A candidate's first impression starts off with the first time they interact with your organization. This means every correspondence matters. You can ensure your candidate's experience stands out by starting off with an exceptional recruiting process and solid communication with an employee app. However, once a candidate accepts an offer, the onboarding experience can be the difference between having a happy and motivated new hire or one that feels disengaged. Read on to discover how your HR Team can create a robust onboarding experience that helps your employees feel cared about, supported, and set up for success. Prevent Confusion During Onboarding New hires may find onboarding to be a time-consuming and tedious process. From filling out countless forms correctly to compiling personal documents, and understanding who to contact for support can frustrate new talent quickly. Instead, take the time to streamline the onboarding process to prevent confusion. Utilize HR tools by creating personalized portals for each of your new hires. This helps to organize everything for both you and your employee in a convenient and straightforward way. This way, an employee can see all of their personal information, and file and sign all of the necessary forms from one centralized hub. Not only that, but employees will appreciate the custom onboarding workflows and pointers along the way to help them complete everything that is necessary. No more need to worry about remembering when things are due. With a streamlined onboarding process, employees will have one less thing to worry about and can focus their attention on craft development instead. Empower New Hires to Utilize Employee Assistance Programs Resources Starting a new job is both stressful and exciting. New hires may have a lot of questions, concerns, and even self-doubt throughout the onboarding process and beyond. Therefore, help your new hires be in the know about what resources they can take advantage of, and highlight the unique programs HR provides or has partnerships with. It’s important to do so because sometimes highlighting these programs becomes lost or quickly glossed over. For instance, according to a Mental Health America survey, less than half of the employees surveyed knew about their company’s mental health services. Therefore, it would be helpful to have a centralized resource page that employees can easily navigate so they are aware of the programs offered. For instance, your resource hub can include things like online therapy support, self-help tools, work stress-reducing tips and strategy guides, information on PTO benefits, sick time, family leave, and mental wellness policies for example. In addition, ensure that your new hires know about other opportunities they may have like continued learning, self-service tools, and who may be their HR trusted point of contact. To round out your employee assistance and resources programs, you can foster employee wellness by using your intranet as well. “As soon as we saw LIKE.TG’s Onboard demo, we knew this was the perfect solution for us. We loved that it was extremely simple and powerful out of the box, but that we could customize it with advanced capabilities to make it work in our company setting.” Elisa Garn Vice President, HR and Talent Christopherson Business Travel Learn More Provide Mentorship Getting accustomed to a new role, organization, and workflows can be a big adjustment and be very stressful. To ensure your new hires have a thorough introduction to their roles and responsibilities, HR can have a mentorship program in place that can help employees feel supported rather than floundering and figuring things out on their own through trial and error. Having a mentor allows a new employee to have someone to trust and turn to for feedback, reassurance, and a go-to contact to ask questions and receive individualized training and support. Simply attending training workshops is typically not as engaging as a mentorship program. A mentorship program allows onboarding to be more personalized and tailored to the needs of each employee's learning style and skill set focus. Taking the time to have a mentorship program will be well worth the investment. It can help with time to proficiency, morale, and job satisfaction. In fact, research conducted by MentorcliQ, found that of participants, “83% of mentors and mentees said that their mentoring experience positively influenced their desire to stay at their organization.” Boosting retention is huge for organizations. This allows HR teams to focus on retention initiatives rather than constantly having to focus on candidate sourcing and hiring. Having a mentor can be the difference between your new hire becoming tenured talent at your organization or leaving due to a lack of job satisfaction. Personalized Introductions and Team Building With existing team members having already established relationships and being accustomed to working together, joining a team can be intimidating at first for a new hire. Therefore, instead of simply informing the team that a new member will be joining, it's time to make introductions more personal. Ideally, your new hire’s mentor will already be a member of the team and can lend a hand in the transition period. But take things a step further. HR can have new hires provide fun information to be shared in an announcement. A memo to the team with fun facts about new hires such as experience, favorite foods, vacations, special talents, and hobbies can be shared with the company via the communications board. This will help members to start to make connections and have some interesting talking points from the get-go. Other great HR introduction programs could include new hire lunches, whether in-person or virtual, and happy hours. This helps new hires to ease into the work environment, meet colleagues, and just have some light-hearted conversations rather than diving into work-heavy related meetings. Celebrate Your New Hires Celebrating your new hires can make a big impact on their experience early on. Recognizing employees will give them the confidence and reassurance they need that they are performing well. New hires can get into their head by questioning if their work is meeting expectations or if the team is happy with their contributions. Therefore, letting your new hires know just how well they are doing can help to propel their career forward. Try having teams that can work in tandem with HR departments to create a set of guidelines for rewards and recognition. Different categories such as being a role model, meeting or exceeding production, or just for effort can be established. Managers can then use these guidelines to acknowledge new hires for achieving goals and for an overall job well done. Recognition can come in the form of team or department announcements or perks and awards. Whether it is reassurance through team praise or a gift card for a cup of coffee, even a small gesture goes a long way. Show You Care It is important for HR Teams to have regular retrospectives and reflect on current onboarding programs. An excellent way to do so is by leveraging new hire feedback. Invite new hires to take a survey to better understand if your onboarding experience is holding up. This can help you to see areas that are especially helpful or opportunities for improvement. Consider even having a survey just for the mentoring program. Soliciting feedback not only allows you to take a look at the health and success of your onboarding program, but also helps to demonstrate to new hires that you care about their input and experience. If you are looking to make not only a great first impression but a lasting impression, onboarding is key. Having a personalized, streamlined, and thorough onboarding experience can impress your employees and set the tone for workplace culture and help launch successful careers. About 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! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

More and more employees now have the opportunity to work remotely. The trend of working remotely is on the rise; the number has increased by more than 350 percent in the last 20 years. In some countries, the trend of employees working remotely or from home arises due to the rising office and property rental costs and traffic congestion problems that the government is facing. Many people opt for more flexible work arrangements, but cybersecurity is often unthinkable when logging in from outside the office. Given these trends, it is essential to ensure that employees keep company information secure, no matter where they are accessing the network. Here are some valuable tips for employees to maintain cybersecurity while working from home or remotely. Tips to Maintain Cybersecurity In order to optimize your company’s cybersecurity, there are several things you can do. Here are some of them: 1. Don't share plans or locations Working remotely is the preferred option for most employees, but they need to be careful about what they share. Tell employees that they should avoid sharing specific dates and, of course, never share photos of travel schedules or airline tickets––unless they want to have someone else take the flight or break into their home while they're away. They also have to pay attention to the mobile applications they use. Facebook and Twitter, for example, both share location information. A harmless post about an "amazing dinner" tagged with a Bangkok location, for example, instantly lets others know they're going overseas. Employees must be careful when sharing their location and not share too much when they are away from home. 2. Use a cloud-based password service. With a cloud-based password service, your employees can easily set solid passwords for all their applications or websites, only needing to remember one password to access the service. Most services enter passwords automatically for users, making it impossible for "keyboard scrape" apps––attackers use malware to track all of your keyboard activity so that they can find out your passwords. 3. Be careful with public Wi-Fi. We recommend that you think carefully when you want to connect to public Wi-Fi. Or better yet, avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi is very risky. The free Wi-Fi at the airport may look so tempting to write about on social media. But it's crucial to remember communications that should be private should never be shared with anyone and at any point. Oftentimes, users are tricked into talking to swindlers of Wi-Fi networks, who send their communications directly to attackers. This means attackers can find login details, passwords, and any data transmitted from employees' browsers while surfing the web. Your company should consider purchasing a subscription service and requiring employees only to connect to secure Wi-Fi. If possible, they must use a virtual private network (VPN) to connect to the internet. Things like using VPN for Chrome can be a solution to keep you safer. It's easy to install but highly beneficial. This will encrypt all communications so that attackers cannot see them. 4. Use multi-factor authentication Recent network attacks have insufficient simple password authentication to protect enterprises from illegally accessing networks and applications. The number of break-ins increased by 23 percent with dire consequences: non-compliance, fines, and intellectual property theft. Require multi-factor authentication, if available. This includes a password and a second "token," such as a passcode sent to your phone, for logging in. Many devices with built-in biometrics support this automatically, and some online services like Gmail have this functionality. When traveling, companies usually use two-factor authentication to sign in to their VPN and access cloud apps like Office365, Box, etc. Secure access is effortless with one tap or fingerprint scan. Shirley GarciaAuditing and Operations Administrator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. “I can’t say this enough: Without LIKE.TG, we could not have communicated important project information or demonstrated that we could take on an increased workload. We now provide real-time workforce statistics and productivity reports that have helped us win more projects.” 5. Secure all entry points to your device Ensure all devices have proper protection from vendors like Symantec on devices or the cloud. Embedding digital certificates (public key infrastructure; PKI) into devices will help keep network activities secure, from confidential email to eCommerce. 6. Secure all mobile devices with a backup and encryption system Although employees are required to keep their mobile devices safe at all times (they should not leave the device in their car, hotel room, or hotel secure), sometimes devices can be lost or stolen. In this regard, have a backup system to ensure all data is safe. If the device is damaged or stolen, at least the data can still be recovered. TOP 5 Security Software to Protect Employers In order to keep your working environment safe, there are at least five security software programs that should be installed. Let’s go straight to the first one. