Your employees are your greatest asset. They play a pivotal role in the success of your company. As with any other valuable asset, you should nurture and protect them. Bob Nelson, PhD, a motivational speaker and best-selling author once said, "Take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in a thousand ways." This reciprocation includes higher productivity and greater loyalty. According to a survey from Great Place to Work, 63% of employees who were regularly recognized indicated they would be unlikely to leave their job. Recognition also increased productivity, employee engagement, and performance by 14%. Wondering where to start? Or what an effective employee recognition program would entail? Read on to find out more. Overview of Employee Recognition When employees do great work, they deserve to be appreciated for their efforts. Employee recognition is a way to acknowledge the exceptional work of members of your staff: Quality of work Initiative Attitude Personal growth Leadership skills Problem-solving Adaptability One way to do this is through an employee recognition program, a structured company initiative that rewards employees on their: Individual achievements Work anniversaries Milestones Contributions Performance achievements Your recognition program should align with your company's mission, vision, and values. This helps reinforce the company culture you've created. Based on your values, this may be a culture of excellence, success, honesty, and teamwork (see more about company culture software here). Your employees should have a clear idea of their individual goals and how this affects company goals, ideally starting at the time of onboarding. Periodic positive reinforcement and constructive feedback helps them strive toward attaining them, promoting a culture of success and continuous self-improvement. Benefits of Employee Recognition Employee recognition is a win-win situation for both employers and employees. For employees, it fosters pride in their work and gives them a reason to keep on putting forth their best. This increases their level of productivity and sense of loyalty. An employee who trusts their organization is more inclined to contribute to company goals. They look at it as a team effort. They know they have an employer that cares about their welfare as much as the bottom line. In fact, about 90% of employees who received recognition trusted their bosses more as a result, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), while only 48% of employees who didn't receive recognition trusted their leaders. The result? Companies with highly engaged workforces are 21% more profitable. Conversely, an employee that resigns because they're unhappy can cost you a lot. It costs just over $4,000 to hire a new employee and an additional $1,000 to onboard them. That's roughly $5,000 for every new employee you hire, according to the SHRM. Fortunately, recognition usually has a rippling effect: It encourages other employees to work together to achieve individual and company goals. Plus, rewarding employees is an effective way to increase productivity, especially if you’re working toward sales goals. Other benefits include: Increasing employee engagement Enhancing company culture Strengthening work relationships Boosting customer service Increasing profitability Increasing employee retention, particularly of top-talent Improving job satisfaction Reducing staff sick days Lowering stress levels at work Inspiring other companies Workmates Self-Guided Tour We’ll show you how Workmates can engage everyone in your organization, recognize their milestones, and drive productivity to new heights. Start Now How to Recognize Your Employees Traditionally, employee recognition is top-down. A manager or supervisor acknowledges the great performance of an employee. It can also involve staff recognition where a team lead recognizes the stellar performance of his/her team or workgroup. You can also expand this to include peer-to-peer recognition as well. This allows co-workers or teammates to recognize each other. Ideally, recognition should involve all the above. However, regardless of the type of recognition in the workplace and whether it’s private, public, or anonymous, it should have the following criteria: Ample resources committed Straightforward and easily understood by all involved Aligned with your company's mission, vision, and values Rewards commensurate with the achievements Take place soon after the employee attains the achievement Well-executed Continuously evaluated for relevance Clear communication of the program is also important. You should introduce new hires to your recognition program during employee onboarding. Managers can then reinforce the program's elements and clarify any uncertainty. Most importantly, an employee recognition program should never be static. It should evolve as both internal and external changes take place. Don't be afraid to get input. Employee surveys are a great way to do that. You can alter your program based on their feedback. For example, whether an employee prefers to be recognized privately or publicly. It’s also important to find out what type of work employees wish to be rewarded for. Do they want to be celebrated for doing a great job on a project or for achieving years of service to the company? If you’ve already implemented a rewards system into your company, see how your employees react when they are recognized. If there is a lukewarm reaction, then you’ll need to tailor your employee recognition program to achieve optimal benefits. Even simple acts of recognition can improve employee morale. This can include expressing heartfelt thanks or apologizing for any miscommunication. Non-work-related gestures also go a long way. Ask a new mother how she is coping with being away from her newborn. Find out how your new employee is adjusting after moving to a new city. Let them suggest ways that you can help with the transition. The key to successful employee recognition is to be authentic. Genuine appreciation efforts are more likely to be welcomed by your staff. All these gestures foster a caring work environment. It's one that any employee will enjoy being a part of. It will make them less likely to leave. “Our staff has praised the increased communication 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 Examples of Employee Recognition Understanding what type of recognition employees want can be a challenge. After all, there’s no one right answer to this question. In general, there are several ways to show your appreciation. We’ve outlined a few of them below. Remember, the better you know your staff, the better chance you have of rewarding them. Bonuses: Monetary rewards can be a great incentive. However, you should tie them to specific performance measurements. Care Package: This can include gift certificates, snacks, games, and a handwritten note from you. It’s even better if the items reflect their personality and interests. Appreciation Days or Events: More formal programs can highlight an employee for a month or quarter. Public Acknowledgement: This can be as simple as a company- or department-wide email, or something more involved like a trophy, plaque, or digital photo display. However, be careful: Some members of staff shy away from public recognition, while others bask in it. Performance Feedback: Giving regular feedback on your employees’ performance helps to boost their confidence. You can deliver individual feedback on a one-to-one level or hold team meetings to offer performance feedback on team projects. Social Media Shout-Outs: Providing shout-outs on your social media platforms is a great way to recognize employees in a public manner. Rewards Platform: You could also create a rewards marketplace where top-performing employees can gain gift cards or subscriptions to magazines or media. Workmates has an integrated newsfeed where the kudo badges are shown and employees can exchange the points for rewards. Coworker Recognition Program: Implement a program that allows peer-to-peer recognition. The recognition doesn't even have to be work-related. It could be something a fellow employee did to get them through a difficult day. Extra Time Off: This could involve giving an employee the day off on their birthday or giving an extended paid holiday over Christmas and New Year. Alternatively, you could offer staff extra paid hours off for achieving specific milestones. Professional Development: Provide professional development, including workshops, training programs, free books and their own training courses. Small Gesture: Gift a bouquet of flowers, offer book tokens, send a thank you note/card, buy a box of chocolates or buy a gift card. Wellness Programs: Providing free gym time boosts employee wellness, as well as productivity levels. It’s a great way to lower stress and anxiety and promote a healthy work-life balance for your employees. Lunch or Dinner: Taking your employees out for lunch or dinner can create some memorable moments for your team. For shyer employees, a one-on-one lunch is a perfect way to say thank you. Make it about them by choosing a location they enjoy. Team Happy Hour: Going for team drinks at the end of the week is a popular way to show your appreciation. Offer to purchase the first round of drinks or plan drinks around a pub event, such as quiz night or karaoke. It’s a great bonding exercise! Team-Building Activity: Paintballing, kayaking, river rafting, rock climbing or other sports are events that show that you value your employees alongside wanting to build relationships between them. Virtual team-building activities are a good way to include and recognize remote employees. Outdoor Activity: Rewarding employees with outdoor activity provides a change of scenery from the four walls of the office and allows employees to engage with each other in another environment. Donating: Find out if an employee would appreciate you donating to a non-profit instead of any monetary reward. This will send the message that you're interested in the things they care about and show that you are willing to help make a difference. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now Author Bio: Auria Heanley is co-founder of Oriel Partners, a boutique PA and administrative recruitment consultancy based in Central London. She is extremely passionate about providing the highest quality of service to both clients and candidates. Oriel Partners’ clients range from global multinationals to small boutique firms, all requiring the same personal service and high-caliber support

Today, organizations depend on the commitment and engagement of their teams to thrive more than ever. A fully engaged workforce can take the company to unprecedented levels by boosting productivity, limiting employee turnover, supporting the company’s strategy, and lifting the employer’s brand. Recent reports indicate that 60% of employees are not engaged, 15% are actively disengaged at work and only 25% are actively engaged. As a result, leaders should strive to improve employee engagement at all costs and settle for nothing less than a highly engaged workforce. Sadly, achieving this is easier said than done, whether in a corporation or a nonprofit organization. It requires a laid-out strategy to succeed. Here are a few recommendations for bolstering employee engagement in an organization. 1. Nonprofit executive search There are several ingredients to successful nonprofit organizations, but strong leadership often gets underestimated. Nonprofit executive search concerns the organization board’s efforts to identify and attract competent top-level leadership. Usually, it involves the recruiting activities of defining the core responsibilities of the leader, formulating the job description, identifying the qualifications for the role, attracting a pool of candidates, and matching the candidates’ qualifications. In addition, organizations can conduct the executive search themselves or hire a professional executive search firm for assistance. Providing exemplary leadership plays a critical role in enhancing employee engagement by integrating engagement drivers like articulating the vision and providing support. In addition, it goes beyond the organization’s short-term goals because good leaders help make employees satisfied with their jobs, more committed, and more confident about the nonprofit’s future. Leaders need to demonstrate to their teams that they are the most engaged people to provide a shining example. However, many leaders focus mainly on employee improvement and forget the critical area of increasing their performance. As a result, these leaders do not portray the same level of enthusiasm they expect from the team. Great leaders will know there is a need to review their performance constantly. When it comes to engagement, they need to reflect the standards they expect from the workforce. 2. Set realistic goals Every organization has a set of objectives the team wants to achieve within specified timelines. The goals increase productivity and encourage employees to commit to achieving them. However, many nonprofit employees do not love their quantitative nature, and often, even the most productive employees dread performance reviews. Leaders can change the general feel about performance measurements by changing their organizational goals approach. But first, every leader must understand that rigid and unrealistic goals are more likely to demoralize employees and reduce productivity while leading to higher turnover. They can engage their teams in the goal-setting process. The goals directly affect the employees, so engaging them in the entire process makes much sense. Leaders should take charge and lead the team in developing specific, measurable, actionable, result-oriented, and time-conscious goals. That way, they increase the likelihood of achieving them and bring a sense of ownership and commitment to the plans. Commitment is incredibly high when employees’ individual goals link to the organization’s bigger picture. When they can directly see the impacts of their performance on organizational objectives, this encourages them to perform better and become more accountable for their progress. Also, they can constantly review the goals based on actual seasons. It should not mean that the organization’s targets will always be flexible, but revisiting the objectives and making adjustments are necessary as the realities of events and needs change. 3.Encourage interaction among employees While it can be difficult for leaders to make friends with their employees, creating an organizational culture that encourages healthy interpersonal interactions among teams is still helpful. These exchanges can include the leaders, workers, and even the public. Good personal interactions improve employees’ morale by bringing positive feelings, job satisfaction, increased productivity, and the public can also develop positive attitudes towards the organization. Leaders need to understand that employees can recognize when leadership cares about them and understands their interests, challenges, and hopes. For example, when employees know the leader cares about their wellbeing, they may open up about their challenges and become more caring for other colleagues. Leaders can also encourage positive employee interactions by pairing workers with different demographics to collaborate on projects and encourage cross-team collaboration. Open relations with the team members will also help the leader identify potential issues before they become significant and impactful. At the same time, these consultations can allow employees to open up and help each other and promote positive relationships. 4. Provide regular constructive feedback Most workers crave feedback after they lead an event or accomplish an important task, and the leader’s response significantly affects their engagement level. Positive feedback is more desirable and is most likely to impact positively. On the other hand, negative feedback is also essential but may not inspire the employee. Even leaders tend to feel some discomfort and awkwardness when giving negative feedback. In any case, leaders need to learn to give constructive feedback to help improve employee performance. Constructive feedback falls between negative and positive feedback, and is meant to correct, inspire, and lead to positive change. When giving constructive feedback, leaders can start by commending positive behavior or work and then point out problematic issues they want to be changed. They can then recommend some tips that can help the employee improve next time. Typically, the feedback is corrective and future-oriented and helps to motivate continuous learning and positive change. 5. Learn to honor individual differences People differ in many aspects, so it may not be helpful to adopt any one-size-fits-all solutions and policies in an organization. Instead, leaders need to understand employee differences in terms of their age, gender, religion, race, departments they work in, opinions, level of education, and preferences, to name just a few areas. Leaders of smaller organizations should know each employee personally and professionally to help them better manage the uniqueness of their team makeup. That way, it becomes possible to integrate the differences in decision-making, allowing every team member and their opinion to be valued. That feeling paves the way for higher employee engagement and better performance. For larger organizations, this approach can be used at a division level. 6. Build trust within teams Great leaders know that a culture of trust is critical for organizational success. Employees ought to trust each other and their organization, and the employer also needs to reciprocate with trust. However, while most leaders understand its importance, some struggle to foster it effectively. Good communication is an effective way of building trust. In organizations where employees and leaders communicate well, these teams are likely to be more cooperative and effective. In addition, employees with stronger relationships have a greater awareness of and trust each other. Leaders who actively communicate with workers show they care about them and will listen to them. Managers who are honest and fair in their dealings and hold workers accountable with the same criteria can instill trust in their teams. Instead of using punitive programs, leaders who promote moral standards will grow a healthier organization. Final Thoughts For employee engagement, exceptional leaders develop exceptional workers, and that’s why the executive search comes first. A good leader has critical goals in mind and knows that the attainment of the objectives depends heavily on employee cooperation. As a result, the leader who engages the team in every step and helps them achieve their targets will help the organization succeed. In addition, good leaders communicate the desired outcomes well and demonstrate trust in their employees by assigning roles and empowering them to achieve those outcomes. A leader who follows this approach can more easily keep teams be productive and engaged. Author Bio: Since 1997 David Hutchinson, a nonprofit executive recruiter at Cause Leadership, has successfully placed senior-level candidates with a broad spectrum of organizations in the charitable sector. He also has a great interest in helping charitable organizations diversify, become younger in their leadership, and better represent their own clients.

