Resolve Conflict Among Frontline Workers
No two employees are exactly the same. Each has unique views, goals, and working styles. While that’s generally a good thing and can foster a diverse perspective, these differences may result in arguments that can damage the relationship between team members. If left to fester, these disagreements can escalate, affecting employee performance and even leading to the exodus of valuable workers. Whether minor misunderstandings, perceived harassment, or actual bullying, conflict in the workplace can create a toxic atmosphere that may affect the whole company — not just those involved. It may be human nature to avoid confrontation, but avoidance is not a step toward harmony in the workplace. Instead, the following insights and practical tips can help you resolve conflict with a coworker. 1. Don’t ignore problems If you have a problem with a coworker, act before it has a chance to get out of hand. The longer issues go unaddressed, the worse they tend to get. Remember, the effects of conflict at work are never limited to those directly involved. The sooner a matter is under control, the less widespread damage it can do. 2. Talk it out in a neutral meeting place Arrange a meeting with your coworker. Each of you should be allowed to share their perspective of the situation without interruption. If the conflict is tense, bring in an HR manager or third-party mediator who is impartial and can guide the meeting. This mediator can keep proceedings civil and allow each party to air their grievances fairly. The meeting should not be a loud discussion in full view of other employees or in the parking lot. Meet behind closed doors, or if need be, in a neutral space. Tempers will more than likely be running high, and any additional stresses could push a situation to boiling point. A neutral space can add a sense of calm, and a lack of prying eyes or eavesdroppers will make everyone feel more comfortable. 3. Maintain personal safety Conflict resolution may sometimes require engaging with mentally unstable people or those with a history of acting dangerously. The reality is that circumstances can change quickly. That’s true even for professionals who are well-accustomed to interacting with people in distress. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 21% of registered and student nurses polled reported being physically assaulted in one year. Using a lone worker safety solution is an effective way to keep workers safe if conflicts escalate when they are alone with a volatile person. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity & Culture) Download the Ebook Now 4. Let others fully explain themselves When it comes to conflict resolution between two or more parties, listening plays a huge role. However, we typically overlook it. We usually try to voice our own opinion as much as possible and don’t let the other party explain themselves. You need to let the other person explain their side of the story uninterrupted. It’s possible you'll find that you’ve misinterpreted their argument. After listening to them, you can better understand what they want. 5. Don’t get defensive In any conflict, be it personal or professional, it’s easy to get defensive. If you start bantering by using a series of yes-or-no questions, you won’t see the other person’s perspective. Rather than getting defensive, listen to the other person’s point of view. Try to understand where the other person is coming from. Try to change a “Yes, but,” answer into an “I understand, and,” statements. Moreover, going on the offensive is also bad manners. It builds a negative situation where there will be no final solution. Never put blame on other people. Don’t create a space where people feel unsafe while expressing themselves. 6. Avoid pointing fingers Moreover, going on the offensive is also bad manners. It builds a negative situation where there will be no final solution. Never put the blame on other people. Don’t create a space where people feel unsafe while expressing themselves. 7. Talk in the first person Never talk in the second person and start using “you,” since it will come off as blaming. Conflict Is not about what the other party is doing wrong; it’s about what you think you are doing right. Make use of “I” statements instead of using “you” statements. Unlock a Bonus Strategy for a Better Workplace Environment Enjoying these tips? Get one more! Download Now 8. Remain level-headed No conflict is resolved with anger or tears. You need to remain calm and think rationally so that you can form a solution that will appease both parties. If you need to, vent your emotions before you meet. You may also want to read up on conflict resolution strategies and resolution management beforehand so that you feel more prepared. 9. Be willing to compromise Show a willingness to collaborate or compromise. If the conflict is trivial, you can avoid them and make a compromise with the other party. In case of larger conflicts, you need to sort out things together. A willingness to compromise and collaborate is necessary. 10. Don’t talk bad about others No matter what your differences are, never talk bad about people behind their backs. Never divulge the details of your conflict to other people. It’s not good manners to bad-mouth someone, and doing so won’t help in conflict resolution. Take a lot of time to think about anything you say to people regarding your conflicts and issues. It’s better not to talk about the conflict until you reach an agreement that resolves the conflict. 11. Don’t take things personally A conflict with a team member or a customer is not usually a conflict with you as a person. It’s generally a professional issue and not an attack on you. When you stop making the issue all about you, you’ll be able to see that you are separate from the conflict and can create an effective and objective solution. 12. Focus on events and behavior Another best practice for conflict resolution is to emphasize the associated events and behavior rather than the person. That way, offending parties don’t feel personally attacked during related conversations. For example, maybe several office workers became frustrated about an individual who repeatedly cooks things that splash all over the break-room microwave. That person doesn’t clean the appliance after use, so their colleagues arrive to find a mess. In that example, the best approach is to say something such as, “Riley, several colleagues have mentioned that they repeatedly find the microwave unclean after you use it.” That statement leads with how someone acted instead of the person responsible. 13. Identify multiple potential solutions A solution that favors one party only could lead to resentment and future conflicts between those same people. Work toward potential solutions that are as positive as possible for all involved. Try to come up with more than one solution or ask the parties involved to provide 3 solutions that they feel would be fair. 14. Pay attention to non-verbal cues There are people who don’t like to talk a lot. They don’t handle conflict well and don’t like to express their opinions. In this case, you need to pay attention to their non-verbal cues. A person’s body language can tell a lot about what a person is trying to say. To resolve the conflict, you have to be emotionally aware and see what the gestures, posture, and facial expressions of the other people are saying of the conflict. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up Author Bio: This article was written by Isabelle Foster, a professional writing tutor from PapersOwl.com. She worked in numerous online writing services as well as tabloids, alongside being an editor of a few co-produced books. Now, she offers top-notch tutoring on the subjects of conflict resolution, anger management, and life skills. FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Have another question? We'd love to hear it. Book Your Free Demo What’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict? As unpleasant as it is, conflict between coworkers is normal, and it’s not always unhealthy. In fact, some of the most productive teams are those in which the members feel comfortable and safe enough to express or address differences and disagreements. Organizational psychologist Michael Woodward, PhD, said that healthy conflicts between coworkers can result in greater trust, and that challenges to the status quo can be beneficial for a business. Conversely, unhealthy conflict is characterized by poor judgment — usually, because the conflicting parties made personal attacks and the situation became emotionally charged. When should HR get involved? Some conflicts between coworkers will resolve themselves without HR involvement, because the aggrieved parties come to their senses, apologize, and find a solution. Others might reach a resolution after those involved receive a few wise words from a trusted colleague or a manager.But HR involvement in coworker conflict should happen when: - The conflict has gotten personal - Employees are losing respect for each other - Employee morale is worsening - Productivity and company success are being affected - Employees threaten to resign or walkout $(document).ready(function () { $(".show-hide-faq").click(function () { var el = $(this).parent(); var answer = el.children(".answer"); if ($(this).hasClass("bg-plus")) { $(this).removeClass("bg-plus"); $(this).addClass("bg-minus"); } else { $(this).removeClass("bg-minus"); $(this).addClass("bg-plus"); } answer.toggle(); }); });
Resources to guide you through the Now Platform San Diego release
At LIKE.TG, we ushered in spring with an upgrade to the Now Platform: the San Diego release. A refresher in more ways than one, the San Diego release incorporates new features, products, and applications to power productivity and automation.In a world where innovation happens at the speed of light, LIKE.TG works to empower our customers with the latest technology so that work flows smoothly. Our purpose, after all, is to make the world work better for everyone.We constantly adapt to meet the evolving needs of our customers. That drive is what’s behind the innovations in the San Diego release.Haven’t upgraded yet?Watch our Get ready to upgrade to the Now Platform San Diego release webinar to see why you should. In addition to highlighting the benefits of the new features, LIKE.TG product marketing experts will teach you how to: Avoid customization pitfalls Set up solid governance practices Manage your upgrade with upcoming store releases Take a deeper diveWant an in-depth introduction to what’s new in the latest release? Watch our TechNow - San Diego webinar to find out how we’ve simplified building on the Now Platform. You’ll get exclusive insights into the upgrade, from updates to App Engine Studio to automation improvements.Chuck Tomasi, senior developer advocate at LIKE.TG, and Jeremy Duncan, platform architect, walk through the exciting changes that empower pro and citizen developers.A personalized experienceWe know each of our customers uses the Now Platform in a manner specific to their products, industry, and business needs. The San Diego release simplifies that functionality, enabling users to customize their experiences through adjustable layouts, accessibility, information density options, and more.Get more information about all of the San Diego updates in the San Diego release fact sheet. Visit our Customer Success Center to view the release notes and best practices and find out how to schedule and manage upgrades.
Resources to help your business handle COVID-19
Updated September 28, 2020So many aspects of our businesses and lives are under pressure right now. LIKE.TG is committed to helping you and your organization get through this situation today and in the future and get stronger as a result. We can meet this challenge together.On March 16th, we announced our Customer Care Program, including four emergency response apps. We’ve already seen tremendous traction with the apps. As of March 25, nearly 1000 organizations have downloaded the apps. In addition, our amazing community has generated many new ideas, resources, tools, and stories. Some are best practices, some are specific to customers of the Now Platform®, and some come from LIKE.TG partners who are helping with new apps, services, and strategy.We’ll be updating this blog regularly to help you tap into the energy, spirit and innovation of the LIKE.TG community.Expertise from practitioners at LIKE.TG: Planning for continuity with COVID-19 link Nearly 1000 organizations implement LIKE.TG’s emergency response apps How to keep the humanity in #WFH COVID-19 Crisis Management in Action: Now on Now webinar Our partners are stepping up to help with the COVID-19 situation: New partner apps available on the LIKE.TG Store New pro bono services are available from partners As a reminder, we have crisis response-related tools from the LIKE.TG product and services team: New HR Health Alert Employee Experience Pack – This download for HR Service Delivery customers helps CHROs on the front lines deal with COVID-19. Remote Installation Services Partners and LIKE.TG Remote Services can assist customers in activating and deploying the Emergency Response Management applications. Business Continuity Management – Learn how organizations including LIKE.TG use plans, exercises, and workflows to recover from disasters effectively, manage risks to critical business functions, and help achieve operational resilience. New content to help you understand the four community apps for emergency response management: Emergency Response Management app overview Video demos for each app Please stay tuned for updates, new webinars and events, both live and on-demand. Thank you for being part of our community. You can join the online discussion and get support here.
