Building a Top Workplace: Stacy Sherman, MBA. CSP® on Employee Experience

In a recent LinkedIn post, Stacy Sherman, MBA. CSP® discusses the factors that contribute to a company being recognized on LinkedIn’s Top Companies list, emphasizing the critical link between employee experience and overall business success. Sherman, who has over 25 years of leadership experience, argues that true employee engagement stems from more than just compensation, highlighting the importance of growth opportunities, quality feedback, and supportive career paths.

Sherman draws a parallel between cultivating a positive employee environment and the strategies used for customer experience (CX). She points out that companies that make these prestigious lists prioritize their people from the inside out.

“Having led teams for 25+ years, I know employees care about growth opportunities, receiving quality feedback, supportive career paths that actually happen. People also care about relationships that build over time and have a compounding effect on their lives, professionally and personally.”

The Foundation of Employee Retention

Sherman, reflecting on her own career start at AT&T – a company that ranked in the top 10 on LinkedIn’s list – shared a personal connection to the importance of workplace relationships. She noted that the bonds formed during her early career provided benefits that extended far beyond financial compensation, creating lasting professional and personal connections.

Key Strategies for Improvement

For organizations that may not have made the recent list, Sherman outlines a clear, actionable three-step strategy for leaders to improve their employee experience. She emphasizes that these steps closely mirror successful customer experience practices.

1. Collect the Voice of Your Employee (VOE): Sherman advocates for regularly gathering employee feedback, akin to collecting Voice of Customer (VOC) data. Asking employees how they feel, what’s working, and what hinders their success is crucial, as she states, “You cannot improve an experience you are not measuring.”
2. Act on Feedback and Communicate Changes: A critical point made by Sherman is that collecting feedback without taking action is detrimental. She stresses the importance of closing the loop by informing employees about the changes implemented based on their input. “Asking for feedback and doing nothing with it is worse than not asking at all,” she writes, explaining that this process builds trust and encourages employees to choose to stay with the company.
3. Provide Clear Career Paths and Growth Opportunities: Sherman highlights the significance of offering employees a clear vision for their future within the company. This includes formal career development plans as well as opportunities for employees to explore roles outside their current function, such as shadowing colleagues. This signals that growth is a genuine priority.

Connecting Employee and Customer Experience

A central theme in Sherman’s analysis is the inextricable link between how employees feel about their workplace and how customers perceive the brand. “The throughline: the way your employees feel about working for you is the way your customers experience your brand,” she asserts. This connection underscores that internal culture directly impacts external perception and success.

“These two things are not separate. They are connected at every level.”

Sherman concludes by advising leaders that to achieve recognition like the LinkedIn Top Companies list, they must “build it from the inside out.” Furthermore, she warns against complacency, stating, “And if you want to stay on the list, never stop investing in your people. Never treat culture as something you have already figured out.” She reminds leaders that employee needs and business landscapes are constantly evolving, requiring continuous attention and investment in people and culture.