After leaving an hour-long meeting, how often have you heard people say, "That could have been an email," after leaving an hour-long meeting? Employees despite being squandered their time. With limited hours and too much work, ineffective meetings cause employees to become more stressed and irritated. The reality is that nobody wants to sit through a meeting that accomplishes nothing. Meetings, on the other hand, aren't all unpleasant. Face-to-face interaction boosts creativity, encourages teamwork, and can help teams develop solutions that they would not have come up with on their own. Unfortunately, meeting expenses account for a little over 1% of total revenue for most businesses. So, how do you prepare for a productive meeting? Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-on-conference-room-1181396/ A primary focus is ensuring that everyone touched by the problem has a voice and is actively engaged in the process. This ensures that everyone has an excellent time at the meeting and has diverse viewpoints in your discussions and conclusions. In addition, everyone should feel heard, understood, and optimistic about the group and any plans or decisions you've made during a meeting. Get prepared before your meeting Meetings are commonplace in the workplace. However, unlike a trade fair or a teambuilding activity, a meeting is a generic term that may describe any gathering of individuals. What distinguishes a meeting from an event? Rectangles and squares are similar to meetings and events. However, not all meetings are events, and not all events are meetings. Meetings are usually held for educational or business purposes, and the magnitude and sense of gatherings might vary. Meetings are held to communicate information, whether for business or education. For example, a new venture, a project update, or HR training could all be on the cards. The most efficient approach to achieving a common goal is to gather, whether digitally or in person, a meeting is held. Take a look at the video hosting sites and search the information about your meeting's main topic, gathering versatile information as much as possible, which will help you in the planning process. Whether it’s a sales pitch meeting for a series of latest technology trends or an HR meeting for new recruitments, pay close attention to the planning process. Every meeting starts with a vision, but to analyze costs and make efficient planning decisions, you'll need to translate your vision into words and statistics. So start with the fundamentals of planning, such as who, what, when, where, and why. Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/colleagues-working-together-5676679/ Open a document that is available to the entire team and allows each member to view the others and the broader picture. Next, make a list of the essential tasks first, and then fill them out as much as possible in individual stages. In the planning process, it's critical to specify the timetable and priorities. The gathering's goal needs to be highly explicit. For example, if it's a business meeting, the items on the agenda that will be discussed must be evident. After everything has been organized, the next step is to choose a location for the meeting. It is not an easy undertaking when planning meetings for a large group of people. If the meeting is held remotely, focus on technical issues that may arise, create solid passwords if there’s a need for a signup, and cancel background noise. If your company holds many meetings requiring selecting locations, scheduling travel, and managing food and beverages across multiple offices, streamlining your meeting process can be a good idea to streamline your meeting process. “Standardizing a meeting program allows you to keep track of meeting activities, automate sourcing and budgeting to save time, and improve compliance and efficiency by using standard methods,” says Craig Anderson, Founder of Express Dentist. Six steps to successfully organize productive meetings Meetings are essential for several good reasons. First, because there is a set time for communication, meetings help build stronger team relationships. Whether you’re selling online courses or launching the latest gadget, you will need to organize a meeting to deal with its proceedings. Any major company decisions should always be discussed face-to-face. Then, instead of using a video call, you give the decision and the people involved the time and respect required to resolve it. Successful meeting planning can be complex, but it can make a huge difference once accomplished. Here are a few steps to successfully organize productive meetings. 1. Set the purpose and goals of your meeting Setting a meeting goal may appear simple, but there's much more to it than that. Setting meeting objectives in advance to work toward the time given for the meeting is critical to running and participating in an effective meeting. Meeting objectives direct your discussions to stay on track, on the subject, and as productive as possible. Whether you have a few meeting objectives in mind or a significant decision, it's critical to be organized, prepared, and adhere to your plan using a collaborative agenda template. Consider sharing your meeting goals with attendees in your informational or even welcome emails if they are new. This way, they will feel more engaged in the meeting and show more interest. Meeting objectives are essentially the outcomes you wish to achieve by the end of the meeting. You can have numerous minor meeting objectives or a primary aim, depending on the nature of the project you and your team are working on. Joey Sasson, Vice President of Sales Logistics at Moving APT, says “Your meeting objectives should be clearly stated in your schedule so that you may plan all of the procedures necessary to achieve one or more goals by the end of your team meeting.” Unfortunately, if your team isn't dedicated to sticking to a meeting agenda, the meeting will not go well. So make sure you seek your team members' opinions and that their voices are heard before you decide the topics you'll be covering to fulfill your meeting goal(s). Setting at least one goal for each meeting is critical because failing to do so may cause you to lose focus. In addition, your team members and you are likely to hold opposing viewpoints on the most vital or pressing issues to solve. This is why planning ahead of time to create a collaborative agenda or soliciting suggestions is critical. For example, if the meeting is about business competitions, you’ll have to be ready with all the relevant objectives and feature questions such as “Who are they,” “What are their strengths and weaknesses,” etc. It's crucial to know what attendees think is significant to bring up and that their opinions are taken into account because there may be concerns or points of interest that you weren't aware of otherwise. Furthermore, having a common goal will draw you and your team closer together as you strive for success. Here are some common and significant types of meeting goals to be aware of when planning and implementing critical corporate goals: - Problem-solving - Adjustments and retrospection - Planning - Decision-making - Getting work done - Relationship and culture-building - Sharing feedback or reviewing work “Setting defined meeting goals will make your team feel more driven to work together to achieve collective success if your team is goal-oriented,” notes Jonathan Ben Zvi, CEO of All Forward. In addition, understanding the various sorts of meeting objectives will enable you to customize how you set meeting goals to the purpose of your discussion. After the meeting, make sure you go through your results to see what you've accomplished. Then, consider why you haven't been able to fulfill the meeting target you set for yourself. For example, was the meeting's purpose well-defined? 2. Plan an agenda beforehand Arrive with a positive mindset. Encourage everyone to participate. Start an online timer and watch the time to ensure that the meeting ends on schedule. While such abilities are helpful once you're in the room, the seeds of highly productive meetings are planted well before the meeting date, even before the invitations are sent out. It all starts with a well-planned meeting agenda. Great meetings take place because they are required to achieve an important goal. Before a leader can select who should attend a meeting and how it should be run, specify the meeting's purpose. Meeting agendas serve as a tool for team preparation before the meeting and a guide throughout it. An Agenda Meeting goals and conversation topics are clearly stated in a compelling meeting agenda. It is written to assist team members before, during, and after the meeting while delivering all the required information to ensure success. An agenda is a listing of meeting activities and conversations that will be addressed in your meeting. It is vital to work that out before the meeting begins. They're organized logically, usually as a list or a group of bullet points. You should thoroughly plan an All-Hands gathering to optimize the team's time together, whereas a brief one-topic huddle may require no plan. On the other hand, meeting notes often start with the schedule and fill in the blanks with further information about what happened during the meeting, such as decisions and future steps. A plan could include a question to be answered, for example, "Discussion: Should we postpone our team-wide retreat until 2022?" Creating a meeting agenda The first step in building an effective meeting plan is deciding on the type of document to utilize. This determines how simple it will be for meeting participants to develop, distribute, and refer to your schedule. You can format your agenda in a variety of ways, including: - Word document - Google Doc - PDF - Cold emails Consider whether anyone else will need to add to the agenda or have the opportunity to remark on it. If that's the case, sending the schedule will cause tension; therefore, a more collaborative approach will be beneficial. Also, if you think of using something fun, such as the “best I can do is meme,” then use that skill to create a meme relevant and relatable to the situation and present it as an icebreaker at the beginning. For instance, you could wish to create a lovely agenda PDF to print before a meeting. However, if you choose this structure, it will be difficult or impossible for others to make agenda changes or fill in their parts with greater detail if they give a presentation at your meeting. As a result, a shared document is frequently preferred. Pro-tip Early agenda drafting provides several advantages, including reducing meeting goals, which helps determine who needs to be there and predicts a reasonable meeting length for the conversation topics included. In addition, when you outline a meeting before sending out invitations, you're more likely to have people arrive prepared because they'll know what's on the agenda. Finally, it's essential to plan everything, whether you need to sign a shareholders’ agreement during the business meeting or make small fundraising while meeting attendees. In most cases, imposing meeting goals and conversation topics on your attendees on the day of the meeting is counterproductive. For weekly meetings with low-stakes decision-making objectives, this might work. However, a better strategy is to develop the practice of sharing well-thought-out meeting agendas that allow attendees to offer revisions. When schedules are transferred, and participants may add to them, they become more powerful. Whether a vital piece of information needs to be provided to inform the meeting, additional time must be allotted to a topic that a team member believes is more complex than it appears. Allowing early attendee engagement builds a strong foundation and gives attendees ownership. Furthermore, planning a schedule gives the meeting host plenty of time to arrange their thoughts and goals and ensure that nothing crucial is left off the agenda on the meeting day. 3. Get attendees prepared for your meeting Because most individuals are unprepared, most meetings are a disaster. They haven't considered why the meeting is taking place or what they want to achieve. Worse, they are afraid to take charge and stop others from stealing time. Here are five things to complete to get attendees prepared for your meeting: Send invitations in advance: Meetings should not be rushed. Nobody enjoys being invited to a meeting on the same day. Therefore,ameeting request emailshould be sent out at least 2–3 days.You can use social listening tools to analyze how your attendees would like to receive the invitation and what they want to discuss to make your meeting more productive. Distribute an agenda: A meeting with no plan is nothing more than a free-for-all. Make a schedule and give it to the attendees to be ready to debate the issues. If any advance materials need to be reviewed, please make sure you deliver them early enough so that attendees have time to study them. If you don't, your meeting will devolve into a "reading session." This is not an excellent way to spend anyone's time. You can also share your agenda online. If you do so, don’t forget to include the right call-to-action phrases so that attendees know what they are supposed to accomplish. Reserve meeting space: We've all tried to attend a meeting only to find out at the last minute that the invitation does not include a meeting location. Ensure you have enough meeting space for the number of people attending and the work needed. Set meeting expectations: Setting the expectation of "What is the meeting's goal?" is maybe the most critical thing you can do before the meeting. People prefer to know why they are attending in advance. It gives the meeting direction. Make your meeting topic as specific as possible. "Catch-up" is not an appropriate topic for a meeting. "Briefing on the progress of Project XYZ" is far more effective and will result in a more productive meeting. Suppose you don't prepare ahead of time. Then, the majority of meetings are doomed from the start. Meetings are so inefficient in many companies that they are considered the single biggest time-waster in the office. If you plan ahead of time for your meetings, you'll be able to make better use of everyone's time. Do some background research about the attendees There is no justification for not learning about the individuals you are meeting. You should know who is at the table, whether it's a one-on-one meeting or a conference table of ten. Please make a list of attendees and look them up on the Internet. Check over their LinkedIn profile and even their Facebook group to get a sense of who they are and how they can add to the conversation. The time you put in upfront will save you time on introductions and provide you with valuable information in the event of a problem. Set clear goals for yourself The majority of meetings ramble because people wait until the last minute to figure out what they want to get out of their time. Even if you're the only one who knows what needs to be done, you may direct the results to match your demands and declare success once the goals are completed. Plan a suggested agenda Prepare your preferred agenda ahead of time and present it to the group at the beginning of the meeting. People will most likely embrace your proposal or, at the very least, voice any essential changes that can be immediately agreed upon. So, pick your business objectives for the meeting and lead with them. Take into account any potential roadblocks Rather than waiting for the bombs to go off, prepare yourself for the drama that may happen. Consider which battles are worth your time and effort and which you are ready to give up. You can keep calm and proceed toward resolution fast if you are mentally prepared for the emotion and dispute. Get rid of any stumbling barriers You shouldn't wait until the meeting ends to fix every issue. Instead, you will save time for the attendees to identify potential concerns and resolve them before the meeting. Then, with enough information, you will be able to eliminate the necessity for the meeting. Decide the outcomes you want to achieve Ascertain that everyone understands why the meeting is necessary and the more significant impact on the parties involved. This is different from the tactical meeting objectives in that it is about understanding how this meeting fits into the overall strategy. For instance, if your meeting's general purpose is to discuss the benefits of e-commerce development on your business, then it’s obvious that the meeting should be prepared around this topic, with a lot of information and opinions included. If people aren't clear on this, the effort and outcomes will be disjointed at best and ineffective at worst. Consider what you'll do next Before entering the meeting, set aside time to take action that will benefit from the discussion. Most people don't think about follow-up and follow-through until after the session has ended. If you budget time that becomes unproductive, you can quickly redistribute it to more critical tasks. This is why it’s essential to plan your further actions, from sharing meeting photos and documents to maybe having another meeting. So make sure to schedule Instagram posts at the right time, send meeting documents to all attendees, and plan the next round-up, if needed. 4. Keep track of meeting notes You have a tight schedule and a million things to remember, and it's not just about work. For example, you could be discussing how an increasing number of businesses are using Litecoin and other digital assets throughout the world for various investment, operational, and transactional purposes. Of course, there could be risks, as with any frontier, but there are also great incentives. Examine the questions and insights businesses focus on when deciding whether or not to leverage digital assets. Meeting choices and action items, on the other hand, tend to be significant – to the point where the path your business takes may be dependent on them. Let's go into the nuts and bolts of taking great meeting notes. You might even believe you know how to take decent notes and are just seeking a professional-looking notes template in a Google Doc or Word document. However, most individuals write meeting notes the same way they took notes in school: they are incredibly long and detailed. In a professional situation, such note-taking is tiresome, and it doesn't result in meeting notes that your team members can use. Note-taking improves recall Note-taking has been demonstrated to boost knowledge memory in studies. Taking notes allows you to gain a deeper comprehension of the topic matter. While most of this note-taking study has been conducted in academic contexts, students may reap the same benefits while taking meeting notes professionally. If you take any form of notes during a meeting, you'll be more likely to recall what happened, even if you never look at them again. Notes make meetings meaningful Learning how to take the best meeting notes possible allows you to organize, retain, and act on information from your meetings. You and your team will be more effective and productive during meetings if you keep a record (also known as meeting minutes). Yes, simple meeting minutes can aid in the creation of a cycle of continuous improvement. The notes also hold the group accountable for making good use of meeting time. As time passes and you need to look everything up, meeting notes become increasingly important. You'll save a lot of time at work if you develop even a simple note-taking practice. Meeting notes enable professional success By taking notes in meetings, you may advance your career while also increasing your productivity at work. Well-written meeting notes position you as an organized person and a leader when you share them with coworkers or your supervisor. Your notes demonstrate that you are aware of the situation. They exude professional assurance. Taking (excellent) meeting notes can feel overwhelming with so much at stake, but it doesn't have to be. For starters, all you need is a laptop or notebook. (A meeting notes template may be helpful, but we've got you covered.) Here are some pointers on organizing your meeting notes to be concise, clear, and valuable to the reader. How to take good notes in meetings Nothing is more upsetting than spending an hour in a meeting and being unable to recall key points because you failed to take notes. Taking meeting notes/minutes that people will utilize, on the other hand, does not have to be complicated. So instead, follow a few simple guidelines. Whether you hold daily stand-ups or weekly one-on-ones, the following methods for organizing meeting notes can help you take better notes in various situations. Begin with the agenda for your meeting Instead of starting from scratch, copy the meeting agenda to give your notes structure. Keep a record of all attendees Make a list of who is attending the meeting before it begins. It's more about transparency than attendance when you list every person in the room. If someone who wasn't able to attend has issues with a meeting decision, having an attendee list on hand will assist you in remembering who was involved in the decision. You need to keep track of three critical points in your meeting notes. - Decisions - Outcomes - Action items If someone offers an update or a presentation, resist the urge to take thorough notes unless you know someone absent from the meeting and will want the information. Instead, you might want to take notes on each significant point or what ideas are mentioned during really crucial debates (rather than the entire discussion). Don't bother about recording everything If you try to catch everything word-for-word, you're likely to miss something important––like the group moving on without choosing. So instead, follow the Vital Meetings structure when taking meeting notes and concentrate on essential decisions, outcomes, and action items. For consistency, use meeting note templates You can use templates to write meeting notes in a specified format. Your meeting agenda is excellent to start when turning random letters into a reusable plan. Take notes from today's meeting and turn them into a template for your next one. You don't have to stick to your template for the letter. Instead, your minutes will be helpful to capture judgments made, key ideas, takeaways, and next steps. The template is designed to be used as an outline, organize your thoughts, and provide structure—but not to the point where your task is more difficult. How to take notes during a customer meeting Understanding and responding to your customers' changing requirements is essential for long-term customer success. Meetings are still one of the most efficient ways to gather feedback and improve customer engagement. Use the correct meeting notes template to master the art of customer meetings. Then, act on what you've learned to maintain those connections pleasant and healthy. 5. Conclude your meeting and share your thoughts It would be best to express your mind to achieve your objectives and advance in your job. Sharing ideas and creating connections with coworkers and your boss is essential for career progression. We're pleased to guide you in the correct direction with a few pointers on how to speak out and express your ideas so that fear no longer holds you back when it's your turn to shine. Perhaps you forgot to bring data back to a colleague, you felt like you didn't get your point across, or you sat in silence for long periods. Here are a few ideas for how you can contribute effectively to every meeting you attend: Be selective in your choices Selecting which meetings to attend allows you to concentrate your time and energy on those you have something beneficial to contribute or those you must participate in due to their potential impact on you. If you've been invited to a meeting but don't believe you have the skills to contribute, politely inquire why you've been asked. You might be able to offer a more suitable replacement. If you're short on time, see if you can attend only the meeting parts that are relevant to you. If you are unable to participate, ask if you can communicate your comments to the chairperson via email so that you can still participate, although from afar. Suggest the latest techs and trends in the market. For example, you might want to suggest lead generation tools or software to improve your company’s sales make sure you are clear and concise in your delivery. Make a list of your points Make sure you own a copy of the agenda before the meeting begins. Then, research your topics, develop a list of the essential questions and points you want to make, and take down any additional information or remarks that may help you make your case more credible. Find out who else is going and why they're going. Then, consider what information or input they're looking for from you, such as statistics, figures, or more specialized knowledge. Identify Your Role Explain why you were invited to the meeting in the first place. For example, are you there to help your coworkers, provide feedback on a proposal, or propose an idea? If you're unclear, ask the chairperson what he wants from you ahead of time. If you don't appear to have a defined position but are required to go, make one. Inquire with the chairman or other attendees if there is any research or assistance you could provide. This might include anything from double-checking the meeting room's equipment to purchasing cookies to offer. Use your strengths to your advantage Playing to your talents can help you add the most value and focus on improving workflow. For example, if you lack self-confidence or are an introvert, speaking in public may be difficult; thus, your strength may lie in delivering more deliberate, studied thoughts. You could, for example, volunteer to provide a pre-meeting analysis of the meeting's topic or share your comments in writing after the session is over. If you're more outspoken, your ability to speak up and move conversations forward will likely be respected. But keep in mind that contributing value also entails the capacity to listen and truly "take in" and grasp what others are saying before responding. Assist Others in Being Heard It's all about exchanging different points of view in productive meetings. You don't have to be the meeting's chairperson to assist others in making their arguments. You could redirect attention back to a colleague if they were interrupted or disregarded, "Excuse me, Jamie, what were you going to say?" can be as simple as that. If you agree with something, someone says, say so. You might wish to improve on their concept by adding your ideas now that you've given them credit for it. Inviting coworkers to comment might make them feel supported and create a welcoming environment. Make a positive body language statement Your body language and gestures will make a huge difference in a meeting. For example, sitting straight, smiling at the speaker, and spreading your arms outwards show that you're open to new minds and willing to listen. This is especially important if you’re speaking to business peers as the right gestures help improve your brand voice and connect with your audience more effectively. It makes the speaker feel supported and encourages other participants to speak. It provides a positive example that others will notice and desire to emulate, creating a pleasant, vibrant, and constructive environment. Sitting slumped in a chair, playing with your tablet or phone, on the other hand, may create the appearance that you'd rather be somewhere else. In addition, it could deplete the room's energy and encourage others to tune out. Take Effective Notes When the meeting is over, you still have the potential to add value. Taking thorough notes allows you to keep track of what was said and what you learned from the discussion. To make this process even more fun, you can use items such as company pens, branded tapes, and notebooks with your logo design. If there was no official note-taker at the meeting, you could offer to share your notes or a summary with other attendees and those unable to attend. Five tips to boost meeting productivity Ineffective meetings are more than just a tedious experience for your employees; they can also cost your company money. Unproductive meetings have opportunity costs in the form of pay and office-related costs and indirect costs such as lost employee work time and reduced employee satisfaction, which leads to higher employee onboarding programs. Meetings are nearly entirely virtual these days, so many employees and leaders are navigating a new manner of attending and holding meetings, making productivity even more difficult. 1. The Real Problem Isn't Time Increasing the effectiveness of your meetings is as much about optimizing your energy levels as it is about maximizing the amount of time you spend on them. Unfortunately, many employees are stressed out about not having enough time to perform their allocated responsibilities, and they claim that meetings rob them of this valuable resource. Consider staff energy levels while choosing the schedule and duration of your meeting to reduce the negative connotations associated with meetings. If you're planning a lengthier team meeting, take breaks to ensure that productivity remains at its peak. While virtual meetings may appear to be less taxing on your employees' energy levels, arranging meetings at the proper time is just as vital as holding them in person. All you have to do is deliver the right message through SaaS webinar email templates if it’s à webinar-like meeting, choose the right employees for the meeting, etc. Work patterns and schedules, as well as meeting practices, should be consistent for your personnel. 2. Keep meetings to a minimum and as brief as possible "Work expands to cover the time available for completion," according to Parkinson's Law. This is also true for your business meetings. For example, if you arrange an hour-long session, your team will fill it up quickly to stay on schedule. This should caution that you're not getting the most out of your meetings. Instead of filling up a meeting time, try to make your meetings as brief as possible. This keeps your agenda focused and free of distractions and filler. If, for example, your meeting is about whether or not you should integrate a WordPress chatbot on your website, make sure you discuss the pros and cons, how you can acquire one, and what you should focus on. Similarly, you could also discuss how to train ChatGPT on custom data for your business needs.This will save you from wasted time and distractions. Setting a meeting time limit of 10 or 15 minutes can be beneficial. According to studies, our attention span is only 10 to 18 minutes. Some businesses even use time-tracking tools like a timer or an incentive to complete on time. Make it a rule never to schedule a meeting that will last more than 30 minutes. Work in a short pause halfway through the meeting to keep your team members' complete attention throughout. Do not stretch your chatter to fill up space if you run out of time before the clock. Instead, make sure that everyone has gotten all of the information they need and then let them get back to work on their own. 3. Establish a no-smartphone zone Both meeting leaders and attendees find cell phones or tablets during meetings to be inconvenient. In addition, many people think that it demonstrates a lack of respect for the speaker and their colleagues. Still, it indicates that complete involvement is patchy or missing, which might deter others from being fully present and attentive during meetings. To improve employee engagement, make your meeting spaces a smartphone-free zone; urging individuals to put their phones outside in a basket or at their desks will help reduce any distractions and ensure that all attendees are fully engaged. For other employees, remote work can be an even more distracting working style, exacerbated by a lack of control over using their smartphones for non-work-related objectives. In such cases, coworking spaces are the best solution for working effectively with the whole team and making the working process more flexible. Even when employing technology to hold the meeting, keeping meetings to a smartphone-free time for all team members appears to enhance overall efficiency. 4. Limit the number of people who attend Limiting the number of guests invited is a less typical strategy used by companies to increase meeting productivity. For example, Google, one of the world's most successful firms, is known for allowing no more than ten individuals in a conference at any given time. You can keep your meeting controlled and targeted toward the exact conclusion you want by limiting attendees and inviting only vital persons. Consider various email marketing tools for startups to make your invitations go straight to the people you need for your meeting. However, when you ask too many individuals, you risk most of your audience not having a clear voice and not focusing on their everyday activities. Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-colleagues-browsing-laptop-at-table-6457478/ A powerful strategy to maintain your meetings cost-effectively is to limit the number of attendees. Every employee is paid on an hourly basis; adding up the hourly salaries of all attendees yields a general hourly fee for a meeting. Thus, keeping the number of people in a meeting to a minimum reduces the direct costs of holding the meeting. It also ensures you have the people you need for the meeting which, in turn, helps you build an online community based on employees interested in company discussions. 5. Make a list of action items at the end of your meeting You should always set out a few minutes at the end of any fruitful meeting to summarise what has been covered. Then, ask the following questions: - What is the timeframe? - What are your plans for the future? - Who is responsible for them? Depending on how big your audience is, adjust the timeframe for this reflection period. As a general rule, allow 30 seconds for every meeting attendee to ensure that everyone has a good understanding of these three questions. Everyone should have a clear awareness of their responsibilities and be accountable to other meeting attendees when a meeting ends. Send out a summary of the minutes and any particular action items discussed at the end of the meeting. Add the DRI to each of these action points (Directly Responsible Individual). This ensures that the meeting's objectives are met. Conclusion It all comes down to preparation, organization, and respect when it comes to planning a great meeting. Take the time to figure out why you want to hold a meeting, rather than just doing it for its sake. Meetings can generate new ideas, uncover solutions to complex problems, address difficulties, and foster camaraderie, among other things. Management software like Hirebook will guide organizers with the main things teams should know while leading any meeting. Stay organized when making plans. Provide background information, an agenda, and a timely start to the meeting. In the end, it's all about treating your coworkers with respect. The meeting will impact you if you provide them with the tools to succeed and make the most of their time. Every day, meetings take place. So why not make the next one even better? Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee engagement, and intranet software. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, employee productivity, and to save you valuable time!

When you work remotely, do you feel like you miss out on the social aspect of work? Do you feel like you don't have anyone to talk to during the day? You're not alone. Many remote workers feel this way, which can be a significant drawback of working from home. In this blog post, we will discuss ways to make remote work friendlier and more social. What does a back-to-human work culture mean? A back-to-human work culture means putting people first. It means valuing employees as individuals and giving them the time, space, and respect they need to do their best work. It also means creating a positive workplace culture where people feel comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from their experiences. Back-to-human work culture is where employees feel valued and supported, not micro-managed or bogged down by bureaucracy. Furthermore, at its heart, back-to-human work culture is about building relationships and creating a sense of community in the workplace. When employees are happier and more engaged, they're more productive and creative. The biggest challenges of remote work While remote work has many benefits, some challenges also come with it. Flexible schedules and overworking One of the biggest challenges for remote workers is creating a flexible schedule that works for them. It's important to find a good work-life balance between working enough hours to stay productive and taking time off to relax and rejuvenate. It can be tough to stick to this balance, but it's definitely worth trying to find something that works for you. After all, it depends on the individual and their work preferences. Some people love the freedom of remote work and can get a lot done without feeling overwhelmed by a traditional office setting. Others find it hard to stay focused when working from home and may benefit from a more flexible schedule that allows them to take short breaks during the day or work different hours each day. The key is to find what works best for you and your productivity levels and then communicate that preference to your supervisor or team. It's also crucial to be proactive about managing deadlines and ensuring that all assigned tasks are completed in time, regardless of where you're working from. Lack of contact The lack of contact is the biggest challenge of remote work because it's tough to stay connected with team members when you're not physically together. This can lead to a lack of communication which can impact productivity and project deadlines. There are a few reasons why lack of contact can be the biggest challenge of remote work. First, remote workers can often feel isolated and disconnected from their team. This can prompt feelings of loneliness and boredom, which can impact productivity and motivation. Second, it can be difficult to build trust and collaborate effectively with remote teammates without regular contact. And finally, lack of communication can induce misunderstandings and frustrations that can damage relationships. Some ways to overcome this challenge include using video conferencing tools like Slack, Skype, or Zoom, scheduling regular check-ins, and setting up team-building activities like virtual happy hours. By staying connected both electronically and emotionally, it encourages your remote employees to stay productive and cohesive. Asynchronous communication Asynchronous communication could generate some issues for remote workers. For example, it can be difficult to "read the tone" of a message when you can't see the person's facial expressions or hear the inflection in their voice. This often causes misinterpretations and misunderstandings, or could make constructive feedback sound like a mockery. Next, it can be difficult to stay on top of all of your asynchronous communication channels when you're working on projects that require your full attention. Messages can get buried in inboxes, notifications can pile up, and before you know it, you've missed an important conversation. Finally, asynchronous communication often takes longer than face-to-face or real-time communication. This is because, usually, there's more back-and-forth involved, and people can't get immediate feedback. If this is ignored for too long, it can delay decision-making and project progress. The best ways to foster a back-to-human work culture Improved onboarding with a buddy program and game nights A buddy program can be a great way to help new employees feel welcomed and comfortable in their new role, and game nights are always a fun way to bond with coworkers. Plus, it's a great way to get to know each other better, build camaraderie in the workplace, and encourage collaboration. Buddy programs and game nights are great for improving onboarding. They help break the ice and make the new employee feel welcome and, at the same time, help them learn about the company culture and get to know their coworkers. Additionally, these activities help employees bond with one another, leading to increased productivity and create a more positive work environment. Improved training, learning and development opportunities Employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to be productive and engaged in their work. By providing training and learning opportunities, you show your employees that you care about their development and invest in their future. Training and learning opportunities are essential for two reasons. First, they help employees stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies. Second, they show employees that you support their development, which can increase engagement and motivation. You can even make training as a reward for excellent performance, for example, if the company reaches 100 employees, a leadership training will be provided. Improved recruitment that sells a career path One of the primary reasons why employees change companies is that today's jobs offer a paycheck and a role while not thinking about long-term career prospects. Your candidates are no longer looking for roles that will have them sitting in the same position for years without any professional development. Before you put out a new opening, think carefully about the career progression for that role in the upcoming year or two. Where will your company be, and what are your plans? What should this person achieve in a year or two? What skill sets do this role needs? Think about each of your open roles and develop a career progression plan for each. Having one will attract better candidates and give your employees a sense of purpose. Add to these specific goals for advancing to the next role, and you'll have an army of motivated employees yearning for professional growth. Improved employee engagement through different activities Just because you work remotely, it doesn't mean that you can't do any team-building activities on a regular basis. In fact, there are plenty of activities that you can try out that don't require lots of effort or resources. One of them is a group activity called campfires - where your team can get together and listen to one employee talk about something they're passionate about. The rest of the team listens, asks or questions. You can also watch a movie or a TV show with your teammates. From simple apps such as Skype or Zoom to specifically tailored apps like Gaze, watching something together with your remote team has never been easier. Another neat activity is called an icebreaker - where you ask an interesting question at the beginning of a meeting to get to know everyone better. For example, what was your dream career when you were little? Is there an animal that you're afraid of? As remote work becomes more common, new tools, apps, and games are being launched every day. Try out some and find something that your team love. Conclusion The best way to make remote work friendlier is by focusing on the human element. This can be done through improved onboarding, training, and recruitment practices that sell a career path and development opportunities. Additionally, creating a culture of connection and engagement through activities like virtual game nights can help to generate a more cohesive team, improve leadership skill, and promote sense of belonging. In the bigger picture, creating a back-to-human work place will improve your company’s score card. About author: Raisa Yogiaman is a content marketer at Zavvy - an employee enablement platform that combines employee experience with smart workflow automation.