Rethinking customer experience
On a video call, a customer asked why I had a stack of boxes behind me. That’s one of the things about Zoom—you get glimpses into other people’s worlds. My world is full of cardboard. I moved to a new home on the East Coast a few months ago, and unpacking is a slow process.The boxes are full of business books. I have a healthy collection, and my latest addition is Think Again by Adam Grant, the top-rated professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Grant is super inspiring. I wish he’d been there in my time at Wharton. In Think Again, he encourages us to behave more like scientists—not to settle for the accepted way of doing things, but to test, challenge, and try out new ideas, to rethink in order to continuously improve.I’ve been doing lots of rethinking recently about how to deliver great customer experience. As products become commoditized and choices infinite, organizations are competing on experience. It’s the new differentiator. Customers have high expectations. If brands don’t deliver, customers will vote with their feet in favor of an organization that does.The need for a unified approachA large chunk of digital investment has focused on improving customer-facing touch points—websites, apps, and chatbots. Those interactions are key, but on their own, they’re not enough to transform experience.Below the surface, organizations are struggling to deliver the service customers demand and deserve. A sprawl of legacy systems that don’t talk to each other means agents resort to spreadsheets and swivel-chair between systems to chase down information and make sense of the black hole capturing their request.Field service teams turn up on site without the customer history, issue insight, and equipment they need to fix the problem, resulting in costly return visits and increased downtime. When organizations don’t work in harmony, experience suffers, and customer-facing teams are left to face frustrated and angry customers.You need to bring the power of the whole organization to better serve your customers. That means going beyond your customer-facing layer to connect your front, middle, and back office. When people and processes are connected, information flows freely, it’s easier to take action, and everyone has the visibility and insights they need to achieve more, fast.Uniting people, processes, and systemsLIKE.TG makes this happen. With one platform, one architecture, and one data model, it brings people, systems, and data into a single system of action. It simplifies case management by breaking work down into discrete tasks and ensuring those tasks flow across people and functions. It enables you to automate and optimize how work gets done.The use of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and other technologies opens the world of self-service so customers can access the information and support they need on their terms. Freed from routine and mundane tasks, employees have more time to do their best work and excel in their roles. This makes them happy, and happy workers make happy customers.Sometimes the best kind of experience is no experience at all. People want things to happen as they should, smoothly and without interruption. We can help you predict and preemptively solve issues before they escalate into bigger problems.You’ll see where storm clouds are forming so you can intervene and get in front of the downpour. In this way, you can either remediate issues before the customer notices or communicate clearly with customers who may be affected before they get in touch with you. When things do go wrong, you’ll be able to fix them fast, keep customers updated on issue status and resolution, and earn trust along the way.Great things happen when an organization is connected, works in harmony, and is united in the goal of serving customers better. Experience soars, customers are more loyal, it’s easier to attract and retain talent, and the whole company sees significant improvement to its bottom line.Find out how LIKE.TG can help you improve customer experience in our Experience in action ebook.
Rethinking IT asset management using a zero-touch process
Updated Jan. 27, 2022When LIKE.TG employees began working remotely in March 2020, the company’s global offices turned into work-from-home remote sites almost overnight. One of the biggest headaches was IT asset management—getting laptops into the hands of all new and many existing employees.In the past, laptops went from our value-added resellers (VARs) to LIKE.TG sites, where our IT team configured them for pickup or shipped them to remote employees. But with the pandemic creating major supply chain challenges for a dispersed workforce, that process no longer worked.Employees needing replacements had to wait, which hampered productivity. We were still hiring at a rapid pace and, in the early summer, began bringing on interns, each of whom needed a laptop. In one week alone, we had to configure and deliver hundreds of machines.To resolve the growing bottleneck, we had to completely rethink the provisioning process.Enter zero-touch configurationUsing LIKE.TG IT Asset Management (ITAM), we built a zero-touch process that automates the ordering, asset tagging, delivery, and setup of new laptops to new hires and replacement machines to employees who need them. Now, any employee who needs a laptop submits a request through the Service Portal. The request is approved automatically if the employee has met the tenure requirement.The rest of the process is automated. Following the approval, the VAR is notified and ships the laptop directly to the employee. When the employee receives the laptop, they log in, and setup begins (see Figure 1.) IT’s preconfiguration tasks are eliminated.The process is the same for new hires. As part of onboarding, they select the laptop make and model from a standard service catalog. Approval for the new machine is triggered using the same automated workflow. The new employee receives the laptop before the first day of work. Figure 1: Zero-touch process for new and replacement laptopsLIKE.TG ITAM manages everything behind the scenes, without human intervention. The company receives VAR alerts when the laptop ships so the IT team can track delivery. Employees also receive automatic notifications, such as the request number, delivery time frame, and carrier tracking number. Proof of delivery completes the process. A new asset is then created in the Asset Management Database (AMDB), and asset depreciation begins.In November 2021, we expanded our zero-touch process to add a laptop leasing program in the US, replacing laptop purchases. Using existing APIs, we built new ITAM workflows to move to the two-year leasing program.The goal is to create a better business experience by providing the latest technology. Our employees are more productive, and we can attract and retain new talent. In addition, newer technology means fewer IT issues.Benefits of zero touchZero touch accelerates laptop delivery and simplifies setup, so LIKE.TG employees can be as productive as possible. That makes for gratifying, high-touch experiences, especially for new hires who meet with IT on their first-day orientation to iron out any immediate issues.We save about 45 minutes per asset in the operational efficiency of the IT team. As of Q3 2021, zero touch fulfilled 1,522 computer refresh requests in the US, saving $152,000 and 1,141 IT productivity hours (see Figure 2). Figure 2: 2021 zero-touch resultsUsing our VARs' inventories created greater efficiency and cost savings by eliminating the need for on-site inventory. Startup time is 90% faster because we’ve eliminated the time delays inherent in our previous, manual process.One of our primary focus areas is improving the employee experience. LIKE.TG ITAM workflows, combined with some out-of-the-office thinking, have helped employees and new hires focus, first and foremost, on their most urgent work.Find out more about how we use ITAM to automate asset management in the ITAM section of the Now on Now page.
Rethinking your IT asset management strategy
Many businesses waste time, money, and energy trying to manage their hardware, software, and cloud assets. Without an easy way to track these assets, your organization may be paying for outdated software or unused licenses or cloud subscriptions—or struggling to keep up with each asset through its lifecycle.It’s time to rethink your IT asset management strategy. Consolidating management onto a single platform makes it possible to boost productivity. Complete visibility into your assets, coupled with automation, can help ensure your organization makes the most of its time and resources.
Return to the workplace: 4 steps to ensure business resilience
We’re beginning to see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, and companies are rolling out their plans to return to the workplace. For those of us in business resilience (aka business continuity, incident management, or crisis management), it’s game on. However, the game has changed.Business resilience has traditionally been operationally focused—on site security, utilities, fire safety, natural disasters, and the like. In a post-COVID world, resilience is personal. Anyone who enters our doors and becomes infected could trigger a potential crisis. Resiliency plans must address that scenario.Return to the workplace is about far more than getting butts in seats (frankly, the easy part). It’s about helping to ensure the safety of everyone in the entire ecosystem. To do that, we must up-level our resilience programs, because future risks are likely to be at least as complex and disruptive as in 2020.There’s another, equally important reason to embrace resilience: The future of work itself is being reimagined. Nobody fully knows what it will look like. We have the opportunity—and the mandate—to help shape that future.Let me offer four steps business resilience teams can take to help enable a successful return to work in 2021 and beyond:1. Build a culture of resilienceMost return-to-the-workplace efforts will be focused on people and places and heavily driven by the human resources, workplace, and/or strategy organizations. To be a trusted partner for the business, be sure to engage all functions in the process.Establishing a culture of resilience will support an organic transition from crisis response mode to strategy mode and create a resilience framework for the future of work.It’s also critical that we integrate what we’ve learned from the pandemic into our culture of resilience. One of the biggest lessons at LIKE.TG is that if you digitize your workflows—as we have using our Now Platform®—location clustering isn’t required for individual productivity or operational efficiency. This insight gives us more options as we map out what work will look like post-COVID-19. 2. Increase program visibilityWhen a resilience program is working as intended, nobody knows about it. On one level that’s how it should be. But be sure your leadership knows how your program supports the return to work, and how you’ll provide continuous resilience support going forward. Active leadership support is essential, both operationally and culturally.The best way to keep senior leadership up to date is through dashboards that let them see the state of response for any future event and health of the program. These dashboards can be easily built on top of a business continuity tool such as LIKE.TG® Business Continuity Management (BCM), where you house all your program-related details.3. Assure your employees, customers, and vendorsUnlike personal safety guidelines, employee outreach needs to be very high-touch. Regular updates, safety protocols, and resources are essential for providing peace of mind and a productive work environment. At LIKE.TG, we use the Now Platform and Now Mobile app to facilitate outreach and information sharing.Providing seamless service to customers is a must—not just to fulfil contractual obligations, but also to build relationships based on trust. After all, as we’re working toward our own business continuity, our customers are doing the same and need to understand our resilience posture.Vendors, too, need to be comfortable with our plans, just as we need to understand theirs.4. Digitize your programDigitizing program workflows will provide the speed, agility, and real-time visibility needed to respond quickly when crises occur. Digitization will also enable your program to scale with company growth.There’s another key benefit: mobility. When a disruptive event occurs, you may not be near your plans or tools. A mobile app gives you access from any location and virtually any device. As noted above, we’re taking full advantage of mobility in our outreach to employees before, during, and after return to the workplace.And remember this formula in your post-pandemic workforce planning: distributed work + digitized workflows = increased productivity, efficiency, and resilience. Keep learningAs the saying goes: Never let a good crisis go to waste. Whether it’s a pandemic, an office closure, or another event, there are things to be learned that can improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of your resiliency program.For example, the pandemic taught us that if you digitize your workflows, where employees are located doesn’t impact their productivity—and we can factor that into our future decisions.At LIKE.TG, that also means incorporating new technologies and tools. Risks don’t stand still; neither should we. We expect to migrate to our new Business Continuity Management app in Q3 of this year, and we look forward to the added capabilities it will bring.Resilience must be a priority, not an afterthought. If we can create a culture of resilience, build resiliency into all we do, and digitize workflows for speed and scale, we won’t just be optimally prepared. We’ll also help shape the future of work.Watch our webinar to learn how LIKE.TG is ensuring its own safe return to the workplace.LIKE.TG, the LIKE.TG logo, Now, and other LIKE.TG marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of LIKE.TG, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Returning to LIKE.TG: Insights from 3 boomerang employees
At LIKE.TG, we dream big, help our employees learn and grow, and welcome and celebrate their individuality and uniqueness. That inclusive culture continues to attract both prospective and boomerang employees—individuals who’ve left LIKE.TG and returned. In fact, we’re one of the Fortune Best Workplaces in Technology.Three boomerang employees share their stories about why they came back and how they’re excelling both personally and professionally.