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now 1. Virtual Private Networks VPN or Virtual Private Networks is one thing that people are using nowadays, especially when cybersecurity risks are on the rise. According to some research, 77% of employees who are working from home are unprotected and unmanaged. This is understandable since the system of WFH isn’t the same as WFO. There’s not any system that could protect them from the danger of cyber attacks. And since they're mostly using their own internet connection, the risk has become more imminent. Plus, 25% of the respondents say that they allow the other family members to use the device provided by the company for other means. The device could be used to open websites, access videos or music illegally, download games from unknown sources, etc. This could worsen the already-dangerous risks, especially if the users tend to use public Wi-Fi rather than private one. That’s one of the main reasons why companies should give their employees access to VPN technologies. By using a free or paid VPN, their connection will be channeled through a safer tunnel, and their IP address will also be masked as well. The VPN will help a lot in creating an additional layer of protection for both employers and employees in sharing and trading data. 2. Email Encryption Another technology you need to have is email encryption. We know that most companies would probably use active email-spam protection. However, the problem isn’t only about spam, especially today when hackers are always one step ahead of everybody. Email security is definitely essential to keep your company’s private data protected and private. Surely, you don’t want it to be leaked, especially to competitors. Even SMBs need email protection against viruses, malware, spam, and also phishing attacks. The incoming email isn’t the only problem, the outgoing mail may have the probability of being hacked, and the results could be quite serious for the company. A company’s policies, plans, and strategies might get leaked in this way. That’s the reason why email encryption is definitely a mandatory technology to have in every company. They’ll help not only to keep the data safe but it’ll also ensure that the messages will only be sent to the suitable and intended recipients. 3. Data Sharing Protection Software Employees share data every day. A more secure file-sharing technology will make employees safer when sharing large, sensitive company data. The file distribution can also be made to be effortless thanks to the URL simplification and easy-to-access transfer page. The links that will be shared are generally able to be customized. If they’re too long, employees can simplify them and send them whether to the employers, fellow employees, or the other intended parties. 4. Software and Education to Fight Phishing The only effective way to make your company a lot safer and secure is by giving an adequate amount of safety and cybersecurity training to your employees. A company without proper cybersecurity protection will be at a huge risk of terrible reputational damage and huge losses in terms of finances. The first and one of the most important lessons to be told to the employees is about the phishing method. Although this hacking technology is considered old, it still works wonderfully since not many people know and are familiar with it. Hackers also became smarter in masking themselves to be an employees-look alike, making their effort almost indistinguishable. So, what the employers can do about it is to explain the logical and proper way of thinking about phishing and other cybersecurity risks. Since the method is often seen to be too boring, try to engage more with the employees by using the gamification aspect. 5. Password Management Software Passwords are essential. In a workplace that doesn't give a single thought to cybersecurity risks, the employees may lack care of the company’s and their own passwords. The situation is worsened when they work outside, using their own device to access the company’s website using a public Wi-Fi connection. When there are a lot of cyberattacks occurring around us, what’s best a company can do is to utilize the proper password management for all employees. Start by giving them education about the importance of password keeping, and then introduce them to the system. One of the commonly used is MFA or multi-factor authentication. The technology can be really useful to create a safer working environment, especially when the employees already have VPNs. About 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! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

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!

Happier and more engaged employees lead to improved performance and increased productivity, which in turn drives greater company revenue. However, finding the right employee engagement software solution can be difficult. Employee engagement is critical for any organization - it's been linked to better retention rates, productivity, and overall profitability. So, it's no surprise that employee engagement software is becoming more and more popular. But with so many providers in the market, how do you know which one is right for you? Here are a few tips on how to pick the best employee engagement software provider for your organization or business. What is Employee engagement software? Employee engagement software helps employees feel more valued and fulfilled in their work, leading to increased productivity, satisfaction, and happiness. By identifying and addressing problems in the workplace such as low morale or workplace stress caused by a lack of employee feedback - employee engagement software can create a more positive work environment for everyone. Employee engagement software puts you in the driver's seat when it comes to your business by being proactive about creating a work environment that is healthy and productive. Instead of relying on manual processes, which can be time-consuming and inaccurate, employee engagement software automates the process of collecting employee feedback and analyzing the results. This provides you with a real-time overview of the state of your organization, so that you can identify what areas are working well and which ones need attention. What makes Employee engagement software so important? Employee engagement software is a tool used to measure and improve employee engagement. The surveys provide you with an overview of the state of your organization in real-time, which is difficult to obtain through other means. Employee engagement software will provide you with the data and actionable insights you need to improve employee satisfaction, morale, and productivity. Helps create an employee experience where they feel valued, creating a positive effect on business performance and overall bottom line. How to choose the best employee engagement software vendor for your organization/business? When you're looking for employee engagement solutions to improve, it's important to find a vendor that offers the best employee engagement software for you. Here are some useful tips to consider when you're evaluating different vendors: Wide Range of Options with Customization Make sure the vendor offers a variety of employee engagement software solutions. You want to make sure they have a range of options so that you can find the right solution for your company. Find a vendor who is willing to work with you to customize a solution. Every company is different and, therefore, the vendor should be willing to tailor their offering to your specific needs. Proven Experience Expertise Check whether the vendor has experience in your industry and with engagement softwares. They should be able to help you in interpreting the software results and offer a plan for post-survey coaching and action. Get references from other companies who have used the vendor's services. Ensure that you're working with a reputable company that has a track record of success. Customer Service Support Get a sense of their customer service and support. The vendor should provide technical support during every phase of the project. A reliable and responsive employee engagement software partner, specializing in technical support outsourcing, is key to success. Leverage a partner that prioritizes your goals, understands what you want to discover, and provides a success plan. The Ease of Use Before you finalize a vendor for employee engagement software, check whether it is easy to use and intuitive and whether you can access results quickly. The results and reports of surveys provided should be clear, meaningful, and segmented into various groups that help you make informed decisions and implement result-oriented solutions in the workplace. The Cost Factor While cost is a very important consideration, evaluate carefully whether you can select a product that saves money in the short term and what may be the costs your organization might incur in the long term. Make sure it fits in your budget and that your vendor provides end-to-end software with no hidden costs. Quick Access to Data Employee engagement survey results are important, but they're also time-sensitive because employees’ feelings, employee sentiment and opinions are constantly changing, and this is applicable even more if you have remote employees. How long do you want to keep your employees waiting to hear back from you after they've taken the survey? Your vendor software should be able to compile the results and hand over the reports relatively quickly using the survey tool. Your vendor should make it easy for you to see results of Pulse Surveys as soon as possible. After you’ve received enough responses to compile a decent amount of data, the results should be available for anyone who needs it. This level of transparency helps speed up responses and gives you a sense of your employees’ opinions using the software so that you can formulate your strategic response as soon as you receive the feedback. Vendor that understands what motivates people at work Understanding how to engage employees starts with comprehending what motivate employees and individuals at various points in their life. What drives someone to work may be entirely different from the next person, whether it’s millennials searching for purpose-driven jobs, older adults wanting stability, or Gen Zs looking to take on new roles. There's no universal way to engage employees. This is where employee engagement software comes in handy as it can help you discover the customs of your company's culture. Validated software, based on science The main purpose of using employee engagement software is to be more methodical in your decision-making instead of based purely on intuition. It's important to select a software solution that is rooted in science with a vendor who can provide a dependable, validated foundation. Don’t go for quick fixes. Employee engagement software shouldn't be considered as a one-size-fits-all solution but rather as one part of employee engagement programs that have multiple components – where employee engagement process metrics form the key. Tools to improve Employee engagement Although using employee engagement software is a good way to show you're interested in having a workforce that cares, it doesn't necessarily improve employee engagement on its own. You need to do more than just use the software if you want to see real change. The best employee engagement software vendors are the ones who will provide you with other employee engagement tools that can help improve your workplace situation. Intuitive reporting system The vendor you choose should give your managers easy-to-read reports so they can always be in-the-know about how their teams are feeling. Your dashboard should be personalized and simple to understand so you can take action quickly. The vendor you choose should also provide an overall metric, favourability and response rate, including all questions and comments in order to get the most accurate understanding of your employee engagement. Integration with your tech stack An employee engagement platform is only as good as its integrations. Make sure they have a robust platform that can meet your needs. If it can't connect with the tools you're already using, it's not going to be very helpful. The best employee engagement platforms offer seamless integration with the tools you're already using. The software should align with the best practices you already follow. After all, the whole point of an employee engagement platform is to streamline your processes, making them more convenient and efficient where integrations are an indispensable part of that puzzle. Understand the importance of culture and engagement Make sure you select a vendor that practices what they preach. Many organizations evaluating vendors don't even consider this as a must-have criterion, but it's essential. Your vendor should have a strong culture, a higher level of engagement, and a proven track record of listening to and acting on employee feedback. Only when the vendor has an engaged organization it is proof that they know what they're selling and whether they understand the benefits of an engaged company culture. Prioritizing employee success drives business success. You can use these criteria when looking for an ideal employee engagement software vendor that effectively provides support for your people initiatives with their software and performance management. A lack of employee engagement costs businesses all over the world hundreds of billions of dollars each year. The need of the hour is to invest in the best employee engagement software for your needs. 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.