It can be challenging for some organizations to decide which types of software are most suitable for their operations. Significant decisions must be made, whether it's customer relationship management (CRM) or payroll software. HR professionals are usually tasked with finding a viable onboarding software for new hires. Ensuring a smooth process for new employees is crucial in paving the way for their success in an organization. Thankfully, there are many types of HR platforms chock-full of features and solutions that can make onboarding new hires a breeze. Below are some key features to look for in onboarding software and 13 of the best onboarding software to use in 2022. What Should Onboarding Software Provide for HR Professionals? The absence of good onboarding software can lead to team member turnover, which no employer wants for their business or valued employees. Here are some key features to consider when choosing onboarding software: Remote access Multimedia capabilities Integration tools Customer support Talent management Feedback modules Social learning support Mobile optimization Certification Target analytics Goal-setting features and tracking Onboarding software plays a crucial role in helping new employees reach their performance goals, feel welcomed into a new organization, and achieve high productivity and employee engagement levels. 1. LIKE.TG LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience LIKE.TG’s Onboard tool delivers the onboarding experience today’s employees expect: automated workflows and personalized portals that include welcome messages, custom fillable electronic forms, videos, instructional content, and important documents. Onboard walks you through compliance-related onboarding tasks, such as I-9 documentation and E-Verify. In this case, new hires can electronically sign, save, and submit I-9 forms from any device. HR departments can save time, achieve productivity, and streamline and automate processes to create great experiences for their new employees. LIKE.TG offers features including: Employee self-service Onboarding capabilities Employee profile E-sign and e-forms Personalized portals Custom workflows I-9 and e-verify Automatic notifications Progress reports App integrations LIKE.TG's website also offers a return on investment (ROI) calculator to help organizations decide if its solution is right for their operations. Some well-known companies, such as Peloton, TeleCom, and Lever, use LIKE.TG for employee onboarding. 2. GoCo GoCo is customizable, user-friendly and a comprehensive employee onboarding software with exceptional customer service and expert HR support. GoCo allows HR departments to offer customized offer letters with e-signature capabilities and can make sending and collecting documents simple. GoCo's onboarding tool also allows employees to participate in self-service benefits enrollment. Payroll setup is easy. Essentially, this is a one-stop-shop HR professionals can use to build a successful employee experience for new hires. 3. Hibob Automated flows, preboarding, culture and engagement, shoutouts and personalized onboarding are some of the key features Hibob offers its users. EToro, Fiverr and Zenjob are some companies that partner with Hibob for onboarding programs. All workflows are automated, meaning HR professionals can customize their processes and let the software do the rest. Its interface mirrors a social media platform, which can be fun and engaging for new hires. One notable feature is Hibob's Clubs, which allows workers to connect based on hobbies and their "superpowers." It's understood that office interactions help alleviate new employee anxieties, and being able to accomplish this with bob's platform is very useful. 4. ADP ADP is a centralized onboarding solution that offers streamlined processes and the chance for new hires to connect with existing employees in an organization. ADP's automated solutions allow HR professionals to connect with new hires before they arrive at the office on their first day. Its Onboarding Buddy (optional) can help alleviate some of the nerves people have when starting at a new company. HR teams can share the organization's values and culture with new hires through personalized videos. New hire checklists can be assigned during the onboarding process. ADP's solution also helps workers eliminate repetitive tasks, such as data entry. 5. Greenhouse Cars.com, Datto and Wunderman Thompson are examples of companies that use Greenhouse onboarding software. Onboarding with Greenhouse starts before the new hire's first day. It provides an organized hub of useful resources, helps employees connect with other team members, and lets new hires familiarize themselves with the company culture and policies. There are two options available for HR teams: Greenhouse Onboarding and Greenhouse Welcome. Greenhouse Onboarding provides some extra features that Welcome does not. Consider both when researching Greenhouse to see which one is suitable, as each is priced differently. 6. Gusto Gusto allows HR employees to create one onboarding checklist for every new employee. It includes must-have features, such as customized offer letters, e-signatures for necessary documents and plenty of app integrations. Some popular business apps like Asana, Microsoft 365, Zoom and Slack work with Gusto's cloud-based onboarding system. Gusto is an easy-to-use onboarding software solution that works well for many types of organizations. This can be helpful if an HR team is not fully developed or some of the employees in the department are entry-level. 7. Ultimate UKG Pro, formerly known as UltiPro Onboarding, can take a company's onboarding process to the next level. It's a personalized, collaborative solution that can help workers feel welcome on their first day. Employees can complete onboarding tasks before their first day and access the software on their preferred mobile device. Ultimate onboarding software also allows HR teams to leverage a useful administrative dashboard to view key employee data regarding new hires. Employees can electronically review, complete and sign all types of paperwork. Companies in various industries have successfully leveraged UKG Pro for all this software's benefits. 8. Trello Trello provides new hires with two lists of tasks to complete based on their role. Employees can feel confident in using Trello. They can even see what preboarding tasks their HR team is working on before day one. HR employees reap the benefits of its simple onboarding feature by following the steps listed below: Create a master template board for each new hire. Copy the board and include the new hire's name. Add the new hire and other team members who help with onboarding to the board. Add new hire cards (tasks) they will work on during the first few workdays. Over 1,000,000 teams use Trello — some notable companies being Google, Fender and Costco Wholesale. Trello has a built-in automation tool called Butler, eliminating several tedious tasks for HR teams. It's known for its ease of use and simple onboarding procedures. 9. Rippling Rippling is a one-stop-shop for HR professionals looking to connect new hires to their organizations. Its key feature is automation, allowing HR employees to focus on other meaningful tasks. Onboarding can even take as little as 90 seconds. Additionally, Rippling has a blog that helps HR teams develop a comprehensive onboarding checklist, including steps during preboarding and guidance for first-day tasks. Rippling helps organizations avoid bottlenecks during the hiring and onboarding processes. It also received PC Magazine's Editor's Choice award for its software capabilities. 10. BambooHR BambooHR allows teams to focus more on creating a positive first impression with new hires rather than sorting through mountains of paperwork. The onboarding process is efficient and organized, and new hires receive a tailored onboarding experience. New Hire Packet Templates offered by BambooHR makes it easy to customize onboarding for different jobs, saving time and reducing HR's administrative load. New employees receive tasks they can complete on their own time and at their own pace, allowing them to feel confident on their first day. A notable feature of BambooHR is its electronic signature software, which digitizes collecting paperwork from new hires. 11. Sapling Warby Parker, Webflow and AngelList use Sapling to assist with their new employee onboarding processes. All recruitment data can be imported into Sapling's software, and new hires receive a welcoming experience from the start of their employment. Tasks and workflows can be automated, and its Smart Assignment feature allows HR team members to assign tasks with confidence. Save time using Sapling and onboard multiple employees at once and with ease. Sapling supports seasonal hiring or hiring for similar roles across different company locations. It offers many app integrations, such as JazzHR, Lever, Slack and Google Suite. 12. ClearCompany ClearCompany's onboarding tools are efficient, simple, and best for the modern HR professional. There is a new hire portal, intuitive user interface (UI), device and equipment management, compliance and I-9 management, and bulk onboarding. Companies can also share onboarding goals and help new hires feel welcome and an integral part of the team. Additionally, ClearCompany integrates with leading payroll providers, so getting new hires set up is a breeze. Auto-fill technology makes filling out important paperwork easy. 13. WorkBright WorkBright's onboarding software makes form collection and onboarding simple, modern and efficient. It was awarded the FinancesOnline Expert's Choice 2020 Award, which shows how well it performs for HR managers. WorkBright is also considered a great software solution for small businesses. WorkBright offers an intuitive interface for new hires to view their dashboard and complete tasks before day one. It's also mobile-friendly software that can be accessed from anywhere. New employees can be set up with WorkBright in as little as one minute. It sends new hires important documents via email for a quick turnaround. Craft an Effective First-Day Experience With Onboarding Software Many companies use various types of management software, and onboarding software can be a game-changer. Employee performance management, benefits administration, and applicant tracking systems are examples of critical features that should be included in business software, as they can all be greatly beneficial for organizations of all sizes and types. Employee retention is an important part of doing business in today's competitive markets. When organizations hire new, qualified candidates, setting them up for success with preboarding and an intuitive onboarding experience can help improve retention rates and prevent resignations. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

If you think that TikTok is all about school kids dancing to Ariana Grande songs, you’re way beyond the trends. What started out as social media for sharing fun short video content is now a multi-million platform that is changing the face of digital marketing. On top of that, TikTok is emerging as a new effective recruiting channel. Financial post calls the media “Gen Z’s LinkedIn” – and this view seems to be growing more and more popular among HR professionals. While you might be wary of exploring TikTok for your recruiting needs, it’s certainly worth a try – especially if your company is interested in hiring aspiring young professionals. This article will help you choose the best recruiting strategies for Tiktok – from traditional advertising to exciting hashtag challenges. TikTok Audience – Who are They? Before you hop onto the journey of finding top talent on Tiktok, it’s useful to take a closer look at who you’re most likely to find on the platform. If you consider the TikTok demographic in the US, you’ll see that 75% of its users are over 19 years old, the majority of them belonging to Gen Z. Yet, TikTok also appeals to older audiences of people who might be actively looking for new career opportunities. This age distribution is relevant for other countries and regions, too. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1095186/tiktok-us-users-age/. Besides, it’s definitely time to stop associating Gen Zer’s with eccentric high-schoolers – they are now young graduates looking for jobs in the most relevant spheres, including tech, marketing, design, fashion, etc. Whatever your business niche is, you will be able to find prospective candidates on the platform with the right recruiting strategy. Why Recruit on Tiktok? Social media recruiting is on the rise but TikTok is still behind other platforms in terms of recruiters’ first choice. However, you can reap a number of benefits by opting for this social media as your headhunting territory. TikTok is expanding its non-entertainment content segment. For instance, educational videos are getting more and more traction on the platform. The #LearnOnTikTok initiative is engaging large audiences of young people willing to learn new skills, which means that many aspiring Gen Z professionals are hanging around on TikTok. And you can tap into their job-seeking enthusiasm. Tiktok is not as packed with headhunters as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. It means less competition and more attention to your recruiting content from target users. Many employees are already on TikTok. With more than 78 million TikTok users in the US alone, chances are many of your employees frequent the platform and even share insights into their work with followers. This can be a solid base for your recruiting efforts (more on that a bit later). Recruiting on TikTok: Top 5 Tips Now that you are aware of the power of TikTok as a social media platform for recruitment, let’s finally get specific. Below are the 5 ways you can use Tiktok to find new employees for your business. 1. Tap into the World of Hashtags Hashtags are the driving force on TikTok – they inspire users to create themed content and follow the topics they are most passionate about. Hashtag challenges are especially popular: people post videos participating in a task under the tag that projects a value or idea. Some businesses, like Chipotle, are already leveraging TikTok hashtags to increase their presence on the platform and look for talent. They even have their own hashtag challenge #ChipotleLidFlip that attracts thousands of users. Some brands take it a step further and create unique hashtags for their job positions. For example, a media giant HBO gathered more than 300 applications on Tiktok with the help of the #HBOMaxsummer intern hashtag. Pro-tip: If you’re not ready to start a unique hashtag campaign for your brand yet, you can use the existing trending tags to accompany your posts. Try #jobsearch, #careeropportunities, etc. Hashtags will help you target your TikTok content in a much more efficient way. 2. Send Your Recruiters to Do Some TikTok Field Work If your recruiters navigate TikTok well (and they better), you can encourage them to leverage their presence on the platform. Ask them to post content about your company and create “we’re hiring” videos for your open positions. Pro-tip: when posting about your career opportunities, remember to stay on top of TikTok trends. Accompany your video with a viral song or a dance move every TikTok user is familiar with. Adding voiceover is one to explore too, great thing there'sauto subtitle generatorthat adds contextual value on your skit. Remember we told you that some of your employees might already be active on TikTok? Have your recruiters repost their work-related content! It could be anything from a sneak peek into a weekly meeting to following your logistics team delivering your products. Take Lounge as a great example. Along with traditional promotional content, this lingerie brand often posts backstage content from their photo shoots and features employees in their videos. Better yet, think of creating a series of videos about your business where employees could present it and let their audiences know what it’s like to work for you. Get some inspiration from the already existing professional TikTok communities. Pro-tip: again, leverage popular hashtags related to your niche. For instance, if you’re looking for teachers, include the #teachersoftiktok hashtag in your content. Check #nursesofTikTok, #designersoftiktok, and others to get some content ideas that might work well across different business niches. 3. Partner with a TikTok Influencer Social media influencers are the new black – we’re sure you already know that. However, collaborating with influencers is not only useful for marketing purposes. You can leverage the power of influencer reach in your recruiting efforts, too. Find a influencer marketing agency whose content and philosophy resonate with your company and its values. They can promote your business, encourage their audiences to apply for open positions, and reveal the advantages of being your employee. The best way to take advantage of TikTok influencer marketing is through the help of a micro-influencer agency that will connect you to millions of content creators on TikTok. The Washington Post regularly includes influencer content (both among their active employees and independent content creators) to attract new talent. Pro-tip: if you’re looking for top TikTok influencers to help your social recruitment campaign, pay special attention to their tiktok engagement rates – this is a key factor in determining how many people will see your content and get to know your brand. 4. Leverage TikTok Ads If you’re ready to dedicate part of your budget to advertising your recruitment efforts, consider TikTok paid ads. First of all, have your brand images and visuals from a TikTok logo generator, then apply them to the ads. TikTok ads are based on excellent targeting algorithms. They allow your content to reach the right audiences in terms of gender, age, location, and even content preferences. For instance, if you are a brand looking for talented designers to join your team, TikTok ads will target users who regularly engage with posts related to the design sphere. This way, thousands of potential employees will be more likely to come across your business and see the career opportunities you are offering. You can choose from a variety of available ad formats: In-feed ads; Image ads; Video ads; Spark ads – more on this feature unique to TikTok here; Carousel ads, etc. 5. Use TikTok Resumes TikTok Resumes is one of the most recent features added to the platform. In a nutshell, Resumes turn TikTok into a recruitment platform where job seekers and companies can connect in an easy, direct way, using the platform’s most popular content type – short videos. Dozens of companies signed up for TikTok Resumes within days since its launch, including Shopify, Target, and WWE. You can join the platform segment, too! Through TikTok Resumes, you will be able to publish your job listings and receive creative video CVs from prospective candidates. This resume format is an unconventional way of showcasing one’s skill set and enthusiasm – a great way for job seekers to stand out and for you to notice them. Besides, this is a great way to interview candidates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that has made face-to-face interviews quite problematic. Using TikTok Resumes is not only a safe social-distancing option, but they also allow you to save time – a short video introduction demonstrates both the job seeker’s expertise and their self-presentation skills as well. Check out this feature to see what kinds of professionals post TikTok resumes and what business niches are popular among the users. Image source: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/find-a-job-with-tiktok-resumes. Conclusion Tiktok is more than funny videos of viral dances and gen Z memes. Today, this is a massive platform where you can bump into young talented professionals who would bring value to your business as employees. As you can see, TikTok has a wide array of both free and paid options to help you expand your recruitment efforts across the social media. You can choose one or combine several strategies to get your message out there and attract a large number of prospective job candidates – both active and passive job seekers will see your content. Last but not least – remember that creativity is TikTok’s staple! Think outside the box and implement recruiting tactics that will spark interest in young professionals. Author Bio: David Morneau is the co-founder and CEO of inBeat, a hybrid micro-influencer marketing SAAS/agency that helps brands scale their marketing efforts. He has helped over 200 DTC brands to date

Companies have believed people need to work for them to put bread on the table. However, the world is changing - and doing it fast. There are many options for people to earn money and pay their bills with technological advancements. What’s more, businesses are continually competing for top talent. That means it’s more about whether your company is good enough for employees and not the other way around. It’s a good idea to have this perspective if you want to enhance employee experience in 2022. We compiled a list of 14 ways to improve the employee experience to help you attract and retain skilled employees, boosting your business’ overall profitability. Why Is Employee Engagement Vital for Employee Experience? Employee engagement can be a vital determining factor in how successful the company is overall. The level of engagement within your organization is the best indicator for employee experience, joy, and sense of belonging. It helps control everything from your levels of staff retention and absenteeism to customer satisfaction and how profitable your business is. Why Is Employee Experience Important? Today, employees are looking for purposeful work rather than employment just for earning. They desire a meaningful employee experience. Purposeful work contributes both to individual growth and the company and community. Your company culture reflects your sense of purpose and can significantly impact your employee’s experience. Great employee experience positively influences employee productivity as it simplifies everyday tasks. It makes it easier and more enjoyable for employees to work. Engaging experience will reflect on their work because they’ll be more motivated to do their job right. Benefits of Creating a Great Employee Experience Higher engagement and productivity: A positive employee experience results in higher levels of engagement and productivity. They are more devoted to work and the company. That leads to more favorable business results and enhanced individual well-being. Lower employee turnover: Engaged and satisfied workers stay longer, whereas unhappy employees tend to leave the company or be absent more often. That impacts employee morale, productivity, expenses, and brand image. Improved customer experience: An excellent employee experience can motivate employees to be assertive and innovative, taking charge of their duties and doing their best to deliver a great customer experience. Job satisfaction: Employees with good employee experiences will be satisfied with their jobs and proactively contribute to the company instead of half-heartedly. The chances of exhaustion will be lower, influencing better employee well-being and work-life balance. Talent attraction and retention: Top Recruiting Agencies are competing with each other to attract and retain the best talent. Individuals with the required skills can be picky. So, when a company finds a talent, they want to keep it. Good employee experience is often the element that keeps such employees. Favorable business results: A great employee experience ultimately results in profitable business results. The more you invest in your workforce, the more they give you in return. 1. Simple Application Process Employee experience begins when they are applying for a job. When searching for a job, employees are already juggling between job portals. That’s why having a fuss-free application process makes hiring simpler Adding diversity into your application process will help prevent biases. Also, the interface should be mobile-friendly. Clear messaging can improve your employer’s brand and image and show that you desire to help potential employees and simplify filling forms. 2. Purposeful and Useful Onboarding A great first impression can deliver a positive experience for individuals joining your company and influence them to stay long term. Offering training is a vital element in successful onboarding as your employees may need some tuning before they settle, even though they have the desired skills. You’ll also want to integrate new employees with the team, especially remote workers. You can set up a session online or in-person so they can get to know their colleagues and understand the dynamics, vision, and goals of your company. 3. Assign Mentors New employees may feel confused and unsure how to communicate with their team and leaders during their first days. It’s crucial to take active measures to prevent that. Assigning mentors can help them understand their role and adapt better, leading to enhanced communication and the free exchange of ideas. 4. Survey Your Employees Most companies don’t have a strong sense of their employees’ experiences, and employees feel HR doesn’t understand their needs. To prevent that, you need to implement an effective employee survey. You can do that by asking your employees to weigh in more frequently and create open-ended questions for qualitative answers. Have your employees rank their priorities and needs. It’s vital to plan how to survey results and be transparent. You can only enhance employee experience if you take active measures to tackle the issues and stay accountable to your team. 5. Use an Employee Engagement Technology Technology dedicated to increasing engagement will be the foundation of an employee listening strategy and impact the employee experience. Collecting feedback from your workers and analyzing it to measure the employee experience will show what needs to change and how to do it. 6. Support the Needs of Parents The needs of working parents are often ignored. Parents are at greater risk of leaving their jobs because of high exhaustion levels and the need for flexibility. Your policies will impact how well parents can perform at work and feel like part of the team. To enhance employee experience, minimizing their stress is a great starting point. To do that, you’ll need to consider parental policies, such as implementing paid parental leave for new parents and offering sufficient support as new parents transition to leave. Flexible working hours are another thing to consider to keep the parents satisfied and working. Recognizing and respecting their caring duties is also vital. 7. Help Employees Advance in Their Career Career growth and professional learning are among the top trends for job seekers in 2022. With “The Great Resignation,” you can’t afford to lose top employees. Developing an effective internal employer branding strategy, and using an external help of branding agency ,is important for the positive reputation of your company.The right software can support more engaging management training and upskilling sessions. However, learning and growth happen in everyday work experiences too. The more you support employees’ wish to learn and improve with resources, projects, and feedback, the more satisfied they will be. Performance reviews can help employees boost their skills and level up their careers. They want continuous feedback that adds to their achievements. An excellent performance management system can help both employees and employers. The employee can get the chance to improve their skills or learn new ones, while the employer can track the employee’s performance and show him how to advance. 8. Foster Authenticity Authenticity is more than displays of personality on your employee app. An authentic workplace will accept the events occurring in the employees’ lives, whether good or bad. A workplace that prioritizes employee experience will see each employee as a person rather than a number and celebrate the good while offering support during challenging times. With new technology, companies can know what’s happening in the lives of their workers and reach out from a human angle instead of a corporate. 9. Team-Building Team-building activities can significantly enhance the employee experience. Ice-breaking sessions help reduce stress, taking pressure off of employees. It fosters teamwork and supports relationships between colleagues and leaders. 10. Empower Your Employees Some managers became micromanagers thanks to the fear that employees would take advantage of remote and hybrid work during the pandemic. However, excessive check-ins lead to lower engagement and productivity, so it’s essential to shift to employee empowerment and autonomy. In hybrid and virtual work, that doesn’t mean taking an uninvolved approach. It means managers need to ask about employee passions, needs, and engagement. It also means providing resources for collaboration and creative problem-solving. Making space for employee ideas and feedback is also a great way of empowering your workers. When they feel empowered to do their job with more freedom, your entire team wins while your company culture changes for the better. 11. Acknowledge and Appreciate Your Employees Source Humans need to feel appreciated for their hard work. Your employees feel good about themselves when you recognize them for their work, and it makes them think they are significantly contributing and making a difference to the company. That makes them want to deliver more and feel inspired to accomplish their goals and stay with the company. Social recognition is the way to enable that. It’s a fast and continuous credit exchange between colleagues and leaders, making the employee journey unique and meaningful. 12. Effective Communication Effective communication is the essential factor for delivering an engaging employee experience. You’ll want to focus on clear communication to help minimize and resolve conflicts among employees. That way, they become more engaged and loyal to the company. However, your employee communications shouldn’t be dull or bland, but light when possible. Allow your workers to show their personalities. That way, you’ll help them get to know their peers and make the workplace a more attractive place to be in, whether remotely or in person. 13. Exit Interviews Sometimes it will happen that an employee leaves. And although you can’t help it, you can find out why they left by conducting exit interviews. That way, you can get more insight into employees’ experiences, understand the work culture, how other employees behave, and other issues. When an employee decides to leave, he can offer you constructive criticism about the reason for leaving the job. 14. Listen, Understand, and Respond to your Employees Instead of only focusing on periodic engagement surveys, genuinely listen to your employees and understand where you can gain more personal, real-time feedback. Once you know that, act on it and update your workers on how you’ve resolved highlighted issues. The Bottom Line After reading this article, you understand how and why creating a great employee experience will not only ensure you attract and retain top talent but also boost your company’s bottom line. Long gone is the time when work and only work was more important than employee’s well-being and needs. In 2022, people value themselves and their time. They don’t want to be corporate slaves. They desire to be understood and connected as humans.Acknowledge them and appreciate their work. That way, they’ll feel a sense of belonging and give their best. Author Bio: Melissa Gray is a freelance writer and an organizational psychologist. Her focus is primarily on marketing and new digital trends across the world. She is also a passionate gamer, with special interest in narrative design. She writes for Digital Strategy One.