Revolutionize Your Workplace Culture with an Effective Employee Recognition and Communication Platform
Employee recognition, communication, and engagement indicates the measures taken by an organization to show appreciation, foster open and effective communication, and motivate employees. These efforts can take different forms, including rewards and incentives, feedback and performance reviews, and collaboration and communication tools to ultimately create a positive work culture and environment. Organizations that prioritize these elements often see higher levels of employee engagement, productivity, and retention. However, traditional approaches to recognition and communication can be time-consuming and inefficient. To transform your workplace culture, consider implementing an effective employee recognition and communication platform. Workmates can automate and streamline the process of recognizing employees for their hard work and achievements while providing a centralized hub for communication and collaboration. Take a look at our recognition platform. The Importance of Employee Recognition, Communication, and Engagement in The Workplace Workplace culture and employee engagement play a critical role in the success of any organization. Studies have shown that companies that prioritize their employees' well-being and create a positive work environment have higher productivity, better retention rates, and increased profitability. In contrast, companies that neglect their employees' needs and fail to create a supportive work environment experience low morale, high turnover rates, and decreased productivity. According to the 2022 survey conducted by McKinsey, there is still an ongoing struggle with the Great Resignation phenomenon. Approximately 40% of respondents have expressed discontent with their current occupation and are pondering the possibility of quitting their jobs in the near future. As a result, leaders and HR personnel must identify the underlying reasons behind their employees' decision to quit and address the issues that contribute to the problem to secure the retention of top-tier talent. According to a survey, an employee who has been recognized is 63% more likely to stay at their current job within the next three to six months. Employees want to feel valued, appreciated, and engaged in their work. They want to know that their contributions are recognized and that their efforts are making a difference. When employees feel invested in their work and connected to their colleagues, they are more likely to be productive, motivated, and committed to the organization's success. According to a recent study, 37% of employees have emphasized that employee recognition is the most crucial factor that their organization or manager can provide to inspire and encourage them to produce exceptional work. The study also found that recognition is the most prevalent motivator among workers, followed by self-motivation (13%), autonomy (12%), and inspiration (12%). These findings highlight the critical role that employee recognition and motivation play in driving exceptional performance and productivity within an organization. Key Features of an Ideal Employee Recognition, Communication, and Engagement Platform The best employee recognition software combines all the necessary features to implement successful recognition, communication, and engagement strategies. It offers a user-friendly interface, customizable recognition programs, employee feedback tools, communication and collaboration features, and analytics and reporting capabilities. User-Friendly Interface The best employee recognition platform should be easy to use and navigate for both employees and managers. It should have a user-friendly interface that is visually appealing and intuitive. Customizable Recognition Program The platform should allow companies to customize their employee recognition programs according to their needs and goals. This includes choosing different types of rewards, setting criteria for recognition, and creating a feedback system. Employee Feedback Tool A good employee recognition platform should have a feedback tool that enables employees to give and receive feedback from their peers and managers. This helps to improve communication, and performance. The Workmates Employee Feedback Tool is an effective solution for gathering and analyzing employee feedback within an organization. This tool is designed to help HR professionals collect feedback from employees in a systematic and organized manner, allowing them to identify areas for improvement and take action accordingly. The Employee Feedback Tool allows HR professionals to create and distribute customized surveys to employees, which can be completed anonymously. By using the Workmates Employee Feedback Tool, organizations can gain a deeper understanding of their employees' experiences and make data-driven decisions to improve the workplace culture and overall employee satisfaction. Communication and Collaboration Features The platform should have communication and collaboration features that allow employees to connect and share ideas easily. This includes instant messaging, group chats, and video conferencing. Analytics and Reporting One of the common issues with some employee engagement software is the lack of analytics and reporting features. The lack of ability to track and analyze data makes it challenging for organizations to understand the impact of their efforts and make data-driven decisions. Without robust analytics and reporting features, organizations may struggle to identify trends in employee engagement, which can hinder their ability to address issues and make improvements. An effective employee recognition software like Workmates provides analytics and reporting tools to track employee engagement, recognition, and performance. This helps companies to assess the success ratio of their strategies and enable data-driven decisions. Additionally, it will help to quantify the return on investment (ROI) of employee engagement initiatives with proper data to support their impact. How to Implement an Employee Recognition, Communication, and Engagement Platform? Implementing an effective employee recognition, communication, and engagement platform involves several key steps: Identify Employee Needs Before implementing employee recognition software, it is essential to identify the needs of the employees. This includes their preferences for rewards, communication styles, and feedback. Choose the Right Platform Companies should select the best staff recognition platform that meets their specific needs and goals. This involves researching different platforms, evaluating their features and pricing, and selecting the one that offers the best value for money. Introduce the Platform to Employees Once the platform is selected, it is important to introduce it to the employees and provide training on how to use it effectively. This can include tutorials, demos, and hands-on practice. Encourage Participation To maximize the benefits of Employee recognition and communication software, companies should encourage employees to participate actively in employee recognition programs. This can be achieved by creating a culture of recognition, setting clear expectations, and offering incentives for participation in employee rewards and recognition programs. Evaluate and Adjust the Program Companies should regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the Employee recognition and communication platform and make adjustments as necessary. This can include analyzing data, soliciting feedback from employees, and making changes to the recognition program. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. Learn More Benefits of Using an Employee Recognition and Communication Platform According to a study by SHRM, 68% of Human Resources experts have noted that implementing employee recognition programs has a favorable impact on retaining employees within an organization. An effective employee recognition and communication platform like Workmates can have several benefits for your organization, such as: Improved Employee Engagement Using the best employee recognition software can improve employee engagement by providing a platform for feedback, communication, and Peer-to-peer recognition. This can lead to increased job satisfaction, motivation, and productivity. Increased Productivity and Performance Employee recognition, communication, and engagement are directly linked to increased productivity and performance. By providing employees with the necessary tools and resources, companies can improve their bottom line. Improved Employee Morale When employees feel recognized and valued for their contributions through effective workplace recognition program, they are more likely to be satisfied with their work and motivated to perform at their best, thereby boosting staff morale. To learn even more about managing remote teams and keeping employees working at home highly engaged, download our ebook now. Download now Better Retention Rates When employees feel connected to their colleagues and supported by their employers, they are less likely to leave the organization. Here, using the best employee recognition and communication software and an effective employee recognition system plays a key role. A manufacturing company that implemented Workmates reduced its turnover rate by 15% and improved its productivity by 10%. These success stories demonstrate the power of Workmates in revolutionizing workplace culture through Employee recognition tools and improving employee engagement. Enhanced Communication Recent statistics on workplace communication have revealed that a significant percentage of employees and executives, around 86%, attribute workplace failures to the absence of efficient collaboration and communication. This highlights the critical importance of establishing effective communication channels within an organization to ensure its success. An effective platform can facilitate communication and collaboration between employees and departments, leading to improved performance and innovation. Greater Accountability Employee recognition system and platforms that provide regular feedback and recognition can help employees stay accountable and focused on achieving their goals. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity & Culture) Download the Ebook Now Positive Company Culture Using an effective employee communication app and employee communication tools can help to create a positive company culture that fosters collaboration, communication, and innovation. This can help in attracting and retaining top talent as well as improving the company's reputation. Competitive Edge Companies that prioritize employee recognition, communication, and engagement gain a competitive edge over their competitors. By investing in their employees and modern employee recognition and communication programs, they can improve their products and services, and ultimately their bottom line. Workmates is an innovative platform that offers a wide range of features designed to enhance workplace culture and improve communication and employee engagement. This employee communication platform enables you to create a positive and inclusive work environment that fosters employee growth, satisfaction, and productivity. Implementing Workmates can have a significant impact on your organization's success. By creating a positive and inclusive work environment and implementing modern employee recognition programs, you can improve employee engagement and retention rates, leading to higher productivity and profitability. Workmates offers a range of features designed to enhance workplace culture and promote employee growth, employee appreciation, employee rewards, and recognition, satisfaction, and success. Real-time Recognition and Feedback A 14.9% lower turnover rate was observed in companies that implement regular employee feedback. Workmates allows you to provide timely and meaningful recognition to your employees. With this feature, you can recognize your employees' achievements, milestones, and contributions in real-time. This immediate feedback helps employees feel valued and appreciated, increasing their motivation and engagement. The platform also allows employees to recognize their colleagues, promoting a culture of gratitude and positivity. Personalized Goals and Development Plans Workmates enables you to create personalized goals and development plans for each employee. These plans help employees focus on their strengths, identify areas for improvement, and track their progress. By providing employees with clear goals, an employee recognition award program, and development plans, you help them feel invested in their work and motivated to achieve their objectives. Workmates also offers tools to assess employee skills and competencies, enabling you to identify areas for training and development. Team-building Activities that Bring Your Staff Closer Together Workmates provides team-building activities and the best employee recognition programs that promote collaboration and teamwork and achieve employee appreciation. These activities include virtual team-building exercises, games, and challenges that help employees connect and build relationships. By fostering a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, you can create a positive work environment that encourages employee engagement and productivity. With tested mobile employee communications and an effective employee communication platform, your employees can use social intranet and mobile employee intranet to develop a team spirit. Conclusion Employee recognition, communication, and engagement are essential for creating a positive work environment, improving productivity and performance, and retaining top talent. By investing in the best employee recognition platform, companies can maximize the benefits of these strategies and gain a competitive edge. If you're looking to improve employee recognition, communication, and engagement in your company, consider investing in the best employee recognition platform. By providing real-time recognition and feedback, personalized goals and development plans, and team-building activities that bring your staff closer together, Workmates is a Top employee recognition software that enables you to create a positive and inclusive work environment and foster employee growth and productivity. Join the growing community of businesses that have already made the switch to Workmates Employee recognition tools and start seeing the results you've been looking for. By following the steps outlined in this article and choosing the right employee communication platform like Workmates for your needs, you can create a positive work environment that boosts productivity, performance, and employee satisfaction.
