How to Improve Employee Engagement with Technology

Employee engagement is not doing well. According to AON research from 2017, global employee engagement is decreasing. One of the drivers of lack of engagement is the rapidly changing technology. However, technology can and should be used to improve employee engagement, rather than hinder it.

Ensuring proper employee engagement is crucial. If employees feel connected with the work they do, they are likely to be more satisfied and more productive. For the organization, this is important in terms of retaining and attracting talent, as well as improving the bottom line.

Technology to help with employee engagement

Technology can certainly play a negative role in employee engagement but this isn’t actually due to technology but the way it is implemented. Employee management software and gadgets can actually boost engagement and productivity.

Here is how technology should be used to improve employee engagement.

The gamification of the workplace

Motivation can be a fickle thing but it’s, of course, crucial in terms of getting things done. The good news is that you can gamify the workplace with technology and drive up motivation and productivity.

One of the best areas to use gamification can be in terms of training. The HR department can benefit from utilizing learning portals that use gamification in order to train new employees or help existing ones learn new skills. Competing against others can be a good way to encourage deeper learning and therefore, achieve better results in the future.

Peer-to-Peer support structures

Support is an integral part of employee motivation. But creating the right support structures can be difficult, especially in larger corporations. Technology can, however, help and peer-to-peer (P2P) structures are great for offering employees more resources to feel appreciated and supported.

The tool allows employees to create their own unique networks and communicate with each other without the need to involve the management. The reason this is great is that not everyone in the modern workplace appreciates the top-down approach. The manager might not be the first person a millennial employee would go for help – with technology, this is possible.

But the P2P network still allows employees to give and receive feedback. This is important because employee motivation and productivity need both supporting and challenging. With the P2P networks, employees are able to communicate with each other and offer supportive, but constructive feedback.

Enhanced transparency

Technology is also important in terms of creating a more transparent workplace. Employee management software makes data handling a lot more collaborative. Where in the past the HR department had the only access to employee data, such as healthcare and payroll information, the modern technology has provided a much wider access.

With cloud-based software, the data can be accessed and management from a variety of place and devices. This means employee data isn’t just in the hands of the HR department, but the agency is also on the employee. It makes many of the HR decisions and process more transparent, creating a more level playing field and therefore, improving employee satisfaction and trust.

Flexible working

Of course, technology is also the best way to increase flexible working. This is important because flexibility is one of the key things the modern employees are looking for. They don’t want to engage with the work just in the physical space, whether it’s the office or a factory. They want to be able to communicate, work and collaborate in different ways.

As mentioned, employee management software, such as cloud-based systems, can help achieve this. There are numerous examples now how work can be done just as efficiently from the comfort of a person’s home. Work doesn’t have to be nine-to-five or confined into a physical space. For employers, it’s important to use technology to allow flexibility and use it to change employee engagement for good.

Implementing technology in the right way

The key to improving employee engagement is not to blindly follow the technology. It’s important to understand the strategies that can be used for the benefits, such as those mentioned above. Furthermore, organisations must understand their technology needs and capabilities when adopting a new software or device. Just because another company is using a system, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for your organisation.

Technology has a big role to play in improving employee engagement and turning the global trends to a more positive result. But organisations must be willing to understand and analyse the benefits before adopting a new technology. Only this will guarantee success.

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