as important as deciding upon which information to provide and when."

Communication about what the employer offers (besides salary and benefits) should not be limited to the interview moment or during onboarding discussions or even any enrollment period. Rather, communication should be ongoing throughout the employee lifecycle at numerous touchpoints, to add richness and relevance to the overall employee experience.

"Communication is key in inspiring employees. Regarding benefits, clarity is tops," says Chris. He continues, “Additionally, communication to employees should be finetuned, more frequent, targeted in nature, and of course, digital whenever possible since that is employees' preferred method to obtain information – It’s all about treating employees as if they are consumers. These days, employees seek convenience and the ability to access information wherever and whenever—outside of workspaces and workhours.”

Chris Wakely will be a keynote presenter on Day 1 of the HR Strategy Forum on February 27th. The forum is an annually organised, invitation-only event designed for carefully selected C-suite executives and directors in Global 500 organisations. This year the theme is Discover-Develop-Retain.

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Topics

  • Technology, general

Categories

  • chris wakely
  • 2018 hr trends
  • employee experience
  • hr strategy forum
  • hr technology
  • employee engagement
  • benify
  • #hrstratforum
  • show love
  • compensation and benefits

Benify is a fast-growing, independent HR tech leader helping companies around the world manage their employee benefits offering and build a strong employer brand. Through its cloud based total compensation and benefits portal, Benify makes it Great at Work for millions of employees worldwide in 30 countries and 20 languages— and counting. The smart solution helps employees to appreciate their total reward and to participate in work life while enabling easy and convenient benefits administration for employers throughout the employee lifecycle.

The result: effective benefits governance, targeted communications, and increased employee engagement.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Benify has been empowering human resource strategies since 2004.