Revolutionizing Onboarding: Modern Approaches to Welcoming New Hires
Adding new talent to your team is exciting since it creates opportunities for you to grow as an organization. Fresh minds bring fresh ideas, which can provoke unique thoughts and stimulate action on your team.It's crucial to ensure that your onboarding process helps them assimilate with the rest of the team to set your new hires up for success.In this article, we'll discuss what business owners need to know about welcoming new hires in a way that sets them up for success. We'll talk about some modern approaches to onboarding that prioritize professional development, employee satisfaction, and company culture. Defining Modern Approaches to Onboarding Did you know that exceptional onboarding increases employee retention by 82% and productivity by 70%? In the past few years, the way that many businesses onboard new hires has shifted, and strategies like remote onboarding and mentorship programs have become the norm. The purpose of this shift is to enhance the employee experience and improve job satisfaction and retention rates. Keeping your team happy reduces employee turnover, which helps build a tenured team and reduces hiring costs. Some specific techniques used in these approaches include: Virtual onboarding checklists Integrating diverse groups of employees Cohort onboarding Pre-onboarding team mixers Gifting branded merch Personal development exercises Creating memorable first days These techniques are meant to set new hires up for success while setting the tone for your company culture. Revolutionizing Company Culture One modern approach to onboarding is setting the stage for a positive employee experience by creating a culture your employees want to be part of. Let's explore a few culture-focused onboarding techniques. Communicating Company Values and Mission It's essential to effectively communicate company values and mission to new hires right off the bat. You should share the company's mission, vision, and values from day one of the onboarding process. Some ways to ensure that new hires remember and adopt your core values include: Encourage leaders to embody your values in all that they do Reward behavior that aligns with your company culture Publicly call out individuals who represent your core values Organize events and initiatives that showcase the company's mission and values Use internal communications platforms to educate employees The more you reinforce these values in everyday situations, the more likely your team will remember to put them into action. Creating a Supportive Environment for New Hires Whether you're hiring contractors or employees, creating a supportive environment for your team is crucial. Some key ways to foster a supportive environment include prioritizing flexibility, inclusivity, and diversity in the workplace. Hybrid and remote work environments are becoming more popular since they provide employees with greater flexibility. For many, this creates a positive experience that yields a greater work-life balance for your employees and often stimulates productivity. (Image Source) Inclusion and equity are imperative to maintaining a productive team. You can promote inclusivity and diversity with exercises like unconscious bias training and recognizing inclusive behaviors among your team members. By creating a culture of recognition, you'll make employees feel valued and motivated. This starkly differs from the culture of only calling people out for mistakes. Recognizing positive behaviors is a surefire way to boost employee morale. Onboarding vs. New Employee Orientation Part of maintaining the company culture is to ensure that onboarding is an ongoing experience for your new hires. This is extremely important to call out since it's easy to assume that onboarding and new employee orientation are the same. If you're unfamiliar with the differences, new employee orientation introduces new hires to their jobs, colleagues, and the organization. In contrast, onboarding goes beyond orientation and is meant to continuously assimilate new hires with the team. Onboarding focuses on teaching new employees about the company culture, their role, and how they can contribute to its success. Onboarding is just as essential for new businesses as for established companies, if not more so. Why? It costs more to replace employees than to retain them. So, when you start a business, it's imperative to invest in the right tools (HR resources) to start on the right foot. Specially for new businesses, employee onboarding is about more than just paperwork and policies. Once you have a legit business on its feet, with a solid structure and stable foundation, you need to have a comprehensive process that aims to make new employees feel valued, informed, and capable of contributing to your business's success. A well-executed onboarding program can lead to a positive, productive, and engaged workforce, which is essential for the growth and success of your new business. Revolutionizing Professional Development Hiring talented people is important, and harnessing their talent is equally important. A great way to do this is by incorporating professional development as part of an ongoing initiative that starts with onboarding. Offering Training and Development Resources Promoting professional development for your new hires is a great way to show them you're invested in their success. Investing in your team helps build rapport with new hires and equips them to serve your team better. One way to promote professional development is by presenting learning and growth opportunities. Some of these opportunities include virtual conferences, cross-staff training, soft-skill development, implementing a learning management system and continuing education. Tuition reimbursement is another great option because it encourages employees to take professional development into their own hands. These resources will help upskill your team to stay on the cutting edge of industry trends. Plus, it'll help your company stay ahead of the competition. Ajay Chandrasekaran, Content Marketing Manager at zoho.com, shares his valuable thoughts on managing seasonal hiring: “Offering training resources is essential in seasonal hiring, too, and the easiest way to help new employees get acclimatized to their new workspaces is to have an onboarding checklist for each major role. It need not be a rigid set of steps or a legal document. Instead, one can build and apply a fun slide deck or even a simple outline in the form of flashcards that the recruiter can customize for the people in their care.” His insights include building a video course or a small hands-on training program for recruits- These types of efforts go a long way in getting them up to speed before the holiday season. On top of this, managers should also have a do's and don'ts document and conduct simple drills and quizzes to ensure that the people coming in are ready to handle all standard work situations. Ajay concludes with the following thoughts on investing time and resources when it comes to seasonal hiring: "Your seasonal temps are not just extra hands to power through a busy season, but also brand ambassadors and potential long term hires. Invest in their training and growth just like you would do for yourself, and in time, your hires will do the same for you and your business. After all, what goes around, comes around." Forming Mentorships Between Senior Staff and New Hires Mentorships are becoming a staple in modern onboarding practices. Developing mentorship relationships between senior staff and new hires is a great way to provide hands-on training. (Image Source) Mentors can welcome newcomers, offer guidance, and facilitate a sense of belonging in the workplace. Mentorships also create opportunities to cultivate talent in a way that's impossible with generic training materials. Since mentorship provides new hires with personalized interaction with more seasoned members of the team, it's easier for them to learn the ins and outs of the role (and organization). Creating positive relationships among your team can contribute to employee engagement, motivation, and job satisfaction. It can encourage your team to work together and help people get more excited about coming to work. Establishing Clear Objectives for Success in the Role Without goals, it's difficult to create a roadmap toward the success that your business needs. With that in mind, having specific goals and objectives for your new hires is essential. It helps employees understand expectations and motivates them to strive for success. In addition to the objectives you create for new hires, you should encourage them to develop their own goals. Challenge them to dig deep to determine what they'd like to contribute to your organization and how they plan to grow personally. Revolutionizing Job Satisfaction & Employee Retention We've discussed the benefits of job satisfaction and employee retention. However, you may be left wondering how to put this into action. Here are a few ways to revolutionize employee satisfaction and retention with better management. Understanding Employees' Needs, Wants, and Expectations If your goal is to improve employee satisfaction and retention, it's vital to understand employee needs, wants, and expectations. You need to understand what motivates your employees to clock in every day if you want to create a positive employee experience. An easy way to gain this insight is by taking the time to chat with your team. Check in with people regularly to see how things are going and their experience. Starting these conversations early with new hires will help build trust and open communication. Another way to gather this information is by sending out surveys and giving your team the option to express their wants and needs anonymously. People might be more comfortable opening up if their name isn't attached. Once you have a clearer picture of your employees' needs, it's crucial to ensure that your leadership team can adjust and offer the support required to meet these needs and improve employee retention. Developing an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) If you're unfamiliar, an employee value proposition (EVP) is the value you provide for your employees in exchange for the hard work and dedication they provide for your company. This can be thought of as your benefits package. By providing a comprehensive EVP to current and prospective employees, your organization will be a more appealing place to work. As you create your EVP, it must align with the company's mission, culture, and values. For example, giving employees plenty of PTO is important if work-life balance is vital to your organization. Fostering Great Management Fostering great management by establishing a vision, purpose, and transparency within the organization is another great way to keep your employees happy and reduce turnover rates. Doing so requires collaboration and participation from all levels of management, especially middle managers. Middle managers are often key players in setting goals, supporting employees, coaching for high performance, and providing employee feedback. It's important to prioritize transparency to manage your team effectively. Being honest and transparent with your team will build trust and enhance employee loyalty. Key Takeaways The evolution toward modern onboarding approaches has become commonplace in the business world across many industries. That alone should motivate your organization to stay on trend in creating more powerful onboarding experiences for new hires. You can improve job satisfaction and employee retention by prioritizing a positive company culture and setting your new hires up for success. Navigating onboarding with this attitude will create a more positive experience for your employees and you as an employer. Which modern onboarding techniques will you use with new hires? Is Your Company's CultureWorking Against You? Find out how to improve your companyculture with our short quiz. Take the Quiz Author Bio Guillaume is a digital marketer focused on handling the outreach strategy at uSERP and content management at Wordable. Outside of work, he enjoys his expat life in sunny Mexico, reading books, wandering around and catching the latest shows on TV.
