Technology and Its Place in Achieving Positive Employee Experience

We all understand the importance of employee engagement, but how tuned in are you as an organisation, to the importance of the employee experience?

Explained as the total sum of interactions an employee has with their employer, the employee experience (EX) and its recognised significance to the success of a company, makes it a high priority for leaders in all businesses.

New York Times bestselling author and internationally recognised business leader Douglas Conant said, “To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.”

Evolved from an interest on employee satisfaction in the 2000s to a focus on employee engagement a decade later, progressive employers are beginning to see that satisfaction and engagement are both just small elements of what their employees really care about — namely, how they feel about the company they work for. With big competition happening between organisations not only for market share but for the acquisition and retention of talent, companies are turning to technology as a central part of EX.

Studies have shown that EX is influenced by three things:  the physical environment in which an employee works, the tools and technologies an employer provides and how an employer demonstrates its commitment to the health and success of employees. There is no doubt that technology and its successful implementation enhance the EX. Facilitating everyday work for the employee, technology has not just increased flexibility for employees, but provided more control and instant access to information, as well rich interaction and productivity gains for all.

What do we mean by technology though?

This is more than just an app for the workplace. Through greater investment into technology, organisations have been able to simultaneously attract and keep hold of talent within the workforce while significantly enhancing the experience each employee has with the company. The various ways in which technology has enabled this include:

• Technology for Connectivity
  Technology within the workplace is providing more convenient working environments for staff. Technology is allowing employees to be in more control of their working life by increasing productivity and efficiency, allowing them to look for additional work and pick and choose hours, giving them flexibility and access to more work, and helping you fulfil your contracts with both the employees and your clients.
• Technology for Collaboration
  Technology has had a positive effect on the way that people work together by allowing management and their teams greater collaboration and communication. Online collaboration tools allow multiple employees to work on the same project or contract from a range of devices, and from almost any geographical location. Technology also allows a more pleasurable, convenient and cost-effective experience ticking all of the boxes for employers and employees alike and increasing efficiency as well as employee engagement.
• Technology for Facilitating the Workload
  Technological offerings provide the ability to make processes more efficient and quicker, and of course much easier, which reduce stress and dissatisfaction for employees. It also provides flexibility and control to the individual, as well as increased insight for management teams, which makes for a much more enjoyable and less exhausting experience for everyone using it.
  Intelligent automation and the removal of paper processes has many obvious advantages, as well as increased information security and personal data protections inherent in the new way of working.

What now?

As technology within and for the workforce continues to evolve, business leaders have to consider the blended nature of the workforce of the future when considering their EX. Rather than just considering their full-time employees, leaders also have to recognize the mix of full-time, part-time front line teams and local management, as well as the consultants, contractors, freelancers and other contingent workers.

Powerful, user-friendly technology is an integral part of a positive EX. Regardless of the obvious benefits of technology as an enabler, some businesses still lack the courage of venturing into technological innovation within the workplace when it comes to their EX.

By providing employee-centric workplace and complimentary technology which is focused on not just meeting but exceeding the needs of your workforce, your organisation proves its dedication to making the lives of its employees easier. Long story short, if employees can see that you are investing in them, they in turn will feel satisfied, fulfilled and more inclined to put their investment into you.