
The Value of Empowering Employees
Est. Read Time: 3 min.
In today’s work culture, employees expect a level of service that provides them with fast, easily attainable answers. They look for digital experiences at work that mirror their experiences outside of work, such as searching for information on their own, like with Google. Employees also want to be able to take action based on the information they find, without having to navigate away from their search or log into another system.
A self-service model, also called Tier Zero support, empowers employees to quickly find answers to their questions on their own. Rather than submitting requests to an HR representative, employees can resolve their own questions and be able to take action on the information they find. A contextual knowledge portal gives employees access to HR information from any device, any time they want it. And the portal can tailor all content based on employee attributes, such as region and role, so employees only see content that is relevant to them. This self-service approach to HR information gives employees that autonomy to quickly and efficiently find solutions on their own.
The Benefits of Self-Service Models
Enabling employees to find personalized HR information and resolve HR questions on their own greatly increases employee engagement. In addition to meeting employee expectations for digital experiences, self-service capabilities allow employees to spend less time on HR and more time on their work. These positive employee experiences drive employee engagement.
Additionally, when employees have the ability to find resolutions on their own, more time is given back to HR representatives. When HR reps have more time, they can better focus on giving personalized support to employees and working to resolve more complex requests.
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Companies want to offer their customers an excellent experience. Part of doing that is offering employees an excellent experience. There are two reasons for this. In many industries, job candidates are also customers. An example is the person who loves dining at a restaurant and decides to apply for a bartender job there. The last thing organizations want to happen is to lose both a candidate and a customer at the same time. The second reason is that employees are responsible for delivering the customer experience. The way they do that is by having their own excellent experience.
Does Your Organization Have an Employee Service Philosophy?
Most organizations have customer service philosophies. Examples include “Put yourself in your customers’ shoes” and “Put your customers’ needs first.” A customer service philosophy is defined as a group of shared principles that guide every customer interaction. Often, they are linked to the organizational mission, vision, and values. Customer service philosophies include references to honesty, respect, empathy, and making customers a priority. In thinking about external customer service philosophies, it raises a question. Shouldn’t organizations also have an employee (aka internal customer) service philosophy?
How 2020 Upended the Employee Experience Model As We Knew It
In a 2019 survey, Deloitte found that 84% of business and HR leaders viewed improving the employee experience (EX) as important—and 28% considered it urgent. In the pre-pandemic world, with low unemployment and rising turnover rates, providing a positive EX was an essential talent attraction and retention tool. Then COVID-19 hit.
About Nicole Lindenbaum
Nicole Lindenbaum is the Director of Product Marketing at PeopleDoc by Ultimate Software. Nicole leads the global messaging strategy for PeopleDoc by translating technology into business benefits HR can actually understand. With significant experience in HR technology, Nicole writes and speaks about HR service delivery, employee experience, digital transformation, and the future of work. Nicole holds a BFA from Syracuse University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.