Rewards vs. Recognition: Key Differences and Why Both Are Important
Job satisfaction is crucial to get optimal effort from your employees and achieve maximum productivity. According to The Conference Board’s 2023 survey, 62.3% of US employees felt satisfaction with their jobs—the highest number since surveys started in 1987. This number tells a story of HR teams nationwide paying more attention to achieving employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction extends beyond paying workers handsomely or setting up a comfortable workspace. Many other factors contribute to the employee experience, ultimately influencing job satisfaction. Reward and recognition are two key factors. Here, we'll explore employee reward vs recognition, how they differ, and their importance for a positive employee experience. What’s the Difference Between Employee Rewards and Recognition? HR personnel often interchange employee rewards and staff recognition. While both concepts complement each other, they’re not the same and won’t work as substitutes for each other in your workplace. Though employee rewards and recognition are both viable means of appreciating employees, the activities involved are usually different. Employee Rewards As the name suggests, rewards refer to tangible benefits you offer employees in response to their performance or achievements. These incentives may include financial bonuses, gift cards, paid vacations, promotions, or material possessions like company-branded merchandise. Generally, you give rewards to acknowledge the achievement of specific goals or objectives. The primary intention is to motivate employees to perform at a higher level. As such, rewards often serve as extrinsic motivators to drive desired behaviors and outcomes. Employee Recognition Employee recognition is a more abstract concept involving acknowledging and appreciating an employee's efforts, contributions, or achievements. While rewards usually feature an incentive, the prize in employee recognition is the action itself. A common form of recognition involves publicly commending individuals or teams for their hard work, dedication, or positive impact. Recognition may come as verbal or written appreciation, public announcements, awards, or symbolic gestures like a round of applause. It’s important to remember that recognition should come from multiple directions. As an employer or manager, you should make sure you celebrate your team's good work. But, alongside this, you should also use tools like recognition software to provide a public feed where fellow workmates can show appreciation to each other. Unlike rewards, recognition focuses on intrinsic motivation by fulfilling the basic human need for validation and a sense of belonging. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now Other Differences Between Employee Reward and Recognition Rewards feature tangible incentives, while recognition is mostly abstract. Rewards are conditional and often transactional because you give them in response to an action or achievement. Conversely, recognition is relational because you give it to appreciate the individual (you don’t need a specific reason to do it). Rewards usually appeal in an economic sense and have physical utility, while recognition appeals in an emotional sense and offers a positive psychological impact. Inherently, these concepts sound like two sides of the same coin, and, in most cases, one often precedes the other. Remember, however, that neither is a substitute for the other, and it’s important to give adequate rewards and recognition to your employees where due. The Importance of Employee Rewards Rewards enhance employee motivation, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. Increased Motivation Rewards serve as powerful motivators for employees. Giving tangible incentives to your workers when they achieve a predetermined objective indicates that you want them to continue creating such results. In addition, rewards also serve as compensation for effort and time invested into an activity. In the future, the expectation of an incentive will encourage your employees to recreate a result, even if it means going the extra mile. Improved Productivity Using potential rewards as a motivator often translates to increased performance from employees. And, since you set the incentive, you determine what operational goals employees must achieve to receive them. This makes it easy to help employees achieve more for the company; you only need to set goals in line with the productivity metrics you want them to hit. Also, when employees feel valued and know you’ll acknowledge and reward their hard work, they’re more likely to invest time and energy into their tasks. The result of this is increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Increased Employee Engagement Nothing gets staff entrenched in work culture like the promise of a reward for their actions. Employee rewards contribute to higher levels of staff engagement, among other things. Engaged employees are committed to their work, passionate about their roles, and aligned with organizational goals. Even when they hit roadblocks, engaged staff are more motivated to circumnavigate these obstacles to reach their goal quicker. They have a clear picture of the prize and won’t let anything stop them from getting it. Why Employee Recognition Matters for the Employee Experience Here’s why you need employee recognition initiatives as part of your workplace culture. Employees Feel Valued and Appreciated While a reward is an extrinsic motivator, recognition appeals to emotions and the intrinsic human desire to be noticed. As such, it makes employees feel welcome, wanted, and needed. This fosters a sense of belonging and camaraderie, making workers feel like they’re contributing significantly to a common cause. For example, if you use recognition software, it has the double effect of recognizing employees' hard work whilst fostering an environment of appreciation and positivity. Knowing their input is crucial and also makes employees self-motivated to do more. Makes Employees Take Pride in Their Contributions Employee rewards target the human ego, massaging the average person’s pride. When you give due recognition to staff, you give them the ultimate respect. Naturally, they’ll then take greater pride in their work, growing confident in their workplace contributions. They’ll also have more conviction in their actions going forward. The need to protect their ego can also spur employees to go the extra mile in the future. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up Best Practices for Leveraging Employee Rewards & Recognition Programs Employee rewards and recognition programs are powerful tools for motivating and engaging workers. Here are some best practices to leverage these programs and significantly impact satisfaction. Set Clear Objectives and Criteria Before launching a rewards and recognition program, establish clear objectives and criteria. Define the behaviors, achievements, or milestones you intend to recognize and reward. Ensure these criteria align with the company's values, goals, and desired outcomes. Clear guidelines will help create a fair and transparent program that employees can understand and work toward. Practice Timely and Specific Recognition Recognition loses its impact when it’s delayed or generalized, so provide timely and specific recognition for employee achievements or contributions. Acknowledge individual employee efforts as soon as possible, and be specific about what they did well. For example, don’t just say "Good job." Instead, say "Excellent work on completing the project ahead of schedule. Your attention to detail, teamwork, and remarkable use of the virtual telephone system were instrumental in its success." Practice Inclusive and Fair Distribution Ensure that rewards and recognition are distributed fairly and inclusively across the organization. Recognize achievements at all levels, from frontline employees to managers and executives. Avoid bias and ensure the program encompasses all workers. Celebrate Milestones and Achievements Apart from day-to-day recognition, celebrate significant milestones and achievements memorably. Organize special events, ceremonies, or team-building activities to honor major accomplishments or project completions. Celebrations create a sense of pride, foster camaraderie, and encourage a culture of excellence. Employee Reward and Recognition Are Both Important Employee rewards and recognition both matter. They increase motivation and improve productivity, translating to better job satisfaction, employee engagement, and employee retention. The difference is that employee rewards are more physical, often taking the form of tangible benefits. Conversely, employee recognition is abstract, appealing to employee emotions and psychology. By implementing both employee recognition and reward programs, you’ll create a supportive and rewarding work environment for your staff. Leverage the recommendations above for the best results. Is Your Company's CultureWorking Against You? Find out how to improve your companyculture with our short quiz. Take the Quiz
RiseUp with LIKE.TG to create pathways into the tech world
There’s an old saying: “Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.” This opportunity gap has reached a critical phase for organizations and the world.That’s why we’re introducing RiseUp with LIKE.TG, a global career development program designed to skill 1 million people worldwide on the Now Platform® by 2024. We’re doubling down on our commitment to make the world work better for everyone by opening opportunities for people from all backgrounds, experiences, and ambitions to enter the high-growth tech world.
Roadmap to success: LIKE.TG Finance Development Rotation Program
From late high school and into college, Taylor B., financial planning and analysis (FP&A) manager at LIKE.TG, found herself captivated by the juxtaposition of numbers-driven finance and the ability to convey the story behind those numbers. Yet the wide array of opportunities within the finance field left her uncertain about her post-graduation plans."There are so many areas you can go into," she says. “That’s why I was so excited to discover LIKE.TG’s Finance Development Rotation Program. It gave me the path to be able to do my best work and the freedom to try something new. I learned a tremendous amount and then moved on to the next opportunity."Offering the chance to explore diverse roles within the company's finance teams, the program is designed to develop recent college graduates into finance professionals by providing access to comprehensive professional training, mentorship, and cross-functional work experience. Last year, 100% of the 20 to 25 participants decided to remain in finance at LIKE.TG upon completion of the program rather than look for external opportunities.Preparing for a successful careerTaylor is one of dozens of college graduates who’ve joined LIKE.TG as part of the rotation program, which spans 2.5 to 3.5 years, depending on the participant’s area of focus. Today, she supervises Lauren P., a senior analyst at LIKE.TG who also participated in the program.“I kind of knew I wanted to do something tech- and finance-related based on my classes,” says Lauren, who graduated with a degree in international business, “but I wasn’t quite sure what. So, I was excited to hear about this opportunity.” Lauren had the chance to try several roles before landing mostly in FP&A. “I really liked the FP&A team but wanted to help across the various teams,” she adds. “The rotation program helped me understand how everything rolls up. Right now, I’m working with Taylor on helping product leadership better understand their financial resources and make data-informed decisions on where to allocate them."Pivots and transitionsMichael D., internal audit manager who briefly supervised Taylor during her rotation in internal audit, also joined LIKE.TG as an intern and never looked back. "After nine years in the military, I was ready for a transition into my new career when I heard about LIKE.TG,” he says. “The Finance Rotation Program was a fantastic way to explore my options.”Michael recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary at the company at a finance meeting led by LIKE.TG Chief Financial Officer Gina Mastantuono. He reminds us that the adjustments between military and civilian life can be challenging.“I performed two different jobs in the military: I was working on electronics and weapons systems,” he says. “Today, I work in audit at LIKE.TG, and I’m still learning new things every day. Some things that carry over from the military, though, are the leadership, the work ethic, the drive, and the idea of being humble.”Lauren agrees the program aids in major life transitions. "After graduating from college, you might find yourself living alone in an apartment and joining a program or a company. It can be intimidating, as you suddenly feel surrounded by more seasoned professionals,” she says. “The rotation program provides a cohort of individuals going through the same stage of life, with a shared understanding of the challenges young people face in their career growth."Mentorship and winning as a team"What I appreciate about the rotation program is the additional benefits it offers in terms of mentorship, learning opportunities, and camaraderie,” Taylor adds. “You feel a sense of unity with your peers while also receiving individual mentoring and knowledge sharing, which ensures you never feel like a small fish in a big sea. In fact, I’ve formed incredibly close relationships with colleagues who are now part of our organization." Michael finds gratification in the growth and evolution of the rotation program since he participated in it. "Observing Taylor, Lauren, and many others find their passion and fit within the company through this process is truly inspiring," he remarks. "While the rotation program undoubtedly equips you for advanced roles if you were to pursue a job elsewhere, you would want to stay because of the exceptional people and culture here."Lauren agrees wholeheartedly. "I genuinely love my team.” she says. “The culture they have fostered creates an environment where they trust you to share your opinions, and they support you, full stop. This culture extends even to out-of-office events like birthday celebrations and happy hours. It’s unique and definitely a reason why I decided to stay."“What makes our rotation program best in class is the opportunity it provides to work with senior-level leaders on highly visible projects within the company,” says Cristina S., senior manager of finance development. “We’re so proud of the success we’ve had in recruiting diverse applicants, and we’re thrilled to continue growing the program.”Join a Fortune 500 company that can help you find the path to do your best work.