Your job plays a vital role in your life. It helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses, so you should be grateful for how you support yourself and do your job well. Even though you are talented, productive, and good at your profession, how will you advance in it if you don't put effort into bettering yourself? Despite your level of productivity or skill, there is always room for improvement. The first step to becoming a better version of yourself is to constantly look for ways to improve your skill set and seek opportunities to learn something new, and include new strategies in your performance management process. As a result, you are not only able to do your job better, but you can also advance your career.Given the importance of ongoing and continuous self-improvement, we've put together a list of 7 ways to improve work performance and succeed in your career. Tips on improving work performance Before breaking down our useful productivity tips, which hopefully will help you improve your work performance and succeed in your career, you must prepare yourself. That means that sometimes we do not see where we might lack and that requires strength and acceptance. Once you reflect and find gaps where you can improve yourself to better complete tasks in the future, you start from there. Hopefully, our list of tips will help you realize those gaps. Clear Communication in the Workplace The secret to improving your effectiveness at work is communication. Do not hesitate to ask for clarification if you are unsure of your responsibilities. The best company executives are naturally curious and seek out creative solutions to problems. So why not ask for a second explanation for whatever you might find yourself not understanding? A plus would be implementing performance management software in the process; managers and employees would benefit from it a lot. Setting clear and effective communication within the workplace is very important not only when you might have something to ask, but this is important setting boundaries, setting clear expectations, and being at ease with yourself at the end of the day. Communication is the key solution to everything. While it may be tempting to check up on the latest news and speak with coworkers, doing so too frequently can damage your ability to perform well at work. Take an interest in your team members' life because building relationships with them at work is crucial; nevertheless, avoid drama or gossip. It can not only affect your focus and productivity, but it can also change how other people perceive you. Avoiding such things will increase your productivity since your main focus is on your tasks. To learn more about Perform by LIKE.TG, download one pager now Download now Set priorities and avoid multitasking Lack of productivity is one of the main factors affecting performance at work. You won't advance in your profession very far if you can't learn how to manage your work hours and know your skill sets on this matter. It's simpler than ever to become distracted at work and waste time thanks to the internet and social media. Take frequent, brief pauses to avoid being distracted, or use programs to block websites that frequently divert your attention. Even though they are essential, we frequently put off our least favorite tasks until the last minute. Get the most important jobs finished first so they don't consume your thoughts. If you finish the first task, you can move on to another or take a break. Prioritizing critical or high-value tasks first shows your supervisor and coworkers that you can be counted on to move goals forward, even if the task is one you don't particularly enjoy. Set a particular time for meetings and emails A significant portion of lost productivity at work can be attributed to our inboxes. It can be tempting to check in frequently and read emails as soon as they arrive, sometimes even more than once, before we have a chance to respond or take action. Establish regular times throughout the day to check your email to minimize this and recover part of this lost time. You might want to discuss this with your employer first, but if everyone on the team gets used to it, they'll quickly realize its benefits and give it a shot. The same goes for meetings, sometimes a 30-minute sync ends up being more than an hour sync. The best way to avoid this is to keep one-on-one meetings with the manager. This way employees to whom the topic does not concern can be free to go. Know your work limits It's crucial to be aware of your energy levels as well as the fact that everyone has a certain amount of work they can handle. If you start to feel tired or distracted, or if you start to put things off, you're probably getting close to your personal limit. By identifying your emotions and taking a break, you can prevent burnout. If a task is difficult or you're exhausted, change to something less hard for a bit. Return to the first work and push through after your mind has had time to clear. Take full responsibility for your duties If you’re a leader setting objectives and committing to yourself is one thing when it comes to your career. However, teams are considerably more likely to succeed if members openly promise to one another in a public setting. To evaluate employee performance, many businesses have implemented performance management systems. Your team will be able to see your targets or goals and how you are doing in relation to them thanks to this kind of software, which will help you keep accountable. Additionally, you'll be able to track their development so you can encourage them and hold them responsible for achieving their objectives. To avoid any concern, consider regular anonymous feedback via Incognito for the Slack app. This way you will be up to date and see if there is something pending in the workflow. Be practical and realistic Realizing that no one is perfect is one of the elements to working productively and effectively. Everybody has "off days" where they are less focused, lack confidence, or do less well than usual. You're less likely to see any drops in productivity if you approach this with reality. Additionally, you'll be more understanding of people who are struggling or not giving it their all, which will improve team spirit and relationships. Network with professionals We frequently consider ways to increase our effectiveness within our teams or organizations, but you can also focus on personal development within a larger network. Make use of the chance to establish connections with individuals working for other organizations, in industries both comparable and different, online and offline. Knowing the right people is always beneficial, and you never know where you'll meet your next buddy, business partner, or employee. 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.

Every business wants to attract and retain the best talent in its industry. After all, a good business is run by good people. A high employee turnover not only costs the company a pretty penny, but it is also demoralizing for the people who genuinely want to work for you. As per a LinkedIn survey, the average turnover rate is about 11% {SOURCE}. Many people who may switch jobs decided to stay put in recent years. The reason was the pandemic and the job insecurities that came with it. Add that all together, and it comes to, well, a lot! Some of the most successful businesses work hard to make their workforce feel appreciated and constantly look for new ideas for better employee retention. What Causes a High Employee Turnover? If you wish to reduce employee turnover in your company, the best place to start is to understand what causes high employee turnover. Improve your exit process to identify the most prominent reasons employees decide to leave and work to rectify it. Here are some of the most common causes of high employee turnover:· They do not feel recognized for their hard work or contributions· Feeling like a misfit in the team· They have an unhealthy work relationship with their manager· They do not identify with the work culture in the organization· Their day-to-day responsibilities are not what they expected when they joined· They don’t feel adequately supported or trained to do their job· They feel like there is a culture of favouritism or a toxic work environment· Low job security· Unhealthy work-life balance· No new opportunities for progress in the company· If they are or they feel they are being paid lesser than their peers for the same job· They think that the company is not doing well or is headed in the wrong direction Christopher BaggottChief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Why is it Important to Reduce Employee Turnover? Building a good team with skilled people who have the proper knowledge and experience is essential to any business. If you have the best talent pool, you can deliver the best results in every project. However, attracting the best talent is easier than retaining them. A high employee turnover can prove costly for your business. The average cost of replacing an employee is 1.5 to 2 times the annual salary of the job position.Besides, a high turnover affects productivity and morale. It creates a company culture where no one wants to work with you for very long. And that’s why we have put together a list of eleven effective ideas that can help you reduce employee turnover in your company – Hiring the Best Fit Hiring a resource should be a well-thought-out exercise. Do not recruit in a hurry tofill a position. Recruitment should be meticulously planned by identifying the skill gap and hiring the required talent ahead of time. Smart recruitment strategies help you find employees who are the best fit for the role. Organizations use applicant tracking systems to effectively and efficiently manage hiring processes.Hiring staff with planning and preparation can help your organization avoid a shortage or excess of resources. It will also give your company a reliable, high-quality resource pool that delivers on client expectations. People who are a good fit in their job role will perform well and be happier, more satisfied employees. Training Mentorship Programs Conducting regular training and mentorship programs will ensure that your employees are always well-prepared for their job. It can also help keep your employees on the same page as the management. Employees who feel inadequately trained will have low job satisfaction and may be frustrated. New hires should be given thorough training before they start working.A good training program is an investment that develops your employees into future managers and leaders. Design your training programs to help your employees progress and gain industry knowledge. Training can equip them to take on more significant roles and find value in the workplace. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now Optimal Workforce Utilization Optimizing the utilization of your workforce means ensuring that your employees’ maximum time is spent on strategic and billable work. Overutilizing an employee can adversely affect their work-life balance and lead to burnout. Underutilizing an employee can lead to disengagement and a negative attitude. Optimally utilizing your workforce is essential to use your employees’ skills to their maximum potential.It is also essential for job satisfaction. Working on a project where their skills are relevant and valued helps boost employee morale. Productivity goes hand-in-hand with workforce utilization. Managers can use dashboards that track and improve employee utilization levels. Team Building Activities Organizing practical fun team-building activities builds strong bonds among colleagues. People who feel connected and friendly with their team members are more likely to stay with the company than those who feel disconnected. For greater team bonding perform team-building exercises like informal meetings, outings, team lunches, and fun contests help colleagues build meaningful friendships with each other.According to GoRemotely’s Workplace Collaboration Statistics, teams that value interpersonal relationships can see up to a 21% increase in profitability. The buddy system (adapted from defence forces) is an excellent example of a team-building exercise. When new employees join, they are assigned a mentor or a ‘buddy’ from the same team. It facilitates hand-holding, training, and integration of the new employee into the company. Recognition Rewards and recognition are great ways to boost employee morale and reduce employee turnover. A small thank you note from a superior or employee rewards every quarter can help employees feel appreciated for their hard work. Another way of recognizing an employee’s efforts is to give them new opportunities and responsibilities. Managers who can incite positivity among their team members can engage with them better. Receiving recognition reinforces an employee’s wish to remain with the organization for longer. Peer-to-peer recognition programs are also very successful in reducing employee turnover. Creating a Healthy Work-Life Balance Everyone wants a balance between their personal and professional life. Working on weekends or beyond office hours prevents employees from attaining a healthy work-life balance. It may lead to burnout or prompt employees to look for other job opportunities. Understandably, this trend is more pronounced among older employees, who are married and have children.Promoting flexible schedules allows employees to adjust their work timings to suit them. Giving the option to work remotely at least a few times a week can reduce commuting time and improve the work-life balance for your employees it also eases mental health issues Employee Engagement Higher employee engagement directly translates to employee