As companies grow, they often accumulate a wide range of total rewards and employee programs, many of which go underutilized, do not provide a motivational purpose, or become misaligned with the evolving needs of the workforce. The result? This can leave employees unaware of what’s available or feeling disconnected from the programs intended to motivate and support them.
In addressing this problem, there is an unconventional approach that can make a difference. It takes inspiration from consumer marketing to truly understand employee needs and design programs that resonate on a deeper level, driving engagement and improving employee outcomes: by leveraging personas.
What are Personas and Why Do They Matter?
Personas are more than just employee profiles; they are representations of different segments within your workforce, built from a deep understanding of your employees’ life stages, and bringing their motivations, struggles, and worries to life. Unlike simple demographic data, personas offer a more nuanced view by combining multiple perspectives, making them a more accurate reflection of real-life experiences.
Example Persona:
“Meet Alex, an IT professional, remote worker. Alex is balancing career progression with caregiving for an aging parent, often finding it difficult to take advantage of company programs due to lack of access and time constraints. Alex is keen to start a family but worries about the financial aspect of it and that he may not be able to meet his financial obligations.”
Instead of simply assessing how current programs are perceived, at Nua Group, when working with personas, we delve into the real-life concerns employees such as “Alex” face. This insight provides a far more meaningful understanding than hypothetical personas based purely on demographic data.
By developing these personas, we focus on the unique needs of different employee groups—especially those whose voices are often overlooked in traditional feedback mechanisms. Personas help bridge the gap between statistics and real life, ensuring that even smaller employee populations are considered and that the human aspects of their lives are brought into program design.
How Do You Create Personas?
Personas are the human face of your workforce demographic statistics. Therefore, it is important, as a starting point, to do some analysis of your demographics. This can be done using sophisticated statistical modeling techniques such as cluster analysis (statistical grouping of a set of similar objects in the same group) or by simpler analysis looking at basic cohorts like age, gender, and compensation along with broad population data on areas like race, financial condition, etc.
It is also important to consider any biases you want to emphasize in the analysis. For example, there may be a particular function, location, or level within the company that you want to place a greater emphasis on and this should be reflected in the personas.
Once the statistical analysis is complete, the next step is to humanize those personas. Consider “asking” each persona a set of common questions about their aspirations, daily challenges, and personal circumstances. This requires judgment and engaging with people’s emotional needs.
The Benefits of Using Personas
Using personas offers several advantages over purely statistical approaches. One of the most significant advantages is the ability to humanize the data—understanding the real stories behind the numbers. This ensures that smaller, often underrepresented groups are not forgotten. More importantly, personas allow us to bring employees’ experiences to life, helping us design programs that aren’t just about benefits but about meeting real human needs.
For example, instead of relying on a survey that asks whether employees like their benefits, personas allow us to understand why employees might not be utilizing a certain program or what life challenges might make them need more support in a specific area.
How AI Enhances the Process
As technology evolves, AI has become a powerful tool that helps refine the understanding of personas. Once personas that reflect the diversity of employee populations are developed, AI can simulate Q&A sessions, allowing us to test hypotheses or explore potential gaps without the need for extensive resources. This can be particularly valuable when time or budgets are limited.
However, it’s important to note that AI should be used as a supplement, not a replacement for the human process. While it offers efficiency, the richness of real-life employee feedback remains crucial for understanding the nuances that AI might miss.
Implementing Persona-Informed Changes
Once personas have been developed and validated through real employee feedback, the next step is to review the available programs and then focus on bridging the gaps between the needs identified by the personas and the resources currently offered by the organization. This doesn’t necessarily mean overhauling your entire total reward strategy. As personas are particularly useful in understanding how to engage with employees on their needs, often the programs can be improved with better communication and by refocusing attention on the programs that matter most to employees based on the personas’ insights.
By identifying gaps and addressing unmet needs similar to how the best consumer marketers make us feel about the products’ impact on our lives, organizations can make their employee offerings more relevant and impactful.
In summary, leveraging personas enables companies to move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, allowing for a more meaningful and effective approach to employee engagement. As organizations look for ways to better serve their diverse workforces, personas offer a way to unlock the true potential of your total rewards programs by focusing on what matters most and motivates the people who matter most—your employees.
Are your total rewards and employee programs truly meeting the needs of your diverse workforce? Reach out to explore how personas can help tailor your offerings and drive better engagement across your organization.
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