Role of HR in Building a Company's Culture
Work culture echoes diversity, innovation, and individuality reigning supreme. Corporate culture is a guarded secret. Top brands build a work culture identical to the image of their products, services. The same image becomes an extended part of public image in the marketing campaigns. The balance between how teams set new norms and how audiences shape the future line of products is a master act. All popular brands work hard to build a work culture with some aspects hidden from the outside world. You may put it across as an entrepreneur's sum of experience and vision. Corporations can set definitive guidelines for the employees to embrace, endorse. Top management could imbibe it at the personal level too. The widespread acceptance and implementation at the ground level prove a challenge. Human resource management carries the baton. They march with pride and glory. They're the ones who set the pace, pave the ground for the teams to flourish. HR Materializes the Corporate Practices The entrepreneurial spirit seeks adventure even in mundane tasks. HR teams acknowledge the fact that a winning mentality needs a system. Why does dedication go missing in employees? Why does the recruitment team fail to pick bright minds? How many times do we see brands continue existing at a level below their potential? Human Resource breaks down the corporate philosophy into an actionable plan. They go out in search of finding a viable model that could fit people from all levels. How to keep employees motivated? How to make them believe there's something for everyone? Maintain a Strong Professional Network with Teams Human Resource has one advantage over any other department. Their work profile enables them to build a concrete connection with employees. Employees could have a dialogue on any issues with HR professionals. It opens a venue for HR teams to gain trust. It's an advantage but not without responsibility. HR has insightful details on team members and their skill-set. Operations teams approach HR first to fill the vacant positions within the organization. They want to promote someone who knows company culture in and out. It harnesses team spirit, instills ownership, and builds trust among employees. When a colleague gets promoted, it makes or a celebration for everybody. It shows every team has played its part. Feedback Sessions or Mentorship Opportunities HR policies are complex pieces of information drafted to make things convenient. The nucleus of every successful policy was once a part of an issue. The brainstorming and employee-centric approach turned into an element of solution with time. Does it sound familiar? Does it remind you of one of the HR sessions? Top brands don't see problems as a matter of concern. They see it as opportunities to build progressive policies. The issues the employees face have their answers with the top-level executives. The mentoring sessions expand the mindset of employees. They gather a whole new perspective. It's how you build an ideal work culture. Diversified Workforce and Culture-Driven Solutions Diversified workplaces offer scope to look at existing issues from a different perspective. In a world where technology is shaping the future, every industry is looking to keep pace with time. How does your company ensure they're on the top of the game? Have you asked these questions, and have they been addressed? HR teams have found a unique solution. Their success mantra is to hire talent on merit. They embrace diversity at workplaces. It ensures you don't miss consumer pain points. Or overlook the culture-specific viewpoint. Communities are evolving. The entrepreneurial spirit is limited to no age, experience. The recruitment teams look for candidates coming from different backgrounds. They get excited to see candidates offering a new perspective on things. A unique outlook is what the world needs. The corporate sector didn't outthink the competition. Time outplayed every small or established brand with a limited take on success. Companies relied on old practices for too long out of the fear of losing their consumer base. In the end, consumers left them for another brand. Embracing Technological Advancements to Liberate Creative Souls Pandemic shook the world to its foundations. Each sector faced a challenge they never dealt with before. How do you feel looking back? We had an unfavorable situation at hand a year ago. Technological advancements rescued businesses by connecting remote teams. HR software is a part of managing routine tasks. Entrepreneurs don't want HR professionals to sit behind the desk all day long. They have a different role lined up for them. Top companies see HR professionals as talent managers. They're responsible for bringing a seamless transition from old work habits to new ones. The new wok models include the latest communication and work-management apps. The work-from-home model would make way for hybrid workplaces in the future. HR acknowledges the importance of preparing the team to self-monitor, stay self-motivated. In the corporate world, HR teams are the change agents. They execute the policies without losing the focus on the goal- Employee happiness. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity & Culture) Download the Ebook Now Hiring Aspiring Candidates By Endorsing Work Culture What's the point in building a work culture if it doesn't inspire people to join? The work culture at top organizations helps draw talented individuals. If they fail to join, they see themselves as the disciples of identical work philosophy. The work culture or work philosophy isn't for employees alone. It carries a light that shines to eradicate social myths and uplift the human spirit. There are two aspects of ideal work culture. What is work culture? It's a hub of creative practices carried out by employees to foster creative energy. These beliefs work the best in the company of the right individuals, the right mindset. One aspect of work culture is to inspire the teams by the fire of their passion, dedication. Two, make the audience aware of their strengths by introducing innovative products. The motivational part is to outperform the previous industry standards. Employee Management, Team Building, And Recreational Activities Imagine the word carried by those who move to different places. HR teams invest resources in selecting applicants, preparing the questionnaire, and handpicking candidates. Filling a vacant position isn't about replacing a person. It's about setting a new standard for the same profile. HR management software takes the guesswork out of the equation. The recruitment team wants to hire a leader for the same profile. A leader could nurture talent and manage to fulfill its expectations. Leading HR-related software breaks the silos of information into insightful details. HR teams perform query-based searches and figure out the top candidates. HR promotes a competitive spirit among employees. Every internal job posting brings along an opportunity to strengthen team spirit. What does your HR think of mental wellbeing? Have they taken the initiative to address such issues? The work culture looks after various aspects of employee health. Mental wellbeing has caught a lot of attention. Recreational activities have brought eating, living habits into the sphere. HR teams pay close attention to daily performance to pick up the signs of mental fatigue, burnout. The introduction of interest-specific holiday packages is one way of keeping employees active. HR teams have identified the challenging areas. Employee health is at the top of the agenda. They put individual growth, happiness as high as customer satisfaction. They consider customer happiness one of the factors to evaluate success. It's not the only driving force. What about work satisfaction? How to keep them motivated, geared up to tackle adverse situations? Work Culture and The Age of HR Software HR payroll software is the best case study to learn about emerging trends. The manual entry is a waste of time. It's not about the size of the company. It's not about whether you need it or not. It tells us if you're prepared for future growth or not. HR professionals could spend the same amount of time resolving employee queries. Not paying attention to suggestions or leaving feedback out demotivates employees. They don't find themselves a part of the organization. HR software may not seem a crucial factor in building the work culture of your choice. Company culture is about bringing your perspective into action. Your voice represents the brand. Entrepreneurs love team members who bring questions to the discussion. HR teams acknowledge that these questions open up the conversation. They could lead to a solution or stop from moving in the wrong direction. Companies consider transforming the corporate philosophy into a cultural theory the top priority. They sit with HR teams to set guidelines for the employees. These guidelines serve as the information center. The clarity about one's role lends direction, a sense of purpose. Employees feel encouraged to go to work every morning. They don't limit it to a job. They see it as a part of inner growth, a part of their dreams. Look at your favorite line of products. Don't they speak about work philosophy, work culture? The place where you sit and work reminds you of the hard work put in to have a creative vibe flowing all around. About Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.
Role of Self-Service in Modern Helpdesk Solutions
The not-so-secret sauce of a successful business is putting customers first. It is a victory every time you help them. However, how do you embrace the core customer support principle without a conversation?As your business scales, your customer support team needs to keep up with the surge of customers’ requests and inquiries.If you keep encountering the same customer questions, it is time to establish self-service capabilities in your help desk solutions. Understanding self-service in help desk solutions: What is it?The self-help tools, in a ticketing system, is a centralized information hub where customers or employees can find whatever they want whenever needed.When customers encounter a problem or want to ask questions, picking up the phone is no longer their first option.They would prefer using self-help options to get answers instantly throughChecking your websiteLooking for how-to videosGoing through the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) sectionWhy do you need self-help tools in your help desk solutions?Imagine if your customers need to check your website’s “Contact Us” page for every question they have. There must be a way to provide them with assistance and information immediately.That is why businesses take their customer service experience up a notch through including the self-help options in a help desk ticketing software.Depending on your business’ nature, self-help portals in a help desk could mean many things. At its core, it serves as its users’ first support line.Today, ticketing software exists to streamline service request management and provide communication channels for customer inquiries.It usually includes self-help tools such:Knowledge base softwareShared inboxThese self-assistance tools help businesses support customers effectively and efficiently, improving customer experience.How self-service in help desk improves customer experienceCheck how integrating self-help options capabilities with the best help desk solutions do wonders for your business:1. Round-the-clock assistanceSelf-service customer support means being there for your customers 24/7, at any hour and any day of the week.It does not matter if the customers are from different time zones.They do not need to listen to recorded music playing in the background or wait a day for a response from the customer support team.2. Faster issue resolutionSelf-help portals add value to your business by respecting the customer’s time and providing answers quickly.The resources are available online, including FAQs, how-to videos, knowledge bases, and other valuable documentation.Instead of queuing in the customer support hotline, customers can bypass this and resolve their issues at their own pace.3. Accurate informationEstablishing self-help resources in your help desk is one thing; regularly updating the information is another.If you have a knowledge base or a repository where customers can learn about your services or products, you need to ensure the accuracy and relevance of content.Having outdated information can cause confusion and frustration among your customers. It can also decrease customer satisfaction and increase live support inquiries.To prevent these, you need to bridge the gap between what you want them to know and what your customers know.4. Scalable customer supportThe long-term success of your business depends on your customers’ satisfaction. One way to keep them happy is by going the extra mile and delivering services beyond their expectations.But how can you do this if your customer support team cannot handle the flood of customer inquiries?As your business grows, the number of customer queries and tickets bog down your customer support team.You need to scale your customer support by investing in the right mix of software and technology.5. EmpowermentEmpowerment and self-service go hand in hand. As mentioned, having self-service help desk solutions puts your customers in charge of finding answers and resolving issues.You provide them with the tools, convenience, and knowledge and take control of their support experience.With convenient self-service options:You give customers a taste of empowerment.Enhance clients’ overall experience.Improve customer satisfaction.How businesses incorporate self-service in help desk softwareDid you know you can reduce the inflow of ticket volume by a huge percentage with self-service options?Learning about the power of self-service is one of the best ways to satisfy your customers’ needs and let them have the answers themselves.Check out these self-help platforms that you can use for your business:Knowledge baseA customer service knowledge base is a virtual library where customers or employees can check about your products and services.Employees can use this as a resource center to upload training instructions and onboarding materials.Meanwhile, customers can find most solutions and answers in an efficient customer knowledge base.Whether it is about your offered services or products, this online helpdesk software provides immediate assistance.Customer portalsIn modern help desk solutions, end-users have their own customer portals. These portals offer them a personalized space toAccess their support tickets.Track tickets’ progresses.Interact with the support team.With the portal, users can easily perform the following:Find solutions to common issues.Create new support tickets.Check and review their ticket conversations history.Community forumsYou must give your customers a platform to interact with the entire community. This is what community forums are all about.Building a meeting place where the user community can discuss with others is an arsenal for your business.Businesses usually use software and tools to create one.It saves your customer representative’s time.Helps customers without your customer support team.No one can understate the benefits of community forums for your company.Level up your self-service channel with the right software tool!People expect customer service to be fast, reliable, and efficient. This is why self-service in help desk software is significant. The best business software for 2023 can simplify the integration of self-service customer support in your business.Integrating self-help capabilities into your ticketing software gives your customers the power and ability to find the answers themselves.Wrap upCompanies need to incorporate the best self-help tools as part of their modern help desk solutions. For the best customer support experience, they should consider the combination of a self-help options that can perform the functionalities of their support team.With LIKE.TG, you can simplify the integration of self-service customer support in your business. Try our LIKE.TG free trial and discover why you won’t need to increase the staff headcount. You can reach our LIKE.TG support team for any inquiries and book a live demo.Related articlesHelp Desk Software Features for Boosting Your Customer SupportReasons Why a Knowledge Base is Important in an OrganizationBest Techniques for Reducing Customer Service Response Time
SaaS Customer Success: 9 Best Practices, Importance, and Tools