The modern workplace has undergone significant changes over the past years. Take the impact of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic as an example. Quarantines and stay-at-home orders forced companies to adopt remote working. Access to technologies and digitalization made the process a little smoother. But, the HR department had to learn and adapt new strategies to manage employees. Yet, that is not the only challenge facing HR. The modern workplace is fast-paced and ever-evolving. The teams must overcome recruiting hurdles, workforce management including engagement and development. The solution to most of the challenges lies in workforce management. But what does it mean? Exploring Workforce Management Workforce management is any system that helps with the efficient running of the company. It is a broad term that covers much more than just the people. Any system or process that contributes falls under workforce management. So why is it an important topic worthy of discussion? Well, the employees are critical to the success of any company. Proper management of such resources is an important priority for many companies. You know the phrase ‘happy wife/spouse, happy house’ Well, allow us to put a twist on it to read, ‘happy employees, happy employer.’ Now, what happens in a, well, happy work environment? The one answer is higher productivity, which is a win-win for everyone. As you can imagine, a lot goes into the process. But, we can always look to technology to provide a solution. Forward-looking companies use workforce management software to assist with different tasks. HR gets help with:- Team scheduling without the use of a spreadsheet. Automation helps with handling workloads, staff availability, vacations, and absences. Clear overview of team workloads Easy assigning of activities resulting in better aligning and prioritization of work Better assigning of responsibilities so no one is over or underworked Centralization of all activities on one dashboard. The result is better planning, management, and monitoring of work processes. Better communication with quick access to data Data security and privacy in compliance with general data protection regulations. Automation of tasks results in greater efficiency and time-saving. The company can operate with a lean HR team without compromising productivity. Let's look at why workforce management is critical for business success. 1. Better Employee Experiences Workforce management removes any confusion. Every employee has clarity on job expectations. There is clear communication across the teams. Higher transparency will boost employee morale. It is a fantastic way to show the company cares about them. There is also better aligning of processes with workforce management software. When employees know their roles, there is higher engagement with the work. HR can also be more proactive in how they deal with the staff. All of these result in a better work environment, thus better employee experiences. The right workforce management software will help with employee performance management. Measuring factors like employee engagement give excellent insights. The company will, for instance, know what needs to change to increase productivity. 2. Support for Remote Workers Flexible work environments are the new norm for employers and employees alike. At the outbreak of the pandemic, there wasn't much choice. State enforcement of stay-at-home orders made it necessary. Yet, with the opening of the economy, many people still prefer to work from home. Indeed, even employers have no problem with the new model. A 2021 study shows that up to 70% of companies plan to maintain remote working. 58% of employees would rather continue working from home. 97% of workers are willing to adopt a hybrid work model. This does not call for a full-time physical presence in an office. HR has to overcome the challenge of managing employees wherever they are. Workforce management software brings efficiency to the process. Tasks like those we have highlighted above are easy with the right tools. HR can, for example, track employee performance without face-to-face interaction. They can also generate forecasts to guide as KPIs. The software will also ease communication, so everyone is up to date. 3. Better Recruit Experiences With Candidate Relationship Management Systems Recruiting is a major HR challenge. Finding the right candidates can be very difficult. The talent pool is small. Yet, competition for people with the right skill sets is high. Investing in candidate relationship management systems makes it easy to overcome this hurdle. The tools help with improving and managing current and potential candidate relationships. Better communication enhances engagement and candidate experiences. The company becomes more attractive to talent. Thus, it will always have a ready pool willing to join. 4. Workforce Management to Gain a Competitive Edge As we stated, workforce management systems allow for streamlining activities and processes. The organization can adapt to developments or new trends. Data insights help in sound decision-making around critical issues. The ability to forecast and plan for long-term changes means the company is always ahead. It reduces vulnerabilities that could arise from sudden changes in the labor market. But that's not all. Some critical Workforce management elements can change the way you do business. These include:- Labor force forecasting uses data to predict future developments and staffing needs. Take the example of peak seasons for the business. With proper forecasting, the company can know beforehand how many people to hire at such a time. The information is critical for budgeting and workload allocation, depending on demand. Scheduling for proper distribution of work to the available staff. It helps in streamlining activities. You will always have the right people handling the right tasks at any given time. Even in times of market changes, the company can adapt. Take the example of a sudden increase in demand. Data-driven insights help with the allocation of the right skill sets to specific tasks. Capacity or workload-to-work force matching to determine staffing capacity. It takes into consideration budget cycles, ad hoc projects, vacations, and absenteeism. In this way, the company can better plan work with the available resources. Traffic management takes into consideration supply and demand. The company can deal with discrepancies arising from resource shifts or staff availability. Final Thoughts Workforce management is critical for the smooth operation of the company. This is because it takes care of the most valuable resources. That is the people, process, and systems. There is better communication, streamlining of activities, and workload balancing. Further, automation increases efficiency, thus higher productivity Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

More and more organizations recognize the evolving capacity of technologies. Today, remote work is a more viable option that most organizations consider. For example, 74% of CFOs state that they plan to move 5% of their workforce to permanent remote positions. With such a trend, it’s only natural to research how to implement such change. One crucial aspect to look into is intranet software. So, here are 12 of the best intranet software to consider! 1. LIKE.TG LIKE.TG’s intranet software tops this list, all thanks to its outstanding features that allow a seamless connection. In addition, LIKE.TG’s advanced user interface makes it suitable for complex businesses. This software has great customizability, widgets, security, and portals. LIKE.TG is highly integrated with the latest cloud technologies and is accessible from any device. Users can see critical files, reply to messages, and check their calendars anywhere. LIKE.TG has a mobile employee app that can connect remote users who don’t have access to laptops or PCs. Therefore, you can trust LIKE.TG’s usability even on the small screens of mobile phones. You can also use the mobile app to provide a productive onboarding process for new employees. It’s also possible to create a personalized portal and send an onboarding checklist. With LIKE.TG, organizations can easily share ideas, news, and thoughts across different devices. You can also make announcements to update workers about the latest news. Aside from that, this software is also integrated with ADP. This allows for a more efficient and faster HR experience for transferring and protecting data. Another feature that sets LIKE.TG apart from others is Kudos. Kudos is an employer’s digital way of appreciating and rewarding employees. The rewards are customizable badges that employees can use to redeem points, which helps improve employee retention. LIKE.TG is a very robust software that can overwhelm first-time users or those who aren't tech-savvy. LIKE.TG also has fewer features and customizability compared to Share Point. 2. SharePoint SharePoint is an intranet platform that supports seamless collaboration on Microsoft Office. This intranet software is popular due to its user-friendly features. SharePoint also allows organizations to create intranet pages without having to write code. With SharePoint, team managers can easily manage employees’ personal information, training, and performance. It also allows organizations to track employee supply, vacation, and insurance requests. This allows for a more organized and well-informed team. Workers inside a certain division can also exchange private messages. This helps strengthen remote teams’ communication. Even better, users can access data related to the project from PCs, Macs, and mobile devices. SharePoint also allows you to store files in a central system. This makes sharing and managing content an easier task. Moreover, it can provide users with AI-powered content suggestions. Security-wise, SharePoint allows organizations to encrypt their data using a unique key. Users can use its advanced access control to help prevent unauthorized data access. The only downside of using SharePoint is the high implementation cost. Usability on mobile phones is also very poor, and its adoption rates are tanking. 3. Yammer Yammer is an intranet software that fosters business social networking endeavors. It's mainly designed to facilitate collaboration among business organizations. Users can create communities where they can stay updated with what’s happening and for feedback. This allows a faster decision-making process. Yammer also comes with an instant messaging tool that can improve company engagement. However, Yammer is a closed intranet platform. Therefore, only organizations subscribed under Microsoft 365 Enterprise plan can access the platform. Nonetheless, this limitation has its perks with Microsoft’s enterprise-level security system. This means organizations can rest assured that the chances of a data breach in Yammer are slim. 4. SAP Jam SAP Jam is another cloud-based intranet social networking platform popular in 2022. It’s popular for bringing together stakeholders under one central collaboration hub. With it, you can create groups, either private or public, for collaborations. Users can also share documents, discuss ideas, run meetings, and delegate tasks. SAP Jam also simplifies work by allowing individual-level surfacing of relevant data. This also covers recommendations, content, insights, and actions. Moreover, it provides plenty of guides that can help users navigate enterprise workflows. Furthermore, users have access to templates that can hasten business processes. SAP Jam also features a channel where top-down communications are securely distributed. It also supports two-way employee communication. 5. Confluence Confluence can serve as your organization’s primary knowledge management software. Its features make it easy to build, organize, and collaborate on a single workspace. Like on other software, Confluence users can share, save, and review the document with others. Confluence also allows seamless capturing, preservation, organization, and tracking of assets. This includes company intel, project plans, and updates. Hence, Confluence is best suited for organizations that focus on static knowledge sharing. Furthermore, it also comes with pre-built templates that you can use for marketing, HR, product, and more. Confluence further supports more than 3000 marketplace apps allowing easy 3rd party integration. You can add your Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, and so on. Similar to the earlier intranet software mentioned above, Confluence also prioritizes data security. Confluence has many privacy controls, preventing unauthorized access. It also has industry-verified data encryption features. However, Confluence lacks social features that can foster employee engagement. For instance, there are no audio or video call features. 6. Google Sites Google Sites is a free and simple website-building tool, making it an excellent platform for learning how to create a website.It fosters collaboration by allowing organizations to create a website where they can work on short-term projects. What’s great about Google Sites is that you don’t need in-depth technical knowledge to use it. This is because every function in the software is user-friendly. There’s no required coding development. Creating a workplace website is easy with Google Sites’ drag-and-drop feature. You can drag an image, video, link, and more to your website using simple templates. Rearranging or deleting elements is also only a few clicks away. Google Sites are also integrated with other Google tools like Docs, Sheets, and Slides. So, it's ideal for projects that require the use of tables, charts such as combo charts, and similar organizers. Google Sites doesn’t limit the number of websites that you can create. However, you have to stay within the 15 GB storage limit of your organization’s Google account. Compared to other intranet software, Google Sites lacks social features. Thus, workplace engagement and communication are quite weak. 7. Workplace Workplace uses communication tools that most internet users are familiar with. This includes Facebook Messenger, Groups, and video conferencing. With this feature, organizations can enjoy using familiar platforms for workplace collaboration. Workplace is more of a business communication tool than content management software. This software focuses on increasing communication, sharing updates, and conducting meetings with stakeholders. It offers various ways for users to accomplish communication tasks. This includes group and private messages that support video and audio formats. Live video and audio or video calls options are also available in Workplace. These features simplify information sharing. They also focus more on employee engagement and culture building. Workplace increases engagement between employees with features like comments and reactions. You also won't have to worry about language barriers with the auto-translation feature of posts, surveys, and polls. Another key feature of Workplace is the knowledge library. Organizations can place their data in a centralized library for better alignment. Employees can freely get insights to improve their user experience and relevant information. The disadvantage of using Workplace is that organizations can’t create pages. The platform also has a few issues with private information security. Workplace is a product of Meta, which has countlessly faced issues on gathering data. CERN is a European Organization for Nuclear Research that found this issue disturbing. As a result, it recently decided to stop its use of Workplace. 8. Happeo Happeo is a great software for organizations that use Google Workspace. This social intranet platform has collaborative channels that can connect remote employees. Users can link calendars, spreadsheets, and social media feed into its intranet pages. Happeo also has a sophisticated news-sharing feature that can build a community culture. These features allow the entire organization to stay updated on project progress and track the effectiveness of internal communications. Moreover, it features a people directory, allowing users to use smart search to look for specific stakeholders based on features. This includes location, specialization, or position. This smart way of locating people hastens the search for talents best suited for a task. 9. Jostle Jostle caters to organizations that want to streamline internal communication. Like most intranet software, Jostle fosters remote and hybrid collaboration. What’s unique about Jostle is that you can plan, promote, and attend virtual events. It also allows organizations to share brand values and celebrate wins. Using Jostle, organizations can broadcast content to TV screens. This feature can be helpful during an announcement of events or hybrid meetings. Jostle also comes with group chat features as well as IMs. Furthermore, it has a centralized search system. Users can find all the information or data they need in the knowledge library. This feature allows for a better collaboration process and lets employees get clarity on their work progress. However, it’s important to remember that some of its features don’t accommodate all types of businesses. The customization features of Jostle are somewhat poor and lacking. For instance, users can’t disable or relocate unused features. 10. Unily Unily aims to unite organizations through improved collaboration and engagement. The greatest advantage of Unily’s platform is that it can cater to various functions on any device. Organizations can use it as an intranet, collaboration, or communication platform. It’s flexible enough to evolve along with the needs of its users. Unily also allows its users to personalize the platform to enhance the user experience. It has a "drag and drop" content management system. It also has a 1:1 translation function as well as device and user segmentation. This is further supported by private channels, reward features, and more. Furthermore, Unily has a centralized document management system. This makes it easy to control permission settings. The platform also integrates seamlessly with Oracle, Microsoft 365, G Suite, and more. 11. Interact Software Interact combines collaboration tools with social feed and internal communication software. This intranet software works with leading third-party tools like Zendesk, Workday, and more to foster seamless digital integration. Apart from the standard features, Interact also offers an extranet that allows you to communicate with external stakeholders. It further allows you to broadcast important messages to a wide range of channels. Some of Interact’s strengths include the availability of pulse survey provision options. This is important in gathering and acting on employees’ sentiment and feedback. It also comes with a built-in analytic tool. This makes it easy to identify search terms and trending content. As a result, organizations will be able to assess how well their intranet is performing. The only downside with Interact is that it has no integration with Google products. Hence, it’s a less favorable option for organizations that aren’t well adept at other applications aside from Google. 12. Simpplr With Simpplr, organizations can create a virtual headquarter and newsroom. One of its best features is the employee blogs, which allow employers to hear the thoughts of employees. This can fasten the decision-making process and boost the organization’s productivity. Simpplr also has an auto-governance engine. This means that an AI manages useless or outdated content and sites. It also gives AI-powered content suggestions for some inspiration. Factors to Consider When Looking For an Intranet Software Given the array of intranet software available, it’s natural to get confused about which software to subscribe to. Therefore, we recommend evaluating intranet software features. A good intranet software must be accessible and easy to use. In addition, intranet software needs to have a mobile application to cater to the different technological needs of employees. It should also be flexible enough to accommodate your organization’s changing needs. The intranet software must be able to connect your organization’s spread workers seamlessly. More importantly, it should be a practical choice. Hence, we encouraged reading online reviews and comparing software costs. Get LIKE.TG for a Seamless Collaboration LIKE.TG is the intranet software that can help you build an engaging workplace for your organization. You’ll love the user-friendly interface and instant communication tool that the software offers. Have some questions? Contact us today and let us help you drive culture and communication in your organization with the best intranet experience! Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

A major role of the HR team is to attract the most talented recruits. It should also be adept at managing existing employees, convincing them to remain loyal to the company. Social media can play a part here and is proving to be a useful tool in driving businesses forward. Data produced by Statista shows that at least 75% of the population hold a social media account. However, these platforms appear underestimated by more than half of the business sector. By using social media, HR departments can ensure their brands are dynamic which can be used to attract the best workforce. 1. Locating the Best Recruits Planning and recruitment are essential in any business. Using social media to reach the next generation of executives can be very effective. According to Statista, 3.6 billion people log in to social media sites every day. It's approximately 49% of the world's population. The next wave of executives and managers are already being provided by Millennials with an age range between twenty-six and forty-one. Further down the line, Generation Z newcomers are only just beginning their careers. Yet it's these fledgling professionals that could enable your company to shine a couple of decades from now. The Pew Research Center has discovered that people aged eighteen to twenty-nine are the most prolific users of social media sites. Millennials in their thirties are less inclined to habitually use the channels daily. Establishing your business on social media creates an active and informative platform when inviting applications for new roles. Potential applicants can follow your job opportunities for years before they decide to apply. Such familiarity encourages them to prioritize your company in their plans. However, the social media sites you target for recruitment depend on the category of roles your business offers. LinkedIn is usually the go-to platform for prospective sales personnel. Since it began in 2004, LinkedIn has enabled millions of ambitious employees to create their networks of useful contacts. Reddit is the essential hub for IT professionals where they can share their knowledge and innovations. Twitter is always favored by marketing agents and copywriters. 2. Improving Your Reputation as an Employer Social media is a highly effective tool in creating and preserving the image of your business. In the hands of resourceful HR professionals, your entire employer-employee relationship can be subtly explained. Social media followers should instantly see images of your contented workforce. They'll be able to view special events occurring in your daily corporate life. You won't need to state you're an all-inclusive employer with equal opportunities for everyone. The images you relay will instantly prove your policies are genuinely all-encompassing and what any future employee would hope to find. Facebook was founded in Massachusetts in 2004. A 2021 survey by Statista revealed Facebook is now the most successful social media platform with 2.74 billion ardent followers. It's easy to use for sharing photographs, videos, text and much more. Members of your workforce are likely to be on Facebook where they can interact with other users. They can also share their experiences of working for your dynamic business. Your current workforce has the potential to make or break your business. If their experiences are positive, your reputation as a fair, benevolent employer with fantastic opportunities can only be enhanced. However, your HR department will need to target the most appropriate Facebook platform. According to Statista, 61% of the US now accesses the site via mobile devices. Also, you can buy Instagram followers USA, and leverage the full advantage of the employee search feature on Instagram by displaying your ads to thousands of eligible audiences on this social network. 3. Use Social Media to Highlight Opportunities and Training The future of your business is reliant on a committed workforce who are highly trained. Recruits often prioritize a company offering Curricular Practical Training (CPT), a form of learning while working. Your social media activity should inform everyone of what your company does in this respect. It's a method that enhances your reputation as a forward-thinking business. When your business collaborates with professionals who train employees, social media can help educate you about your innovative strategy. Professional trainers in business studies will inevitably have their own LinkedIn profile. Potential recruits or existing employees can discover who their tutor will be. Social media helps your HR department emphasize the extent of your training programs. Regular mentoring initiatives can be placed on social media pages such as Facebook. Make sure to have someone who will manage your business page on Facebook and answer any questions people might have regarding the initiatives. Additionally, you can use Facebook automated messages if you cannot respond to them right away. HR departments can use YouTube to post video-based training tutorials. The Pew Research Center found that 44% of employees up to the age of forty-nine accessed the platform for training purposes. Interestingly, 68% of these participants were male and only 32% female. 4. Enhancing your Employee Recognition Social media isn't completely about employees and possible recruits finding out about your business. Your HR department can use social media to learn more about the talents of the people you employ. According to Statista, there are 223 million social media account holders in the US. 98% of employees use social media. It means your HR team should be able to locate nearly every employee and learn more about them. Social media profiles can be a valuable tool when preparing to conduct interviews with applicants for a new job. HR professionals can become familiar with a recruit's profile before meeting them. In this way, social media can help with presenting a friendly atmosphere. According to a Glassdoor survey, 70% of people use social media to search for a new job. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 70% of HR recruiters regularly use social media to fill vacancies fast. Social media platforms enable businesses to keep active in posting their job vacancies and in recruiting staff. A Few Final Thoughts When used strategically, social media can provide information and coordinate employer and employee searches. Yet as a State of Social Report by Buffer.com discovered, only 41.9% of businesses have any kind of strategy in place regarding social media. There are many advantages in using such platforms for the benefit of your business brand and recruitment search. Future professionals waiting in Generation Z will inevitably view social media as the only place to locate the next step in their career plans. In a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, 84% of active social media users are Millennials and from Generation Z. Your HR team can surely enhance your business through using social media platforms in imaginative and informative ways. Author Bio: Since 1997 David Hutchinson, a nonprofit executive recruiter at Cause Leadership, has successfully placed senior-level candidates with a broad spectrum of organizations in the charitable sector. He also has a great interest in helping charitable organizations diversify, become younger in their leadership, and better represent their own clients.

