Technology skills do a lot for our businesses today. One thing we often overlook is how it can motivate our employees.
It’s challenging to find creative ways to motivate your employees.
While you could always use the traditional concepts of offering free lunches, unlimited PTO, and company-hosted social events, if you want something that’s a little different, here is where the challenge comes in.
One thing many businesses are trying today is to use tech to keep their employees motivated. Here’s how this could work for your business.
1. Invest in Flexible Workspace Options
Office Corp says the number of work-at-home employees has grown by 103% since 2005.
This is because companies are starting to realize the immense benefits of working from home. As they continue to do so, we’ll probably see these numbers continue to drastically increase.
This will save your business money, and it will add value in the form of more engaged and better-rested employees.
Ultimately, this means they’ll be more productive. Unfortunately, despite these benefits, many managers are still on the fence when it comes to offering flexible workspace options.
If you really want to attract more workers who are satisfied being your employees and you also want to see continued, long-term growth, you need to adopt this strategy.
2. Increase Mobility
Telecommuting numbers are continuing to rise today, but many companies are ambivalent here.
Regardless of what you believe about this issue, you must offer your employees mobile workplace tools so they can remain connected regardless of where they are.
Doing so enables them to be more flexible so they can tap into their full potential. In fact, you could see a 40% boost in productivity by doing so.
Of course, mobile apps and devices aren’t the only way to keep your workforce informed and connected.
You can also use things like employee portals and team sites so that information is continually flowing here. Web business meeting capabilities also help everyone connect despite their physical location.
By doing so, you’ll also broaden your customer base.
3. Offer Opportunities for Learning and Growth
Making your employees feel like they’re a valued asset for your business will help them become powerful advocates for it too.
By having both internal and external support for your business, you’re making an investment in every level of your workforce.
When your employees thrive, your bottom line will do so as well.
You can’t simply throw tools at your employees, though. You need to ask them for input and get to know them individually so you know what works for each of them since there’s no “one size fits all” approach that works here.
Showing your employees that you respect them in this regard will help them be successful and committed to your business for the long term.
4. Use the Internet of Things (IoT)
The IoT’s emergence has brought about a new level of automation. Manual processes are now automated, which means your workplace can be much more efficient and productive today.
Many believe we’re just starting to see the impact here and that by 2025 this impact will grow to $4+ trillion.
This is because it’ll impact everything from your operations management to your layout optimization and equipment maintenance.
By investing in smarter buildings and workspace tools, you’ll gain more data and feedback about your customers, employees, and equipment.
With more information in your hands, you’ll be able to have more control over what it costs to run your facility and keep your building’s conditions in good standing.
5. Machine to Machine Communication (M2M)
As workplace solutions evolve, we have more communication abilities among staff members and among equipment too.
With increased transparency and a steady flow of big data analytics, businesses can now start investing in machine-to-machine communication.
This means that your devices can communicate with each other, with the internet, and with business software.
Your management team will have immediate access to feedback about how, where, and by whom your assets are being used.
They’ll also have information regarding system breakdowns and be able to see what tools are benefiting their workforce the most. This helps make your workplace more efficient, and it also creates a more engaged and productive workforce.
6. Increased Sharing and Collaboration
Entrepreneur says cloud-based file-sharing tools (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) are gaining traction with businesses of all sizes today. They can eliminate employees’ basic frustrations by making it easier to find and share documents.
They can also keep track of who’s working on what and encourage collaboration among coworkers. This also makes it easier for your employees to access files remotely on their mobile devices so they can easily conduct business while they’re on the go.
7. Provide and Receive Real-Time Feedback
While employees have a quarterly or annual performance review, you should continually offer them feedback. Unfortunately, this is something that only about 2% of employers do.
However, if you automate this with your HR software, you can easily give and receive real-time feedback.
This will greatly improve engagement and motivation since you’re now consistently guiding your employees in the right direction.
This also gives your employees the ability to offer you suggestions directly, which is another great motivational tool.
8. Facilitate Learning on the Go
Nobody wants to bring work home with them, but sometimes we must do so. This is where the mobile app is beneficial since it provides flexibility when your employees need to access files.
Mobile-optimized technology is important when you must access important company information or documents while on the go. In fact, mobilizing key enterprise applications has been shown to boost productivity by 40%.
9. A Cloud-Based Phone System
In order to have effective communication, you will need to be sure that you have a strong communication system in place, then you need to set guidelines for efficient and effective communication.
Be sure your small business phone system is ready to go and can handle conference calls with ease. No one likes waiting on dropped calls or problems with the telephone system when they all have jobs to do.
Finally, be sure you establish protocols for communication with your employees.
You need to make sure that all of your employees know when they are expected to communicate with their teammates –especially when they are running late on a project or when they will be away from their desks.
The use of communication tools helps your employees ensure productivity.
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