retention. Workplace relationships are an excellent place to start employee engagement efforts. A person’s relationship with their manager profoundly impacts employee engagement. Companies that discover and cultivate individual employee motivations usually have the most successful employee engagement programs. Employee engagement surveys and focus groups through employee app help the management evaluate the results and improve engagement. Performance Feedback Employees who feel criticized or uninspired after a performance review are most likely to look for a new job. Infrequent and unproductive performance reviews are a recipe for high employee turnover. Looking at employee feedback examples can help you determine the frequency and quality of performance reviews in your company.Create a performance review process that is collaborative, inclusive and dynamic. Changing performance reviews to be continuous helps improve the relationship between an employee and a manager by enhancing communication. Your performance review system should recognize the goals and KPIs of every employee, link them to actionable metrics and provide rewards for good performance. Room for Personal Growth Is your organization creating opportunities for your employees to grow and learn new things? Design training programs that utilize your employees’ time in the best possible way. Most employees would be happy to work at a company where they get opportunities to strengthen their existing skills and build new ones.Upskilling your employees allows them to take on new responsibilities and perform better in their roles. It also provides the company with the skilled staff it needs to meet evolving business needs. Suppose you can match the upskilling process with defined job roles in your organization. In that case, it makes it easier for employees to find internal positions to progress in their careers. At the same time, making it easier for the organization to source talent for new posts. Employee Autonomy Providing employees control over their job helps create employee autonomy. Better employee autonomy promotes creativity, critical thinking, originality, innovation, and engagement. Even if procedures constrain the job role, any increase in autonomy will help improve employee morale and engagement. Improving employee autonomy allows your team to decide how and when to complete their work. The freedom to control their work and responsibilities promotes performance and reduces employee turnover. Analysis Deploying an efficient human resources management system can help your company management collect, analyze, and act to reduce employee turnover. Analyze your turnover numbers year on year to find the cause for the churn. You could also understand the numbers in-depth by investigating top performer turnover trends, and break-up according to business units, geography, and demographics. Analyzing this data will help bring out valuable insights into the causes of high employee turnover in your company. Rectify your talent management strategy according to that to reduce employee turnover.Excessive employee turnover is a problem that most businesses deal with. Suppose your organization is also witnessing a high employee turnover. In that case, it may be time to remedy the situation. You could use any or all of the steps listed above to slowly create a team of talented people who are happy to work with you.An essential aspect of employee retention is to be aware of employee turnover trends and take action before the problem gets out of hand. An excellent way to do this is to adopt a cloud-based human resources software that collects and analyzes HR data. A good HRM software can help you get a bird’s eye view of talent trends, performance tracking, skills gap, and training statistics. It can help find better ways to get your employees engaged and help you create an improved employee experience to attract and retain the best talent in the industry. About Author:Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise. The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

Making enough time for both your professional life and personal life (aka work-life balance) can be hard, especially as hustle culture is gaining popularity to make ends meet—but it’s not impossible. The concept was introduced during the 1980s as a way to allow for more time for family and hobbies outside of work. But in a post-pandemic world, it feels like work-life balance may be harder to attain. For example, in the first 8 weeks of lockdown, employees worked 49 minutes longer per day on average, and sent about 8% more emails after-hours, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Below, we’ll discuss the impact of having a poor work-life balance before giving you tips on how to improve it. Work-Life Balance and Why It’s Important Work-life balance means managing your professional responsibilities and personal life in a way that reduces stress and allows you to be more productive and content in all areas of life. Consequences of an unhealthy work-life balance include: Burnout: Survey results from the UK’s Mental Health Foundation found that 1 in 3 people are unhappy about the time they work, leading to burnout. Low productivity: Research from Britain’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service found that more employees are more inclined to take absence leave when their life lacks balance. Decreased job satisfaction: Having a poor work-life balance can result in decreased job satisfaction, higher turnover rates, and absenteeism, per a January 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Signs of an Unhealthy Work-Life Balance Feeling tired all the time, even after resting or on weekends. Spending little to no time on personal relationships, hobbies, or self-care. Getting sick more often, which can be a sign of lowered immune response due to stress. Displaying short temper and irritability with colleagues, friends, or family. Struggling to stop thinking about work during off-hours or compulsively checking work emails and messages at home. Experiencing insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns, often due to stress or overthinking work-related issues. Productivity levels drop, indicating inefficiency and potential employee burnout. Feeling disinterested in work and other activities that used to be enjoyable. Increasing dependence on substances like alcohol, caffeine, or even overeating. Ways to Improve Work-Life Balance 1. Time Management Improving time-management skills is essential for maximizing productivity and achieving a better work-life balance. Although it’s easier said than done, the first step is important: Set target tasks and ensure that you finish them throughout the day. Start by setting clear, achievable goals and breaking larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Prioritize tasks using tools like to-do lists or digital planners, and allocate specific times to focus on each task to maintain concentration and take regular breaks. Here are some tools that can help: Technology: Take advantage of the software and apps available, such as calendars, apps, and to-do lists. And apps like Notion, Evernote, and Trello can help you organize your work process. These apps also allow for integration with other apps, which makes it easier for you to keep everything in one place. Planner: Set aside time to organize and review what’s happening in your week. This way, you can cut down on tasks that take up too much time but don’t have a lot of value. Reminders: Set an alarm or reminder for time limits for tasks. Try the Pomodoro Technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on a specific task. Take a short break, then repeat. After every four rounds, take a longer break (15 to 30 minutes). 2. Know Your Priorities Setting priorities for work tasks effectively throughout the day and week involves a strategic approach. Begin by identifying all tasks and categorizing them based on urgency and importance, using tools like the Eisenhower Box or a simple priority list. Start each day by reviewing your list and focusing on tasks that are critical and time-sensitive first, while scheduling less critical tasks for later in the day or week when you anticipate having spare time. It's also helpful to review and adjust your priorities at the end of each day or week to reflect any new tasks or changes in task importance. This method ensures that high-priority tasks receive the attention they need, preventing last-minute rushes and reducing work stress. 3. Establish a Realistic Schedule Establishing a realistic work schedule starts with you defining your work hours based on your most productive times and the demands of your job. Be realistic about what you can accomplish within these hours and set boundaries to protect your personal time. It’s important to remain disciplined about starting and ending your workday at the same time. Additionally, don't be afraid to unplug completely after work hours—turn off email notifications and resist the urge to check-in. 4. Set Boundaries A good work-life balance doesn’t miraculously happen in a snap. It must begin with you setting boundaries and limits on the things you do. Learning how to say “no,” especially when those things do not benefit you, is one part of effective conflict management. Knowing your priorities can help you set your boundaries, and learning how to say “no” makes it easier to say “yes” to things that are good for you. Examples of these include being able to take breaks and do something you love to do. 5. Take Breaks This may sound simple, but it’s easy to skip taking breaks, especially when you’re intensely focused on doing something for work. Make sure that you step away from your desk once in a while, eat on time, drink water to stay hydrated, and get adequate sleep. Try your best not to skip lunch—away from work. You can even eat lunch with coworkers. Taking these breaks helps you improve your work efficiency and also gives you space to breathe. 6. Use Vacation Days Aside from taking breaks during your work hours, make full use of your allotted time off. One way to make sure you do this is to plan vacation time in advance, clearly communicating it with your manager. You deserve to have a vacation where you focus on your well-being and relaxation. 7. Create a Flexible Schedule Creating flexible work hours or incorporating a work-from-home policy involves carefully considering the needs of both the business and the employees. Start by evaluating which tasks you can effectively manage remotely and identify the hours you are most productive. Communicate these insights clearly to your employer, proposing specific work hours that ensure you can fulfill your job responsibilities while also attending to personal commitments. Be prepared to discuss how you will manage communication and remain accessible during core business hours for meetings and teamwork. Alternatively, there are many jobs offering part-time hours, and some companies are even switching to a 4-day work week (staff work 32 hours instead of 40 with no drop in salary). In 2022, the Icelandic government experimented with a shorter working week which led to benefits such as: increased productivity, being less stressed at home, and better social connections. 8. Find a Job You Love Take time to reflect on activities that energize you and skills you excel in, and consider how these can translate into a career. Research industries and roles that align with your interests and identify companies whose values resonate with yours. Networking is also key; connect with professionals in desired fields to gain insights and learn about job opportunities. Consider internships or volunteer positions to test the waters in potential career paths. 9. Make Time for Family and Friends Prioritize important family events, social activities, and personal downtime in your calendar, treating them with the same importance as work meetings or deadlines. Dedicated social time provides necessary breaks from work stress and recharges emotional and mental energy, improving focus and productivity when you return to work. Don’t hold back on requesting time off, but make sure to communicate your availability to your colleagues, and also, resist the urge to check work emails or messages during designated personal times. 10. Exercise and Meditate Exercise is one of the most effective stress relievers. It not only benefits your physical health but your mental health as well. Exercise boosts your mood, which improves your outlook throughout the day and week. Meditation and yoga are also beneficial. Start small by doing a quick 5-minute meditation session when you wake up or before you sleep. 11. Cultivate Your Hobbies Having a good work-life balance isn’t restricted to having more time for your family and friends. It means you have more time for yourself as well. Devote time each week to doing something you love to do like reading, painting, collecting certain items, dancing, and more. Sometimes reaching professional and personal goals isn’t enough to keep us satisfied. Hobbies help improve our quality of life, leading to better mental health. 12. Provide Honest Feedback Giving honest feedback to your employer requires clarity and professionalism, focusing on how certain aspects of your work environment or schedule impact your productivity and overall well-being. Be specific about the challenges you face, such as excessive work hours or unrealistic deadlines, and propose practical solutions or adjustments that could help alleviate these issues. Communicate openly and constructively, ensuring your feedback is seen as an effort to enhance not only your own performance but also the overall efficiency and morale of the team. 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.