Considering the great resignation is here, with nearly 4.3 million people quitting their job in August, the hiring industry is going through a stressful period. The healthcare industry is at the point of convergence, rapidly evolving and facing a talent shortage and high turnover. Simultaneously, the technological advancement of the medical industry means that healthcare professionals must become accustomed to new developments and walk hand in hand with these innovations. All this translates to HR professionals getting prepared to meet the growing challenge and improve the human resources methods. To do so, they need to be completely aware of the healthcare organizations and their protocols. A Rapidly Developing Industry As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Healthcare and social assistance are estimated to generate nearly 3.3 million jobs over 2020–30. Healthcare professions account for 7 of the 30 fastest-growing occupations from 2020 to 2030. Apart from becoming the most sought-after industry, Healthcare providers face their own set of problems, and recruitment is one. Let's discuss some of these in detail here. CHALLENGE #1: Lack of skilled staff One of the challenges that healthcare providers face is the lack of skilled staff. Over the years, experts have cautioned about declining skilled medical workers beating the supply. According to Mercer, the US will need to employ nearly 2.3 million new healthcare personnel by 2025 to keep pace with the growing population. Due to excellent career prospects, many professionals who might otherwise pursue a career as an RN are now becoming NPs. Solution: The pandemic has deepened the crisis of medical professionals, especially those working in critical care sites. Experienced RNs will always be in demand, and their availability is greatly restricted. Joining hands with a recruitment company with a countrywide network of nurses accessible for almost any setting translates to quickly hiring already deficient RNs. How will this association prove beneficial? This sort of collaboration is specifically helpful to rural facilities. Workers can be reluctant to accept assignments in unfamiliar or remote settings. A trusted health recruitment company can provide the 24/7 support of a reliable healthcare employer, giving them much-needed peace of mind. CHALLENGE #2: Burnout and Fatigue The recent COVID crisis has deepened the healthcare workers' mental and physical state and resulted in burnout and compassion fatigue. The rise in burnout can take a considerable toll on an individual, resulting in a greater attrition rate. Solution: Several small and positive steps can eliminate the problem of fatigue and burnout, including: Direct access to mental health care services and attractive benefits Early screening of mental health illness Pre-allocated break times Immediate intervention for those at risk Social interaction CHALLENGE #3: Difficulty in Recruitment What has intensified the entire recruitment process is manual work. There are many processes associated with finding and hiring the top talent – screening, interviewing, and employee onboarding. Solution: Automating the time-consuming tasks of workforce management can lower the workload of recruiters and HR professionals. Investing in HR software consists of a resume parser that boosts the chances of acquiring the idyllic candidate for each open position. CHALLENGE #4: Aging Baby Boomer Population Demand for the healthcare workforce will continue to rise as the baby boomer population ages. A sizable percentage of the healthcare workers is reaching the retirement age, because of the aging population there are not enough youngsters to fill the disparity. What can be done to overcome the situation? Solution: The government needs to be ready with Plan A and Plan B if the former fails. Health care organizations need a comprehensive plan before finding and hiring applicants like workforce planning, establishing a talent pipeline, retaining and engaging the younger talent to fill those positions. They need to focus on the individuals who already work in the healthcare industry and have the required education and skills to be a nurse or medical technician. One of the ways to ensure that you hire the right job candidates is by outsourcing your hiring process and employee management to PEO services. An international PEO, for instance, will enable you to grow your workforce overseas and it also saves time. Certain health organizations also recommend establishing a community pipeline by collaborating with high schools and colleges to engage and motivate the younger generation and drive them to the healthcare industry and make them see the importance of patient care. Undoubtedly, the healthcare industry is one of the premier areas you can work for. It's an industry where you ought to get every decision right. Therefore, start with the right hiring decision and improve your hiring process. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Working styles like the hybrid, flexible, and agile models are changing the post-pandemic workplace. Find out the differences between each one in this guide. As businesses move forward and adjust to the new normal, work structures also change. When the pandemic hit in 2020, it forced most businesses to close down their on-site operations and move to a remote workplaces if they could. Some companies flourished, while others found it challenging to adapt. Many have realized the benefits and conveniences of remote working. They have modified their office functions to hybrid, flexible, or agile working models. You may notice that some businesses don’t have specified clock-in times anymore, or they support remote employees by giving them the freedom to either work on-site or at home. These types of working models are revolutionizing the workplace. But, what is the difference between hybrid, flexible, and agile working? How can you adapt them to your business, and how can getting a scrum product owner certification help the process? Find out in the guide below. Overview of the Difference The terms hybrid, flexible, and agile working are often used interchangeably. However, there are specific differences that set them apart. Here’s a quick overview: Hybrid - It’s a combination of office-based and remote work. Hybrid working refers to where you’re working or the workplace environment. Flexible - It’s the working hours of the employee and how it doesn’t strictly have to be 9-5. Flexible working refers to when you work to achieve a work-life balance. Agile - It allows employees to work with maximum flexibility and minimum constraints. Agile working mostly refers to how the business optimizes its workers to do their best work. What is Hybrid Working? A hybrid working model gives employees the option to work remotely or in-office. There are benefits to both setups. Some workers perform best collaborating with teams in-person, while others are comfortable doing their tasks alone. With this model, organizations can satisfy both types of employees. It’s also a great in-between solution for those still wary of transitioning to full remote or on-site work. While hybrid working is ideal for office workers, it may not be the best setup for 50% of the workforce. They are the deskless or frontline workers on location for most days. For these employees, hybrid working may not be the best model. Technology and the Hybrid Workspace With hybrid working, everyone must do the work needed regardless of location. This means that technology will play a significant role. Communication and collaboration platforms must be accessible to all. Workers should easily join meetings, whether they’re held virtually or in person. A hybrid office can reduce a company’s space requirements as not everyone will work on-site. It’s best to incorporate hot desks or a desk booking system to ensure employees have places to work once they come into the office. There should also be spaces or rooms where workers can hold video meetings with remote colleagues, clients, or outsourced teams. What is Flexible Working? In general, the flexible model refers to flexitime or flexible working hours. However, some companies adopt flexible working to integrate remote working. The model can cover the work-from-home setup, part-time working, and job sharing. The Flexible Workspace and Working Hours The flexible workspace is similar to a hybrid one since it can cater to on-site and remote employees. The company can have traditional desks and large meeting rooms for virtual meet-ups. You need to have a space where teams can work together. With the flexible working model, employees aren’t required to come to work from Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. There are different approaches to flexible working hours: Flexitime - There’s a set number of hours per week. It doesn’t matter when employees start or finish their workday, just as long they meet the required weekly hours. Four-day week - Businesses don’t need to work five days a week to maintain productivity. Major companies like Panasonic started to adopt a three-day weekend this year. So far, they observed that teams were happier and gained 40% in productivity. Work done - Working hours aren’t tracked as long as employees get the job done. What is Agile Working? Agile working is a model that focuses on employee performance and productivity. It doesn’t matter where or when teams work; the business pays more attention to what they achieve and how well they perform. It brings people, technology, and processes together by finding the most effective ways to carry out a task. With this model, the team works within the guidelines of the job but without boundaries, opening up the work structure to flexibility. Some features of agile working include: Flexible working conditions - The company can offer unlimited days off, remote work, and flexible hours. Fluidity in job roles - Employees can work on varied and interesting projects beyond their job title. Prioritization of speed - Because there aren’t any formal rules and job role limitations under agile working, more people can complete tasks quickly as they work in their preferred way and feel empowered to do their best. The Agile Workspace and Its Benefits Agile offices should be designed to foster efficiency. By creating a dynamic work environment, employees can stay alert and engaged. There should be spaces to focus, collaborate, and connect with remote colleagues. The company can remove dedicated desks and incorporate hot desking to do this. By applying agile working to your business, you can increase productivity, improve job satisfaction, build up employee freedom, and reduce operating costs since there’s better space management. An agile workplace encourages organizations to trust their employees, which will create a strong bond within teams. Join the Future of Work As times changes, companies should adapt to and go beyond the needs of their employees. For desk jobs, a traditional 40-hour, in-person workweek is no longer the standard. Businesses are implementing hybrid, flexible, or agile working models. It’s also proven to increase productivity as workers feel more in control of their jobs. If you’d like to incorporate these working styles into your organization, you should consider your options and create a strategy that you think will work best. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

There has been an explosion of data use in the last two decades. This has been compounded by the trend of digitalization and digital transformation among large corporations, medium enterprises, and even small businesses. As a result, it’s believed that more and more companies are finding themselves holding volumes of creative assets and rich media resources from their previous and current projects and campaigns. These are assets of the organization for which they spent thousands of hours of company time and thousands of dollars of project budget just to create them. These have remained dormant for lack of an enabling platform that can mobilize their potential to create value for the company. They can still be used for other projects and campaigns to attract more leads, enhance brand reputation, draw more buyer interest, generate revenues, and the like. This has spurred the emergence of digital asset management among businesses to improve the way they organize and access files. Overview Of Enterprise Digital Asset Management (DAM) Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform solutions refer to the business practice of managing your digital files and other creative assets owned by the company. A digital asset management DAM system is a very cost effective way of handling your creative digital assets. In the past, DAM was done in an asynchronous manner. This means that each team or department just saved and stored all the digital files and items that they created, on their own individual computers, which often impeded efficiency and productivity. At most, they were stored in shared team folders where everybody in the team can access them. Digital assets refer to any kind of content that is created and produced by an individual or organization, which is used for its projects and other ongoing concerns. Here are some examples of creative digital assets: Company logos and other brand logos; Pictures and other images; Animation files; 3D imaging files; Videos and films; PDF files; Visual and proposal presentations; and Text documents. This worked quite well in the past. Team members were just given access permissions to the shared folders. When the teams got larger or more departments had to be involved in the project, the folders and files were stored in cloud-based servers. Personnel who needed access to the folders and files were given access permissions to the cloud locations. This also worked well, especially for multinational companies where teams working on the same website or software development project could be spread out in different parts of the world. Most of the time, nevertheless, these files were just stored away in folders after the completion of a project or campaign. This made some innovative companies rethink the way that they handle their creative assets and resources. Some of them thought that they could still reuse and repurpose some of the creative assets and resources that they produced in previous projects. DAM platform or software systems have been developed to address the need of companies to manage their large volumes of creative assets and resources. A DAM solution enables your marketing teams to handle content management real time not only for a given type of digital assets. It also gives them version control over creative resources and enhances brand consistency in both traditional and social media marketing campaigns. How Enterprise DAM Works A DAM software system seeks to simplify and streamline the experience of its users, yet what happens within the software system is quite a complex process that involves several steps. Here are the various steps involved in the implementation of a DAM system: Creation of digital assets and resources The first step in the enterprise-level DAM is the creation and production of creative digital assets and resources. The usual example of this is the graphics artists of a company who come up with logo designs, marketing collaterals, and the like. Indexing After the creative assets and resources are produced, they’re then indexed by the DAM system. Indexing is the process of characterizing the metadata of the specific digital assets and resources created by the company’s teams. Some examples of metadata are the resolution of video files, image pixelation and resolutions, image dimensions, and others. Indexing is the foundation of the database management component of DAM systems. Management Management of digital assets refers to how the files would be sorted, classified, categorized, organized, and stored to make sure that people who need them would be able to find them where they’re supposed to be. This includes managing the levels of access and permissions to make sure that only those who need to use them would be given permission to access the servers and open the folders where they’ve been stored. Publication And Distribution Another important step in implementing a DAM system is the publishing and distribution of digital assets and resources. Without a DAM system, this is usually done by file transfers through email and messaging applications. But in a DAM system, folders and files are shared by simply giving the users who need to view and edit them the right level of access permissions. Preservation The final step in the implementation lifecycle of a DAM system is the preservation of the digital assets and resources. DAM system specialists also call this step the archiving process to manage your digital assets. The DAM system allows your teams to store digital assets which are no longer being used in a way that would help you save storage space. How DAM System Streamlines HR Operations Systems like a digital asset management platform and the like have a huge impact on human resources (HR) operations because of the comprehensive scope and extent of the system’s applications and functionalities. Here are some of the known benefits of digital asset management or how a DAM system is able to streamline the operations of HR departments: DAM System Streamlines Employee Onboarding One of the most important impacts of a DAM system on the HR operations of a company is that it streamlines file management. A DAM system provides the company with a powerful system for managing its voluminous files, including its creative digital assets and resources. From the point of view of HR departments, this capability streamlines their task of provisioning and monitoring the compliance of employees with the level of permissions and restrictions on access to servers and files. Keep in mind that the access permissions of a company’s numerous employees are often connected with their employment status, role, and functions in the company. The role that they applied for, and were onboarded to, determines the level of their access to the different servers, folders, and files in the DAM system. The different roles and functions in the company’s staffing plan and pattern would of course correspond to different levels of access permissions. Without a DAM system, HR would have to manually ascertain what kinds of permissions can be given to a certain employee. The information technology (IT) department might have to ask them from time to time whether a certain employee could be given access permissions to sensitive or confidential creative digital assets that might be above their paygrade. But with a DAM system, HR and IT would only have to collaborate on the levels of access permissions that can be given to each corresponding role and function in the staffing pattern. IT can then automate the provisioning of access permissions based on what HR said could be granted to the employees concerned. Of course, there will still be those requests for exceptions and special cases from time to time. But generally, the effect is that the DAM system would streamline the tasks of HR in identifying the access levels of all roles in the staffing plan. DAM System Streamlines Remote Work Collaboration Another important impact of digital asset management solutions implementation is that it streamlines the arrangements for remote work coordination and collaboration. With the onset of the new normal, it’s said that more businesses and organizations have realized that there’s no going back completely to the ways of doing things before the global pandemic happened. Both companies and their clients have realized the value of allowing at least some of their employees to continue working remotely for good. This has been allowed by some corporations in the past even before the pandemic but not without challenges and difficulties in business operations. For one, remote work posed difficulties in how to grant access permissions to employees who needed to access creative digital assets and resources from their remote work station. Organizations with cloud-based servers were able to overcome this challenge by storing the folders needed in their cloud servers and giving access to their remote teams and workers. Yet this setup also encountered difficulties when the files were ‘too heavy’ to be downloaded or uploaded to and from the cloud servers. This also posed challenges when teams and workers had to share and collaborate and the files were too large. Implementing a digital asset management system streamlines work collaboration because all the creative digital assets and resources that workers need can be found in the central database and library of the DAM system. It doesn’t matter whether onsite or remote workers need to access it. As long as they have access to the DAM system, they would be able to access the digital assets and resources that they need wherever they’re located. This streamlines further the HR operations of the company. Remote work would now be enabled to have the same access and capabilities as onsite work. HR doesn’t have to reclassify workers’ access whenever they change the environment from onsite to remote. As long as the employee can hook up to the DAM system, they’re good to go. This also makes it convenient for external consultants, affiliates, and contractors who aren’t part of the regular staffing plan but would need to have access to some of the project’s creative digital resources. DAM System Streamlines HR Programs To Stimulate Creativity Another important impact of implementing a DAM system is that it streamlines and in fact multiplies all HR programs aimed at stimulating creativity among the company’s employees. This is perhaps one of the most important effects of a DAM system on any business or organization. Implementing a DAM system will not only stimulate and unleash the creativity of a company’s workforce. It will also spark a synergy of the workforce creativity with the integrated power of their repository of creative assets and resources. In other words, the employees would become more creative because they can access creative assets anytime anywhere. Not only that, but the workers would also multiply the creative power of a company’s digital assets because they’re going to make use of them more often, and they’re going to make the most of them. Conclusion Implementing a DAM system would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the workflow and operations, especially of enterprise-level organizations. But equally important is that it’ll have a positive impact on efforts to streamline HR operations. It’ll definitely streamline the onboarding process of assigning the corresponding access permissions for each role and function. Also, the use of DAM will enhance remote work collaboration and synergize creativity among employees. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Everyone, regardless of who you are or what your job is, loves to know that they’re doing a great job. Depending on how you phrase it, most people also want to know when they’re doing a bad one too. Without the use of positive feedback sessions - whether in a group or one-on-one - many of us would find ourselves clueless as to how well - or poorly - we are performing in work. All too often, this is the form that performance reviews take. For something as crucial as feedback, you need to be sure you’re getting it right. In this article, we’ll take a look at what feedback is and why it’s important to receive feedback, why it is useful, and share some tips on how to give great performance review feedback in the future. The Purpose of Performance Reviews First, let’s take a look, in a bit more detail, as to what the purpose of feedback is. You can talk - as we will - about improving something all you like. Although, without the context of what it is you’re improving, the need to do so can seem useless. As well as acting as a barometer against which people can judge their general contribution, performance reviews are a chance for management to understand the machinations of their organization. It’s a process that not only allows employees to understand their own standing or their team’s standing but also shows senior employees where the best and worst members of their outfit are. This, along with other data, can allow them to rethink how they operate in the hope of optimizing their output more effectively. Now that we’ve understood what the purpose of performance review feedback is, let’s take a look at how you can make it the most effective version of itself. Understand the Purpose The first tip ties into what we’ve previously covered. Failure to understand the reason behind doing something means that when it comes to doing it, your results will be sub-optimal. Without using a KPI retail salespeople would find the purpose of their job considerably more abstract than they do. The same goes for performance reviews. Going into a performance review session understanding the crucial nature it holds for employees and managers alike is vital if you’re going to justify doing it at all. An appreciation for how a good performance review benefits all involved, allows you to structure, plan, and deliver reviews that provide positive change to the company’s way of working. 2. Set an Agenda A great way to ensure that you get everything necessary out of a performance review is to have an agenda set before it comes time to carry out the review. Distributing this through email or printouts to all involved, ahead of time, allows everyone to arrive, with employees engaged, ready to discuss the items on the agenda as compltely as possible. This not only reduces the issue of wasted time but allows people to feel more comfortable being active participants. If they’re looking out for something they don’t expect, they’ll never give you the most accurate depiction of their perspective. Without that, a performance review is rendered obsolete. 3. Set Specific Time One of the main reasons why even meetings with agendas can prove unsuccessful is that they weren’t treated as important by those organizing it. Carrying out performance reviews on the fly means that people are less likely to take them seriously or be prepared for them. And, as such, the results they garner are limited. Setting aside a chunk of time for the performance review to take place, and sending a meeting request email to confirm it, infers a gravitas and importance to it. This ensures that it is treated seriously and with a desire from all parties for it to be a success, and not something that’s being ticked off the list of things to do. 4. Track Employee Performance Even if you’re holding these meetings regularly, issues can arise in between one meeting and the next. Keeping up to date on an employee’s performance, and logging it through a process improvement tracker excel template, allows their performance review to feel like less of a chore to prepare for. It also gives the person organizing the review the chance to introduce any mitigating factors that can explain any uptick or drop-off in performance. Leaving this to the review itself can lead to unproductive and unhelpful performance reviews for all involved. 5. Active Listening One of the most important things to remember whilst conducting a performance review is that it is mostly for the person being reviewed. In short, the point of holding the meeting, whether virtual or face to face, is to check in and determine areas for improvement. You could always do this with an employee survey, but the purpose of a performance review is its inherent interactivity. By actively listening to what the employee feels is saying, you make a concerted effort to limit your comments or questions. It also means that anything you pick up on from them can be challenged or discussed there and then, as opposed to being forgotten about, which can ultimately help an employee improve their performance. 6. Choose Your Language Carefully It may be assumed that this point refers to performance reviews that are dealing with negative information. And whilst that may be the moment in which you are generally more careful with the language that you use, it doesn’t mean that this is the only occasion you should take time to consider it. Language is so important. Without it, our ability to communicate would be primal. And so, when it comes to taking the lead on the performance review process, being careful not to say something that feels leading or that puts unnecessary stress on the employee is best avoided. Training yourself to look at situations in the most positive light is a good way of ensuring growth and development happen. If you take a pessimistic view of the world, chances are this will bleed through into your performance review, causing employees to be more lacking in confidence than they otherwise ought to be. 7. 360° Vision of the Employee Journey When considering the content of your employee review, it’s important to accumulate all the data you have available. If you’ve discussed their background and their ambitions with you, be sure to build that into the context of your review. If, for example, you work at Amazon and someone was looking at becoming a manager at one of your fulfillment centers eventually, you can incorporate that into the performance review. If how they’re performing doesn’t meet the required standard for management, this can be used as something to work on. As well as contextualizing the whole process, it can afford people a motivation they otherwise wouldn’t have. 8. Ask Around Nobody is completely understood merely by seeing their statistics. The outputs or the performance that we drive through work is rarely a complete representation of our character or our ability. So, whilst your impression of a person and the contributions they make to the overall success of the company are important, there are other factors to consider. You could ask around, either in person or by using a call that takes place on your hosted PBX phone system. Get in touch with other managers who’ve had experience with this employee and ask for their opinion. 9. Agree on Next Steps Whilst we covered the idea of the future in point seven, we mustn’t just treat the future as an abstract dimension. Creating some achievable, reasonable goals to move forward with as part of the annual review of your performance means it becomes more than just a summary of the work someone has been doing. Understanding the phases of the employee journey makes it easier to introduce this across a period of performance reviews. It can either provide affirmation of what they’re already doing or suggest ways in which they can change to achieve better results. Either way, it allows the person to set goals in a manner that would, otherwise, be a journey without a roadmap. 10. Feedback Outside of a Review It’s important to not isolate the conversation you have with an employee to their performance evaluation alone. We mentioned earlier that you should keep track of how your workers perform between performance reviews and whilst you’re doing this, don’t be afraid to have a dialogue with them which you can direct through a performance management software. Doing this not only makes them more comfortable discussing work with you, but it allows them to rectify any issues in a manner that can be discussed at the performance review. Part of our performance appraisal is, of course, how we learn from our mistakes. Conclusion In this article, we’ve taken a look at what purpose performance reviews fulfill and covered some ways in which you can improve yours. We’ve discussed how performance reviews function and shared tips for you to put into practice going forward. It isn’t an easy adjustment to make, especially if you already have an established way of doing things. Still, it could prove to be a great way of getting the most out of the people who work for you. Author Bio: Richard Conn is the Senior Director for Demand Generation at 8x8, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Call Center platform with integrated contact center, voice, video, and chat functionality. Richard is an analytical results-driven digital marketing leader with a track record of achieving major ROI improvements in fast-paced, competitive B2B environments.

As a business owner, enhancing a better customer experience and achieving higher productivity levels should be some of your main concerns. Experts estimate that businesses in the United States lose over $500 billion a year to low productivity. When trying to give productivity levels a boost, you need to review the jobs your employees are required to perform on a given day. If you start to realize your team is performing a lot of repetitive and mundane tasks, you need to consider using automation to address this common problem. The use of automation technology can improve employee productivity and engagement. Read below to find out more about the benefits of using automation technology. Boost Employee Satisfaction Levels High employee turnover rates can be disastrous for a small business. If you have valued employees leaving for jobs with competitors, you need to find out why. In most cases, businesses that use outdated technology struggle to keep their employees engaged and happy. If members of your team are continuously complaining about having to perform repetitive or boring tasks throughout their workday, then using automation in BPO is a good idea. By automating certain tasks, including web automation, you will provide your employees with more time to do more important jobs.Tools such as an automatic audio to text converter,for example, might be useful in reducing the stress of routine tasks. If you want to significantly lower your employee turnover rate, you need to realize the importance of employee engagement. Are you looking for technology designed to help you create an exceptional employee experience? If so, you need to check out Workmates offered by the team at LIKE.TG. Make Team Members Better At Their Jobs If employees are spending the majority of their days performing repetitive or mundane tasks, they will have very little time to focus on improving themselves. Ideally, you want to provide employees with plenty of enrichment opportunities. By freeing up some time with the help of automation technology, you can help your team build their skills and become more productive. Employees that are provided with these enrichment opportunities will usually be more loyal and engaged. If your team members are constantly looking for ways to improve themselves, you will have no problem rising to the top of your industry. The only way to free up the time needed to take on these enrichment opportunities is by finding the right automation software. Great Tips For Helping Employees Embrace Automation Some employees may feel a bit intimidated at the thought of using new automation technology. When confronted with this hesitation, you need to do all you can to display the benefits this technology will provide. If you want to make automation adoption easier for team members, you need to think about doing things like: Allow employees to test new automation solutions Have a detailed plan in place Make the transition into automation slow Meet with employees to discuss the problems they encounter with this technology Audit and improve your automation technology regularly If you feel like your business can benefit from the implementation of automation technology, working with IT professionals is important. These professionals can help you find the right automation technology and will be with you during the implementation process. When problems surface with the implementation of this new technology, an IT professional can address them quickly and correctly. Instead of trying to take on this process alone and making mistakes that can affect productivity levels, you need to realize the importance of hiring an IT professional. As you can see, the use of automation technology can provide you and your team members with a number of benefits. With some time and research, you can find the right automation technology to invest in for your business. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

