The biggest challenge that companies face amidst the pandemic is keeping their employees engaged while working remotely. Organizations that do not leverage user-friendly tools and technology to collaborate and communicate with their teams seamlessly might see their employees disconnect or disengage and become demotivated. This blog will cover tips on how you can motivate, engage, and boost the overall productivity of your employees.
A survey conducted by Freshworks and Harvard Business Review stated that more than 92% of respondents found employee engagement crucial for business success.
Although the employee engagement levels in Singapore rose from 47% in 2019 to 56% in 2020, it remains slightly lower than the global average of 66% (*Qualtrics).
Productivity and satisfaction play a considerable role in driving employee engagement; however, it is becoming increasingly evident that an employee’s emotional connection to the company and its goal helps achieve greater customer satisfaction and overall business results.
Employers see big benefits from employee engagement
Engaged employees are more productive and better able to meet customer needs.
For your organisation, what are the most valuable benefits of having an engagged workforce?
Source. Harvard Business Review analytic Service Survey. March 2020
Technology has a significant impact on employee experience strategies designed to get work done during the “new normal”. Large organizations like Marriott Hotels have enhanced their recruitment strategy on Facebook to identify talents through a gamified virtual work environment. NexTV frequently keeps in touch with its employees with a weekly video series. With the increase in digital transformation in times like these, how does it affect employee experience across organizations?
Positive Impact on Employee Experience through Technology
Today, a company can be steady and futuristic if its technology is effective. There is a visible increase in productivity when the software that agents use to perform their daily tasks is intuitive and user-friendly.
Freshworks’ research indicated that 82% of the respondents stated that employees feel happier on the job when the technology functions effectively. Further, the report revealed that 77% of employees prefer to look for a change in employment if their current organization does not provide them the right tools and information.
From the results above, it is clear that an organization’s technology and practices vastly impact its overall success. As such, service leaders have a responsibility to implement only the best technologies to better their employees.
Enable close collaboration remotely
Organizations need to deploy technologies that enable close collaboration even while working remotely. Due to the “new normal”, face-to-face communication and collaboration occur over platforms like Zoom, Meet, Cisco Webex, and Teams. Many teams also opt to use instant messaging and task management apps such as Slack and Trello. These tools help provide an experience that improves productivity and transforms the way teams work remotely.
Remote workforces are the latest trend in digital transformation that impacts employee experience. The rapid rise in alternative work models has a tremendous impact on employee experience (*Qualtrics). Intelligent service management tools like Freshservice deliver the smoothest experiences to both remote and on-site employees by enabling them to streamline their service tickets, automate workflows & approvals, and rely on efficient self-help materials.
Support your IT support teams
Ever since the pandemic outbreak, IT teams have been facing the most amount of pressure and workload. They have enabled their organizations to quickly adapt to a remote work-from-home model by stretching their limits to address the increased service tickets.
Business heads like CIOs, in particular, need to reduce the stress and workload that the service agents face by enabling them to be self-sufficient. The best way to ensure this is by automating the ticketing system to be more efficient in prioritizing and categorizing tasks automatically.
Companies can further relieve the burden on employees by opening up more communication channels for end-users through email, self-service portals, mobile apps, phone, and chat services. This process ensures that IT teams no longer have to be available on email 24 hours a day.
So, how can you boost employee engagement within your company?
Top-level management should focus on deploying the right tools to equip their employees, which will, in turn, keep their workforce motivated and highly productive. The current pandemic situation has accelerated the need for out-of-the-box solutions. Bringing in the right tools must be the highest priority because a business that implements the right technology can boost its employees morale, allowing them to thrive in such challenging times.
