How to Configure Your HR Portal For a Better Employee Experience

Self-Service Information Access

An intuitive self-service HR portal can be very effective during times like these. Self-service portals empower the employee and ensure they always have access to information they need most. This can help to reduce uncertainty, stress and anxiety, as well as reduce the number of enquiries received by HR by answering questions before they have been asked.

Pulse Surveys

In these ways, HR portals can help reduce churn and inspire confidence in employees. Employee satisfaction is often at risk when formative changes are made within a business, this is only compounded by the urgency and lack of preparation time to move to COVID-19 safe working practices.

To keep track of employee sentiment and satisfaction, many companies deploy "pulse surveys". These are one question pop-up surveys, which appear in the HR portal interface asking the user a simple question such as ‘Do you feel you have come back to work at the right time?’, or ‘Do you feel safe at work?’. These surveys offer real-time insight into how staff are feeling and are simple enough not to affect productivity. Over time the results of the survey responses can be charted to note rises, falls, and steps needed to improve certain areas.

HR Portal Homepage and Communications Example

Use the following elements to create your own ‘return to work’ transition homepage for your portal. These elements will help build a tailored home page for your employees to maximize information sharing and encourage open lines of communication. Different employees may have different feelings about returning to work, so personalization within the portal will allow HR departments to create custom messages that address any areas of concern identified in pulse surveys or employee feedback.

Building Your Return to Work Portal Page

• Rotate one key fact or takeaway in the hero section, such as a countdown to the office reopening
• Display a personal video from a member of the senior leadership team
• Include positive weekly bulletins covering employee achievements, online events, and good news employees wish to share
• Display a task list for the individual user
• Include a button where recently updated advice and documents can be located
• Include a celebratory space for birthdays and other employee milestones

Building Your Return to Work Emails

Our "Transitioning Your Workforce to the New Norm" whitepaper contains a number of email examples you can use to communicate with staff, including:

• Announcing return dates and COVID-19 resources
• Outlining safety precautions on returning to work
• What to expect on day one
• Encouraging familiarity with the HR portal and COVID-19 page

Solid plans and personalized HR communications can help maintain and improve employee feeling, helping your business move back to the office safely while keeping your employees informed and confident in their return to work.

Do not hesitate to contact our experts if you’d like to discuss the ways an HR portal could help support your employees or download our whitepaper on transitioning your workforce to the new norm for tips and best practices.