What do Govloop Readers Value in EX?

We reached out to GovLoop readers for their thoughts about employee experience. Here’s a summary of the survey results.

People most valued having a flexible schedule, with 77% of respondents ranking it “very important.” Just behind that, at 70%, was having access to professional development and career planning.

Working in an inclusive environment was the next priority, at 61%, and then having access to the latest technology and tools came in fourth, with 51% of respondents ranking it “very important.”

There were two “loser” categories: Only 37% of respondents prioritized the opportunity to offer feedback via employer surveys, and just 31% placed a high value on being recognized by their employers.

EX Challenges

We asked readers to rank the biggest obstacles to a good work experience. Hands down, they selected: unclear expectations, poor communications with supervisors and lack of adequate training.

Many respondents offered their own major concerns: standardized organizational practices, unskillful management, “forever changing dialogue for processes,” lack of appreciation, lack of accountability, lack of support and recognition from supervisors, “too much work for the hours allotted,” lack of trust, and technology reluctance.

Onboarding and Daily Work

We also asked respondents about their hiring, onboarding, daily work and professional development or career-planning experiences. People were most positive about their daily work, with more than 75% characterizing it as “good” or “very good.”

Onboarding experiences were least popular, with 36% of respondents calling them “fair” and 19% saying they were “poor.”

Professional development got a slightly better score, but nearly 40% of respondents still called it only “fair” or “poor.”

In Their Words

Readers responded to our open-ended questions:

“Every human needs to be treated with dignity and to be provided with a certain level of autonomy as well as privacy …The workplace needs to be a comfortable place for everyone to do their best.”

“Employees want to be trusted, respected, and left alone to do their work. People in general want to do a good job and be proud of their work.”

“Strong, supportive, decisive and inspiring leadership is important to a positive employee experience. Without that, the wheels fall off of the wagon and employees feel uninspired.”

“Some days it seems that nothing matters to anyone … We need management to care and to show organizational accountability at all levels.”

“We have a lack of consistency across all departments, especially across leadership and middle management. Some supervisors are great with flexibility, cross-training and communication, and some are not good … Some supervisors are not convinced that culture matters.”

“Too often, there seems to be more importance put on following procedures/ processes than either the people or efficiency and effectiveness.”

This article appeared in our guide, “Tools and Tactics for Employee Engagement.” For more insights on bringing out the best in your employees, download the guide:

Illustrations by Calista Lam