According to Grand View Research, software-as-a-service (SaaS) is an industry with a market size valued at $261.15 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%. With the increased competition due to market growth, SaaS brands need to stand out by implementing SaaS customer success strategies that focus on customers achieving their desired goals.This becomes a win-win for both customers and SaaS brands, as it gives both the opportunity to be successful in their diverse markets. Customers get more value from interacting with the SaaS brand while SaaS companies retain their clients and gain a loyal following.But what is SaaS customer success, and how do you ensure your customers achieve it?Dive into our comprehensive guide on SaaS customer success and learn the components, importance, best practices, and useful tools. What is SaaS customer success?SaaS customer success is the measures taken by SaaS companies to ensure that their customers achieve their desired outcomes while using their software.In the SaaS industry, achieving customer success involves:Guiding customers through the initial stages of using their software.Providing exceptional support throughout the customer journey.Offering continuous education and training.Encouraging customer engagement to foster lasting relationships.Aligning software’s features and capabilities with customers’ needs and preferences.Helping customers maximize the value they derive from the SaaS brands.6 Components of customer success in SaaSFor a SaaS business to guide its customers to successful outcomes, it can integrate the following core components.Customer onboarding: This process involves welcoming new customers and providing them with resources to help them gain a better understanding of the product and utilize it to its full potential.Customer feedback loop: This involves gathering and analyzing customer feedback to assist businesses in understanding areas of strength and areas that require improvement. It offers invaluable insights into customer preferences and expectations, which can be utilized to enhance the product and service.Quarterly business reviews: Regular discussions of aspects including the utilization of products, the customer experience, and the identification and resolution of any notable hindrances customers may be facing.Self-service: This is the provision of knowledge base articles, how-to videos, and frequently asked questions with answers to help customers solve problems they’re facing on their own.Customer success planning: This is the process gathering information about the goals and challenges of customers and then planning how to help them through the latter in order to achieve the former.Playbooks: A playbook clearly outlines the best strategies and methods for achieving SaaS customer success for an organization. It includes important elements such as procedural guidelines, performance benchmarks, and carefully drafted scripts.Importance of customer success in SaaSThe following are some of the importance of SaaS customer success.Boosts customer retentionIn a highly competitive market, retaining customers can be challenging. However, effective SaaS customer success strategies can boost customer satisfaction and their continued usage of the company’s products.By offering exceptional SaaS support and guidance, customers feel valued and are more likely to remain loyal to the company.Enhances product valueWith a robust customer success strategy, SaaS companies can ensure their customers effectively utilize their product to its full potential. This increases the value derived from the product, leading to greater satisfaction and loyalty among users.Furthermore, through easy interaction and feedback, companies can continuously improve and update their products based on customer needs and preferences, thus adding more value.Leads to increased revenueImplementing SaaS customer success strategies can boost a company’s revenue. One of the primary ways this occurs is through improved customer retention. Satisfied customers are less likely to cancel their subscriptions, leading to a steady and predictable revenue stream.Furthermore, happy customers are more likely to upgrade their services or purchase additional features, leading to increased revenue. Successful customers are also more likely to recommend the product to others, driving new customer acquisition without incurring the typical costs associated with marketing and sales efforts.Builds strong customer relationshipsOne significant benefit of SaaS customer success is the cultivation of strong customer relationships. SaaS companies can use BI software as part of their customer success strategy to track and understand customer behavior and preferences, leading to more personalized and efficient services.Catering to customer preferences shows an understanding of your customers, which they feel, resulting in long-term relationships.SaaS customer success team rolesBuilding a successful SaaS customer success team can help ensure customer satisfaction and long-term business growth.Here’s an outline of the key roles and responsibilities for a SaaS customer success team:Chief customer officer: A chief customer officer (CCO) oversees all customer-related activities, including support and success. They play a key role in leadership, advocating for customer success in discussions with product, engineering, and sales teams.Vice president (VP) of customer success: The VP of customer success manages operations and direction at a SaaS brand. They recruit a team and provide guidance to managers for important accounts.Customer success manager (CSM): SaaS CSMs take charge of a specific group of clients and ensure their success and ongoing partnership. They discuss objectives, create customized strategies, and offer software guidance and training. They may supervise a team and handle contract renewal and upselling as needed.Chief operation manager: This executive-level position manages customer interaction and success, including strategic planning and implementing a customer experience strategy.Implementation specialist: An implementation specialist, also known as an onboarding specialist, helps new clients set up their accounts, transfer data, and learn how to use the SaaS platform.SaaS customer success best practicesEnsuring that your customers not only adopt your product but also derive value from it is essential for long-term success. These are some SaaS customer success best practices.Understand your customer’s objectivesTo achieve customer success, you should understand what your customers aim to achieve by using your SaaS product. Conduct an initial onboarding meeting to align your team with a new customer’s expectations.This helps you understand your customers specific needs and establish a strong foundation for your customer’s success.You can also initiate meetings and surveys later aimed at learning how your customers’ desired outcomes change as they get to know your product.Establish an onboarding process that aligns with customer successQuick and efficient customer support during customer acquisition is critical in the SaaS model. Initiate a thorough onboarding process to ensure that your customers can leverage the full potential of your product. Offer customers resources like tutorials, webinars, and training sessions.Measure your SaaS customer successRegularly assessing SaaS customer success can help you gauge whether your product is meeting customer needs. There are different types of metrics used to measure SaaS customer success. Following are a few metrics for customer success:Customer retention rate: Customer retention rate is a metric used to determine the percentage of customers a company has been able to retain over a certain period of time.Customer satisfaction score: The customer satisfaction score is a measurement of the level of satisfaction that your SaaS customers have with your products and services.Customer effort score: This measures the ease with which customers can use a SaaS product.Customer churn rate: This measures the rate at which customers leave a SaaS product for similar products.Foster customer relationshipsBuilding strong relationships with your customers is one key to customer success. Regularly communicate with your customers, listen to their feedback, and take appropriate action if they bring up issues.Foster an environment where customers feel comfortable sharing concerns in order to address potential issues before they escalate. This helps builds a good rapport with your customers, thus making their success with your company more likely.Provide flexible pricingOffering flexible pricing options can attract more customers. Companies can consider initiating the following strategies to ensure the pricing isn’t an obstacle:Initiating renewal discussions well in advance of the contract expiration date.Providing incentives for long-term commitments.Clearly demonstrating the ongoing value of your product to encourage renewals.Enhance your customers’ support experienceCustomers are likely to encounter issues while using your software, and how these issues are addressed can significantly impact their satisfaction and decision to continue as customers.Providing a good customer experience includes promptly replying to inquiries, offering effective solutions, and efficiently resolving issues. Delivering high-quality customer service not only aids in retaining existing customers but also attracts new ones.Establish a customer success teamHaving a dedicated customer success team can aid your customers in achieving their desired outcomes. This team can proactively engage with customers, understand their needs, and assist them in effectively using your SaaS product.Regularly update your productRegularly updating your product with new features and can help retain existing customers and attract new ones. Communicate these updates to your customers and provide necessary training.Be adaptable to changes in the customer’s business environment, and proactively manage any transitions. Offer flexible solutions and customization options for new updates to accommodate the unique needs and evolving requirements of each customer.Communicate your data security and complianceClearly communicate your commitment to data security and compliance standards. Keep customers informed about any security enhancements or certifications your product achieves, reinforcing their confidence in your platform.Useful customer success SaaS toolsThe following are some customer success SaaS tools businesses can consider using.Customer relationship management software (CRM)A comprehensive customer relationship management tool enables SaaS brands to seamlessly organize their contact data, segmentize the data, sync contact details, and integrate customer success and customer support functions within a unified platform.A CRM also empowers customer success teams to:Keep a history of all customers’ email interactions.Track every support ticket conversation and progress.Access comprehensive records of all communications with every customer.By responding directly within the system, CSMs gain a holistic understanding of each customer’s journey, thereby enhancing their ability to provide effective support.Help desk ticketing softwareHelp desk ticketing software is an online customer service tool used to aid and perform support operations. A help desk ticketing system helps customer success teams in the following ways:Automatically converts inquiries or requests that customers submit from varying communication channels to tickets.Automates and helps optimize the workflow of customer success teams.Automatically categorizes, prioritizes, and routes the new tickets to the right support agents to handle the issues.Knowledge base softwareKnowledge base software is a tool for creating, managing, and sharing information in a systematically arranged and searchable format. Knowledge base software works as a self-service repository of information where SaaS customers can find guides on how to make their work easier or solve issues on their own.A knowledge base can include:FAQsTroubleshooting articlesAdvanced search functionalityStep-by-step product guides and tutorialsCustomer support team contact optionsA straightforward self-service portal setup and configurationBoost client retention with effective SaaS customer success strategiesIn conclusion, ensuring your customers derive value from using your SaaS products should be at the forefront of your objectives. Employing appropriate tools to help you help them is an important step to achieving this objective.We invite you to try LIKE.TG, a robust support solution that helps you enhance your SaaS customers’ success. It has all the tools and features you need to answer their questions and provide resolutions to their issues smoothly.To learn how to get started with LIKE.TG, book a 30-minute live demo. You can also start a 15-day free trial to see for yourself how LIKE.TG can help your support team and customers succeed. Don’t hesitate to contact the LIKE.TG team if you have any inquiries.Related articles15 Best SaaS Affiliate Programs in 2023SaaS Affiliate programs: Benefits and Best Practices for Affiliates
Safeguarding our employees during the coronavirus crisis
By Sally Sourbron, Senior HR Director, EMEAAs I’m sure is the case with many of us, I’ve found that time has seemed to move at a much faster rate than usual.At the beginning of March (which feels like a lifetime ago), I was working from LIKE.TG’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. We were in the midst of daily, cross-functional crisis meetings as the coronavirus started to sweep across the globe.The discussions were focussed around how best to serve our employees who were being impacted by the pandemic, and how to prepare in locations where the infection rates were still low — but set to rise.Three key areas stood out as being absolutely vital in safeguarding our staff:1) Communicating with clarity2) Creating a highly productive, fully remote workforce3) Provisioning reporting capabilities for those affected by the virus.We knew that our own platform would be invaluable in delivering the digital workflows and applications we needed to achieve these goals.New normalOur actions were guided by a simple philosophy: we were not ‘socially’ distancing — only ‘physically’ distancing.Simply put, this means that just because we’re currently unable to work in the same physical space we shouldn’t lose the critical connections between our people.On the Now platform we created a single source of truth for employee-focused information during the crisis, from the company’s response and travel policies, to mental health and wellbeing resources. And all this information can be accessed company-wide — on desktop and via mobile.We have also been able to get targeted messages to specific parts of the business, helping us to adjust and respond to the unprecedented and ever-changing situation we’re all experiencing.We’ve enabled our teams to adapt to entirely new ways of carrying out ‘business-as-usual’, often overnight.Our virtual onboarding is just one example. This has been central to enabling our commitment to no layoffs and making new hires through 2020. We’ve pivoted from an in-person experience on day one to a 100% virtual experience, with digital processes that ensure everyone is integrated into LIKE.TG from the point they receive their offer letter.Our platform is supporting these big shifts in working with guidance on checking in with direct reports, virtual onboarding and offboarding processes, and remote interviews.This clear, real-time communication across the company has greatly helped with our transition to what has become the ‘new normal’.Protecting our peopleEnsuring the safety and wellbeing of our people is paramount. That’s why our conversations back in Santa Clara also sparked the idea to create specialist apps, within LIKE.TG, to manage our response to the crisis.Our engineering and response teams worked in partnership with the crisis response team to ensure the apps were up and running in just two weeks.The Emergency Outreach app helps us connect with employees to assess the impact of the situation at an individual level. We can reach out to check if people are safe, where they are located, and if they require any specialised support.Using the Emergency Self-Report app, our employees can quickly and easily notify us if they are self-isolating, and when they expect to be able to return to work — providing workflow support for their teams so they can resource appropriately.We recognised that those employees who are self-reporting may also have been in recent close proximity with their colleagues. So, we built the Emergency Exposure Management app again on the LIKE.TG platform. As soon as a team member confirms they have symptoms, the app will identify other employees who might have been exposed, based on their meeting history and job location. We then notify these workers to self-isolate — helping to keep our employees, and the greater population, safe.Finding the right pathThe world has changed and moved very quickly since my conversations back at HQ.I’m extremely proud of our response to an incredibly difficult situation. We’ve acted decisively, using all of our knowledge and expertise to create workflows that really make a tangible difference to the safety and wellbeing of our people.Using our own Now platform, we’ve put in place a firm foundation upon which to face an uncertain future.And the great thing is, we’ve been able to share all of this with our customers. Many clients are already implementing our emergency apps — which are free to use — to safeguard their own staff and keep business operations running smoothly.This reverberates around entire communities, and we’re happy to play a role in helping the world adapt to the crisis.As the situation continues to evolve, so will our response. But by placing our employees’ physical and mental health at the centre of our decision-making process, I’m confident we’ll find the right path for our workforce, our customers and therefore our business.
