Currently, the Employee Journey Map is one of the most widely used methods by the human resources area and helps with talent retention. Its implementation in the company can increase employee satisfaction and provide a more objective view of what is happening.
Under talent management, employee journey maps provide a global view of a company’s human resources. We can know and identify in detail the path of the employees, what their points of contact are, what their benefits, strengths, weaknesses, and weaknesses are that we must manage.
This method or technique takes as a reference the customer journey, which focuses on the customer experience and translates it into the human talent experience. Thus, the employee is treated as if he were a customer who needs to be satisfied, but who is also expected to achieve certain predetermined goals.
Therefore, we are faced with a path that takes into account two objectives that do not always have to be isolated: the objectives of the company and the objectives of the worker. The objective of an employee journey map is to make these paths as similar as possible most of the time.
To learn about employee experience, you must listen to employees at every stage of their professional journey. To do this, you must first plan this journey, a simple, useful, and effective exercise that can reveal improvement and optimization opportunities.
Below, we present in more detail what the Employee Journey Map is and some recommendations for applying this strategy within your company.
What is the Employee Journey Map?
We can define an employee journey map as a tool to analyze the past and current journeys of employees within the company, as well as their future and growth opportunities. The professional path of a company is a framework to understand the sum of all the experiences that an employee has gained during their time in a company, and human resources use it to understand and improve the employee experience.
This “map” allows companies, and particularly human resources managers, to prioritize resources, clarify roles, and identify critical moments of truth, obtaining a clear understanding of the individual steps and emotional states of each employee in the organization.
In a complete employee file, you should find the following elements that take into account the experience of your employees:
- Worker objectives
- Professional development expectations
- Willingness to move forward
- Salary priorities
- Relationships with other colleagues
- Relationships with the supervisor
- Is there any conflict?
- Disposition to propose new ideas or projects
In addition, the Employee Journey Map must consider how these aspects will positively and negatively affect the behavior of your employees and their satisfaction.
What are the stages of the Employee Journey Map?
The stages that an employee goes through are summarized in the following:
Recruitment.
This stage includes all the paths and steps prior to the hiring of an employee and includes considerations such as hiring time, monetary value, quality in the hiring process, among others.
At Evalart, we have different tests used to improve recruitment processes, present in the test catalog.
Onboarding.
The onboarding phase includes all activities designed to keep employees up to date with their training and updated in their new job. New hires need this time to be productive, and when the onboarding process is effectively managed, it generates initial enthusiasm and creates a more meaningful and lasting connection with the company.
Development.
As an employee progresses in their position, it is important to quantify their productivity, teamwork, and willingness to move forward. During the development phase, it is necessary to provide opportunities to expand their skills, an increasingly important distinction for many employees who want to build a “portfolio career” consisting of many different experiences.
Retention.
At this stage, the employee is fully integrated into the organization. Therefore, the challenge is to ensure that they operate, grow, and contribute to the success of the company. To ensure that they are inspired and connected to the central vision of the company, it is also important to use talent retention tools.
Employee exit.
Employees can leave a company for various reasons: retirement, job change, or life change. All employees leave their company at some point, and knowing why is an opportunity to improve and develop the experience of current and future employees. Those who leave can be more honest about why they are leaving, as they may feel they have nothing to lose by being honest. Therefore, this stage is one of the most important to obtain accurate feedback in the company and improve important aspects for employees.
Why do I need an Employee Journey Map?
By implementing such employee analysis strategies in a company, the goal is to increase their job satisfaction, which can translate into increased productivity.
According to data, happy employees are up to 40% more productive and 80% more creative and innovative. That is why creating a good employee journey map will allow you to understand your employees in detail, understand all the stages they go through in the company and the work environment, and thus be able to identify opportunities to improve their experience in the organization. Some of the benefits of implementing employee cards in your company include:
- Employees feel heard.
- Greater participation.
- Increased productivity.
- Improved work environment.
- Allows for adjustments.
- Improves cooperation culture.
- Reduction in turnover.
- Development of brand ambassadors.
Finally, it is important to remember that an employee journey map is a practical tool that can be used by HR to understand and improve the experience of team members. It is always relevant to keep in mind that a comfortable and happy job is a better result for both the individual and the company.