Employee onboarding is a crucial and challenging process for organizations and HR professionals. There are diverse aspects to consider, from ensuring that new hires have all the required information to integrating them into the company culture. With that said, the endeavor can significantly impact an organization’s success. Unfortunately, too many companies still struggle with getting it right. Improving your onboarding process doesn’t have to be arduous, though. Here are seven strategies to make your employee onboarding process more effective. 1. Define Your Onboarding Goals Employee onboarding is the process of getting new hires to adjust to the culture and become productive team members. It encompasses the activities after completing the recruiting process, from orientation to training to socialization. Hence, it's essential to have a robust onboarding program to help new employees hit the ground running and turn into productive members of your team quickly. The first step in crafting your employee onboarding process is to define your goals. For example, do you want workers to be productive as soon as possible? Do you want them to feel like they're part of the team and clearly understand company culture? Defining your onboarding goals upfront will aid you in creating a process tailored to achieving them. 2. Create an Employee Onboarding Plan Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start putting together a plan of action. Effective employee onboarding doesn't happen overnight—it's a process that takes time. However, a well-designed program enhances new hires’ onboarding experiences. In turn, these can help increase job satisfaction and retention rates. When creating an onboarding plan, it’s vital to examine the organization's requirements and the program's goals. Once you’ve defined these elements, you can begin to create a detailed employee onboarding plan. Some integral components of an onboarding program include orientations, training, and social events. Employee orientations provide new hires with basic information about the company, such as its history, mission, and values. Training aids employees in gaining the skills and knowledge they need to perform their duties and routine tasks. Social events allow employees to meet their coworkers and get to know the organization's culture. A recent report cited that 61% of companies estimate new employees to stay with them for an average of two years. Hence, employers must conduct the onboarding process for several months to maximize this number. Regardless, the employee onboarding program length will vary depending on the organization's size and the job role's complexity. However, ensuring enough time for employees to complete the entire process is crucial. Besides those mentioned above, the onboarding plan should also be flexible to accommodate changes throughout the employment course. Companies can effectively assist employees in transitioning into their position by carefully planning and designing employee onboarding programs. This guide was designed to help you navigate through those difficult tasks and help determine the right software for your organization, download our ebook now. Download now 3. Prep All Onboarding Materials in Advance One of the most crucial moves you can make to ensure a smooth and successful employee onboarding process is to prepare all the necessary materials and information in advance. This step includes creating employee files, gathering new hire data, and assembling onboarding packets. Other required paperwork may include employee contracts, tax forms, and benefits information. Additionally, see to it that you have a plan for orienting new hires to your company culture and values. This measure could include providing an employee handbook or holding culture training sessions. Remember, sending materials in advance gives new hires time to read through them and answer any concerns before their first day on the job. It also lets the employee know you’re excited to have them on board and that you prepared for their arrival. Other items you may include in your onboarding package are an employee manual, company history, job descriptions, and contact details of key staff members. 4. Assign an Employee Onboarding Point of Contact Reports indicate that 86% of employees decide to stay with a company when they have access to mentors. Thus, an onboarding point of contact is essential in transitioning new employees to their jobs and workplaces. This individual can be a mentor, coach, or even a friend within the organization. The goal is to have someone the employee feels comfortable talking to about anything and everything related to their job. Likewise, the assigned point of contact must be knowledgeable and qualified to educate a new hire about the company and their position. In addition, they should be able to provide guidance and support while allowing the new employee to take ownership of their role. Ultimately, assigning a point of contact can help ensure a gradual adjustment for the new hire and the rest of the team. 5. Make Use of Employee Onboarding Technology As any employer knows, onboarding new employees can be time-consuming and challenging. Aside from training staff on company policies and procedures, you also need to help them meet coworkers and understand the job's expectations. Again, the purpose of the process is to help new hires feel comfortable and productive in their current role. Today, many companies are turning to employee onboarding technologies to achieve this task. These innovative solutions help streamline the onboarding phase by providing new hires access to pertinent data and resources. Designed to enhance employee experience, it can also assist in tracking employees' progress and identifying areas for additional support. With organizations increasingly embracing remote work, employee onboarding technologies will become even more critical. It can help guarantee that new hires always have the resources they need to be successful no matter their location. Moreover, implementing the best HR software systems in 2022 will ensure your team is always up-to-date with the new recruitment and onboarding technologies. “Interim Healthcare SLC needed HR technology, and we’re pleased with the results we’ve gained from LIKE.TG’s solutions for recruiting, onboarding, and employee engagement. Yet it’s an opportunity for all Interim franchises. It would be so great if each franchise owner could implement similar solutions to replace legacy systems that might not work as well as they should.” Michael Hawkins Franchise Owner of Interim HealthCare SLC Learn More 6. Encourage Social Interaction and Networking Companies understand that employee onboarding is a critical time for social interaction and networking. When staff interact with each other, employers help them form bonds that’ll last long after the onboarding process is over. In addition, encouraging employees to network helps them develop the skills and connections they need to be successful in their careers. One of the best ways to motivate social interaction and networking during employee onboarding is to host a series of events or activities. These initiatives include team-building exercises, group outings, or even taking new hires out to lunch with their coworkers. You can also host social events, such as happy hours, or create opportunities for employees to work on projects together. Similarly, you can encourage workers to participate in professional development activities, such as conferences or networking events. Remember, employees form bonds when allowed to interact in a relaxed setting. By taking these simple steps, you ensure your employee onboarding program fosters positive social interactions and helps new hires feel welcome in their current workplace. 7. Evaluate and Adjust Your Onboarding Process as Needed Organizations should regularly evaluate and adjust the employee onboarding process to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Your onboarding process will also need to evolve as your business grows and changes. Some of the variables that can impact onboarding are company size, industry, and turnover rate. Additionally, employee demands will shift over time, so it’s vital to be flexible and adaptable. Equally critical is to check indicators such as employee satisfaction, productivity time, and company policy compliance. If you’re seeing any red flags in these areas, it’s time to take a closer look at your employee onboarding process and make some changes. Furthermore, make it a point to collect feedback from new hires who have recently gone through onboarding to evaluate the process. Employers can use this feedback to identify areas for improvement and make changes accordingly. Finally, keep up with best practices in employee onboarding and implement revisions as needed to stay ahead of the curve. Reinvent Your Employee Onboarding Strategy Employee onboarding is a process that can make or break the success of your new hires. Ongoing evaluation and adjustment of your strategy are key to ensuring that it continually meet your organization's short and long term goals. By implementing the human resource strategies listed above, you can deliver a smooth and successful transition for new employees, resulting in a more productive and cohesive workforce. Remember, though, that what works for one company may not work for another, so prepare to experiment and look for what works best for your team. Author Bio 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. HR mistakes impact your entire organization. Learn how to avoid the 12 most common mistakes with our free ebook. Download now

The hybrid workplace is a relatively new concept that is becoming increasingly popular with businesses of all sizes. Many business leaders are even terming it the future of work. A hybrid work model combines traditional office space and remote working arrangements. This arrangement can provide many benefits to businesses, including increased flexibility, reduced overhead costs, and improved employee productivity. If you are considering implementing a hybrid workplace for your business, there are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure success. Here are six tips for creating a winning hybrid workplace for your business: 1. Make Employee Engagement A Priority Engaged employees are more productive, more satisfied with their jobs, and more likely to stick around in the long run. Gallup found that engaged employees improve earnings by 23% and sales by 18%. The following photograph shows added benefits of engaged employees. But despite its importance, employee engagement remains a challenge for a hybrid workplace. For one, hybrid workplaces can be challenging to navigate, with different departments and teams operating in silos. So, you must develop a positive workplace culture where employee engagement is a priority if you want to see results. Here are a few more tips for boosting employee engagement in the hybrid workplace: Communicate regularly: Promptly share company updates, news, and information about upcoming events and initiatives. Offer opportunities for growth: Offer training and professional development opportunities and regular performance feedback to help employees reach their full potential. Encourage input and feedback: This can be done through employee surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations. You can also use pulse surveys to collect feedback continuously. Recognize and reward employees: Consider offering bonuses, awards, and other forms of recognition to those who go above and beyond. Keeping your hybrid employees engaged can improve productivity and deliver a positive employee experience. It gives you satisfied employees, helping to reduce turnover and create a more positive hybrid work environment. 