ERC is serious about making workplaces great. We created and cultivate an "F" workplace culture: Family-First, Fun, Flexible, Fitness-Minded, Footprint-Light, and Financially Supportive to employees. This week, ERC's Fun Committee organized the 1st Annual Easter Egg Hunt for all staff in the office. This fun activity was organized because ERC understands a positive employee experience is crucial to the health of the organization.

According to Deloitte’s 2019 Global Human Capital Trends survey, one of the biggest organizational challenges is improving the employee experience. Employee experience is one of many metrics gathered by ERC for the NorthCoast99 program. This annual awards program honors exceptional Northeast Ohio employers for top talent.

So, what can you and your employer do to improve employee experience?

Here are 42 actionable items you can implement in your organization to make it a great workplace:

1. Share stories of the impact employees have on customers and the company.
   
   
2. Encourage employees to volunteer at a local charity or nonprofit organization.
   
   
3. Start every meeting by recognizing one person for a recent accomplishment.
   
   
4. Have supervisors write thank-you cards to employees, letting them know much their contributions are valued.
   
   
5. Provide on-the-job leadership opportunities for non-management top performers.
   
   
6. Offer a flexible work schedule.
   
   
7. Create an employee idea or suggestion program.
   
   
8. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings with staff.
   
   
9.  Allow employees to bring their dog and/or child to work. 

10. Invite top performers to attend a networking or special event with senior leaders.
    
    
11. Give employees stretch assignments to challenge them.
    
    
12. Recognize a personal accomplishment or milestone in employees' lives, such as births of children, weddings, retirements, and professional development achievements.
    
    
13. Start a new-hire mentoring program.
    
    
14. Create employee-led committees for wellness and other workplace initiatives.
    
    
15. Take a high-performing employee out to lunch and/or host a luncheon or breakfast with a small group of employees.

16. Have monthly/quarterly town hall meetings during which senior management reports on the state of the business and employees have a chance to ask questions.

17. Discuss career development with top performers at least once a year.

18. Start a profit sharing or bonus program.

19. Do something special for employees when they take on extra work while another employee is on vacation, sick or on medical leave.

20. Create open, comfortable collaboration spaces in which employees can gather.

21. Implement an open door policy.

22. Match employee charitable contributions.

23. Include employees in developing the organization's mission, vision, values, and strategic direction.

24. Have non-management employees lead department or team meetings.

25. Give top performers the lead on special projects.

26. Coordinate an employee appreciation day or week.

27. Have a welcome celebration and/or activity for newly hired employees.
    
    
28. Create a KPI board so employees can track how well they are doing on a daily or weekly basis.
    
    
29. Have a praise board in a public place where employees can informally thank other employees.
    
    
30. Implement a creativity and innovation contest.
    
    
31. Offer career opportunities and promotions internally before seeking external hires.
    
    
32. Have a field day of outdoor activities during lunch throughout the summer.

33. Send top performing employees to a train-the-trainer class so they can help train new associates in their departments.
    
    
34. Encourage employees to improve at least one thing about their job each quarter that helps the department and/or company.
    
    
35. Have senior leaders make regular around the office to interact and communicate with employees.
    
    
36. Grow a vegetable garden as a staff.
    
    
37. Celebrate employee work anniversaries.
    
    
38. Offer educational opportunities or programs related to stress management.
    
    
39. Create a job cross-training program.
    
    
40. Host meetings outdoors during warmer months for a change of scenery and fresh air.
    
    
41. Start a community puzzle for employees to work on during lunch.
    
    
42. Create a job shadowing program for employees to learn about other departments.

ERC's HR consultants can work with your organization to improve your employee experience. Employees’ level of engagement can be measured through ERC’s Employee Engagement Survey. The survey identifies 11 primary factors that contribute to employee satisfaction, including workplace practices that have all been shown to statistically correlate with engagement.

By 2030, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that Millennials will comprise approximately 75% of the American workforce. The Millennial generation, born between 1980 and 1995, equal about 80 million Americans and are those in our workplaces between the ages of 20 and 35.

At the Executive HR Women's Network event on March 20^th, 2013, Staffing Solutions Enterprises and ERC teamed up to provide participants with information from the Alfred P. Sloan and NorthCoast 99 programs.

Flexibility has grown to be more commonplace in the workplace in recent years; however, managing flexibility remains a challenge, as evidenced by the 2013 decisions by Yahoo and Best Buy to overhaul their flexibility programs.