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Technology looks to improve employee experiences for tomorrow
If one word were to define the post-pandemic change for companies, it is P-E-O-P-L-E.
As people shrug off the impact of the pandemic, hoping to forget the scars, companies are doing their part to make the workplace more welcoming. Evidence from pandemics in the past indicate that while the psychological burden may appear immediate, it could linger for years.
The focus is increasingly shifting towards holistic wellness for their employees.
While companies have put their minds to redefining the workplace, the expectations of employees towards work and their workplaces have undergone a significant change. Surveys indicated that the psychological safety for the individual has turned extremely important. With the blurring of lines between physical and digital, channelling the efforts towards achieving the goals of the organisation goals may have turned extremely important.
Tomorrow's workforce could be location agnostic, as companies searching for the best talent are increasingly realising. As organisations prepare for ways to handle this newfound reality, they are looking at technology to solve the problem for them. Facets of communication, culture, growth - things employees see, feel, and interact within the company and determines how they feel about work each day - could be shaped by several technologies.
Multi-gen workforce
While the pandemic has been recent, mental wellbeing has emerged as one of the key challenges for the workplace. One way for organisations looking to keep their employees across various geographies motivated is to have a feedback mechanism so that there is regular two-way communication. Call it a finger of the pulse of the enterprise for regular feedback. For HR managers, it could be the first step with the new mantra.
The new generation of emerging workforce is multi-generational, making it more challenging for the enterprise to adapt to their specific needs. Company policies and practices need to be customised to their needs, more so as talent becomes scarce. Organisations may be able to replicate rewards, policies, and ensure the growth path for the high-performing employees. The common thread that could run through them is employee experience. The role of technology for such a situation could be decisive.
For companies, implementation of any technology that can assist the employees in achieving various goals of engagement, wellbeing or more could be one part of the challenge. The effective use of the technology in taking time out from process-driven work could be a large part of the solution. That could let senior managers spend time with the people to hear and feel the pulse of the organisation.
Technology allows companies to address the challenges of finding out the pulse, customise the needs for different kinds of employees and automate the routine tasks. Imagine, increasingly spending more time with the people who drive the organisation. The top management needs to listen to the younger people and also understand what is not being spoken out.
Technology as a panacea
Multiplying the capabilities of people with technology could be a gamechanger for large and small companies. The hyperconnected world of tomorrow can help create a hyper-personalized experience for employees and managers alike. For the fundamental change to happen with companies, it is important companies to listen to their employees so that the larger goal of co-owning the important outcomes of the organisation can be achieved. Together.
For technology to work as a solution for communication, culture, growth at the organisation it is important that technology solutions have inputs from and ownership across the top management. The change management needed to make technology all inclusive and a part of the lives of everyone could be the first step for the enterprise.
With the blurring of lines between physical and digital, channelling the efforts towards the organisation goals has become very important. The onus is on companies to make the experience of their employees seamless and frictionless so that their natural instincts can gel with that or the organization.
Over two decades ago, the idea of the experience economy took shape with the work from Joseph Pine and James Gilmore on how the economy has moved from commodities to goods to services and now experiences. While it referred to the external world, the employee experiences of tomorrow are certain to impact the customers' experience in the coming days. Technology will be at the heart of all-important change.
Source: Economic Times