The Employee Journey Map
Many people focus on the customer journey or even the customer experience and how their products can impact the lives of these customers, but one of the things people do not realize is that they have another customer they are probably neglecting: Their employees.
The most important asset a company has are its employees. These are the people that create the products your customers buy. These are the people who handle customer complaints. These are the people who “run” the company, create the internal processes and make the policies. And if you treat these people like cogs, they will not treat your company well. They will, in subtle ways, undermine the effectiveness of the organization. They may not even realize they are doing it, but they probably are. Even being just a little frustrated or discouraged with the company can cause a person to be less engaged at work and, in small ways, reduce productivity of many of those people they come into contact with.
What does this have to do with the customer experience? Because as companies we should also consider creating an employee experience map as well. We are “selling” our company every time we recruit somebody for a position. We are selling the company every time a person comes into work to do their job. Every time they have to fill out an expense report, make a request for materials or supplies, they are involved in the company’s overall experience. What is it like? Problematic? Are there so many political battles that one cannot walk the halls without wading through the emotional carnage? Is the company filled with inscrutable red tape and processes? What can we do to make it easier to work at the company and do what we need in order to treat out customers and employees well?
These are all questions we should be asking ourselves every time we find a process or culture that causes just a little bit of resistance, raised eyebrows or frustration. And maybe, just maybe, if we look hard enough at the the whole thing we can find ways to make them easier or eliminate them entirely.
And that would go a long way to making the employee experience that much better.
The image, titled “On the map of Gotheburg ii”, was taken by “Kristina Alexanderson”. You can find it on flickr.
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