Employee Experiences and Revenue Growth: The Link Explained

You’ve likely heard it before that ‘happy employees = happy customers.’ However, did you know that the two can propel your business to faster growth? Here’s an explanation of the connection between employee experiences and revenue growth. A recent study by Salesforce in collaboration with Forbes shows that creating satisfying employee and customer experiences can lead to 1.8% faster revenue growth. According to the findings, companies that invest in the right customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) grow revenue 1.8 times faster than their peers. It also shows that focusing on just customer experience doesn’t result in the same growth rate. Organizations that focus solely on customer experience may not achieve high levels of employee satisfaction nor do they grow faster than their peers. This tells us one of the secrets to faster revenue growth – employee satisfaction. “The fastest way to get customers to love your brand is to get your employees to love their jobs,” the study concludes. You’re probably wondering what employee experience entails, how exactly it impacts customer experience, and how to improve employee satisfaction at your organization. Fortunately, those are the three main areas this article covers besides proving the link between employee experiences and revenue growth.

What is Employee Experience (EX)?

Employee experience is a worker’s overall feeling about their journey through all the touchpoints at a particular organization. It summarizes the worker’s perception of their role at the organization from the moment they apply to the position to when they leave at the end of their tenure.

Benefits of Employee Experience

Strengthening employee experiences has numerous benefits, all of which are associated with increased employee satisfaction.

Improved engagement

A more positive employee experience guarantees levels of employee engagement. A satisfied employee has a strong sense of purpose and leadership. Indeed, recent studies show that increasing employee satisfaction is more important than efforts to keep the employee happy.

Increased productivity

Employees who feel satisfied with their roles are also likely to be more productive. For one, a more engaged employee is likely to work harder for the organization. Additionally, the satisfaction that arises from positive employee experiences often drives employees to go over and above to make their employers proud.

Increased quality of work

Research shows that happiness levels influence job success more than IQ or skill sets. According to Harvard University psychologist and happiness expert Shawn Anchor, an employee who’s happy about their position at the organization is more creative and sees more possibilities.

Reduced absenteeism

Finally, happy, satisfied employees are less likely to miss work. Why? Because a positive employee experience boosts morale. Employees who aren’t happy about their role and satisfied with their work environment are less motivated to show up at work.

Link Between Employee Experience and Customer Experience

Before getting to understand the link between employee experiences and revenue growth, it’s only wise to consider how employee experiences (positive or negative) directly impact customer experience. The following are just a few examples – backed by statistics.

Happy employees are more attuned to customer needs

According to one Gallup report titled the State of the American Workplace, employees who feel engaged in the workplace are more likely to generate more sales for the company. The report gives several possible reasons. One of them is that engaged employees are more attuned to the needs of the customer needs. They are more likely to ask pertinent questions and are more excited to help the customer find the best product to fulfill their needs.

Happy employees provide better customer service

Although organizations expect every employee to provide the best customer service, the employee experience has a massive impact on the quality of customer service. In the Gallup report mentioned earlier, the findings show that happier, more engaged employees are happier to chat with customers and excited to seek solutions to the end. They are also more open to help customers a second time. Meanwhile, employees with a negative experience are moodier, more lethargic, and less willing to follow customer complaints to conclusions.

Customers love companies that treat employees well

An excellent example here is Starbucks. Anyone who’s been at Starbucks will have firsthand experience of how well the employees treat customers. One of the reasons they treat guests so nicely is because their employer treats them nicely too. Interestingly, the excellent employer-employee relationship at Starbucks is one of the reasons the brand is so popular. According to a study conducted in 2014, most customers love Starbucks because of the way the coffee house treats its employees. Remember that increased employee engagement also reduces employee turnover, which, in turn, increases customer loyalty. According to Medilla, locations and stores with the lowest employee turnover rates have the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

How to Improve Employee Experience (EX)

You can take different approaches to enhance employee experience to boost revenue growth. However, we’d recommend prioritizing the following four points;

Use employee journey mapping

An employee journey map is a way of visualizing the various stages of an employee during their time at your organization. Your job is to identify opportunities throughout the journey where you can close the gap from the current state to the desired state.

Enhance internal communication

Internal communication does more than just disseminating company information. It fosters a sense of community, encourages your employees to work together for common goals, and encourages a cohesive company culture. In short, it helps instill a sense of purpose.

Design a great onboarding experience

One of the biggest mistakes an organization can make today is operating without a well-defined onboarding experience. According to the Harvard Business Review, the majority of employees who begin seeking a new job six months into employment do so because of a poor onboarding experience.

Act on employee feedback

Many organizations invest in employee engagement, stay, and benefits surveys. Others have also found other ways to gather employee feedback. While this is a good first step in enhancing employee satisfaction, it means little if you don’t act on the feedback. Employees are more confident and even more open to an organization that acts on their feedback.

Employee experiences and revenue growth is tied to happy customers.

One of the easiest ways to boost sales, profitability, and customer loyalty is to invest in employee experience. Happy employees make happy customers and happy customers are guaranteed to spend more on your business. The is the link between employee experiences and revenue growth.