2. Be Inclusive Creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive will help create sustainable models of success. It’s one of the critical remote employee retention strategies. Inclusivity is vital to creating community and connection within your hybrid teams. It is the act of including all people, regardless of their background or identity, in the activities of a group. However, it is crucial before you hire people to learn how to start a business that caters to all individuals, regardless of race or sexual orientation. To be inclusive in a hybrid workplace, it is crucial to be aware of the different needs and preferences of different groups of people. Salesforce, for example, clarifies its inclusion awareness and what the brand does to be as inclusive as possible. For instance, the company hosts an annual Trailblazing Women Summit to enhance the conversation around gender equality. Some ways to be inclusive in a workplace include: Creating a code of conduct and a process for handling harassment and discrimination. This will create a place where everyone feels safe and comfortable in the workplace or learning environment. Encouraging open communication. Talk to your coworkers about their needs and preferences, and be willing to compromise when necessary. Promoting cross-generational mentoring. Senior employees can mentor junior employees and vice versa, which can help reduce stereotypes and build relationships across generations. Fostering a company culture of inclusion. Make sure everyone in your workplace feels welcome and accepted, regardless of their background or identity. Ensuring everyone feels like they have a voice in the company by providing platforms like Zoom and Slack where they can give opinions can help get these things done in a hybrid workplace model. Through online communication, you can make remote employees feel included. It also ensures everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in decision-making. All this will help you create a winning workplace culture that’ll help you retain employees and boost and boost their performance. Also, as a leader, be careful of your cultural biases, be open to hearing feedback about your own behavior and adjust accordingly. Finally, encourage people to advocate for inclusivity in the workplace this will promote an inclusivity culture which leads to a healthy hybrid workspace. 3. Ensure There Is Flexibility A flexible workplace culture gives employees more control over their work lives. This leads to increased loyalty and motivation since it shows you trust them and helps attract and retain top talent. Flexibility is even more critical in hybrid workplaces since employees will not always work from the office. You can give flexibility to your hybrid workplace by offering telecommuting options for employees. This allows employees to work from home or another location of their choice. You can also allow them to adjust their hours or take time off when required. In the table below, you can see more flexible workplace arrangement options you can consider. It's also essential to communicate with your hybrid human resources about what might be possible for work flexibility. You can also use SaaS marketing tools to create a flexible workplace that adapts to the needs of your employees. For example, you can use them to create customizable employee profiles. This way, employees can enter their preferences and needs into the system, and the system can then match them up with the right job roles. 4. Optimize All Your Meetings No matter how well you think you have planned and executed hybrid meetings, there is always room for optimization. After all, meetings are essential to doing business and getting things done. You can do a few things to optimize all of your meetings for a hybrid workplace. Ensure that all your employees know the meeting schedule, the purpose of the meeting, and what they need to do to participate. Create an agenda for each meeting and send it out to all participants ahead of time. This will help everyone stay on track and make the most of the meeting time. According to this research, stated objectives and plans are critical to effective meetings. Also, ensure that all your meeting tools (like video conferencing software) are up-to-date and easy to use. Last but not least, once the meeting is over, be sure to follow up with your team. A follow-up meeting can help ensure everyone is on track and that the project is moving forward as planned. You can follow up via email or another communication tool. 5. Focus On Time Management In today's workplace, with increasing demands and ever-changing deadlines, it is more important than ever to manage one's time effectively. Time management is a critical skill in the hybrid workplace. It can help increase team productivity and ensure they work more efficiently, helping them get more done in less time. Here are a few pointers to improve your time management skills. Set realistic goals for your employees: Employees working with clear goals may push themselves and feel connected with big-picture projects, increasing productivity. Use time tracking software: It helps your remote team to enhance their time management skills and meet deadlines without sacrificing quality. These tools also support performance management as they can help you track the productivity of your entire team. Encourage communication: Team and project health depend on communication about task progress. Effective communication keeps you informed and helps you take action if a project is delayed. Consider employing WhatsApp Business platform for collaborate communication purposes Allow your team to decline tasks: Delegate decision-making and task-setting to your team. That will boost meeting deadlines and prevent team members from being overwhelmed. Regular check-ins with your team: You must check in and motivate your team to drive initiatives ahead. Time management can be challenging under pressure or with many deadlines. So, plan ahead and focus on time management. 6. Tracking Goals And Performance Metrics One of the most important aspects of any business is ensuring that employees meet their goals and perform to the best of their abilities. By setting clear goals and tracking employee progress, you can ensure that everyone in the company is working towards the same objectives. Additionally, by monitoring employees' performance, you can identify any areas in which they may need additional training or support. Performance tracking can be done in several ways, depending on the company's needs. Some key metrics to analyze your hybrid workforce's performance and impact include: Employee satisfaction levels: Employee satisfaction can impact the long-term success of your company. Employees leave easily when they’re not satisfied with a certain workplace. Their performance also tends to drop, affecting customer experience and sales. Therefore, you must track this metric. You may assess employee satisfaction using eNPS or a Salesforce survey. Productivity levels: Measuring worker productivity reflects how workers have successfully adapted to hybrid work. It may be measured by analyzing employee work volume and time spent. You can also use software to track employee activity and productivity. This can help identify areas in which employees may need improvement or support. Engagement levels: Employee engagement contributes significantly to a company's long-term success. You can measure employee engagement via a survey, one-on-one meetings, and an analysis of the outcomes. Retention rates: Employee retention is the proportion of long-term workers. To calculate, divide the number of workers who remained by the number at the start of the term, then multiply by 100. You can also use a spreadsheet or create a list of goals and performance metrics to measure your hybrid work performance. Here's an example of a performance spreadsheet. It includes performance metrics and personal objectives. It is also crucial to track progress regularly and revise goals as needed. This will ensure that employees are always working towards the desired outcome. In Closing Leaders today are tasked with the unique challenge of developing a hybrid workplace strategy that meets the needs of their employees while also being mindful of the company’s bottom line. The answer lies in creating a winning hybrid workplace that is both effective and efficient. There are many things to consider when creating a winning hybrid workplace. But we hope that these six tips we’ve discussed will provide you with a solid foundation. Make employee engagement a priority, be inclusive, ensure flexibility, optimize all your meetings, and focus on time management. Finally, track goals and performance metrics and review them often. What strategies have you found work best for your business? Let us know in the comments below! Author Bio: Austin AndrukaitisEntrepreneur Leadership Network WriterAustin Andrukaitis is the CEO of ChamberofCommerce.com. He's an experienced digital marketing strategist with many years of experience in creating successful online campaigns. Austin's approach to developing, optimizing, and delivering web-based technologies has helped businesses achieve higher profit, enhance productivity, and position organizations for accelerated sustained growth. The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

Following the digitalization of the job market, including a growing reliance on free job posting sites for e-recruitment and the emergence of remote working models, the reach of the recruiting and job-hunting process has massively expanded. As a result, the traditional pool of candidates and job ads has turned into a vast ocean of potential recruits and open positions. Crafting a winning job post is one of the strategies for attracting top talents. For example, LinkedIn reports that 95 job applications are submitted every second on its platform and that each week, 50 million users access it to search for jobs. This certainly represents a tremendous opportunity for both hiring managers and job seekers. However, the ability to post your jobs on a platform with a virtually unlimited outreach would end up being counterproductive without proper tools to filter the most relevant options, as recruiters screening hundreds of candidates are well aware of. And that's where machine learning-based recommendation systems for recruitment come into play. The role of recommendation systems Recommendation systems for recruitment are powered by computer algorithms and designed to route professionals toward an open position matching their aspirations and expertise, or companies toward suitable candidates based on their business requirements. These tools, currently implemented by all major employment-oriented online platforms and social media, can perform a variety of HR-related duties, such as: Segmenting professionals into sub-categories or archetypes depending on their profile information (country, previous work experience, skills, certifications, and more) and behavioral patterns (such as likes, shares, comments, and browsing history). Segmenting employers and their respective job listings data based on the industry, location, current staff, open positions, requirements, and more. Providing employers with a list of potential candidates, sorted by relevance, while targeting job seekers with tailored recommendations regarding the most interesting job opportunities. Suggesting the best certifications and highlighting the core strengths to compete for a certain position. Thanks to their segmentation and matching capabilities, recommendation systems for recruitment can act as a catalyst to connect professionals and corporations on the job market. Furthermore, they can easily