Over the years, especially now in this pandemic-strewn world, more and more companies see the need to establish profitability in the long run by increasing employee engagement. However, retaining top talent today isn’t black-and-white. While many believe that better pay and perks can do the trick, it is not always the case.

A highly engaged workforce means that everyone, at all levels of your organization chart, has a sense of purpose and fulfillment in the work they do. Employee engagement simply shows how invested they are, not just in their role, but also in your company. Highly engaged employees produce quality and efficient work which is so crucial for any business to survive. 

There are so many effective ways that your company can adopt to increase employee engagement. But did you know that you can reshape and readily boost employee engagement by utilizing technology? There are a plethora of innovative technologies that have been proven to be beneficial in increasing employee engagement and improving the overall work processes.

The only requisite is that HR managers as well as all other staff know which tools to use and how to effectively implement them. Here are 7 ways HR managers can improve employee engagement using technology. Read on.

1. Employee Education and Training

Not having the appropriate skills, education, and training about their work can lead employees to feel frustrated and disengaged. Education and training are crucial for any business to remain competitive. This applies to your employees too. 

Today, various digital education and training tools can help your employees learn more and develop their careers. Such solutions and tools that revolve around job-specific education, mobile learning, professional and personal development courses can tremendously increase employee engagement.

2. Efficient Ways to Communicate

Internal communication is equally important as external communication is with your customers and clients. Employees want to have quick and efficient ways to connect with their superiors and colleagues to tackle work-related tasks or issues. Difficulty with internal communication can lead to disastrous outcomes or can leave your employees feeling dejected and disengaged. They may eventually feel left out, misinformed, unhelped, and alone.

HR managers then should harness communication and collaborative tools to help their employees complete their projects seamlessly or clarify issues. Technologies such as messaging applications, project management platforms, and other collaboration tools can help simplify and provide efficient ways to communicate with anyone in your team or company. Apps such as Slack, Google Drive, Skype, Dropbox, Trello, Asana, Basecamp, and other tools are only a few of the many amazing tools out there that can help your employees engage, and stay informed.

Integration of collaborative tools and encouraging their use can make work processes efficient and clear to each member of your team. Not only that, but these technologies also help keep workflows organized and up-to-date. It likewise keeps everyone informed, accountable, and reminded about their deliverables and timelines. Sharing files, brainstorming, commenting and other work activities can be easily done simultaneously using these tools.

Arming employees with efficient communication and collaborative tools will help them stay engaged and productive. It also helps lessen frustrations and clarify issues immediately.

3. Career Development

HR managers should also consider career development or career pathing to increase employee engagement. Without a vision or a clear path about what or where they would be in terms of position in the company in the future, it can cause a lack of motivation. Engaged employees know that they have a good future in the company, that they are valued and appreciated, or they gain a sense of accomplishment just by doing their job.

Opening or designing a career path for all your employees at all levels can lead to positive engagement. It boosts their confidence and inspires them to do well. HR managers should consider utilizing career pathing software that can be used by employees to help them design or envision their career trajectory to increase engagement.

4. Performance Management

Aside from career pathing, HR managers will do well to find solutions that also integrate performance management. These software solutions, in recent years, have been able to aid with several components of HR operations that up the level of engagement. A good performance management tool can readily share and monitor performance metrics and identify areas for improvement. 

Performance management software solutions of today can even single-handedly do job accounting monitoring, performance reviews, provide relevant training recommendations, and career pathing functionalities. Managers should take advantage of these extremely useful technologies to improve workplace communication and encourage engagement.

5. Big Data and Analytics

Another technological advancement that managers shouldn’t miss. These software programs and platforms have been designed to benefit HR teams when collecting substantial amounts of data that may be used to measure the performance and progress of a group of employees or larger teams. This can be shared and used in a comparative discussion to see what works and what doesn’t. With accurate data being presented, employees become more trustful that their performance is evaluated fairly.

Big data, analytics, and machine learning technologies help interpret workplace communication patterns and better predict performance to lower attrition. These can all be customized to meet the specific needs of your company.

6. Efficient Workforce Scheduling

Work-life balance isn’t just a trend, it is a necessity. To have effective, productive, and engaged employees there should always be a balance between work and personal life. Encouraging, supporting, and sustaining a balanced work-life for all your employees consistently will keep them committed. And to do this, efficient workforce scheduling is required.

Reliable workforce scheduling technologies and employee time trackers are tools worth considering and provide the biggest impact. Efficient and flexible schedules are one of the best ways you can boost your employees’ performance and engagement.

7. Employee Recognition

Last and definitely not least, if managers want to have highly engaged employees, then it is essential to provide appropriate recognition or reward for employees. Timely employee recognition boosts morale and increases workplace motivation. Now, with the help of new technologies such as performance management, digital education and training, effective communication channels, and other tools, managers can easily identify high-performing employees and give them real-time recognition for a job well done.

Conclusion

To survive and thrive these days, companies need to stay competitive by adopting new technology. Today’s software and HR management tools not only improve existing processes but also encourages your workforce. With the right use of technology at work, you can tremendously increase employee engagement, retain your top talent, and boost your profitability in the long term.