How to use technology to engage millennials

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

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!