mitigate the so-called information overload suffered by HR departments when flooded with thousands (or millions, as for multinational corporations like Google) of applications. For example, a recruitment proposal can help you revolutionize the way you segment and attract top talent, making your hiring process efficient and engaging like never before. However, the above wouldn't be possible without the essential contribution of machine learning algorithms. So, let’s better frame this technology and its actual application in this field. Why apply machine learning in e-recruitment Nowadays, any advanced recommendation engine for recruitment relies on machine learning to peer into data and provide relevant suggestions. Specifically, this subset of AI strictly related to data science and analytics concerns the creation of self-learning algorithms that can process data, spot key variables and recurring patterns among them, and create models representing such relationships. As the name suggests, a core strength of machine learning algorithms is their ability to learn and improve through experience. Specifically, they can identify more and more correlations as they process new data and refine their models to provide a more truthful portrait of the scenarios and dynamics examined. Once a model has been trained with enough data, it will be leveraged by a machine learning system to process new datasets and provide valuable insights or predictions. For example, the ML algorithm powering a recommendation engine for recruitment can be "fed" with datasets collected through a professional networking platform. After proper training, the algorithm may observe that having a certain qualification or trait in the user profile generally results in a greater chance of being hired by a specific type of organization, be it a large IT corporation or a small business. Thus, the engine will start recommending properly qualified professionals to that employer and vice versa. ML algorithms for recruiting How the aforementioned routing process takes place depends on the algorithms used and the recommendation system design approach. Regarding the first point, researchers have tested several machine learning algorithms whose performance could actually range according to the operational scenario, including the number of platform users and relevant metrics to consider. To learn more about recruitment methods, download our ebook now. Download Now Among the algorithms typically implemented in this kind of software solution, we may count naive Bayes classifiers, K nearest neighbors, random forest, support vector classifiers, logistic regression, and gradient-boosted decision trees. The latter, for example, have also been adopted by LinkedIn for its well-known Recruiter feature. As for the design approach, this aspect of recommendation systems deserves its own section. Types of recommendation systems for recruitment Similarly to their eCommerce-focused versions, recommender systems for recruitment can be built according to three major design approaches defining the underlying mechanisms for providing recommendations. Collaborative filtering E-recruitment recommendation engines embracing this approach base their suggestions on similarities among users. Indeed, they recommend candidates that other companies with similar requirements have already expressed an interest in or suggest jobs that other professionals with common traits have previously applied for. Thanks to their ability to accurately frame users based on context-aware variables and identify non-linear relations between them, collaborative filtering engines currently represent the most successful segment of the recommendation system market, so much so that major hiring platforms such as LinkedIn and Indeed rely on similar tools. Content-based filtering The focus, in this case, is not on the relations among similar users, but on the convergence between similar items. In a real-world recruiting scenario, the “items” are online job ads or candidate profiles. The recommendation system will examine job seekers' preferences for certain ads and recommend new job listings sharing similar features with the previous ones. At the same time, it will assess recruiters’ interest in specific candidate archetypes and suggest other profiles with similar characteristics. This implies the analysis of features from user profiles, curricula, and cover letters (such as age, language, skills, education, and more) and job descriptions (including employer, industry, country, responsibilities, etc.). The aforementioned information is typically extracted by identifying specific keywords and concepts via natural language processing technologies. “Interim Healthcare SLC needed HR technology, and we’re pleased with the results we’ve gained from LIKE.TG’s solutions for recruiting, onboarding, and employee engagement. Yet it’s an opportunity for all Interim franchises. It would be so great if each franchise owner could implement similar solutions to replace legacy systems that might not work as well as they should.” Michael Hawkins Franchise Owner of Interim HealthCare SLC Learn More Hybrid approach This hot trend in recommendation system design is aimed at combining the key strengths of both approaches at the cost of creating a more complex architecture and requiring more computing power. Such systems rely on different hybridization techniques to provide job and candidate recommendations, including the creation of a single processing pipeline in which the result of the collaborative part becomes the input for the content-based phase. Reshaping the job market with algorithms While human relationships and networking will always remain staples of job search and recruiting, we can expect a growing role played by recommendation systems and machine learning algorithms in our professional lives. But if it's true that online recruitment and the possibility to post jobs for free on global platforms have turned the job market into an ocean of opportunities, ML-powered recommendation systems will act as a beacon to guide ships to a safe harbor, or skilled professionals toward a company ready to value their expertise.

The human resources (HR) department is key for every organization. They enable everyone to carry out their roles and responsibilities seamlessly. The HR department has loads of responsibilities to fulfill, from managing employees’ information, recruitment, and hiring to evaluation and retention. Efficient data management at each stage is required for the HR team to work at their optimum best. Wondering how this can be done seamlessly and reduce their burden? It’s high time to think about HRMS (Human Resource Management System). This software can lessen a lot of burden for the human resource department, such as paperwork management, employee management, and ensuring employee satisfaction. HRMS effectively cuts down the excess amount of work and helps standardize the normal HR tasks. It actually helps save a lot of time by storing all data in one single place and structuring all the essential administrative tasks. It saves time and effort by storing the complete information and data in one place only. Plus, it also helps in structuring administrative tasks. That’s why organizations have shown their interest in adopting such software. It’s worth mentioning that global human resource technology is projected to grow from $24.04 billion in 2021 to $35.68 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.8%. Before moving ahead, let’s understand what human resource software is. An Overview of Human Resource Software The human resource software is also called human resource management systems (HRMS) or human capital management (HCM) software. It is basically all-in-one software, which enables management to perform several functions. The main purpose of this specialized software is to increase the productivity and efficiency of HR activities by consolidating data and automating manual repetitive tasks. How to know if you need Human Resource Software? Is the HR department of your growing business finding it difficult to carry out day-to-day operations? Do you feel the need for a centralized system for streamlining HR operations? If so, then you need to invest in human resource software. Sometimes it can be tricky to determine if you need HR software or not. Here’s a small list of situations in which HR software might be the perfect addition to your list of tools. If your employees work in different locations and there’s no one-stop employee communication platform to communicate with each other, you should invest in custom software development services. If the workload of the HR department is too high and they do not have enough time to manage all the tasks, then you should consider a human resource software solution. If you can’t manage applications, on-boardings, and payrolls efficiently, then it’s high time to pick one of the best software development companies. 7 Components of Human Resource Software Development If you have made up your mind to select the best human resource software, it is essential to have a software solution with full-fledged features that can meet your business needs. Let’s have a look at some of the must-have components of HRMS. 1. Payroll management One of the core features should be payroll management in an HRMS. Undeniably, there is a growing workforce all over the world. Hence, there is a high demand for this. The primary function of payroll management is to calculate and pay salaries along with taxes and deductions and manage the printing of paychecks. The HR team can track employees’ wages and salary rates, issue cheques, and automatically run payroll. It also keeps account of allowances, overtime rates, etc. The best part about this is that it can reduce the risks of errors during payroll. The automatic tax computation functionality of the payroll management feature helps you avoid errors in taxation. Moreover, automating payroll can offer even more great advantages, such as: Tasks can be done with minimal time and effort. No need to put manual data inputs. Easy access to everything that you want to check in a fraction of a second. Any inaccuracy in payroll can lead to a disaster for an organization. It is important that it should be well-managed. So, you should adopt this technology to minimize human errors and increase accountability in order to efficiently manage paychecks, control pay schedules, and ensure accuracy. 2. Analytics document management Talking about corporate data, human resource management is considered a vulnerable one. This is because such data includes the personal financial details of employees. That’s why organizations should be careful about their sensitive data and information. An ideal HRMS comes with SSL systems and secure transmission of data, which encrypts all the information when it gets transferred over the Internet. It also helps your organization to analyze information in real time and make the best decisions. Basically, it works on a data-driven approach. It includes images, messages, emails, electronic documents, files, MIS reports, document sharing, employee mood monitoring, and exit process management. 3. Onboarding Onboarding is a process in which new employees are integrated into the organization. When it comes to the onboarding module of an HRMS, it automates the whole process of introducing new employees to their respective managers and teams. With less effort and minimal time, it can be done effectively. It also automates the onboarding processes like setting up user accounts, security access, entry passes, etc. It cuts down the time and helps to be productive by automating lengthy paperwork. Therefore, new employees can start carrying out their responsibilities sooner. 