There’s a great deal of research to suggest that employees who feel engaged in the workplace are happier and more dynamic. When you invest in a business culture that promotes loyalty and enthusiasm among the ranks, it can lead to better performance at the organizational level.
Productivity, profitability, and customer opinion are three of the main factors determining the health and growth potential of your business. And according to Gallup, companies with the highest levels of employee engagement are 21% more productive, 22% more profitable, and perform 10% better on customer ratings than those with the lowest engagement.
A highly engaged workforce translates into fewer sick days and safety incidents, and reduces the rate of staff turnover. All of which helps to cut business expenses. But despite the benefits, the truth is that much of figuring out how to put employee engagement measures into effect remains a work in progress.
What Does an Engaged Employee Look Like?
Gallup has been tracking employee engagement in the US since 2000 and claims that no more than a third of the country’s workforce typically feels engaged by the positions they hold. But the firm also offers some valuable insight into how those employees who do feel involved in and optimistic about their jobs tend to view their workplace environments.
These team members report that:
- they have the chance to do what they do best every day,
- they’ve had opportunities at work to learn and grow in the past year, and
- they’re given the materials and equipment they need to accomplish their work effectively
A key part of presenting your employees with the resources they need to succeed should include providing a workplace empowered by modern technology. Why? Because the more control a team member has over the outcome of their own efforts, the higher their level of work satisfaction is likely to be.
Flexible technologies that promote employee connectivity - like cloud-based platforms and company apps, for example – keep staff involved and on top of their workflows. And when your employees have access to tools that streamline internal procedures, it gives them:
- the capacity and permissions they need to achieve daily objectives on time,
- a framework for effective communication with clients, coworkers, and management alike,
- the ability to retrieve, manage, and share information, and to make corresponding decisions more efficiently, and
- the option to work from anywhere
When you make it easier for staff to meet their responsibilities, the reward is often increased focus, improved morale, and a more positive mindset overall.
The Modern Job-Seeker
Having grown up with all the advantages of modern technology, millennials in particular expect to make use of those benefits in the workplace. Nothing does more to drive away up-and-coming young talent than a business that’s mired down in outdated systems. Millennials are not just tech-dependent in their personal lives, they rely on it for impacting their professional environments.
Some recruitment studies indicate that almost a third of today’s job-seekers are looking for a collaborative culture inside a contemporary environment. And more than half of those want access to emerging technologies.
If you want to grow your business, it’s important to embrace change – and to move in new directions when necessary. Investing in a digital workplace is one of the best ways to keep your company agile. But be prepared: creating or switching to an ecosystem that’s technology-enabled will not only transform the way people work, it may boost the value of your business!
Every Business Can Benefit from a Little Digitization
Today’s workplace, bolstered by advanced operational technologies, is paving the way toward business models that emphasize inclusion, recognition, and development opportunities: exactly what many employees claim is missing from their work lives.
Less micro-management (what have we said about learning to delegate?) and greater freedom to work remotely are also high on many employees’ wish lists. Hardly surprising, since personnel who work away from the office at least part of the time are generally found to be happier!
Whether you want to use technology to get closer to your team - or closer to your business objectives - it can be as simple as adopting a paperless platform. Digitizing company processes works especially well for basic initiatives like:
- improving job satisfaction (consider using software to help select recruitment candidates, or to let established employees give constructive company feedback),
- increasing sales (take advantage of online transactions and leverage your website’s interactive abilities with videos or special offer links),
- boosting your client base (reach out to more new and existing clients through social media portals), and
- improving internal communications (team messaging services like Slack may be ideal for some companies)
Incorporating mobile tools like tablets and smartphones into the workplace is something every business can do to improve staff productivity. Especially since one of the things your employees want most is a professional infrastructure that encourages 21st century success.
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