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From the moment an employee sees your job ad and submits their application, to their first promotion and final day; the employee journey is the sum of all these experiences and everything in between.
In the pre-pandemic world, companies could choose to acknowledge these touchpoints in whatever way they wanted. Most organized an office cake for birthday celebrations, some conducted their annual performance reviews offsite—but few could deliver a fully remote experience for all milestones.
With transparency and trust being demanded now more than ever, how can we recognize, enjoy and celebrate all experiences in the most inclusive and accessible way possible? With video.
The rise of employee experience management
The financial return on happy employees is no longer a debate in most organizations. Dedicated resources - like employee experience (EX) managers - are being given the sole responsibility of delivering the best experience possible for all employees.
With an estimated 88% of organizations encouraging or mandating their employees to work from home due to COVID-19, the role of EX has been forced to reinvent the wheel in many workplaces.
But before we rush to craft compelling copy, automate new emails, and inject more staff surveys into the mix, perhaps it’s time to take a pause and reassess the framework on which we base our tactics.
Mapping the employee experience framework
Do you remember the old days? Where your recruitment process had face-to-face interaction, your in-person onboarding program was flawless and the comms you delivered to nurture your team were inspired by water cooler conversations and taking note of the vibe at Friday night drinks.
Now in our highly dispersed world, those dated means of collecting information and communicating are non-existent. Taking the time to revisit your framework will put you in the best position to not only retain your top talent now but positively impact your employer brand in the future.
The objective of mapping your employee experience framework is to identify and chronologically list the ‘moments that matter’. It’s an opportunity to visually plot out end-to-end the experience someone has with your company—otherwise known as, the employee journey.
Gaining qualitative insights from employees who left within the first year, existing high-performing colleagues, and long-standing career employees can help you identify key points of impact.
If you’re busting to get started, there are four phases of the employee journey that you can plot your moments against:
- Recruitment Process: First engagement with a job advertisement, submitting an application, interviewing, and signing the employment contract.
- Employee Onboarding: First day at work, initial one-on-one with the manager, meeting the team, training, and tools required to effectively perform the job.
- Employee Engagement: First birthday celebration, annual performance review, team events and work anniversary.
- Employee Offboarding: Acknowledgement of resignation, exit interview and final day at work.
Defining your employee experience strategy
Once you’ve mapped your framework, it’s time to define your strategy for communication and engagement. You could choose to automate an email workflow, push one-to-one messaging, or maybe take the plunge into video.
Adding video to each touchpoint of the employee lifecycle is not as time-consuming as it may sound. By approaching this strategy with an evergreen lens, you can ensure your content has the longest shelf life and the highest impact.
Steering clear of names and dates in the scripting process allows you to complement your video content with personal messaging along the journey. Learning how to strike a balance between automation and personalisation is the key to delivering a consistent employee experience.
10 employee journey videos to get you started
1. Recruitment Process | Job Advertisement
Hi, I’m [INSERT NAME, POSITION & COMPANY] and I’m really excited to be on the hunt for our team’s next [INSERT ROLE].
This is a key role reporting into [ME or OTHER], where you’ll be working as part of the team that [INSERT TEAM CONTRIBUTION].
[INSERT COMPANY NAME] is a [INSERT INDUSTRY & VALUE PROP] and we’re on a mission to [INSERT MISSION STATEMENT].
As a [INSERT ROLE] you’ll be responsible for [INSERT KEY AREA OF CONTRIBUTION].
The ideal person for this role knows:
- [INSERT KEY SELECTION CRITERIA]
- [INSERT KEY SELECTION CRITERIA]
- [INSERT KEY SELECTION CRITERIA]
This is a well-supported role where you’ll get all of the training and equipment that you need to help you achieve [INSERT ROLE OBJECTIVE]
If this position sounds like you, then I’d love to hear from you. Please apply through the link below or if you know someone who might be interested just tag them or share this video.
I really appreciate you taking the time to watch this video.
Thanks and bye for now.
2. Recruitment Process | Application Acknowledgement
Hello and thank you for your application. My colleagues and I are currently reviewing your resume and will get back to you within 5 business days.
In the interim, please feel free to join our community if you haven’t already and subscribe to our weekly e-newsletters so you can stay up to date with all of our full time, part time and contract roles that we’re recruiting for right now.
Thank you so much for taking an interest in [INSERT COMPANY] and also for taking the time to apply for this role. We hope that you are the right match for this position and we will be in touch with you shortly.
Have a great week.
3. Recruitment Process | Contract Acknowledgement
We are so excited that you have accepted the contract and can’t wait for you to join us on our mission to [INSERT MISSION STATEMENT].
Before you start there are a couple of [INSERT HR DOCUMENT NAME] that I’d like you to fill out and I’ve linked them below for your convenience.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be in touch with some expectations for day one on the job and also introduce you to your new colleagues so stay tuned.
Congratulations again and thanks for watching.
4. Employee Onboarding | Day One Welcome
Hello and welcome to day one at [INSERT COMPANY NAME].