With more and more organizations implementing remote and hybrid forms of working, it has become more important than ever to rethink how your organization welcomes and onboards new hires. Investing in a strategic onboarding program can deliver key benefits such as higher levels of employee engagement and reduced turnover rate. However, Gallup notes that only 12% of employees agree that their organization has an adequate new hire onboarding process. This is not surprising when you get to know that 58% of organizations focus their onboarding programs on time-consuming paperwork and processes. With talent scarcity and resignations on the rise, organizations can no longer ignore the need to rethink and improve their onboarding processes. Organizations that seek to keep their employees engaged and productive must aim to deliver an exclusive onboarding experience that motivates them from the get-go. Therefore, it is particularly important for organizations to overcome the new hurdles that remote working environments bring. The Challenges of Remote Onboarding When onboarding remote employees, new factors come into play that employers must take into account. This is true, especially for large organizations that work across multiple locations and time zones. Here are some of those key challenges associated with remote onboarding. 1. Tech and Equipment Setup In a physical office environment, new hires would typically show up for work on the start date and find all the requisite equipment and tech to be ready for them. However, with remote working, this is no longer possible. The burden is on the employers to ensure that the new remote workers have all the necessary equipment and supplies delivered to their location on time, on the first day of work, or earlier. Moreover, it also adds a new challenge for the new hires as they also need to go through the supplies and ensure that they set it up properly. They also need to check for access to the different systems that they would need to be connected to before they can meet stakeholders or start working remotely. 2. Virtual Communication In a physical office or workplace, it would have been quite easy for new employees to communicate with their team members and supervisors. All they had to do was walk up to a person’s desk and communicate whatever they needed to. Now, there is a plethora of virtual communication tools that new employees may have to navigate whenever they have a question to ask, no matter how simple. Should they send an email? Is instant messaging appropriate and, if so, which tool should they use? Or should they schedule a virtual meeting instead? This level of uncertainty makes the onboarding process a lot more daunting than it should be. 3. Company Culture and Relationships When working remotely, it is no longer possible to have a quick chat at the water cooler or share coffee breaks together. Instead, any meeting that they wish to have, even for a casual conversation, will be virtual. This can lead to the employee feeling isolated and lonely, as per the many studies and reports in recent years. All of these make it harder for HR managers and business leaders to build a strong sense of company culture and foster relationships among team members during the onboarding process. 4. Excess Information It is quite normal for employees to receive plenty of information during the onboarding process. It can become especially painful if there is an excess of information that new hires have to consume virtually. A lengthy remote induction program on day one, comprising several sessions, could lead to information overload for new hires. The Checklist for Improving Remote Onboarding As per a research report by Brandon Hall Group, a great employee onboarding experience can significantly improve employee retention by up to 82%. While there are difficulties with remote onboarding, it is not an impossible task. There are plenty of steps that organizations can take to streamline the virtual onboarding process and make it easier not only for themselves but also for their new employees. Create a Checklist Many organizations fail to account for this most basic of steps. Creating and maintaining a detailed checklist for onboarding each new employee can go a long way in streamlining the onboarding process while ensuring all essential steps have been completed for the employee to join. Set up a Schedule Create specific schedules for each employee for the first few weeks of onboarding. Imprivata worked with their hiring managers to create such schedules which included activities such as ‘meet and greet’ sessions, and sending them useful facts and information about the company. Share the schedule with your employees in the form of a task list in a project or time management tool. This will make it easier for them to understand what their first few days at the organization will look like. Start Before They Join To help your new employees, start the onboarding process even before they join your organization. Qualtrics makes sure that every employee gets the equipment they need days before they join. This allows the new hires to hit the ground running and get up to speed faster. In addition to office equipment, you can also send your new employees a bag of goodies and more details about your organization and the team that they are about to join. Even something as simple as a video message from your company’s CEO congratulating the new hires can go a long way in making them feel a valuable part of your organization’s community and create a sense of belonging. Offer Training Sessions on Tech One of the biggest challenges for new employees has always been to navigate and get used to the new systems at the workplace. In a virtual environment, this becomes harder as they are unable to get their questions answered immediately. To solve this, you can schedule training sessions for new hires on the tech and the systems that they will be using as part of their new job. HubSpot made it a priority for their new hires to participate in training sessions while also offering extra optional sessions for building a sense of camaraderie. Schedule Meet and Greet Sessions with the Team Building a sense of community and team spirit is easier when the team members interact face-to-face on a daily basis. However, this could be difficult while working remotely. Therefore, you need to take extra steps to build that sense of connection. VistaPrint, for example, holds a social meeting on the first day of work for new employees. During this meeting, the new hire is given the opportunity to meet with team members one-on-one and even play games to develop bonding and connections. Integrate Your Systems The key to being efficient lies in streamlining workflows and data. You may already have several systems in place to support your employees with their onboarding and day-to-day work. However, are these systems integrated? Integrating your systems allows you to minimize manual intervention and confusion while helping your new employees easily tackle everything that they need to do at their new job. For example, you can connect your onboarding system with a time tracking system and project management system. This will help your employees manage their time better with the different tasks that they must complete as part of their onboarding. Take Feedback According to CandE Research Reports, soliciting new hire feedback can improve your relationship by up to 91%. A step often forgotten even for in-office onboarding programs is taking feedback from new hires. For remote onboarding, gathering feedback through online surveys within the first 90 days will be particularly beneficial. The data that you collect will help you uncover ways to improve your onboarding program and make it better for future employees. Verisys Corporation makes it a point to continuously adjust its programs according to the feedback that they receive. This has enabled them to identify areas of improvement, which further allowed them to offer a better onboarding experience to the next set of hires. As with many processes, virtual or remote onboarding programs take time to perfect. They require continuous improvement to meet the changing needs of employees. Simplify your remote onboarding processes by implementing the steps mentioned in the checklist and reap the benefits of enhanced employee engagement. Author Bio: Arpan is an assistant content marketing manager at Replicon. He enjoys learning and writing about technologies that are making the world a better place.

Years of COVID pandemic conditions compelled employees to think critically about what they need from their employers to develop a happy and healthy life. Unfortunately for employers, many organizations have been found wanting, and tens of millions of workers have quit in search of more rewarding work. For about a year, business leaders have hoped that the Great Resignation was a temporary trend and that employees would return without much organizational change — but these business leaders are worse than wrong. In a recent survey from Microsoft, 52 percent of millennial and gen Z workers were considering a change to their employment this year. The Great Resignation is far from over — and some experts suggest that it might never end. For decades, the concept of job loyalty has been loosening; before 2020, career experts encouraged employees to remain in one position for no longer than four years for maximum career benefit. In 2022, experts have shrunk that duration to two years, but most employees will quit before their first work anniversary. The Great Resignation should be a wake-up call to management, who need to change their leadership style to keep top talent satisfied for more than a year or two. Here are a few lessons managers need to learn from this unprecedented employment event: Leaders Should Not Assume They Know What Their Workers Want Managers make all sorts of assumptions about personnel, especially about what workers want. Some managers assume that employees only care about monetary benefits, so any perk unrelated to increases in pay is utterly unimportant. Other managers believe that if a worker is not asking for any sort of support, they must be perfectly satisfied with their position. Most managers were once humble employees, so they mistakenly believe that they understand their workers’ perspectives and know exactly what their team want and need from their employer. The problem is that ascending to management irrevocably shifts a manager’s view of the organization. With new knowledge about the company’s cash flow and responsibilities to budgets and deadlines, managers are unable to return to the perspective they had as mere workers. Thus, any assumptions they have about what workers want are all but certain to be false. The Great Resignation has demonstrated that managers need to devote more time to understanding their employees. Instead of interacting one-on-one only in the annual performance review, managers and workers should develop closer relationships that help managers gain deeper insight into what motivates individual employees. Undoubtedly, some workers are driven by an interest in higher pay, but the Great Resignation shows that more employees receive more fulfillment by better treatment from their employer — which managers can supply through employee recognition programs. Dropping assumptions and committing to learning about employees allows managers more control over the satisfaction and performance of their teams. Every Worker Needs to Feel a Sense of Purpose A McKinsey survey found that 70 percent of people believe that the work they do every day defines their purpose in the world. Unfortunately, for many workers, the goal of their daily tasks does not always resonate with their internal motivations, and they lose the sense of purpose that would drive them to be more productive and more committed to their current position. Managers need to find a way to demonstrate to workers that their effort has a meaningful and lasting impact on the world around them. A good start is working with senior leadership to develop corporate values and craft a mission statement that resonates with the workforce and customers alike. Managers should also push for policies that align with staff interests and needs, like going carbon neutral or offering family-oriented benefits. When employees know that they are directly contributing toward building a company that shares their core beliefs, they are more likely to connect with their purpose and give their all to their work. Conclusion It should go without saying that these are not the only two lessons managers need to learn from the Great Resignation. Employers overall need to find ways to pay their staff more reasonable wages, provide opportunities for advancement and generate a positive and rewarding workplace culture, which are three of the most common reasons cited by ex-employees for participating in the Great Resignation, according to Pew. Yet, with more communication between managers and employees and a greater focus on giving workers meaningful purpose, workplaces should be able to stem the tide of resignations and keep a stable team of productive and loyal workers. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Do you appreciate your employees for their hard work? I guess not enough, but we all know the warmth when someone recognizes our good work and zeal to do more. It enhances productivity and job satisfaction. We must see the importance of employee appreciation and how to show it. As an employer, when you show appreciation, your workers feel good, making them work harder to achieve organizational goals. And this is why you must appreciate them regularly and not just ephemeral. Employee rewards and recognition matter more than you think because it is directly related to job satisfaction, employee engagement, and increased productivity. Therefore, this article will discuss the importance of employee appreciation for organizational success and some ideas on how you can appreciate them. But first, we must know the basics. When is Employee Appreciation Day and Why it Matters? The first Friday of March is the official Employee Appreciation Day. So, technically it was on March 4 this year. But, if you’ve failed to celebrate the event at work this work, do not worry, because employee appreciation is not a one-day affair. This day is a prime time to let your employees know that you value their hard work and recognize them duly for their achievements. But, employee appreciation is a year-long affair, and you cannot pick one arbitrary day and make it special for every employee. As an employer, you must make appreciation a part of your workplace culture and make it diverse and inclusive without discrimination and biases. Also, timely, public, and honest appreciation matters because it keeps your workers agile and enhances employee motivation. It is a way of confirming their abilities and skills. They tend to find meaning in their job and the contribution they’re making towards the company's success. By merely appreciating your workers, you will play a major role in your company’s bottom-line success. The Importance of Employee Appreciation It helps create a strong company culture When you express gratitude and appreciation towards workers, they tend to show positive interpersonal relationships, and mostly it positively impacts team dynamics and communication. Employee appreciation gives birth to a company culture of kindness, empathy, and motivation. This, in turn, brings substantial benefits to you and your team as it depicts your company values are aligned with yours. Enhances employee happiness and morale Coping and keeping high levels of employee morale is your ultimate goal for an agile and active team. Individually, when employees receive appreciation, they feel valued and recognized for the small or significant contributions they made. As a whole, a small amount of gratitude can elevate employee morale and happiness, and you’ll not see dull faces at work. It encourages peer-to-peer recognition Setting an example of an appreciation culture in the workplace will impact your company culture by promoting a peer-to-peer recognition culture. If recognition begins at the top level, it will also slide down to peer-to-peer interactions and appreciation. All you need is a common platform where peers can publicly appreciate their co-workers, which is possible with a rewards and recognition platform. It's time you create a culture of appreciation to enhance engagement levels at work. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up Creates a positive work environment When you promote a culture of recognition and appreciation throughout the workplace, you will see a positive work environment. A company that nurtures thankfulness and kindness will always nourish a simple happy atmosphere. It helps enhance employee engagement According to Gallup, businesses with engaged employees show 17% more productivity and experience 21% more profits than companies with more disengaged employees. This is why employee engagement tool is crucial for business success. A known fact, recognition platforms always help increase employee engagement establishing a good relationship between employees and the organization. It adds dialogue and creates new communication opportunities beyond the usual business talks. Improves employee retention and decreases turnover As per the study of Work.com, around 54% of employees leave their jobs because of a lack of appreciation from their companies. Also, Gallup mentions employees who do not feel recognized at work are twice as likely to leave their jobs in the next year. Therefore, if you want to improve retention rates and decrease employee turnover, you must acknowledge workers’ efforts and contributions to your company's success. You will never achieve employees’ trust, loyalty, and tenure without appreciation. Employees become your brand advocates Happily, recognized and motivated employees will share their good experiences with their friends and family, and as a result, you get your very own brand advocates. In addition, you will see a diverse talent pool approaching your company. When employee appreciation is done timely and honestly, employees become your best brand advocates. And this gives you the recognition you want from the outside world. Employee appreciation improves employee performance According to a study by Work.com, 69% of employees will show better performance at work if they receive timely appreciation and recognition. And 78% of US employees said recognition drives their motivation levels. So, now that we know employee appreciation elevates company culture, employee engagement, and retention, is that all? NO. Words of appreciation can also boost workers’ job performance as they will work harder for more appreciation. Conclusion According to Cutting Edge, Walt Disney experienced 15% more job satisfaction by implementing an agile recognition program. Hence, we must implement the same and appreciate employees for all their contributions. We hope now you understand the importance of employee appreciation and how it impacts your business growth. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

High employee engagement leads to higher productivity, higher job satisfaction, more sales, and higher revenue. When your employees are actively engaged in the workplace, they feel happier and ready to go above and beyond to achieve your company’s goals. Now the question is: Are you doing everything you can to engage your employees and maximize their potential? It is interesting to note that a little above 20% of employees are engaged in their workplaces. Although some researchers have argued with this stance, the numbers are relatively between 30 percent to 40 percent of disengaged employees. More interesting statistics below should motivate you to focus more on employee engagement and nudge you in the right direction. Let’s dive in. Workmates Self-Guided Tour We’ll show you how Workmates can engage everyone in your organization, transform your culture, and drive productivity to new highs. Start Now Only 36% of Employees Are Engaged in the Workplace According to the latest Gallup report, 51% of employees are disengaged in the workplace, while 13% are actively disengaged. Actively disengaged means feeling miserable at work and spreading negativity to their colleagues. While 36% of engaged employees is a rather low percentage, it’s the highest since Gallup started measuring employee engagement back in 2000. The number of actively disengaged employees is the lowest since 2000. In 2017, 85% of employees were disengaged in the workplace, which was a years-long trend. In 2019, the percentage dropped by 10%, meaning that 35% of workers were engaged at the time. Although employee engagement levels are barely higher now, it’s a surprise that they haven’t dropped due to the pandemic. It shows that many companies have clearly been doing an excellent job of improving employee engagement. A Highly Engaged Workforce Increases Profitability by 21% Another Gallup’s report on employee engagement shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce have 21% higher profitability. They also have 17% higher productivity than companies with a disengaged workforce. The reasons for this are clear from point number one. Engaged employees lead to a more productive workforce because they are motivated to complete their tasks on time and successfully, even going the extra mile to reach their goals and objectives. They’re better at meeting customers’ needs, which leads to more sales and higher revenues. Engaged employees are also happier, report lower absenteeism, and tend to be more loyal. Image from Career Employer Employee Disengagement Costs the U.S. Economy $450-550 Billion Every Year A study on employee engagement found that companies in the U.S. lose between $450-$550 billion each year due to disengaged workers. That’s partly because of employees’ lack of motivation and a lower sense of responsibility, resulting in lower productivity, errors in work, missed deadlines, poor customer service, and lower profits. A single disengaged employee can cost a company about $3,400 in lost productivity for every $10,000 in salary. It’s also because many disengaged employees quit their jobs at some point, leaving the employer to reinvest in hiring, onboarding, and training. Many of them even spread negativity through word of mouth, harming an organization’s chances of attracting quality hires. 38% of Remote Employees Feel Exhausted After Daily Virtual Meetings A recent study on the effects of remote work found that most employees show signs of burnout when having virtual meetings every day. 38% of remote employees reported feeling exhausted after daily virtual meetings, while 30% said they felt stressed. The study was conducted in 2020 when most organizations switched to remote work. To stay connected, some employers held video conferences every day, while others did it weekly. Staying connected with your remote workforce is essential, especially since they often feel isolated. But frequent virtual meetings could disrupt their workflow and productivity, demotivate them, and stress them out. They could negatively affect their mental health and job satisfaction, making many of them consider quitting their job. Weekly virtual meetings seem to be a better alternative. 85% of Employees Are Most Motivated When Internal Communications Are Effective According to Trade Press Services, effective internal communications motivate 85% of employees to become more engaged in the workplace. When managers share company news and other relevant information regularly, employees feel motivated to achieve the mission, vision, and goals. When you raise their awareness of your goals, they will be more engaged with your customers as well. So, in creating the most effective internal communications, including employee newsletters, press releases, event updates, and other company news, such as milestones and successful projects. Share information regularly to increase knowledge, consider using internal communication tools to empower teams to collaborate, and build a learning-focused community. Only 16% of Companies Use Technology to Monitor Employee Engagement According to a recent Gartner poll, only 16% of companies leverage technology to track employee progress and engagement. They use tools to monitor employee activity and see when they clock in and out, how many hours employees work, when and how many breaks they take, and more. When you lead a remote workforce, tracking employees’ engagement and performance should be one of your top priorities. It can help you enhance your employee engagement strategy and boost your overall business success. ProProfs Employee Training Software is one of the tools where you can utilize to boost knowledge and productivity. Apart from improving your training efforts, you can use it to identify workers’ strengths and weaknesses. That will help you train them better, thus motivating them to be more productive. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitive advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download Now Companies with a Thriving Corporate Culture Achieve Over 4x Higher Revenue Growth As you may know, a strong corporate culture can improve team efficiency which results in a better organization’s financial performance significantly. According to a survey by Hays, 47% of active job seekers want to leave their jobs because of bad company culture. An extensive research project on corporate culture and performance showed that good company culture could help you increase revenue by more than four times. The 11-year-long research project found that companies with performance-enhancing cultures grew their revenues by a whopping 682%. Those with a poor company culture managed to increase their revenues by just 166% over 11 years. So, improving your corporate culture will help you boost workforce engagement, job satisfaction, employee retention, and profitability. It will create a positive and safe work environment where your teammates can thrive and supercharge your business success. Recognition Is the Most Important Motivator for 37% of Employees A pat on the back at the right time can go a long way in motivating employees and keeping them engaged during their tenure in an organization. One study on top performance motivators found that 37% of employees feel most encouraged by personal recognition. A recent employee engagement and modern workplace report showed that 84% of highly engaged employees received recognition the last time they went the extra mile at work. Not surprisingly, only 25% of actively disengaged employees were recognized for a job well done. When you recognize your team members’ good work, whether publicly or privately, you pave the way for their better performance, and when you show you appreciate their efforts, you drive their engagement and productivity. “Our staff has praised the increased communication 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 Employee Recognition Software Rewards Platform encourages Peer-to-Peer recognition, boosts employee morale, allows employees to feel seen, and also helps create a culture focused on teamwork and excellence. Your team members will appreciate any kind of gesture of kindness that shows that their accomplishments, no matter how small, didn’t go unnoticed. For instance, paid time off, gift cards, and event tickets are small rewards that can greatly help with improving employee engagement. Monetary incentives are always good motivators, but employees are encouraged by other kinds of recognition as well. Even the smallest of accomplishments make a difference in reaching your long-term goals, so show your teammates that you value all their contributions. And, remember, a simple “Thank you” can also go a long way. Only 29% of Employees Are Satisfied with Available Career Advancement Opportunities An SHRM’s research on Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey found that only 29% of employees are “very satisfied” with their available career advancement opportunities. 41% marked those opportunities as “very important” when it comes to job satisfaction, engagement, motivation, and employee retention. The survey also found that 44% of employees are “very satisfied” with opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work. In an ideal world, these numbers are at the top end of the scale, but you can increase them with the right opportunities for career growth. If you want to have engaged teams across departments, boost their expertise, and make your organization more profitable, provide them with the LD possibilities that they seek. 33% of Employees Leave Their Jobs for New Challenges According to a Korn Ferry survey, 33% of employees jump ship because they feel bored in the workplace and want to find new challenges. They seek new opportunities for professional development, which motivates them to keep learning and become better at what they do. That’s why implementing new challenges and variations in day-to-day activities should be one of the top priorities for managers and HR professionals. Providing employees with opportunities to learn and grow continually is the key to driving employee engagement and retention. Professional development opportunities are also essential for company growth, as they boost employee experience and help develop skills and competencies. 58% of employees wish their workplace conducted employee engagement surveys more frequently In a survey that was conducted right after the pandemic, most employees appreciated their say in the workplace. They appreciated when the employers took their feedback as it made them feel as if they were a part of the community. In the same survey, more than half of the employees expressed their concerns regarding the minimal acquisition of employee feedback. 58 percent of employees said they wished their workplaces conducted more employee engagement surveys. Employees who were surveyed four times each year instead of once every other year engaged much more actively at the workplace. 61% of employees report complete burnout at jobs Fostering employee engagement is a solution when employees are burned out. Unfortunately, many companies perceive employee engagement as simply adding more tasks to an already overflowing workload. Instead of fostering genuine connection and collaboration, they pile on additional responsibilities during times designated for team engagement. Consequently, approximately 61% of employees find themselves grappling with burnout, feeling overwhelmed by the relentless demands placed upon them, affecting their mental health. This figure is expected to rise even further in 2022, reflecting a concerning trend where employees are stretched thin and struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance amidst mounting pressures. Image from Career Employer 71% of executives verify that employee engagement is a huge contributor to organizational success Harvard Business Review conducted a detailed study on employee engagement and released all of its findings in a journal called The Impact of Employee Performance. From this journal, we got to know that 71% of executives believe it's a high level of employee engagement that sets their company up for immense success. Further breakdown tells us that the biggest employee engagement driver is the recognition of high performers. It is followed by having a clear understanding of their role and contribution to the strategy, communication, understanding of business goals, and corporate training and development of the individuals. You can use it to direct your employee engagement in the right direction, and once the situation is better, acquire employee testimonials. These will help you verify your implementation strategy. Thus, making room to proceed with the other two metrics that lead to their organizational success include: - High level of customer service (80 percent) - Effective communication (73 percent) So, that's what you should follow once employee engagement has worked well enough. Recognition is Preferred Among 37% of Employees Octanner.com reports that respondents to a study on what would be the most important thing a manager or a company could do that would help the employee become successful suggested recognition. The study proves that a significant percentage of employees would love to put their all to work for an organization when they are accorded the level of recognition they desire. A study by the Incentive Research Foundation found that 84% of employees experienced increased motivation upon receiving recognition for their work. Also, an Officevibe survey revealed that 51% of employees who received consistent recognition are prone to recommending their company as an excellent workplace. To learn more about the features and capabilities available in Workmates, download our ebook now. Download Now Wellness programs decrease employee absenteeism by 25% The research conducted in 2012, which analyzed 42 studies, revealed that participants in workplace health promotion programs had approximately 25% lower medical and absenteeism expenditures than nonparticipants. Programs like these often include fitness activities, nutrition guidance, stress management, and mental health support. By addressing various aspects of employee wellness, organizations foster a supportive and healthy work environment. Engaged employees are more likely to collaborate effectively, innovate, and deliver high-quality work, which increases productivity and enhances business performance. In addition, highly engaged employees are less likely to look elsewhere for work, which leads to higher employee retention rates. There’s an 81% decrease in employee absenteeism with an increase in employee engagement This particular statistic is really shocking. From wages to work culture, the major reason behind employee absenteeism is the lack of engagement. On a positive note, working on this can ensure you have a stable workforce available at all times. But how? Of course, employee engagement is a vast topic. It's more than keeping your employees happy and content. It's about motivating, assisting, encouraging, and providing direction. However, you can start with the two important areas; work/life balance and employee recognition. The majority of employees won't skip work if there's no compromise on personal life and career. Plus, encouraging them for their efforts serves as a great motivator. 1 in 3 employees quit because of boredom According to one survey, the majority of employees change their jobs because of boredom. While it may sound unbelievable, the lack of challenges can significantly exhaust an employee. Doing a task continuously uses the same skills again and again. Plus, it drains the motivation to work. It even makes them feel as if they aren't able to use their expertise to the full extent. As a result, the task seems like a waste of talent and skill. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that the employees have sufficient challenges and variation in work. Not only will this keep them engaged, but, it will also develop their skills and improve competency. Connected employees are 68% less likely to feel burned out at work A report from Gallup on Empowering Workplace Culture Through Recognition found that 68% of employees who feel connected to their organization’s culture are less likely to feel burned out at work. Culture is the heartbeat of an organization, shaping its very essence. When organizations articulate and reinforce the values that drive employees to excel daily, progress toward goals accelerates. A strong culture not only fosters engagement but also provides a roadmap to align that engagement with the organization's objectives and mission, serving as a guiding framework for success. Remote workers have 13.5% higher productivity than office-based employees While some companies are embracing remote or hybrid workforces, not all positions are conducive to full-time remote work. Offering employees the option to work from home part of the time can enhance talent retention, attract candidates, and distinguish companies in today's competitive labor landscape. Stanford University conducted a study revealing that remote workers consistently regularly meet and exceed objectives, identify new processes, and contribute to company culture just as much as anyone in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting. They tend to accomplish on average, 13.5% higher productivity points compared to their on-site counterparts. Older Workers Show More Engagement Another study showed that while older workers may show higher levels of engagement due to stability, and experience, younger workers also thrive when valued, and offered growth opportunities. Individual differences drive engagement across age groups, as shown in a study by SHRM where employees under 40 exhibited lower engagement compared to those in their late forties and above. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up Take Employee Engagement to the Next Level Improving employee engagement is the key step to business success. When you create a positive work environment where people can grow daily and receive recognition for their efforts, nothing will stand in your way of achieving your goals. Hopefully, these statistics have inspired you to focus more on engaging your workforce because that means improving your entire organization’s performance. Start implementing the strategies for engaging your employees today, and you’ll boost your company’s profitability before you know it. ... More Interesting Statistics; - 29% of employees express being "very satisfied" with current career and advancement opportunities - according to SHRM’s 2017 report - Employees who take a break every 90 minutes report a 30 percent higher level of focus - 90% of leaders think an engagement strategy has an impact on business success but barely 25% of them have a strategy - as stated by Muse - Gallup's employee engagement database has 70% fewer safety incidents compared with bottom-quartile units. -3 in 5 HR leaders believe that the HR function will rapidly become irrelevant if it doesn’t modernize its approach to understanding and planning for the future needs of the workforce - KPMG source - According to Unleash, 52% of frontline workers claim they would leave their jobs over tech tools - Gallup data states that 95% of people who are thriving at work report being treated with respect all day - 87% of workers believe their employer should do more to listen to the needs of their workforce - source Oracle - Zipia stated that 72% of workers believe work-life balance is a very important factor when choosing a job - 72% of employees agree that engaged employee thinks beyond their job title, in the LinkedIn poll ran by Select Software Reviews. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now About Author: Angela White is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing for the consumer market in the areas of product research and marketing using quizzes and surveys. Having a knack for writing and an editorial mindset, she is an expert researcher at a brand that’s known for creating delightfully smart tools such as ProProfs Quiz Maker.

