From Hire to Higher Performance: Navigating the Modern Employee Journey

Victoria Canham • 10 September 2025 • 3 min read

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“Every business out there is interested in earning profits. But sometimes the bottom line is not the best indicator of a company's long-term health. In the wake of the Great Resignation, companies are scrambling to hold on to both employees and profits. It turns out that one answer is the key to both.” - John R Dijulius

Forget the free coffee and flashy office perks. While a slide may have worked for Google, a new study reveals that the true cost of poor employee mental health in the UK is a staggering £51 billion per year. This isn't about making your workplace feel like a theme park; it's about building a robust, resilient business.

In 2025, the conversation has moved far beyond simple engagement. Businesses are finally waking up to a stark reality: what was once seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ is now a business-critical investment. Companies that ignore this do so at their own peril.

The Distinction: Employee Experience vs. Employee Engagement

To clear up any confusion, Employee Engagement and Employee Experience (EX) are not the same.

Employee Engagement refers to how happy and motivated an employee is at work. It's about their feelings, their connection to the company and their willingness to go the extra mile. It’s the "how they feel and act".

The Employee Experience, on the other hand, is about every single interaction an employee has with your organisation, from their very first contact as a potential candidate to their final day as an alumni. It’s the "what they go through".

You can have engaged employees who are still having a poor experience. For example, a team that loves its work but is constantly frustrated by clunky tech, or a leader who is passionate but lacks the training to manage their team effectively. A poor EX will eventually erode even the most engaged team.

The High Stakes: Why Ignoring EX is a £51 Billion Problem

People don’t want a boss. They want a guide.

A guide is not a micromanager. A guide is an enabler. They stand beside their team, not above them. A guide empowers people, removes obstacles, provides context, and coaches them towards success. They understand that their primary role is not to delegate tasks, but to build a team that is resilient, autonomous, and intrinsically motivated.

This shift is a fundamental change in mindset, from being an overseer to being a trusted mentor. A guide’s focus is on the human element, prioritising the employee journey and fostering a strong company culture based on psychological safety and mutual respect.

The Payoff: Tangible Benefits for Your Business

In a perceived employer's market, with unemployment rates rising and vacancies falling in 2025, some leaders might assume they can get away with less investment in their people. This is a profound and costly mistake.

Ignoring the employee experience creates significant risks:

🚩 Financial Fallout: The statistics are a wake-up call. The overall cost of poor mental health to UK employers is estimated to be £51 billion per year. However, there is some good news, every £1 invested in supporting employee mental health and wellbeing, employers can expect to receive about £4.70 back in increased productivity. This is a measurable return on investment.

🚩 The Silent Killers: Loneliness and burnout have become significant business risks. They destroy performance, lead to high turnover, and damage long-term trust. When employees feel isolated or overworked, their ability to innovate and perform at their best is severely compromised.

🚩 Attracting Top Talent in 2025: The best talent will always have options. They're not just looking for a job; they're looking for a personalised experience—including tailored learning paths, flexible work, and meaningful support. Your reputation as an employer matters more than ever, and with review sites and social media, a poor experience can spread like wildfire. And then persist well after they have left, through reviews and word-of-mouth.

From Pre-Recruitment to Alumni: The Full Employee Journey

To truly master the employee experience, you need to think about the entire journey. We map this out in five distinct stages:

1. Pre-Recruitment & Attraction: The very first impression. How does your employer brand messaging make a potential candidate feel? Is it authentic and compelling enough to attract the right people?

2. Recruitment & Onboarding: The initial touchpoints that set the tone for the entire relationship. A smooth, welcoming, and well-structured onboarding process makes employees feel valued from day one.

3. Performance & Development: The core of the experience. Do employees have the right tools, clear goals, and opportunities for growth? A personalised approach to development is crucial.

4. Retention & Offboarding: Keeping your best people and managing their departure with grace. How you handle a leaver's final days impacts their last impression and their willingness to become a brand advocate.

5. Alumni: Your employees don’t stop being part of your ecosystem when they leave. A positive alumni network can lead to future business, referrals, and even re-hires.

How Victoria Canham Consultancy Can Help

It's tempting to implement a new app or a token well-being initiative, but that's just tinkering around the edges. A truly effective employee experience requires a deep, strategic approach, involving a representative group from across the organisation—from HR and the C-suite to line managers and employees themselves.

This is where we come in. At Victoria Canham Consultancy, we are experts in the employee journey. We don't just recommend; we transform. We help you:

✳️ Audit & Map Your EX: We identify the critical touchpoints in your employee journey, uncovering the 'pain points' and 'moments of magic' that shape your employees' feelings and behaviours.

✳️ Understand Human Motivation & Behaviour: We know that a business's greatest asset is its people. Our deep understanding of human psychology, motivation and performance means we can help you build an employee journey that makes people feel truly valued, supported, and engaged.

✳️ Create Lasting Culture Change: We provide expert guidance on leadership, performance, and culture change, ensuring you're not just improving processes but building a foundation for sustainable, long-term success.

The future of work isn't about where you work, but how you work. The businesses that will thrive in 2025 and beyond are the ones that invest in their people and see the employee journey not as a cost, but as their greatest competitive advantage.

Ready to transform your employee experience and unlock your team's full potential? Book a complimentary, no-obligation discovery call with Victoria Canham Consultancy today.

🔻

Hi. I'm Vicki, and I help businesses build high-performing, loyal teams by mastering the employee journey. I partner with leaders to drive tangible change, transforming company culture from a pretty promise on a slide deck into a daily reality. My approach goes beyond outdated HR strategies and gets to the heart of what truly motivates and retains your people.

Here's how I can support you:

Consulting & Coaching

I work directly with business leaders to diagnose and transform their employee experience, from culture to performance management. If you're ready to stop the cycle of burnout and build a team that thrives, not just survives, let's talk.

Click here to book a free 20-minute strategy call. No fluff, no sales pitches, just a direct conversation about your biggest challenges.

Talks & Keynotes

I deliver engaging keynotes that go beyond theory to provide actionable insights on leadership, culture, and performance. My talks are perfect for leadership teams and conferences looking to inspire real change.

Workshops & Training

My bespoke workshops and training sessions are designed to equip your leaders with the practical tools they need to build, manage, and retain exceptional teams. These are highly interactive sessions focused on creating measurable improvements in your business.

👉 Book a Clarity & Culture Call

Follow me on LinkedIn for more insights on building high-performing teams in 2025.

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Victoria Canham - Performance and People Strategic Partner

Victoria Canham is an ICF-accredited Certified Professional Coach and the founder of Victoria Canham Consultancy. We are a specialist performance consultancy partnering with senior leaders and HR teams to elevate culture, leadership, and employee experience. Rooted in behavioural insight and change expertise, we diagnose what's truly holding performance back, co-creating practical, strategic interventions that drive sustainable business results and build workplaces that work—for people and performance.

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