We’re so excited to have you join our [INSERT DEPARTMENT] team and we hope that you have a great first week.
As you would already know, we work [INSERT REMOTE SET UP OR IN-OFFICE ARRANGEMENT].
This week I will need you to complete:
- [INSERT ONBOARDING REQUIREMENT] eg. your one-on-one catch ups with the team
- [INSERT ONBOARDING REQUIREMENT] eg. our employee safety course
- [INSERT ONBOARDING REQUIREMENT] eg. a week one wrap up video
We hope that your first week goes smoothly, if there’s anything you don’t understand please just ask, we were all in your shoes once upon a time.
And just a heads up for the next [INSERT NO. WEEKS] you’ll receive a new video just like this one outlining the onboarding agenda and expectations for that specific week ahead.
Shout out if you need anything at all and once again, welcome to [INSERT COMPANY].
5. Employee Engagement | Month One Check-In
Hello and happy one month anniversary at [INSERT COMPANY]. I hope you’re finding your feet and enjoying the new role.
As you’re probably aware by now, our company really values professional growth and providing our employees with plenty of opportunities to learn.
As the [INSERT ROLE] I’m your go to for any-training, accreditations or industry events.
This video is to remind you to spend some time in our online resource that outlines all of the learning material available throughout the year.
If you’d like to request something that falls outside of what’s provided then please [INSERT FORM or EMAIL PROCESS].
For your second month at [INSERT COMPANY NAME] I’d recommend you check out the [INSERT GENERIC COURSE] to help you [INSERT OBJECTIVE].
Please reach out if you have any questions about the ongoing training opportunities at [INSERT COMPANY NAME] and thank you for a fantastic first month on the job.
6. Employee Engagement | Team Events Schedule
It’s a brand new year and that means a brand new schedule of team events at [INSERT COMPANY].
Every 12 months our [INSERT DEPARTMENT/Culture committee] gets together to review your feedback in our post-event surveys and determine a new series of activities for the year ahead.
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME] we value [INSERT CULTURE VALUE] so the annual improvement of this program is important to all of us.
As usual, each month we will release a new video outlining the specifics for the monthly event; things like timing, location and costumes will be determined for you.
To get you excited for what’s to come, here’s a sneak peak at the themes we already have locked in [OVERLAY TEXT CAPTIONS].
Thanks again for all your feedback and I look forward to seeing you at this month’s team event.
7. Employee Management | Performance Review
Hello and thank you for your huge contribution to the team over the last 6 months.
At [INSERT COMPANY] we pride ourselves on creating an environment that fosters [INSERT GROWTH VALUE] for all of our employees.
To really embody these values we have [INSERT NO.] reviews each year that allow you to have an open conversation with your manager about any obstacles and opportunities.
This video is simply to give you a heads up that a calendar invite will be sent to you this month as well as a [INSERT HR DOCUMENT] to get you thinking about your positive impact so far at [INSERT COMPANY].
Thanks again for your fantastic contribution and I hope you have a great week.
8. Employee Engagement | First Birthday
Wishing you a huge happy birthday from all of your [INSERT COMPANY NAME] colleagues!
You’ve probably picked up on how excited we get about celebrations around here, so we’ve sent you a gift that will arrive this week.
Your first birthday at [INSERT COMPANY NAME] is considered a milestone in your employee journey with us and one that we like to save in the memory bank.
Every year you’ll get a video package from the team full of personal messages and well wishes, so stay tuned for this.
Happy birthday from all of us again and I hope you have a fantastic day.
9. Employee Engagement | One Year Anniversary
Can you believe it’s been one whole year at [INSERT COMPANY NAME]? It’s flown by for us, as I’m sure it has for you too.
We’re so grateful that you joined us on our mission to [INSERT MISSION STATEMENT].
[INSERT COMPANY NAME] is an awesome place to work because of people like you that really embody our values to [INSERT CORE VALUES].
I look forward to celebrating with you this week and seeing what we can all accomplish together over the next 12 months.
Congratulations for reaching such an exciting milestone and all the best for the year ahead.
10. Employee Off-boarding | Exit Interview
Congratulations on your new opportunity and thank you so much for your incredible contribution at [INSERT COMPANY NAME].
I know I can speak on behalf of the whole team when I say you have been an absolute delight to work with and we will all miss having you around.
If the huge impact you have made at [INSERT COMPANY NAME] is anything to go by, I’m sure you will take to your new role with the same enthusiasm, expertise and drive for success.
As part of your off-boarding process our [INSERT HR ROLE] will schedule a time to conduct an exit interview with you so we can collect your employee feedback. You can expect to receive a calendar invite for this conversation in the next week.
Wishing you all the best for your new professional adventure and thank you again for your invaluable contribution at [INSERT COMPANY NAME].
Delivering a memorable employee experience right now might be less about metrics and more about moments. The age-old saying that people will forget what you said, but never forget how you made them feel, could be applied to the employee journey.
Implementing an authentic communication tactic like video throughout the employee lifecycle can help you build stronger, longer-lasting connections as we set our sights on a brand new year—hallelujah.
