Technology has a massive impact on how we live and how we work in the world today. Since we’re constantly connected through technology. The internet, smartphones, and all the various devices we use each day bring us together and make it simpler to run our businesses from day to day. With that in mind, consider that the employee experience is very much impacted by technology. A company’s technology should not only facilitate its business goals; it should also seek to improve the daily lives of employees and their teams. Here are some ways your company can use technology to improve the employee experience and help your company to thrive.
Table of Contents
Make Your Workplace More Connected
There is no doubt that technology has made the workplace more connected. With email, instant messaging, and video conferencing, everyone can communicate with colleagues around the world in real-time. Doing so allows better collaboration on projects. It also facilitates sharing ideas quickly and easily. Online tools (like wikis, the cloud, and blogs) make it easier to create and share documents and information faster than ever before. The result is a more efficient, productive workplace where everyone can work together effectively. Technology also helps facilitate remote work possibilities, making it easier to collaborate regardless of location. Without strong technology driving the workplace, it would be much more difficult to accomplish some of the amazing things companies are doing these days and also make the employee experience a little bit worse. Technology can really help employees perform well and is an integral part of any office space.
Give Your Employees Flexible Communication Tools
Communication is an important part of any company. In an ideal world, employees would be able to communicate with each other at all times (at least during working hours, anyway). Communication tools are essential for keeping a company running smoothly and generate a good workplace community. Some employees might even prefer to communicate through text messages over an email or phone call. Others might feel the opposite, preferring email or video conferencing. The great thing about technology is how it makes just about any form of communication possible. Using programs like Slack, Yammer, Skype, smartphones, and even proprietary technology to keep communication flexible engages employees, drives better communication efficiency, and ultimately works to enhance their performance at the count.
Inspire Employee Loyalty
As a manager within your organization, you might see your role as more of a supervisory capacity. But that simply isn’t the case. There’s a fundamental difference between a boss and a leader. Bosses merely order people around while leaders actively engage in developing their employees. To be an effective leader and inspire loyalty, you need to listen to your staff. Use real-time employee feedback tools to help employees grow. Feedback from employees is vital. Even so, a large amount of the workforce doesn’t feel comfortable sharing their opinions with managers. Using a well thought out social recognition program can inspire your employees to work together well, recognize each other’s accomplishments, and create a friendly office culture that continues to inspire everyone throughout the organization.
Create a Collaborative Work Environment
Technology is a powerful force for any organization. As such, you could probably use technology to make it easier for teams to work together. Start by using a common platform. For example, you could set up your company on Slack. That would make it so all employees are already connected through their computers and smartphones. If Slack isn’t a tool you like, try another type of messaging program. These programs can double as digital hubs where your team can share files and collaborate. Working on documents in real time is way better for efficiency, too, because employees won’t be worrying if they’re working on the most recent version of something. Virtual brainstorming sessions through video conferencing programs are also ideal uses of Technology at a business. No matter what you do to empower employees with technology, there’s something for everybody. Great technology tools allow companies with multiple locations to connect with each other no matter where they might be located, so you can empower your team to work together well from anywhere in the world.
Use Technology To Engage Employees
It’s important for employers to know what their employees do when they’re not working so they can build better employee engagement initiatives into their overall benefits strategy (which will ultimately make them happier). So it’s vital to find ways to help them engage with technology. This might be as simple as setting up a learning management system so that they can learn how to acquire and perfect new skills or it might be an onboarding system that makes it easier to recruit candidates. Everything from online and cloud collaboration tools to intuitive employee hubs can help employees thrive in any environment.