Time is money. Business owners understand this common phrase better than anyone. Training a team to work together generates success, but not if there are issues with tracking employees’ time. Even though everyone’s allowed to take time away from work, sometimes that creates unnecessary roadblocks for their team and the company. These are 10 ways time off request software saves you money and prevents missed goals or deadlines. 1. Minimize Payroll Errors Logging numerical data seems easy, but it can easily present room for error. Employees might forget to clock their overtime or may add more time to their weekly timesheet than they really worked. Sometimes this happens because people are exhausted, but it’s preventable with time off request software. Software programs automate tracking employees’ time down to the second. Management will always have an exact recording of their team’s schedule. No one will have to log overtime hours to fix simple clocking mistakes, and companies won’t pay anyone for the time they didn’t invest in their work. 2. Reduce Time Theft People imagine others stealing pens and notebooks when they picture workplace theft, but time theft is more common. It happens when people deliberately steal time with certain activities, like extending their lunch period without including it on their timesheet or taking care of personal things like scheduling doctor’s appointments. Time off request software gives everyone a quick way to block off time for those activities. If they need to schedule an appointment or take a break for their mental health, they’re more likely to send a quick request than steal the time to prevent days of emailing back and forth. 3. Maximize Employee Productivity Many employees feel they have to go to work even when they’re sick. They might not feel comfortable personally addressing their manager about getting paid time off (PTO) because they know hours worked are everything in the workplace. A simple software program gives them an easy way to stay home when they need to because it’s always available. It could also explain when they’re entitled to time off. Parents may need to step away from work to help their children with school due to COVID-19 closures. The Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) gave parents 12 weeks of PTO no matter what their company’s existing time-off rules were. It’s up to management to clarify when people can take time off. If they have a software program that explains everything and makes it simple to send a request, they can return to work with restored energy. They’ll be more productive when they aren’t feeling under the weather or stressed about taking care of their kids. 4. Prevent Unnecessary Employee Overtime Overtime also cuts into a company’s payroll budget. When team members have to fix hours worked in time clock logs, the business has to pay extra hours to rectify the situation. Overtime could also include minutes or hours that employees didn’t actually work, whether they logged it deliberately or forgot to edit their logs after a long week. Scheduling managers can check pre-approved schedules with what’s happening in real-time if they invest in time off request software. If something doesn’t look right or upcoming PTO approvals don’t match company policies, they can resolve issues immediately before overtime payments go out. 5. End Buddy Punching Sometimes an employee knows they’re going to be late to work. They might get stuck in traffic or leave late due to complications at home. They could text a friend who’s already at the office to clock in for them because they’re only a few minutes behind. Even though both people involved mean well, this is a practice known as “buddy punching.” It steals time from the workplace and costs companies big time while processing paychecks. Management never wants to pay people for the time they weren’t at work, but software programs can reduce how often this happens. When people are running behind, they can send a quick request for fifteen minutes off through an app on their phone. It’s much simpler for anyone on the go and saves companies from paying for buddy punching. 6. Avoid Fair Labor Lawsuits The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) created a national policy to ensure overtime pay for qualified workers. If those employees don’t receive one and a half times their standard hourly rate, they can sue. Fair Labor lawsuits might happen if a company doesn’t have a simple way for people to request and track time-off requests. Business owners and HR representatives can save their companies time and money by using software programs to keep track of every request. If an employee gets a lawyer involved and needs to ensure they were paid fairly for their overtime, print a quick spreadsheet of their past timesheets and approved PTO periods to avoid lawsuits and miscommunication. 7. Streamline Administrative Tasks There are endless administrative duties for people to tackle while they’re on the clock. Streamlining as many of these as possible frees their schedule for more productive tasks. Instead of calculating hours and schedules on a spreadsheet for a few hours, an employee could work on a project improving marketing or consumer experiences. It’s better to direct employees to do things that directly increase profits and improve a company’s reputation. Juggling numbers in scheduling software takes people away from using their time more efficiently. Time off request software and mobile apps save you money by reducing how long employees need for more important tasks. 8. Centralize Scheduling Data Larger companies often employ numerous people to cover scheduling and time clock needs. Communication may fall apart if team members have to find information in multiple places to decide how to hand out shifts and when to grant time off. Centralizing scheduling data makes it easier for everyone to understand who can get time away from work and who needs more hours. Utilizing a software program to handle all PTO-related issues makes it easier to communicate and clarify between schedulers and other employees. 9. Improve Company Transparency People may not request time off because they don’t understand or remember the company’s PTO policies. Sometimes people earn weeks of PTO that don’t cycle over into the next year and never use them because they’re confused and don’t know whom to ask. Time off request software and mobile apps improve company transparency by giving everyone access to one collective place for sending requests and checking policy documents. Management should detail PTO qualifications and how to check any remaining PTO to prevent miscommunication. 10. Expedite Team Communication When someone needs time off, they likely send an email to their manager. Their manager then sends the request to another manager, who may contact HR or whichever department handles PTO for a company. Forwarding emails or sending IMs requires much more time than sending a request directly to the right person through a software program. Expedite team communication by minimizing forwarded email chains through the management team. If the person who grants requests is the only person involved, everyone else will become more productive because they gain more free time. Time Off Request Software Saves You Money These are 10 ways time off request software saves you money, but they’re just the start. Streamlining and centralizing communication allows people to become more productive and the workday to be more straightforward. Every business will benefit from improved team focus and well-rested employees. 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.

Hiring international employees is easier than ever before. Now, to access this large and diverse talent pool, employers can simply hire remote workers and bypass the inconveniences of obtaining visas or arranging international travel. The pandemic was the catalyst for this huge shift. Although remote work did exist before the pandemic, this event pushed reluctant business leaders to fully embrace this mode of working. According to Forbes, the number of employees who had never worked from home decreased from 47% to 34% in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. In this article, we’ll discuss the negatives and positives of remote working for businesses and how you can hire international employees on a remote basis. This can help you make the right hiring decisions and avoid the common pitfalls of remote work and international expansion. The Pros and Cons of Remote Work for Businesses Remote work’s popularity has surged in recent years, largely due to technological advances and the pandemic. Gartner predicted that 31% of all workers globally would be working remotely at least some of the time in 2022, with a staggering 53% of US employees and 52% of UK employees predicted to work remotely. Debates about remote work often focus on the positives and negatives for employees, such as less time spent commuting or a lack of social interaction, but what’s the impact of remote work on businesses? Here are the main points to consider. Cons of Remote Work Remote work isn’t the perfect solution for every business. If your company is considering a shift to permanent remote or hybrid work, you’ll need to plan how to tackle these issues: Communication. It’s harder to coordinate projects and build strong relationships within a team if you can’t meet up in person. Remote-first businesses need to use technology and develop strategies (like in-person gatherings for work or socializing) to maintain communication. Security. Remote work can lead to a multitude of security risks. If employees are using their own equipment or connecting to unsafe networks, company data could be compromised. Businesses need to take steps such as providing laptops with security software and making sure employees only keep the data they need. Productivity. You can’t monitor your employees’ activities if they’re away from the office. This means you have to trust them to be productive at home, or you can use tools like time tracking software to ensure tasks are still completed efficiently. Pros of Remote Work Despite these difficulties, remote work can also offer a wide array of benefits to both employees and employers. Here are just a few of the advantages you can expect: Increased employee wellbeing. Employees say they’re happier with flexible work schedules that fit around their lives. Remote work offers this flexibility and also removes the necessity of commuting, saving people time and money. Employee retention. Happy employees are more likely to stay at their current job. Therefore, if you want to improve employee wellbeing and retention, you should consider offering hybrid or remote work. Higher productivity. Although some companies worry about the productivity of home workers, studies have shown that remote work can actually increase productivity. According to a survey conducted by Airtasker, remote employees only have 27 minutes of unproductive time per day (versus 37 minutes for those in the office). Lower overhead costs. Office space can be extremely expensive, which is why transitioning to remote work can help companies decrease overhead costs like rent, utilities and office amenities. A wider talent pool, including international workers. Allowing remote work means that talented workers from all over the country - or even all over the world - can then join your team. This will increase diversity within the company, helping you to consider new perspectives and gain new ideas. How to Hire International Remote Employees International expansion can help your company reach new markets and grow exponentially. Hiring international employees will make your entry into these markets much smoother thanks to their knowledge of the region, and diversity within your company will also lead to the generation of new and unique ideas. As mentioned above, remote work has made it easier than ever to include international workers in your team. Your company will no longer be bound to a physical location and technology will facilitate easy communication between different countries. However, even though the process of hiring international employees isn’t as complicated as before, it’s still a huge undertaking that needs to be carefully considered. Here’s how you should go about hiring international remote workers: 1) Understand Laws and Taxes Understanding the laws and regulations surrounding the hiring of international workers can be difficult and tedious, but this is absolutely essential. First of all, you need to understand the tax laws of the country where your employee lives and take these into account when paying them. The complexity of this process can be off-putting, but payroll management software or even an external HR consultancy will make it easier to handle. Additionally, you need to consider the employment laws of your worker’s home country. Since they’ll still live in their country while they work for you, the laws of their country will apply. For example, they’ll be entitled to their country’s annual leave and sick leave benefits. 2) Consider What You’re Looking For Although remote work has removed some of the barriers around hiring international employees, this is still a much longer process than hiring a domestic worker. In fact, this process can take at least six months, which is why you should fully consider this decision before you take the plunge. When hiring internationally, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for so you can make this process run as smoothly as possible. It’ll help if you know the skills and qualifications you’re likely to find in particular regions, and if you can speak the language and understand the culture of the country you’re hiring in, this will be a huge advantage. 3) Prepare a Good Onboarding Process Once you’ve found your new employee, you’ll need to integrate them into the team and help them feel settled within the organization. This is where a good onboarding process is essential. For remote employees, it can sometimes be more difficult to feel part of the team, especially if you never meet your colleagues in person. So, to tackle this issue, you must provide a clear onboarding timeframe (perhaps six months or a year) and communicate clearly and consistently with your new employee throughout this process. During onboarding, you should check in at regular intervals and discuss any issues that arise. Assigning a particular mentor for this employee (especially if the mentor understands the employee’s culture and language) is a great strategy to strengthen their ties to the company. 4) Consider the Feasibility of Working With Time Differences One of the biggest obstacles faced by international companies is the time differences between different countries. For example, if you have employees in both New York and London, you need to bear in mind that there’s a five-hour time difference. If you expand to other locations, this time difference could increase even further. When you’re setting up teams and departments, it’s important to consider any communication difficulties that could arise due to time zones. This means that it may not be a good idea to hire someone if their schedule is completely different to the rest of their team’s working hours. However, this difference may be a good thing if you want someone to cover work outside regular hours. 5) Understand Cultural Differences Finally, one of the most important things you’ll need to do before hiring an international employee is make sure that you understand any cultural differences that could cause conflict or tension. This will help you avoid interpersonal issues within the company. In particular, you should research attitudes towards work in your new employee’s home country. Certain cultures have different expectations regarding work, such as varying attitudes towards overtime, levels of formality, and emphasis on the team vs the individual. Conclusion: The Future of Remote Work In 2020, a Gartner survey revealed that 74% of CFOs and finance leaders plan to move at least 5% of their employees to remote work after the pandemic. Although this seems like a small percentage of their employees, this statistic shows business leaders’ willingness to accept the transition to hybrid work in the future. To facilitate this transition, businesses need to consider how they’ll handle issues with security, productivity and communication when people work remotely. A remote-first work culture means that remote employees are equally valued and accommodated, so ‘solutions’ like micromanagement and impromptu video meetings aren’t going to cut it. Each business will be able to decide how much remote work they’ll allow, but it’s inevitable that remote work will become part of many companies to some extent. Ultimately, it seems like the traditional 9-5 office job is becoming a thing of the past. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Digitalization, flexible work arrangements and new work models are some of the ways our working environment has evolved over the last few years. The application of smart technologies in the workplace has grown exponentially, as new software and tools have become essential in the new nature of work. As the business world is continuously transforming together with the role and importance of technology, understanding these changes will be vital to staying ahead of the game. The Role of Technology in the Modern Workplace You might be wondering, how is technology transforming the workplace? Today, technological advancements can predict future talent needs, deliver personalized employee experiences, and gather valuable insights about the workplace through data analytics. Forward-thinking companies already acknowledge that technology has forever transformed the traditional workplace and how workers do their jobs in every industry. Technologies like artificial intelligence (A.I.), machine learning (M.L.), and deep learning are an opportunity to speed up complex process workflow and drive great business value. Businesses can leverage innovations to: Streamline complex processes Unify communication channels Support data-driven decision making Boost efficiency Improve bottom line Connect teams and departments better For employees to be productive and engaged, they need an environment that supports their work and provides all the tools they need to do their tasks efficiently. Poor and outdated technology hampers employees' productivity and limits the growth and success of organizations. How is Technology Changing the Workplace? In the digital workplace, the way we connect, collaborate, and communicate is evolving unprecedentedly. As a result, those companies that fail to adopt a tech-forward business strategy and modernize their workplace stand to fall behind the competition. Below are some emerging technologies shaping the future of work in the years to come. Support Flexible Work Models One of the most profound ways the workplace has transformed is by adopting flexible and hybrid work arrangements. However, the switch from face-to-face to virtual work came with many challenges. That's why technological solutions play an integral role in remote work to function efficiently and maintain excellent performance. Hence, many business owners invest in communications and collaboration tools, cloud-based workforce management software, and virtual wellness. Some technological solutions that enable work from home are: Cybersecurity tools File sharing software Collaborative tools Self-service apps Dynamic work-scheduling apps To enjoy the benefits of working from anywhere and maximize productivity, leaders must invest in tools that add to their business's development. Talent Acquisition with Digital Talent Platforms Headlines of labor shortage news are dominating the world of business over the last few years. In a tight labor market, recruiters that use manual paper workflows will lose the war for talent. Therefore, improving efficiency with technology becomes a necessity. With a growing number of workers leaving the traditional workplace, the gig economy is booming. Hence, the use of digital talent platforms allows the recruitment of freelancers. While H.R. professionals have long used Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to automate the recruitment process, many organizations use complementary technologies to create one larger ecosystem. Human Resources Information System (HRIS), along with ATS, and Candidate relationship management (CRM) platforms, create robust candidate pipelines, automate screening and scheduling of interviews, and match applicants' skills to a job posting. In addition, the use of artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly favorable in the eyes of the corporate world as it eliminates unconscious hiring bias. Analytics Business Intelligence Business intelligence is the process in which companies use technologies for analyzing data to improve strategic decision-making. Business intelligence and analytics have become powerful tools that provide a great competitive advantage and lead to massive gains for organizations. These tools give us a comprehensive insight into what's happening in the workplace by gathering real-time data on employee engagement, productivity, and performance. By measuring and analyzing these key aspects of the organization, business owners can make better-informed decisions supported by statistics. Some advantages of utilizing business intelligence: Optimize operations Track performance Increase productivity Identify market trends Analyze customer behavior Improve decision-making These sophisticated technologies can reveal future trends, design better workflows, and predict future talent needs. All things considered, human decision-making will not be replaced - but enhanced by A.I. and data science. Customized Learning Paths with New Tech Technology has allowed companies to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to learning and development. Digital training software gives us the ability to customize and personalize employee learning. These advanced learning management systems can identify and close employee knowledge gaps. Employees can feel empowered and motivated by creating custom learning experiences, methods, and pathways based on their individual needs. Fast-developing Virtual Reality (V.R.) and Augmented Reality (A.R.) simulations, online coaching, and e-learning platforms are some of the most widely used tech solutions for training and upskilling employees. Conclusion Investing in new technology is synonymous with investing in your organization's success and growth. Technological advancements represent an opportunity for businesses to reach business objectives and gain actionable data to improve performance. Smart companies utilize technological innovations to overcome critical challenges, such as recruiting and employee development. Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Any company is as good as its employees! And that doesn't just mean hiring the right people - it also denotes that the employees should be engaged and motivated enough to keep working diligently for the company goal. After all, the happier, more engaged, and more motivated your employees are, the better they will work and give their 100% to the company. So, to ensure that your employees are engaged and motivated, you have to use a successful employee experience management software like SAP SuccessFactors. And that's not all; you also have to implement the software correctly and use certain strategies to keep your employees at the top of their games. Here are 15 easy steps to ensure that your employees are engaged and motivated at the workplace. 15 Steps to Motivate Your Employees Take An Individualized, Holistic Perspective To ensure that you have highly motivated and engaged employees, you have to have an individualized and holistic perspective. Try to learn as much as possible about them, like whether they are fairly compensated, whether they have a sense of community, and whether they feel trusted and valued. This approach, paired with employee experience management software like SAP SuccessFactors, will help you understand the most important thing for your employees. Discover Their True Motivation As we discussed before, you have to understand what your employees need. After all, motivation is about what they wish to become or achieve while staying at your organization. Several SAP Implementation Companies try to find the hidden motivation for their employees as they use it to create a map for the key drivers for their employees. It helps ensure that every employee gets what they want and works harder for the next step of their achievement journey. Regularly Ask What Your Employees Want Communication is the key to keeping your employees motivated and invested in your company. So, you have to communicate about what they want. Keep asking them every other month and every year to see if their motivations change. It will help you keep up with their needs and deliver them when the time comes. Encourage A Learning Mentality Always encourage a learning mentality at your company. First, use new-age platform like SAP SuccessFactors software to identify any experience gaps. Next, fill in those gaps with online training classes and educational benefits. Encourage Innovation and Creativity Encourage your employees to come up with new and innovative ideas. And those ideas don't have to work all the time. Just coming up with ideas and discussing them will help them nurture their creativity, helping them to stay motivated. Provide Specific Goals and Training When your employees perform well at their jobs, they will become more motivated and self-confident about their work. And providing specific goals and training to help them perform better is a win-win situation for both the company and the employee. In addition, this job advancement and enrichment initiative will keep your employees engaged in their jobs. Have A Clear Forward Vision You have to create and deliver a forward-looking vision for your company. Then, you have to hire, nurture, and motivate your employees to become invested in the company's vision and mission. Offer Opportunities, Incentives, and A Democratic Leadership Good employee motivation and effective leadership is the only way to uphold organizational health. So, you need to implement various management practices like incentive offerings, talent management with SAP SuccessFactors, growth opportunities, and much more. Have An Employee Motivation Platform You can also use a common employee motivation platform to help encourage and motivate your employees. It will help them access the company information, collaborate with other members, and stay updated on tasks and projects. Show Your Appreciation A simple thank you or a well done can go a lot way to make your employees feel motivated. They are working very hard for your company and showing that their hard work is appreciated will only motivate them to keep working like that shortly. Give Them Time To "Reset" You have to give your employees ample time to 'reset' themselves. So instead of allotting one task after the other, give them tiny breaks in-between to help them come back and work more efficiently. This way, they will make better progress and remain engaged for long. Have A Modern Working Station You have to provide a modern, functional, and attractive working station for your employees. It doesn't have to be very hi-fi - ensure it provides a positive work environment, keeping your employees happy. Create Conviction with A Greater Purpose You have to establish a defined and clear greater purpose. Only then will your employees understand what they are working for and stay motivated enough to keep working for the big picture. In addition, it will create a sense of belonging in them to help them stay encouraged and motivated for long. Set the Tone for Company Culture Being a leader, you have to set the tone for the company culture you believe in. And by that, we mean being kind to your employees, being passionate about your work, and helpful in every situation. Your employees will soon mirror this behavior and keep up the positive company culture. Redefine the Vision You have to keep redefining the company's vision and mission to your employees. Only then will they be reminded of what they are working for. This push will help them remain encouraged and motivated and will help them to keep working hard. Encourage Teamwork Lastly, make sure you promote teamwork within your company. Only then will your employees be motivated enough to work with one another, bounce ideas around, and develop new and innovative solutions. You can also reward them for good teamwork to keep up the encouragement. Conclusion Keeping your employees motivated at all times is a full-time job. You need to know what gets them going, how to keep them interested, and much more. But with the right employee management software like SAP SuccessFactors and the right strategies, you can achieve this feat in no time. So, follow the strategies mentioned above, and you are good to go. All the best! Author Bio: Eric Smith is an SAP professional providing consulting servicesfor SAP SuccessFactors solutions to his clients. With a knack for technology, he loves to write on the latest SAP developments and share his knowledge with the readers.

