The workplace of today is vastly different from the one that existed twenty years ago or even before, so finding the best creative strategy to motivate your employees is not an easy task. You might use the older strategies like doing a social event hosted by the company, as well as a free lunch and an unlimited PTO (paid time off or personal time off), although you can now use more technology in the workplace – especially if you want a less conventional approach.
While it is true that technology can be a distraction, you can use it for good. Engaging with them is a great thing – in fact, a Gallup study done in 2015 showed that only 30 percent of people had a connection to their jobs, 20 percent of employees are ‘actively disengaged’, while more than 50 percent generally lack a connection to their work. The less engagement you have, the less motivation you have, which means that there are organizational issues as well.
What does employee engagement mean?
Engagement for employees is measuring the extent of how involved your employees are in the workplace on an emotional level. The more engaged your employees are, the more they want the organization to succeed, not just wanting the next paychecks to come in every month. They will also want to have a direct say in how the business operates, as well as feeling that they are working towards a common goal.
Technology will then come in through the increase of productivity. While it is valid to have concerns that technological gadgets will eat up the time of your employees, you also need to understand that they will eventually set the pace of using these gadgets – it is not the gadgets controlling them.
If you are searching for interesting ways to motivate your employees in the workplace, read on.
Enhance collaborations and share opportunities
The more storage and sharing services are increasing, the more prominence they are gaining within the workplace, including Dropbox and Google Drive. They can actually help your employees get things done through the elimination of the basic problems regarding work, such as wasting too much time trying to locate files in disorganized shared drives. The increase of virtual workforces will also reduce overhead costs such as paying for electricity, and it also shows them your trust because you know they will still work even if on a remote basis.
Thanks to making it easy to share different documents with your team members. In addition, these services also make it easy to encourage collaborations between different coworkers, similar to how BestVPN.com helps a number of people within a specific area to access the internet. Communication tools through technology is also a beneficiary, because you can access them at any time you want, regardless of where they are.
The problem with traditional file servers is that you cannot access files remotely on your mobile device, which these cloud storage methods have solved. This also makes the process of doing business easier than before. Some of the tools include file sharing tools, project management tools (help you delegate tasks), Wikis (help employees to find basic information on their own), and shared columns and whiteboards.
They allow you to make a better view of individual performances
It is good to have a performance management system that involves a complete monitoring of individual performances of everyone in the organization, although few of us have it. When you use talent management software, it allows you to have a complete view of every employee you have.
This is because its main purpose is to help the employer get a better and broader outlook on the people under them, since firsthand observation might not give them all the information they need.
This information can help them do much more for their employees, because it facilitates continuous feedback, while helping you to spot the weaknesses and strengths of the employees – therefore creating a better operation framework. It will also make the process of performance reviews better and smoother for all the parties involved.
Allowing the receiving and provision of feedback in real time
The usual frequency of getting performance reviews is on a quarterly or annual basis – however, feedback should be continuous. The bad news is employers are not facilitating the provision of feedback. In fact, a poll that was done by the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) revealed that only two percent of employers give their employees feedback.
Instead of waiting for the review season to submit criticism and praise to your employees, consider making the process automatic through the use of HR software to facilitate easier feedback. This will go on to improve engagement levels and motivation through the consistent guiding of employees in the correct direction of your vision. It will also allow the employees to give management their suggestions on improving the company, and make them feel like their contributions are valued.
Increasing gamification
Among the major issues with the training process is encouraging sufficient motivation levels so that the students will want to invest their effort and time to learn. For instance, investing in eLearning courses can help in motivating them.
For this to work, you need to assess the existing HR strategy you have and then consider if the plan you have will fit into the entire strategy.
Improve learning on the go
There is really no one out there who wants to bring the office to their home, but there are specific work-related items that you cannot avoid taking outside the workplace. This is where a mobile app steps in, as they provide the employees a chance to access the flexibility they require, especially when it comes to accessing files.
It is important to use mobile friendly technology for workplace activities and events, especially when accessing important information when you are not physically at work. For instance, a study done by Mobile Helix in 2013 revealed that organizations can make an estimated 40 percent boost in their productivity levels if they can apply important enterprise applications.
Final thoughts
Motivating your employees through the use of technology might not be an easy task at first, especially if they are already disengaged from the entire process. However, the use of these methods will hopefully ensure they are more invested in the organization and want to see it succeed, and that will mean high growth rates.