There are many things in life we have to do that are not fun. Chores, doctors appointments, paying bills, going to work – sometimes we grumble and resist the task. In these moments, we might be cheered to remember this epic pearl of wisdom:
“In everything that must be done, there is an element of fun,” said Mary Poppins. “You find the fun, and SNAP! The job’s a game.”
Okay, maybe we can’t exactly snap our fingers to instantly make our jobs more fun, but there are certainly ways to make work more enjoyable and satisfying overall. Instead of Mary Poppins’ magic, we can use the “magic” of technology.
One of the ways managers can make technology relevant in the workplace is by using it to improve employee enjoyment and engagement. The more employees enjoy their jobs, the higher their engagement. And the more engaged employees you have, the greater your profits and productivity will be.
I’ve pulled some helpful information from various sources about using technology to help boost employee engagement activities. Here are five tips that work.
“Internal social media-like platforms are a great way for businesses to encourage employees to give each other a pat on the back. Instant messaging within these platforms allows employees to say ‘thank you’ to a co-worker instantly, and other features allow co-workers to be nominated for recognition, such as employee of the month, or for going the extra mile. It also helps create a visible culture of recognition within the business, which will boost employee engagement.”
(Source: http://www.hrzone.com/blogs/motivation-matters/using-technology-improve-employee-engagement/144112)
“Cisco's employee engagement strategy has yielded several benefits through the use of collaboration tools. For example, the quarterly company meeting has gone through a total transformation. In the past, Cisco held the company meetings in a physical location, usually a local convention center near the headquarters in San Jose, California. Today the quarterly company meetings are virtual. Through the use of video and collaboration technologies, employees globally can participate in these meetings and interact with senior executives through a live chat (using Cisco Jabber® technology). The entire event is recorded (along with chat transcripts and other documents) and shared with all employees.
This approach has increased employee participation and provided a new venue for rich interaction between employees and senior executives, all of which have boosted overall employee satisfaction.”
Your organization needs to ask if its existing HR operations allow employees to:
If you don’t have all or at least most of these functions, there’s some good news. There’s untapped productivity in your workforce that can be accessed with an HR technology solution.
Involvement drives engagement, so it makes sense that greater visibility motivates employees to get onboard. Technology is the vehicle that can deliver greater self-direction to your staff and greater communication throughout your organization. With the right implementation and leadership buy-in, HR technology can make engagement a ‘way of life’ in your organization.”
“In its early years, Toyota used this approach [thinking through the work environment to help employees improve their performance] to help focus frontline assembly line workers on the challenge of identifying and solving problems . . . as they arose on the assembly line and provided them with a work environment that included the tools and support required to be more effective at creating problem solving.
Something amazing happened. Not only did performance rapidly improve, but workers became passionate about their work. They could see that they were making a difference.
Just as engaged customers become passionate about the products they use, employees that can see their performance improving and the impact they are achieving tend to become passionate about their work. Then a virtuous cycle sets in. The more passionate employees become, the more focused they become on performance improvement and the more impact they have, the greater their passion.”
“Let them phone it in. Telecommuting programs can relieve stress and make workers feel more appreciated, as well as more productive. ‘Reward the employee by starting with one day of telecommuting, then add additional days as performance heightens,’ suggested Brian Margarita, president of IT staffing firm TalentFuse Inc. ‘Having the option to cart the kids to soccer practice, visit the beach during the afternoon or cut out early to avoid traffic congestion is becoming more important than working an 80-hour week for a larger paycheck.’