What makes a workplace a place of work? Is it the location, the office building, the equipment, or the amenities? No, it’s the people that determine both the quality of the workplace and the future of the organization. In a 2017 study by Gallup, it was found that only 15% of the world’s one billion workers are engaged at work. It’s a downward spiral that originates with our lack of understanding of human capital management, or more specifically, employee engagement. The more engaged employees, the better it is for the organization. With effective employee engagement ideas, employees are motivated to give their best, resulting in higher profitability, better customer retention, better talent acquisition and retention, lower employee turnover, and a safer work environment. But remember: An effective employee engagement strategy is not a one-day affair. Only an ongoing process will obtain incredible results. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up What is Employee Engagement? Employee engagement sounds simple but goes deep. A good employee engagement strategy improves the likelihood that the relationship between the employee and the organization will be positive in nature. Engaged employees: Are self-motivated Have a clear understanding of their roles Recognize the significance of their contribution Focus on future training and development Feel that they belong to a community—that is, the organization The Benefits of an Engaged Workforce Effective employee engagement results in more motivation and better job satisfaction, and thus, a lower cost-to-value ratio for your human personnel expenditure. It goes like this: While every employee adds to the bottom line, engaged employees add that much more. This idea, also known as the service-profit chain, was introduced by Harvard researchers in the 1990s that traces business profitability and customer loyalty right back to engaged, motivated employees. Top corporate leaders know that engaged employees can help raise productivity, increase profits, enhance customer experience, foster brand loyalty, and facilitate growth. The Best Employee Engagement Strategies Below, you’ll find an outline of the steps you can take in order to ensure that the employees achieve a positive emotional connection with the organization and the work they’re assigned to do. In essence, there are three main parts: Physical: The level of complexity of work corresponds to the employees’ skill set. Emotional: Employees understand the job’s significance and put their heart into it. Mental: Employees become engrossed with their work. 1. Hire With Engagement in Mind The decisions you make during the hiring process can lead to different results in the engagement of an individual employee as well as workforce engagement across the organization. Every new hire you make has the possibility to impact how employees interact with each other, either strengthening the values of your organization or detracting from the work culture. A successful hire occurs when a new employee aligns with the organization in many different aspects, including job details as well as the company’s overall culture. Salary: Your new employee’s salary expectations should match what the company can unfailingly offer. Values: Your new hire should respect how the organization operates to attain its goals. Competency: The new hire should have the skills to meet the responsibilities of the position. Culture: The new hires should possess personal and emotional skills to be on the same page with their new colleagues and management. This doesn’t just impact current employees; new hires should be adequately prepared for their new positions, too. According to a Jobvite survey, 43% of new hires leave their jobs in the first 90 days as they felt that the role described during the process of hiring wasn’t what they experienced when they began to work. Your newest employees will evaluate their experience more carefully during the initial few weeks with your business. If you are able to provide what you promised during the hiring process, it will deepen that initial good impression and make way for employee engagement. 2. Streamline Onboarding Developing a comprehensive onboarding program can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and support the success of new hires. A good onboarding program should: Introduce new hires to the company's mission, values, and culture: Help new hires understand the company's purpose and how they fit into the organization. Orient new hires to the organization: Provide an overview of the company's structure, processes, and systems. Connect new hires with resources and support: Ensure that new hires have access to the resources and support they need to be successful, such as training materials, a mentor, or a go-to person for questions. Provide opportunities for socialization: Help new hires get to know their coworkers and build relationships within the organization. Set clear expectations: Communicate expectations around performance, attendance, and other aspects of the job. Assess progress and provide feedback: Regularly check in with new hires to assess their progress and provide feedback to help them succeed. Your new hires are only learning to navigate the complexity and will need assistance in specific areas. Thus, your first step should be to understand their viewpoint and work towards offering an onboarding experience that will keep them engaged. According to data from ServiceNow, organizations that offer inadequate onboarding programs have twice the chance of facing employee turnover. The first impression is crucial and will have a significant impact on new employees’ expectations. 3. Clarify the Company's Mission By making the mission a central part of the corporate culture, employees are more likely to feel aligned with the company's goals and motivated to contribute to its success. When employees know the overarching goals and values of the organization, they can see how their individual roles contribute to larger objectives. To effectively communicate the company mission, management should integrate it into all aspects of the workplace, from onboarding sessions and training programs to regular team meetings and company communications. Leaders should consistently emphasize and relate back to the mission in daily interactions and decision-making processes, helping employees connect their tasks to the company's broader goals. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to engage directly with mission-related projects or community initiatives can reinforce their commitment and understanding of the company's purpose. 4. Set SMART Goals and an Action Plan Without any goals, an organization doesn’t have a direction to follow. What does it want to achieve? What does it need to improve? What is the role of the strategy? All these questions need to be answered first. Moreover, the goals that you set need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely—that is, S.M.A.R.T. With tangible outcomes in mind, managers will be able to properly execute the strategy and figure out whether it is following the expected results or not Once the particular goals are in place, prepare an action plan on how to attain them. At this stage, the allocation of resources and definition of key performance indicators (KPIs) are taken care of to facilitate the measurement of progress. The effectiveness of the action plan is the responsibility of the direct supervisors. Employee engagement rates soar when they distribute the results and propose future endeavors. One of the ways to ensure this is to let your employees know how significant their contribution is. There are different ways on how to do staff recognition. Tell them how it is helping in achieving the organization’s business objectives. Simply speaking, organizations need to start making their employees feel that they matter. 5. Be People-Centric Employees are not robots; they are human. Organizations that tend to see employees as a commodity, but your employees are not another factor of production. They are prospective champions of your organization’s values and principles. Companies can become more people-centric by prioritizing employee well-being and development at the core of their business strategies. Actively listen to employee needs and feedback, providing comprehensive support systems like mental health resources, career development opportunities, and flexible working conditions. 6. Create an Office Environment Conducive to Work Giving employees a space that enhances productivity and satisfaction involves ensuring that all employees have the necessary tools, information, and training to perform their jobs effectively. First, the physical workspace should be designed to promote focus and efficiency. This means organizing workstations to minimize noise and distractions, providing ergonomic furniture, and ensuring that the office is well-lit and temperature-controlled. Adequate technology and resources, such as high-speed internet, modern computers, and effective communication tools, should be readily available to all team members. Second, maintain an open line of communication where employees can easily access the information they need and feel comfortable requesting additional support. This can be facilitated through a well-structured intranet, regular team meetings, and clear documentation of workflows and policies. 7. Offer Remote and Flexible Work Offering flexible work hours can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few benefits of offering flexible hours: Improved work-life balance Increased productivity Greater employee retention Improved morale There are a few different ways you can offer flexible work hours, such as allowing employees to choose their own work schedule within certain parameters, offering flexible start and end times, or allowing employees to work remotely. 8. Promote a Strong Company Culture By prioritizing a positive and inclusive company culture, organizations can create a workplace where employees feel valued and inspired to contribute their best work. A strong company culture is built on clear values that are actively practiced and integrated into every aspect of the organization, from hiring practices to day-to-day operations and decision-making processes. Management should lead by example, embodying the company's values in their actions and communications. Regularly celebrating achievements that align with these values, such as teamwork, innovation, or customer service, can reinforce their importance. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to connect with one another, such as team-building activities, social events, and collaborative projects, strengthens interpersonal relationships and fosters a supportive community. Lastly, encouraging open communication and feedback through town hall meetings, suggestion boxes, and regular check-ins can help maintain transparency and ensure that the culture evolves in a way that continues to meet the needs of its employees. 9. Establish a Sense of Community An organization is essentially a community; each member fulfills a specific task and serves the community as a whole. To encourage this community spirit among your employees, any engagement activity can help, from organizing a big annual event to simply taking a team out to lunch. Notwithstanding the hierarchy of the organization, it’s better to maintain a certain level of equality and unbiasedness where everyone feels they are important to the community. This philosophy is typical in the new-age technology startups where they adopt a more casual, no-walls organizational policy. Though sustaining this new business approach might be tricky, it can lead to highly engaged staff. 10. Recognize Employee Contributions Two out of three employees feel they do not get enough recognition for their work, according to Office Team data reported by Forbes. As a result, most employees will not deliver their maximum potential and may engage in unwanted behavior. And highly-trained and qualified talent will always be looking for better job offers. For this reason, it’s wise to create a recognition-rich environment where good work is rewarded with perks and incentives. At the very least, a few good words and a certificate of appreciation can go a long way in letting others feel valued for their work. 11. Invest in Career Development For many, just coming to the office, doing the work assigned, and taking the paycheck back home isn’t enough. They need to know there are sufficient growth prospects for the role they are fulfilling. If your employees feel that you don’t care about their professional development, they may begin to look for work elsewhere. Whether it’s by running a proprietary training program or sponsoring higher education for your employees, you are not only investing in the future of your company but also creating a sense of loyalty among your employees. Remember, every employee loves a company that supports them in their professional career and adds value to their personal lives. Want to retain top-notch talent in your organization? Ensure their professional growth and you will reap the benefits. Providing opportunities for employee development can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Offer training and development programs: Workshops, seminars, or online courses help employees learn new skills or advance their careers. Encourage continuous learning: Learning opportunities outside of formal training programs can include attending conferences, participating in webinars, or taking online courses. Set up mentorship programs: Match employees with experienced mentors who can provide guidance and support as they learn and grow. Provide opportunities for career advancement: Offer opportunities for employees to take on new challenges and responsibilities, such as leading a team or taking on a new role within the organization. Promote self-directed learning: Encourage employees to take ownership of their own development by providing them with resources and support to pursue their own learning goals. 12. Hire Quality People Managers Your secret weapon to spur employee engagement is the managers—they are the middlemen between boardroom members and the employees. In most cases, the employees interact with the top-level executives rarely, if ever, but have daily interactions with their immediate bosses. Whether they are feeling secure, angry, or ignored depends on how you manage employees. Gallup’s chairman, Jim Clifton, once said: “Employees—especially the stars—join a company and then quit their manager. It may not be the manager's fault so much as these managers have not been prepared to coach the new workforce.” While organizations can choose to educate their managers on how to better engage their employees, it’s always better to hire a capable manager first. Check their professional background and try to see if they are suited for the tricky job waiting for them. 13. Introduce Team-Building Activities Team-building activities can be a great way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few ideas for team-building activities that you might consider:Trust-building exercises: Some of the examples include "Human Knot" or the "Trust Fall."Communication challenges: Activities that require team members to communicate effectively can help improve collaboration.Problem-solving activities: Examples might include "Escape the Room" or "Mars Mission."Outdoor activities: Getting team members out of the office can help them bond and have fun together. It can include a team hiking or camping trip, or a group outing to a ropes course or other adventure activity.Creative activities: This can be in the form of painting or art competitions, singing and dancing events, etc.It's important to choose activities that are appropriate for your team and that align with your goals for employee engagement. 14. Provide Incentives for Work Achievement Incentives can be a powerful tool for motivating and engaging employees. Here are a few ideas for incentives that you might consider Monetary rewards: bonuses, pay raises, and other financial incentives Time off: offering additional vacation days or flexible work arrangements Recognition: publicly recognize and praise employees for their hard work or send a hand-written note Professional development opportunities: training programs, mentorship opportunities, or professional certification courses. Special perks: reserved parking spot or a choice of office location Another option: a recognition and employee rewards solution, like Workmates. Our solution is customizable and offers a unique set of advantages, as an ideal recognition solution. Workmates increase employee engagement and boost productivity in the workplace. Workmates Self-Guided Tour We’ll show you how Workmates can engage everyone in your organization, transform your culture, and drive productivity to new heights. Start Now 15. Encourage Collaboration Encouraging collaboration can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Encourage employees from different departments or teams to work together on projects or tasks. This can help break down silos and foster a sense of teamwork. Encourage employees to share ideas and feedback with one another, and create a culture where it's safe to speak up and share perspectives. Host team-building activities or outings that encourage employees to get to know one another and work together in a more relaxed setting. Encourage a culture of collaboration and teamwork by recognizing and rewarding team contributions and successes. Utilize tools like project management software, virtual meeting platforms, and online collaboration spaces to make it easier for employees to work together and share ideas. 16. Facilitate Two-Way Communication Top business leaders generally believe in the open door policy and do not use “top-secret” information to their advantage. If organizations act secretive and only divulge information on a “need-to-know” basis, it will likely cause lower engagement rates among their employees. Transparency begets trust when employees understand how corporate decisions affect the workplace. But simply disseminating information isn’t enough. Communication should go two ways—the employees should be encouraged to share their concerns so they don’t feel ignored or unvalued. Here are a few strategies that can help your organization: Create a culture where it's safe for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. This might involve setting aside dedicated time for open discussions or establishing a suggestion box where employees can anonymously share ideas. Encourage employees to communicate openly and honestly with one another and with management. This might involve creating dedicated channels for communication, such as a team chat platform or a suggestion forum. Be open and transparent with employees about company goals, plans, and challenges. Regularly solicit feedback from employees and actively listen to their ideas and concerns. This might involve hosting team meetings or one-on-one conversations with employees. As a leader, model open and honest communication by being approachable and transparent in your own communication style. 17. Utilize HR Software Implementing HR software can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and streamline HR processes. Here are a few ways that HR software can support employee engagement: HR software can help automate and streamline HR processes, such as payroll, benefits management, and time and attendance tracking. This can help reduce the administrative burden for HR staff and free up more time for engagement and development efforts. Many HR software platforms offer features such as team chat, task management, and document sharing, which can help facilitate communication and collaboration among employees. HR software can provide employees with access to self-service tools, such as a portal for viewing and updating personal information or requesting time off. This can help empower employees and improve their overall experience with HR. Some HR software platforms offer tools for setting and tracking performance goals, which can help employees stay focused and motivated. Many HR software platforms offer features such as learning management systems, which can help employees access training materials and track their progress. 18. Conduct Employee Surveys Circulate questionnaires and surveys that permit your employees to express their opinions and concerns. The more you ask for their opinions, the more they feel esteemed, entitled, respected, and like they belong to the organization. Conduct the survey in such a way that it will yield the most thoughtful, timely responses. The catch here is to keep the surveys short and conduct frequent employee-pulse surveys. This lets employees think properly and reply at a higher rate. Additionally, it’s a great idea to build a habit of transparency and share the results. Sharing all the data collected from surveys will demonstrate transparency and help you to engage employees. 19. Engage Departing Employees Offer appropriate transparency when offboarding an employee. Each will have their own reasons why they depart. The appropriate details provided by the team members when they depart can aid the rest of the employees in processing the change without making cynical guesswork. Apart from that, recognize your employees’ reasons why they are leaving voluntarily. When you understand and categorize the reasons employees leave, it will help your organization to improve. If any engaged employees are leaving voluntarily, stay connected with them. You can consider curating alumni networks to be in contact with past employees. It will give you access to expanded networking and employment opportunities. Plus, it might make some employees come back to your organization with new skills and experiences when new positions open up. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now About the Author This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Five years ago, there were a few companies that offered at-home work, but they were rare. If you could find work as a home-based employee, you were incredibly lucky—and if you were an employer who offered at-home work—well, you were incredibly generous! Times have changed—and changed abruptly—and remote work is quickly becoming the norm. With that sudden change in the work environment comes entirely new management challenges (as if the old challenges weren’t difficult enough!). One of those challenges is employee engagement for remote workers. How on earth do you keep employees, working from home, spread out all over the nation, engaged with each other and the jobs they’re doing? Here are eight strategies you can use to increase remote employee engagement, and keep your currently-engaged employees interested, committed, and productive. We'll start with the one that sounds a bit hokey, but can be a lot of fun—especially if you have an employee who loves to emcee and run the show: Build Camaraderie Through Get-to-Know-You Games The managerial challenge of having remote employees is creating an in-office camaraderie... without the benefit of an "in-office" environment. There's a sort of professional togetherness that "just happens" in an office, and recreating it between a dozen or more remote teammates is no easy feat. It's even more difficult when onboarding new team members for remote work—and even more difficult when a new employee comes into a team that already knows each other. There are ways to jumpstart that interpersonal connection, though, and a great way is through weekly check-in sessions where work issues are *not allowed* to be discussed. That can be tricky to do, and it can be difficult to get people chatting, but people will do so if they have a game to play. One such game is "Two Truths and a Lie" game. Each participant shares two interesting things about himself/herself, along with one lie. Here's an example. Let's say you work with legendary actor and all-around great-guy Paul Rudd. Paul might share the following: "I have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame" (truth) "I was a bar mitzvah DJ while I attended acting school" (truth) "I played point guard on the Boston Celtics basketball team in their championship 2008 season” (lie). The game usually lets the group discuss the person's two truths, and it's a great way for everyone to get chatting and develop a kinship. Sometimes employees feel a bit shy at first, but usually get into it a while—after all, everyone has a few interesting experiences they can share. You can do this before or after team meetings, and it doesn't have to take long—a fifteen-minute session, with laptop cameras on, should do it—and while it may not make everyone best friends, it will absolutely bring people together and give them something to joke about in the literally thousands of emails they'll send to each other all day long. Keep in Touch with Alumni and Have "Alumni Reach-Outs" "Alumni" is a "buzzy" word right now, but the concept of work alumni—or "boomerang employees"—is really powerful. Here's how it shakes out: Boomers tended to find a company, work there for 40 years, and then retire. It was a pleasant, time-honored progression that is (perhaps unfortunately) long gone. Current generations get a job, dive in, and then... bounce around for 40 years! Corporate loyalty—both from companies and employees—is a thing of the past. The idea of "work alumni" is that somewhere in that bouncing, they'll bring their increased skill set back to your company and teach newer hires. In other words, you’ll get your favorite employees working for you again. So what's the best way to create an alumni squad that wants to return to your company and/or team? First and foremost—create a company and/or team that people want to return to! Once they do leave, the next step is to keep in touch with them. Send them little reminders that you appreciated their work, and that they always have the option of returning. If you really want to keep them engaged, invite them to your Camaraderie Sessions or team meetings where you play Two Truths and a Lie! The trick is to be on their minds the next time they opt for a new professional career. If you can do that—and create a work environment that they remember fondly—you may find yourself with boomerang employees who bring their engagement with them. Give Spot Bonuses at Random Times Social scientists love to study addictive behaviors, not only because their insights on the topic could help millions of people, but because the concept of "reward" is central to psychology. In the case of gamblers, researchers stumbled upon a fascinating principle they termed the "variable-ratio schedule." It gets complicated, but the main idea of variable-ratio schedules is that people respond very strong not to scheduled reinforcement, but to random reinforcement. Ever wonder why a person can sit in front of a slot machine for eight hours and lose money, instead of working a job for eight hours and making money? Variable-schedule reinforcement has something to do with that. So how can this help you get your remote employees motivated? Reward them for work well-done—but also reward them at times when they may not expect it. A random, spot-gift of a $25 Amazon card or—even better—a gift certificate to a store you know they like—can be the kind of unexpected perk that really resonates. This flies in the face of everything we, as leaders, have learned about merit-based performance. The rules we have lived by for many years say that in order to receive some sort of bonus, an employee must first accomplish a given goal, meet a specific due date, or attain a certain benchmark. But the new rules of remote employee engagement are a brave new world! The “Spot Bonus at Random Times” technique encourages you to forget all that, and see what happens when you reward employees just for doing what they're supposed to do. After all—bad surprises are bad, but good surprises are wonderful! Here's another idea related to spot-bonuses: Give "Vacation Raises" Instead of Monetary Ones This can be a difficult topic to address, because no one wants to admit that raises... well, they aren't what they used to be. Previous generations of American workers had a pretty easy professional journey, and they expected promotions and raises, and that's really all they needed (and that's why older professionals are often confused by discussions about employee engagement, such as this one!). For modern companies, though, raises are not as easy to come by—and that's not always their fault. Corporate budgets are small, and company shareholders often expect very large returns on their investments, and it's just a sad fact that managers simply don't have the option of providing raises the way they did in years past. When you also consider that work-from-home employees today see leaving for new companies as an easier path to promotion, it's no mystery why raises are more complicated than they used to be. So money for raises can be difficult to come by, but here's something that's relatively easy to come by: time. Like some kind of god, you can give your employees and team members the ephemeral gift of time, and chances are very strong they will absolutely love you for it. Does that sound crazy? Here's an article in Inc. describing how 20% of employees would rather add five more vacation days to their calendar than receive a 10% pay raise. Here's the kicker: studies have shown that employees with generous time-off packages are actually more productive than employees with less-generous time-off packages. So, why not? Give it a shot—it won't cost you anything! Assign Novel Short-Term Projects (Key Word: "Novel") Many jobs—even creative ones!—fall into a routine eventually. The same workflow, with the same clients, on the same days of the week—even those of us who love habitual activities get tired of the same thing, day-in, day-out, and day-in again. So mix it up! Assign not only new projects, but new types of projects. For an editor, it might be selecting artwork; for a marketing team member, it might be sales outreach; for an admin, it might be project work. Identify the goals you need to meet, and recruit new people for the task. Not only does learning new tasks feel good (thereby creating remote engagement), you might find that someone on your team has a hidden talent you didn't know about. The keys here are novelty (the new activity needs to be a genuinely new task) and brevity (that task must be impermanent and time-limited). Try to avoid challenges that are too taxing—after all, the goal is increased engagement, so that should be the focus. The other trick, of course, is to refrain from overburdening an already-busy team member, but it can help if that task is important to the employee—and that's where you, as a leader, can make a difference. Listen to his/her complaints, aspirations, and ideas, and try to pair him/her with a task that is meaningful. If you can get your employees working on new tasks, everyone wins. And with that goal of getting to know your employees in mind, that brings us to our next technique: Give Hyper-Targeted Gifts Personal, thoughtful gifts make employees feel seen, valued, and understood. If you can provide exactly what someone needs—and exactly when they need it—you'll have a happy, engaged employee, and that’s especially true for work-from-home employees. For example: if an employee has a child with a big event coming up on a weekend—a birthday party, or a religious ceremony, or a school play, or something like that—letting them log off two or three hours early on a Friday to finish event-related tasks can be hugely beneficial, and something they won't forget. There's one important factor to remember, however: if you're going to adopt a strategy of gift-giving, it is VERY important that you apply it evenly and provide random gifts (at different times) to everyone on your team. If gifts are given to the same employees again and again, a "favoritism" factor emerges, and that actually acts as a demotivator. The gifts don't have to be huge—in fact, smaller gifts seem to work as well as big ones—but they need to be personal and well-timed in order to make employees feel seen and heard. Let's say a team member complains in a team meeting that their apartment is always drafty—you can send a sweatshirt (with the company logo, of course) to help. Obviously, you'll want to check with your HR department to see if gift-giving fits within your company’s by-laws, but personal, thoughtful gifts can mean the world to your team members. Other than that, embrace your inner Santa and gift away! With gifts in mind, you may also want to embrace the next strategy, which is to... Embrace "Freebie Culture” Managers are often surprised at how well freebies can work, but the great majority of people LOVE free stuff. It doesn't even matter what it is, sometimes—as long as it's free, people are up for it. In fact, if your company is one where people apply because they love your product—think brewery, clothing label, ice creamery, etc.—giving freebies to team members can be seen not as a tactic, but as a necessity. So whatever it is that your company produces, figure out a way to bequeath it to your employees. If your company is an information-based company, freebies can be a little more challenging, but if you don't have any ideas, ask your employees! They probably have some great ideas on free stuff they could use. With all this talk of freebies, and raises, and increased vacation days, we should probably address our list tip: Always Realize That the Best Motivator Is... You know what it is. It's money! When all else fails... pay them more. There's no way to create engagement than to buy it! Hopefully, there's something here that can help you—good luck, have fun, and enjoy your team's engagement! AboutAuthor: Matthew Burke runs Rough and Tumble Gentleman [roughandtumblegentleman.com], a website devoted to beard care and beard products. He manages 11 full-time remote employees, has fully embraced freebie culture by giving away beard oil and beard balms whenever possible, and loves giving (and getting!) hyper-targeted gifts.