Moments That Matter: you surely heard this phrase. But, where does it come from and what does it actually represent?

As a matter of fact, the HR industry has borrowed the term from the customer experience field. In HR, Moments That Matter are a useful concept that lets professionals get a more comprehensive overview of the employee experience their company offers.

Moreover, the Moments That Matter approach ensures that employers never miss to recognize important milestones and transitions in their employees’ professional lives.

➡️ Read on to find out what are the Moments That Matter, why they are so important, and how you can measure their effectiveness in your company. But first, learn what are the secrets to maximize ROI of employee recognition!

What Are Moments That Matter?

Moments That Matter are a concept from the customer experience field. They were used to describe moments that are more likely to have a more significant impact than others on customer’s happiness and satisfaction with the product.

Translated into the HR World, Moments That Matter take into account specific touch points along the employee journey that have the biggest impact on an employee’s experience with the company. Naturally, there are no fixed Moments That Matter. Every company is different, so you should take a dig and figure out what are the moments that affect your employees’ experience the most!

5 Examples Of Moments That Matter

There are numerous Moments That Matter in every employees’ life while in a company. However, they can be organized into several categories:

• Moments of transition – When a change is happening in your employees’ work or private life. For example: joining the company, moving into a new position, exiting the company, becoming a parent, graduating..
• Milestones – The work anniversaries of many kinds, like service anniversaries, 10 projects mark, 100 customers onboarded, 50 new clients, 50th birthday..
• Potential negative moments – The negative moments on the job include receiving negative feedback or getting poor results, or personal hardships such as death in the family or a divorce.

Here are some of the most common Moments That Matter in organizations.

Joining the company

Joining a new company is a big change in your employees’ lives. They get to work with an entirely new team, they get new tasks, and they probably have to process a lot of new information in short periods of time.

Why is onboarding one of the most important Moments That Matter? Research shows that although great employee onboarding can improve employee retention by 82%, 88% of organizations do not actually onboard well.

Being promoted into a new role

Job promotion is one of the crucial employee development moments. Every employee should have an outlined set of instructions on how to advance to a higher role – if that is what s/he wants. This is why HR Professionals should ideally design and implement employee development plans.

Moreover, job promotion is also a type of employee recognition. It can be viewed as an incentive for employees to keep doing great work.

No matter what way you perceive job promotion, one thing is sure: employees want more of it! Professional development is extremely important to Millenials and Gen Z in the workplace. It is sad to see that 74% of employees do not believe they are reaching their full potential in their current roles!

Service anniversaries

Service anniversaries are the true representation of Moments That Matter. These are the moments you should recognize your employees for sticking with you and for dedication to their jobs.

However, traditional work anniversaries only include annual celebrations. Since younger generations rarely plan to stay on a job longer than 2 years, you should try to appreciate their effort before they start thinking about other employers. 

➡️ How about a 100 day service letter, or 1 year service award? Get this guide for employee service awards to see how to make the Moments That Matter meaningful.

Private moments

In the end – we are all humans. There is an increased call for empathy in the workplace, and leaders must acknowledge the fact that events from employees’ personal lives impact their professional lives, too.

Whether it is a positive moment – like becoming a parent, or a negative event – like the death of a family member, employers must recognize these Moments That Matter as crucial to employees.

Exiting the company

Every employees’ journey with the company comes to an end – no matter how hard it can be. If an employee is moving on to the next organization, try to find out why. What could have you done better? Is there any way s/he would consider coming back?

Although it feels like it, this Moment That Matters does not have to be terminal. Look at it as a learning opportunity and try to prevent further turnover.

Why Are Moments That Matter Important?

So why do exactly Moments That Matter – matter? First of all, they are important to your employees. How the company approaches them in those crucial moments will shape their opinion and feelings towards the employer.

From the organization’s point of view, there are many benefits of acknowledging and celebrating Moments That Matter. Here are the biggest advantages they bring.

Employee turnover

As every HR Professional probably knows, employee turnover is costly. When they leave, employees take their experience and knowledge with them.

So, what can you do to decrease employee turnover? For one, you can start recognizing your employees. Namely, 32% of employees leave their jobs because they are unsatisfied with the recognition for their contributions.

Customer satisfaction

You might be thinking that the connection between Moments That Matter and customer satisfaction is not very strong. On the contrary! Your customers’ happiness depends on your employees’ one.

➡️ Find out why employee recognition is the key to customer satisfaction.

Increased productivity

Multiple studies have shown that employees’ productivity increases when they are recognized for their work and receive regular feedback. For example, 69% of employees would work harder if they felt their effort was better appreciated.

Moments That Matter do not always have to be big events like employee anniversaries. One of those moments can be an informal feedback or regular token of appreciation.

Happier employees

Being mindful of Moments That Matter can also increase employee happiness. With a well-rounded employee experience, employees are more likely to feel like they are making a meaningful contribution to their organizations, and they are more likely to develop better relationships with their coworkers.

Improved employer branding

Are you aware that one of the biggest issues organizations are facing these days is recruitment? Namely, 83% of HR Pros say they are facing recruiting difficulties, and 75% of those say that there is a shortage of skills in candidates for job openings.

Insisting on Moments That Matter concept is useful because it helps you improve your employees’ experience. When employee experience is satisfactory, your own employees become your organization’s ambassadors. They encourage their friends or acquaintances to come work for you, thus saving you valuable recruitment resources and increasing chances of cultural fitness.

Enhanced company culture

Moments That Matter can comprise a big part of your company culture. Showing gratitude, offering support, and celebrating achievements can be done on a company-wide public level – thus inspiring the same behavior in others. 

Moreover, Moments That Matter can help you build communities instead of workplaces and allow your workplace culture to truly thrive.

How To Recognize Moments That Matter?

Research shows that organizations help celebrate employee life events mostly by giving gifts or gift cards.

However, Moments That Matter are diverse, and giving them a personal touch can be a winning strategy. Browse these to get inspired:

➡️ Employee Appreciation Emails to Thank Your Coworkers

➡️ 20+ Rewards that Employees Really Want

➡️ Recognition Ideas Your Employees Will Love

What Moments Matter In Your Organization?

As mentioned before, every company is different. Therefore, every organization should identify Moments That Matter for its own employees, and decide how they will be marked. So, how can you start?

Besides intuitively focusing on a strong onboarding process and work anniversaries, dig deeper. Conduct an employee survey and find out where you are missing out. What moments matter to your employees? Moreover, how did they feel in specific moments – like during onboarding, when completing their 10th project, when they received negative feedback – and how can your organization support them during these?

To truly never miss to recognize Moments That Matter, try out JobPts. Our employee recognition solution allows you to easily engage and appreciate your employees, all while creating lasting memories.