The importance of technology in employee management

Sridhar Iyengar at Zoho Europe explains how technology can facilitate employee management and improve the daily work life of employees

 

We live within uncertain economic conditions and with the cost-of-living crisis prevailing, workplace pressures remain high for both employers and employees, as businesses scramble to keep finances in order, rethink budgets and scrutinise operations.

 

The government has announced plans to make flexible working the default, giving employees increased say over their working environment. As the great resignation highlights that staff are not afraid to jump ship, organisations must prioritise the interests of their workers.

 

Employee productivity is more important than ever and a focus on employee experience will contribute to the success of a business.

 

Technology has developed increasingly over the years, offering improvements in various business aspects such as communication channels and data analysis. This should now be adopted by organisations to ease the process of employee management and to improve the daily work life for employees, helping to create a happy and retained workforce.

 

Hybrid communication

Recently, the UK government announced that staff will have the right to request flexible working, after one day in a new job. This policy should further encourage flexible working initiatives to be expanded by employers, but companies must have the correct IT infrastructure in place to ensure these schemes work for both the employer and employee.

 

Companies should look to improve their digital adroitness, reviewing and improving flexible working models and investing in better technology to support communication and online collaboration.

 

Key to this is having cloud communication, collaboration and productivity tools which also work well remotely, to ensure these programmes are effective. 

 

Remote working is about so much more than handing out laptops and allowing team members to spend more time outside the office. That’s why forward-thinking business leaders should carefully consider how technology can play a crucial role in empowering company culture, promoting engagement at all levels of the business.

 

Tech’s role in progression

Increasingly companies are seeking new ways to engage workers, and tech tools that enable activities such as virtual collaboration are continuing to shake things up, creating a new breed of digital worker.

 

Organisations are now adopting technology to help them understand what their employees want, giving them an improved experience within the workplace. This includes onboarding systems allow businesses to automate paperwork and help new hires get a better understanding of the company and role. In addition, people analytics can give business increased visibility into their HR processes to identify and manage employee issues.

 

The cloud is fast becoming a core component in business models which allows for improved flexible working conditions, enabling staff to access documents from their team and use collaboration tools at any time, regardless of their location, creating a seamless employee experience.

 

A consolidated set of cloud communication, collaboration and productivity tools which offers a seamless employee experience, no matter where employees are working, can help prepare an organisation for the future. This helps to build a happy and retained workforce and facilitates flexible working models.

 

Learning management systems

Employee demands are changing, and individuals now prioritise the opportunity to learn and progress. Research shows that 74 per cent of Millennials and Gen Z workers plan to quit their job due to a lack of skill-building opportunity.

 

Workforces are increasingly diverse: no learning needs are the same, so a flexible approach is required.

 

Cloud-based learning management systems can streamline training across an organisation enabling e-learning experiences that are faster and more enhanced, providing the opportunity of self-paced learning, as well as catering for a combination of learning styles. Organisations can cater to their employees’ needs, providing them with an enhanced and personalised learning experience.

 

Company culture

A healthy work culture is continuously being cited as a key factor for staff retention, with research showing that 45 per cent of employees and business leaders ranked a “great” culture as the number one factor when looking at organisations to work for.

 

In a work-from-anywhere world where teams are more fragmented than ever, employee well-being must take centre-stage. Technology can help to deliver a well-established company culture.

 

Having a culture that prioritises wellbeing and trust and can be delivered across both physical and virtual working environments, is critical. However, organisations must have the right tech platforms in place to ensure staff get access to the support they need, in whatever setting they are working, while ensuring the company culture continues to be embraced.

 

Leadership is a key driver of a universal company culture and businesses must understand the role it plays in cementing a shared set of values and goals. Culture must come from the top, but encouraged throughout, by managers at all levels.

 

Decentralised business models, with leaders seeking to empower staff from the bottom up, can also ensure employees feel valued. The war for talent in an increasingly competitive landscape will continue, and companies need to go the extra mile to attract, recruit and retain talent. 

 

The future of employee management

We live in an ever-changing, unpredictable working world that has evolved over the past few years in unexpected ways. Organisations have had to adapt at pace, and creating an agile, adaptable and happy workforce is vital for business success.

 

Employees are at the core of business operations so ensuring they are well looked after should not be undervalued. By investing now in the correct working models and technologies, a well-defined employee experience can be created, which can translate into a superior customer experience.

 

An engaged, happy workforce that resonates with a company’s culture will be more likely to produce results that drive success and create long term business growth.

 

Organisations must look to the future and leave old, outdated ways of working in the past. Business has evolved and organisations must ride the wave of change should they wish to remain competitive moving forwards.

 

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Sridhar Iyengar is Managing Director for Zoho Europe

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com