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How Incorporating Modern Technology Can Enhance Employee Engagement 

Any business organisation is only as good as its workforce. Better employee engagement drives innovation and creativity which, in turn, leads to increased productivity. Teams with high employee engagement rates are 21% more productive and have 28% less internal theft than those with low engagement. Higher workplace engagement also leads to other positive outcomes including lower absenteeism (37%), fewer patient safety incidents (41%) and fewer quality defects (41%). Engaged employees can readily embrace your work culture, business values, and goals as well. The bottom-line is employee engagement is a vital part of your workforce management strategy.

Employee engagement comprises recognising how emotionally committed your staff is to the organisation and taking the necessary steps to improve the commitment. Fortunately, modern technology offers several opportunities to improve communication with your employees and boost engagement.

Here is a list of 6 different ways to incorporate technology into your business to improve employee engagement.

Use Performance Monitoring Platforms

Performance monitoring tools not only allow employees to access and manage daily tasks but also check-in with their team members and superiors regularly. Annual appraisals and occasional personal meetings with employees aren’t going to be enough to keep your workforce committed. That’s why, most companies have started using performance management tools to hold regular discussions with their team leads, managers, and department heads.

Regular discussions can make your employees feel like they are a valued member of the team. As every team member can view and assess the contribution of others to a particular project in real-time, reviewing and responding to internal performance evaluations also becomes remarkably easier. The live feed of project updates from everyone in the team also helps showcase your employees the big picture. Thus, employees and managers can restructure their tasks accordingly, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

Include Personal Development Plans in Your Interactive Platforms

Apart from the team and company goals, every employee also has personal development goals. We live in an ever-changing environment that requires every individual to acquire new skills and learn new technologies. So, every individual is going to have a personal development plan (PDP) in place. If your work environment is not encouraging your employees to accomplish their PDPs, they are less likely to work with you for long.

To increase employee engagement, you must make sure to include PDPs into your existing performance management software. It will help senior employees such as team leads and managers to recognise the personal development goals of their subordinates and even motivate them to achieve those goals.

Encourage Employees to Work Virtually

If possible, business organisations must encourage workers to work virtually. According to a latest report, the number of remote employee in America is going up. In 2016, 43% of employed Americans spent at least some time working remotely. The survey also states that those employees who spent 60% to 80% of their time away from the office had the highest rates of engagement.

In another nationwide survey comprising 2060 professionals of 18 years and above, 86% preferred to work alone to hit maximum productivity. Nearly 61% of the respondents believed loud colleagues are a huge distraction, while 40% consider impromptu meetings with co-workers reduced their productivity.

productivity prohibitors

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However, the good news is employers can use technology to encourage collaborative working between remote employees. Using interactive platforms such as Skype, Slack, and Dropbox among others, even small businesses can hire global talent as virtual employees. The virtual workforce also cuts overhead infrastructure costs.

Use Gamification in Employee Training and Education

You can use the technology to add an element of fun and excitement to your business processes, particularly in employee training and education. That’s where gamification comes in. Gamification can make mundane activities such as training or weekly meetings more interesting and boost the number of participating employees.

Gamification usually involves adding a gaming element to the work-related processes such as reaching higher levels, winning rewards, completing missions, earning points or badges, leader boards, and goal-setting. Gamification promotes desired actions resulting in increased engagement.

However, besides, increasing productivity and engagement, gamification can also provide you with a transparent way for performance measurement. It will also help review your employees based on objective criteria rather than the subjective ones. A wide range of enterprise gamification platforms is available on the web. They are mostly sold as software as a service (SaaS) platforms and can be easily integrated into your existing enterprise applications.

Encourage Peer-To-Peer Sharing

One of the best ways to promote engagement in a workplace is to encourage peer-to-peer sharing among employees. You can use a social technology to create a fun platform at your workplace where employees can exchange their personal achievements, goals, and experiences. At the same time, they can also applaud colleagues for their achievements.

For example, employees can share their own healthy lifestyle stories and personal development tips through this platform. Remember, community-driven content can create a far better and compelling communication ecosystem. So, encourage community-driven content as far as possible. Think of this platform as the Facebook or Instagram for your office. Discover technologies that may allow your workforce to communicate openly.

Measure Your Employee Engagement

What’s the point of running an employee engagement programme if you are unable to measure and analyse its outcome? It is, therefore, necessary, to have a proper evaluation process in place before going ahead with such a plan. One of the easiest ways is to encourage direct feedback from your employees about the evolving company culture and management practices.

You can use real-time data tracking software to find out how employees feel about their workload, relationship with the higher management, and peer-to-peer connections. Alternatively, you can also conduct regular pulse surveys (twice a month or monthly) to get the latest information in this regard.

Conclusion

Employee engagement is the most crucial aspect of any business organisation. It not only strengthens your brand but also turns the employees into your brand advocates. With the ever-evolving technology, companies are finding innovative ways to foster employee engagement. Those who fail to tap into these opportunities are more likely to fall behind. These 6 tips will help you learn how incorporating modern technology can enhance employee engagement. Create better employee engagement and establish your brand for years to come.

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