Firstly,
let’s welcome the Millennials, the youngest and upcoming generation, to the
workforce. Millennials can be recognised by their tech-savvy, multi-tasking
abilities. Millennials communicate via instant messaging and are not bound by
geographical location, nor time restraints. They value instant and frequent
feedback, team collaboration as well as expect the workplace to function in the
most efficient way possible. And most importantly, Millennials are expected to
represent nearly 75% of the workforce by the year 2030…
So…
it’s important that an organisation knows how to facilitate this generation as
well as have a clear understanding of the tools that will work in the
facilitation process.
Getting
to know your workforce enables you to better choose the tools that will
encourage employee engagement. As discussed in last week’s blog, we know how important employee engagement is for
productivity. We all desire great stats and an improvement in performance. We often
set off on missions to measure levels of engagement, with the best intentions
of encouraging an engaged workforce. We send out surveys promising that ‘we
value your opinion’ and then… we don’t know always what to do about the
outcomes.
Technology
is continuously responding to these demands with solutions that assist
organisations in creating an environment where the personal goals of employees
and organisational objectives are balanced. Choosing the right technology tools
can go a long way towards taking employees from being ‘not engaged’ to ‘engaged’;
the advocates, the believers, the self-managed employees.
The
tools? What you’re looking for is cloud-based apps, with a mobile component, and
preferably as much automation as possible. If there is an element of
gamification too, then you’ve found a winner! Tools such as Slack and Yammer
enable real time communication that’s deeper and richer than traditional
e-mail, and for our Millennials it also keeps communication efficient and fun.
What
about instant recognition? How does one say thanks when you’re not in the same
room? A quick message perhaps? But is that enough? No one else heard it. The
power of peer recognition is invaluable, particularly in an environment where
social interactions and team relationships are embraced. Performance and
recognition applications such as ours, Workpoints, offer
real time feedback to employees. We also offer recognition that is free of
hierarchical structure and ensure alignment between objectives, without the
months of delay between reviews.
All
of the above tools offer great user experiences and are available on a rental
basis lowering the cost. So gone are the days of having to buy software!
Ultimately,
organisations need to embrace these technological advances instead of fighting
them, lest they become like the taxi industry in the face of Uber. Using these
innovative tools, organisations will not only improve their bottom line but
also ensure that the needs of their modern workforce are catered for, resulting
in a workforce that is engaged and productive, including their Millennial
talent.
Authors
Authors
Amanda
Mohr (BCom Industrial Psychology, Honours)
Amanda is part of our Behavioural Specialist team here at Workpoints. She is our client advice giver, our multitasker and our personal shopper.
Jillian Dabbs (MCom Industrial Psychology)
Jillian is a part of our Behavioural Specialist team here at Workpoints. She is our content developer, our avid blogger as well as our party planner.
Workpoints is a fully featured reward, recognition and incentives platform that provides you with the tools to create a high performance organisation. Our easy-to-use application integrates simply into any organisation and instantly encourages staff to do the daily grind with excellence and energy. Visit www.workpoints.co.za for more info and a free trial!
Workpoints is a fully featured reward, recognition and incentives platform that provides you with the tools to create a high performance organisation. Our easy-to-use application integrates simply into any organisation and instantly encourages staff to do the daily grind with excellence and energy. Visit www.workpoints.co.za for more info and a free trial!
No comments:
Post a comment