Enhance Employee Experience: Checklist for Operational Leaders

No longer just the remit of HR, workforce management has become an important enabler of a successful operational strategy. This includes a focus on quality delivery of products and services, optimising productivity and identifying the root causes of performance issues, all whilst ensuring prudent cost management.   

Operational leaders who prioritise workforce management understand the need to keep a keen eye on managing rosters and reducing excessive labour costs whilst  fostering a work environment conducive to employee satisfaction. 

Insights

The importance of aligning operational strategies with worker needs is undeniable. Employees and managers value rostering flexibility, training access and communication tools. As you strive to retain talent and optimise labour investments, there should be an emphasis on action. Failure to address these concerns risks exacerbating employee dissatisfaction and undermining organisational performance.

Here are practical steps and technology functionalities to significantly enhance the areas your employees find most impactful for their experience in your organisation.

Employees want rostering flexibility

Checklist
  • Implement tools for employees to control their rosters and swap shifts to manage personal plans and sudden conflict.
  • Use analytics and forecasting to roster employees with the right skills at the right time, improving rostering accuracy and satisfaction.
  • Refine rostering practices and labour standards as operations mature and new processes and technology are adopted.
Functional capabilities
  • Employee self-service rostering
  • Predictive rostering analytics
  • Dynamic optimisation of ADP Workforce Suite Rostering

Rostering control is one of the most important aspects of employee experience. When employees have control of their rosters, they’re less likely to experience burnout and unplanned absences — and more likely to be invested in their work and their employer.

Employees want easy communication and collaboration tools

Checklist
  • Evaluate and implement mobile communication solutions that offer end-to-end encryption and are compliant with industry standards.
  • Integrate communication tools with existing workforce management systems to centralise information access.
  • Develop protocols for emergency communications, including regular drills and updates to contact information.
Functional capabilities
  • Mobile-first communication tools
  • Integrated communication channels
  • Emergency alert systems

Effective communication is the cornerstone of employee engagement, operational efficiency and agility. Providing employees with secure, consumer-grade digital communication tools is an investment in the heart of your operations, promoting information flow and fostering collaboration and innovation.

Employees want easy access to training and information

Checklist
  • Identify key skill gaps across departments and allocate resources for targeted training programs.
  • Invest in mobile-friendly learning management systems (LMS) that support micro-learning and gamification.
  • Train workers in new skills, re-train team members needing extra details and up-skill workers in new talents at the time work happens.
Functional capabilities
  • Automated skill matching
  • On-demand micro-learning
  • Adaptive learning for on-the-job skill enhancement

Investing in the development of your frontline staff not only grows their skillset but also nurtures their intrinsic desire to contribute, innovate and excel. They become more adaptable to changing operational demands, sparking inventive problem-solving and efficiency improvements.

Employees want their employer to ask for regular feedback

Checklist
  • Select feedback tools that are intuitive and easily accessible for employees, encouraging regular use.
  • Set up and automate personalised pulse surveys to regularly gather insights, allowing employees to share how they’re doing.
  • Create cross-functional teams responsible for analysing feedback and implementing changes based on employee input.
Functional capabilities
  • Real-time feedback Mechanisms
  • Pulse surveys
  • Feedback-driven decision making

A proactive approach to employee feedback is the lifeblood of transformational improvement within any organisation. It encourages a sense of ownership among employees, where they see themselves as integral contributors to the company’s success.

Employees want to be recognised for their contributions

Checklist
  • Partner with HR to select and customise a digital recognition platform that aligns with your company culture.
  • Define clear performance metrics that trigger automatic awards for achieving specific goals within the recognition system.
  • Track and celebrate milestones and achievements across the organisation.
Functional capabilities
  • Digital recognition platforms
  • Performance-based rewards
  • Celebration of milestones

Employee recognition directly influences morale, engagement and retention. When employees feel appreciated for their efforts and contributions, it reinforces their sense of value within the company. This not only boosts individual performance but also elevates team dynamics and operational productivity.

A circular progress chart with a red ring showing 76% in the center, indicating a value or completion rate of 76 percent.

76% of manufacturing employers plan to invest in a rostering solution within 3 years

The Current State of the Global Manufacturing Workforce in 2025 and Beyond

Connecting workers’ experiences to their digital technologies is the biggest revolution in employee experience, improving communication, satisfaction and retention. The trust you build with employees will be positively reflected in your organisation’s productivity, efficiency and financial position.

Access to company-approved, consumer-grade apps makes employees’ working lives easier. Whether it’s booking time off in a few clicks, accessing shift rostering on a live dashboard, asking peers for how-to help, or alerting managers to issues on their mobile device, employees not only appreciate digitalisation, they expect it.

Gartner® Market Guide for Workforce Management

The report recognises WFM as a high touch tool that represents an opportunity to transform EX for hourly workers.

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The Current State of the Global Manufacturing Workforce in 2025 and Beyond

Learn about managing an engaged manufacturing workforce that meets your workforce’s evolving needs in 2025 and beyond.

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