San Diego engineers build tech, teams, and legacies
When it comes to engineering talent, the Bay Area often comes to mind. Well-known tech companies employ tens of thousands of engineers and other tech-intensive roles like UX design, data analytics, and more.In San Diego—where LIKE.TG was founded and maintains a large office, there’s also a significant amount of engineering talent. There’s something else really unique about San Diego: Women make up a large percentage of our engineering team located there. This is something that’s pretty uncommon for tech companies.Ask any of these women what they love about working at LIKE.TG in San Diego; they won’t say the beach. Instead, LIKE.TG women engineers will point to the scope of their roles, the scale of the Now Platform®, and the complexity of the technical problems they get to solve.Magaly Drant, senior director of engineering operations, calls her role here “a once-in-a lifetime kind of thing.” Magaly was part of an early team that built the Now Platform–which powers every one of our solutions. She feels humbled that her engineering skills helped develop technology that’s used by 75% of the Fortune 500.“As an engineer, nothing compares to the opportunity to build something from scratch,” Magaly says. “We went through so many different phases, met with so many customers, and made so many different discoveries when building the platform. To have the institutional knowledge of why things were done a certain way and to be able to continue the growth and development of this dynamic platform motivate me every day.”As the Now Platform has scaled to thousands of customers around the world, Magaly’s perspective has grown as well. “LIKE.TG is growing so fast that it can be easy to get inebriated with our success and push to do more, more, more,” she says. “On the other hand, our growth can lead to being risk-averse, to hold back because we don’t want to make mistakes. But I think the recipe for continued success is in the balance between those two. We have to manage our scale while also continuing to innovate and explore new capabilities.”While Magaly is a long-time LIKE.TG employee, the San Diego office is also home to engineering interns and employees who are earlier in their careers. Take Audrey Moreland. Currently a third-year student at University of California San Diego (UCSD), Audrey is in her second year interning with us in San Diego. She’s studying Cognitive Science with a minor in Computer Science, but her career aspirations aren’t necessarily to go into pure development. Instead she chose the “design and interaction” track for Cognitive Science, an up-and-coming major at UCSD.Recently, Audrey led the quality engineering (QE) work on the Now Platform Madrid release–looking for bugs, documenting, and giving feedback to developers on layout and design. She’s also one of a handful of people working on accessibility testing for the LIKE.TG mobile offering.Audrey values the experience she’s gaining here, and appreciates learning not just technical skills, but how to develop as a leader as well. “I love my team. They’re really cool people,” she says. “They expect me to apply my thinking and voice my ideas. From the start, I got thrown into my internship and then learned as I went. I was really nervous at first, but I quickly realized that as long as you show that you’re hard-working, a fast learner, and that you can adapt well, then you’ll be really valuable to the team, no matter your experience level.”That type of growth mindset is a staple here that Frankie Thompson, software engineering senior manager, knows very well. Driven by an interest in how systems connect, Frankie used Ashton Tate’s dBASE tools to teach herself software development. It didn’t take long to realize she had a knack for building apps, and with the support of her then-manager and other colleagues, she continued to grow her software skills.Despite a nontraditional path into the world of engineering, Frankie built a portfolio of experience working across aerospace engineering, combat simulators, and software that alerted first responders to dispatch needs.Once she found LIKE.TG, Frankie admits she didn’t really understand what the company did, but after her first interview, she loved the atmosphere and connection. “I was ready for a change and ready for a risk,” she says. “That was nine years ago, and my journey here has been incredible. This company is the biggest thing I have ever felt part of. I was here early enough to learn what it takes to build a start-up to the global company we have today.”Much like her colleagues who have been here for several years, Frankie’s focus has evolved from pure software into helping develop the next generation of LIKE.TG engineers. “When I was younger and building software, when I would start to understand something, it was almost like a buzz. I wouldn’t stop until I got it,” she says. “Now I get that same buzz when I see younger engineers developing their skills. I see when they’re ready for a moonshot. I think that by growing passionate leaders, I’ll make a difference here.”A large part of what keeps San Diego’s engineers excited about their day-to-day work is the impact they have on customers: those who use the Now Platform and solutions, as well as the developers who create custom applications on top of it. Director of quality engineering Sangita Pathak manages a global team of about 50 quality engineers, supporting the quality checks for the Now Platform back-end. Her organization works with a number of teams to help ensure consistency from code development through testing, release management, and finally, to general availability.“I sign off on the products that some of our largest customers use every day,” says Sangita. “Because of that, the way we run our QE is highly sophisticated. We run it like an engineering org. It’s very atypical for a testing organization to be this technical.”Sangita makes sure that her QE team understands computer science fundamentals and has some background in programming. “You have to understand the platform to be able to test it. It’s the core of the LIKE.TG ecosystem,” she continues. “The way QE is positioned here is amazing. QE isn’t an afterthought or another stop in the process. It’s very much part of the engineering org, and we’re situated and supported very well. QE has a true voice.”Sangita’s team stays close to customers and values the insights and feedback they receive.“We’re where rubber meets the road. We get called into customer meetings so we can hear their common problems and develop tests to figure them out. You would think QE is a behind-the-scenes function, but there are intersections when we’re at the forefront and interacting directly with our customers. It’s impressive to see the impact.”Customers have been at the core of LIKE.TG from its founding. But clearly, it’s not just executives or client directors who maintain those relationships. Understanding how customers use the Now Platform and seeing live use cases inspires our technology teams to keep building new and more advanced features, and often, fix common problems.Platform customization and app development is an important differentiator that many customers appreciate. And Jennifer Lee, senior manager for platform persistence, is responsible for making sure the back-end APIs that allow customers and developers to save and retrieve data for their applications are up and running 24/7. Jennifer and her team work to make the APIs as simple as possible for customers and shield the tough communication protocols behind the scenes.Jennifer left her role at a previous company to look for a place where she could impact the end user. “At LIKE.TG, things are changing. What I do in the code shows up in a customer instance. I build a product, customers use it, and they tell me what they think. That’s rewarding. How much influence you have on a product makes a huge difference.” But, like many employees at LIKE.TG feel, the technology is only one piece of the puzzle. People make the difference. “We’re at a stage where what you do with a product matters,” says Jennifer. “But it’s just as important, we have the people to continue to push the technology forward, instead of maintaining the status quo.”To find out about more opportunities at LIKE.TG, check out our careers page.
Save $1M with Software Asset Management
In this new series of Now on Now stories, we share how we use LIKE.TG products internally to transform our operations and create great experiences. We hope our stories will inspire our customers and partners to harvest even more business value and resiliency from the Now Platform®. For more information, visit the Now on Now Workflows Book of Knowledge.Effective IT asset management enables IT leaders to digitize and manage software licenses (on-premises or SaaS-based) and hardware assets with intuitive workflows and better lifecycle visibility to make IT environments more secure and operationally efficient.With many companies having a predominantly home-based workforce, it’s even more important to understand where hardware assets are located and by whom. IT leaders also need to know if assets are being used remotely and are properly allocated. Providing better visibility into hardware assets and software licenses allows LIKE.TG to make better decisions about utilization and new investments.Reclaiming software costsLIKE.TG was able to reclaim approximately $1 million from the company’s software budget by implementing LIKE.TG® Software Asset Management (SAM), according to Poonam Kripalani, Senior Manager for IT Asset Management Governance at ServiceNow.“We’re currently focused on various different LIKE.TG® IT Asset Management (ITAM) activities, Kripalani said. “For example, automating our software requests, automating our software reclaim requests, and driving ITAM process efficiencies.”Recently, the company wanted to gain better visibility into its Microsoft product usage to ensure license compliance. “Being compliant reduces the reputational risk and any unplanned compliance audit monetary findings,” observed Kripalani. The company also wanted to optimize software spend and automate software request fulfillment to make it faster and easier for end users.However, LIKE.TG faced challenges, especially when it came to desktop and SaaS products, which make up 26% of overall software spend. These challenges included: Lack of visibility into our software spend > Goal: Establish trustworthy data 14 different groups procuring software licenses > Goal: Operational integration SaaS software was not being tracked > Goal: Define roles and responsibilities A SAM team was created with clear roles and responsibilities to focus on establishing trustworthy data to operationalize SAM. “Good data is a prerequisite for good software asset management,” said Kripalani. The outcomesToday, subscription data is captured automatically from the Microsoft portal and validated. This provides a complete picture of allocation and compliance. LIKE.TG also has insights into all purchase requisition data to better manage costs. All data is tracked and reviewed from the Microsoft dashboard for a complete view of LIKE.TG’s compliance position.“We were successful in reducing our software spend by $1 million over the last two years. By having automated processes, we have trustworthy software license data and better visibility into license allocation, cost, and compliance position via SAM dashboards,” Kripalani revealed.LIKE.TG now has trustworthy software license data and better visibility into license allocation, cost, and compliance position via its SAM Dashboard. By automating software requests, the company has saved 3,260 hours (or almost $300K) and enhanced the user experience. The company was also able to successfully identify and reclaim unused licenses, resulting in $795K in software cost savings over the last 2 years.Software data quality and compliance visibility are now 100% across the company. IT teams also benefit because they can focus on the high value work that they were trained to do, rather than spending their time on administrative tasks.Kripalani and her team are also focusing on software spend detection with a software spend detection feature, part of the LIKE.TG New York release. The company previously tracked 250 software products. In the last three years, however, LIKE.TG has doubled in size, and many more software purchases were being made on corporate credit cards. In fact, an analysis of over one million credit card transactions revealed that 700 additional software products were being used internally.“Manually, it would have taken us weeks or months to analyze this data, but by using software spend detection, this analysis was completed in just a few hours,” said Kripalani.. Moving forward, she and her team will focus on doing a deeper analysis of these additional discovered software products.To learn more about SAM, check out these resources: ITAM Workflows Book of Knowledge Knowledge 2020 Digital Experience Session: Now on Now: Reclaim $1 million in Opex from your software budget using SAM
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