4. Recruitment Recruitment is one of the essential yet daunting tasks of the human resource department. Finding an ideal candidate with the right experience, attitude, and skill set is often challenging. Without an ATS the recruitment component is particularly designed to streamline the lengthy recruitment process. It helps with job postings, talent acquisition, the interviewing process, and the selection of suitable candidates. 5. Performance management Now, the next must-have component of HRMS is the performance management system. It allows you to measure employee performance based on different parameters. You can set goals, and keep track of their progress and performance. The component organizes all the relevant information in one place. You can quickly evaluate the performance against the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) assigned to the system. 6. Time tracking leave management This must-have component can store time information and generate reports, attendance, and leave records. It can also have employee self-service (ESS) functionality, which empowers employees to see their schedules, check-ins check-outs, leave requests, and balances. Retail and food-related businesses should not miss out on this component in their HRMS. Since, such businesses work on a shift basis, staying in touch with employees from various shifts becomes difficult for the management. With the help of HRMS, the communication between employers and employees gets streamlined. Ultimately, it leads to efficient workforce management. If you have more than 50 employees, then you should go with this since managing the attendance and leaves of a great number of employees can be a strenuous task. Better automate it to stay behind the hassles. 7. Benefits management A must-have component in HRMS is benefits management. It helps with delivering benefits to employees, including extra perks, healthcare insurance, pension schemes, parental leaves, etc. This benefits administration module helps organizations streamline the whole process and tracks data for compliance purposes. Conclusion Undeniably, the HR department of every organization is packed with responsibilities. However, implementing a proven modern solution like HRMS can help you provide more quality control and allow you to collaborate seamlessly with your employees. It’s high time to invest in HR software solutions that best fit your needs. It not only helps your business grow faster but also makes your business efficient enough to stay ahead of the competition. Now you have a good understanding of must-have components that every organization should invest in. If you think we've left some, then you can share it by commenting below. We’d like to hear from you! No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up About Author:Hardik Shah is a Tech Consultant at Simform, a digital product engineering company. He leads large scale mobility programs that cover platforms, solutions, governance, standardization, and best practices. Connect with him to discuss the best practices of digital product engineering cloud transformation @hsshah.

In a workplace, how your employee feels hugely impacts your company's productivity. So, whether you are recruiting new employees to the company or reducing employee turnover, prioritizing employee loyalty is a key factor. Nevertheless, it is challenging for companies to keep up with the demands and needs of the new generation of employees. According to the Global Benefits Attitude Survey between December 2021 and January 2022, 53% of employees are actively searching for new employment opportunities or at risk of leaving. It shows that the struggle is not to hire new employees but instead to retain and engage the employees. However, there is no need to worry. A loyalty program can make employees more likely to stay with an organization. So, here is a handy guide that will help you to explore 16 essential tips to improve employee loyalty. What is Employee Loyalty? Employee loyalty refers to the feelings that bind employees to their current employers and prevent them from seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Loyal employees give their 100% and devote themselves to the success of their company. They put their efforts into meeting the organizational goal. Further, they don’t look for alternative employment opportunities as they plan to remain with the organization. Employees show their loyalty when they are paid well, mentored, empowered, trusted, and challenged. Further, they stay in the company for a long time when they are promoted, involved, appreciated, and valued. Employees should have the feeling that the organization wants the best for them. Why Is Employee Loyalty Important? For the development of any organization, employees are a valuable asset. Recruitment, training, employee salary, and benefit costs represent a substantial investment. And loyal employees in the workplace can improve the daily operations of an organization. Your company will see a positive impact from them. Employee loyalty in the workplace is essential for a number of reasons. There are several benefits of employee loyalty. Loyal employees are more likely to stick around during difficult times. This can be important for businesses that experience periods of instability or decline. Hence, it is beneficial to implement a robust employee engagement strategy. Here are several reasons employee loyalty is vital in the workplace: 1. Improved productivity Employees with positive attitudes and motivation can pass the same energy to other employees. And loyal employees are always dedicated to improvements and the organization's success. They are less likely to call in sick, take extended breaks, or engage in other behaviors that can hurt productivity. So, your productivity levels are most affected by loyal employees. 2. Impact customer experience Employees who value their company can communicate these values to customers through daily interactions. As a result, your company's reputation will increase among the community, and your customer loyalty will increase. Further, they will make the people feel and understand your organizational culture. 3. Enhance growth and improvement. Often, loyal employees adopt and adjust new policies or changes first or act as change agents. By doing so, improvement efforts can be more effective, and organizational growth can be achieved. 4. Increase hiring capabilities. Besides reducing employee turnover, it can attract new talent. Employees who feel valued in a company will also recommend other job seekers to work for your company. So you can hire new talents to fill the vacant positions. 5. Healthy work environment Finally, loyal employees tend to be more positive and supportive of the company. So it can create a better work environment for everyone. Overall, employee loyalty is important because it can lead to increased stability, productivity, and positivity in the workplace. These benefits can be especially important for small businesses or businesses that are going through tough times. Why do employees leave? There was a time when employees wanted the security of their jobs only. But today, they want more than that. Multiple roadblocks hindering the employee lead to them leaving their jobs. Some of the reasons why employees leave their jobs are listed below. 1. Lack of career development A report from Statista shows that 41% of employees quit their previous job due to a lack of career advancement. Career progression shouldn't be stunted for any employee. Employees will likely look elsewhere unless the company communicates and provides clear growth opportunities. 2. Inadequate compensation Also, according to the same report above, 36% of employees leave the job because of inadequate compensation. So, you need to ensure that your staff is compensated fairly and in line with industry/market standards. 3. Lack of recognition A lack of recognition or appreciation for employees' hard work eventually leads to unhappiness and low motivation. 4. Ineffective leadership Leaders can significantly affect employee morale, whether they are CEOs or direct managers. Chaos can quickly occur when work environments lack clear goals and effective leadership. 5. Poor work-life balance Setting realistic boundaries and expectations with your team is vital to maintaining employee satisfaction and promoting a healthy work-life balance. How to build employee loyalty commitment? You can do a few key things to build employee loyalty and commitment within your organization. - Ensure you know your company's mission and values and that your employees know them. - Provide opportunities for employees to grow and develop within the company. - Give employees a sense of ownership in the company through stock options or profit sharing. - Create a positive and supportive work environment where employees feel valued and appreciated. Doing these things will create a strong sense of loyalty and commitment among your employees. However, to know the best tips that help you to improve employee loyalty and retention, continue reading the guide. 16 Effective Tips To Improve Employee Loyalty Retention in 2023 Avoid any communication gaps. It is important to have an open communication channel to keep the employees loyal to their company. The employees should feel free to discuss the issue and give feedback about the work. You should engage your employees in the workplace. Engagement can be either physical, cognitive, or emotional. Make sure there are no communication gaps between team leaders and members. When you have all of your workers on-site, this isn't a big deal. But if you have remote workers, you should make sure they communicate well. Communication tools at work include video conferencing software, instant messaging, and voice calling. You can use your regular mobile or landline for an audio call. However, using virtual phone numbers is best for avoiding the communication gap within the company. Understand what your employees need and try to cater to them The major concern of almost every employee is that no one listens to them. But employers should listen to their needs. Employees who feel fulfilled by their jobs do not search for other opportunities. Provide an efficient way for employees to express concerns or share ideas. It is easy to provide your employees with the type of benefits they prefer once you know what they like. Take feedback and act on them. Stop Conflict Before It Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low-Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how! Employees and management should have a continuous feedback channel. Don't assume what your employees need or want. Ask them directly what is working for them and what isn't. By doing this, you have the chance to collect valuable feedback. The employee's feedback may not be possible to address directly. But it is still worth exploring whether a mutual course of action can be agreed upon. But employees may not wish to give their opinions if their feedback is not acted upon. Acknowledge their good work and appreciate them. Appreciating employees' hard work is one of the best ways to increase employee loyalty and promote growth. So, managers or supervisors should appreciate whenever an employee goes beyond what is expected and performs well. You can use either a no-cost or low-cost employee recognition program to implement them. Further, public recognition is an effective way to motivate your employees. You can use the Wall of fame to recognize their efforts in work socially. Seeing that their efforts are appreciated makes them feel motivated and valued. You can also use sticky notes to write genuine appreciation and stick them in front of their desk or on the wall of fame. However, providing your employees with negative feedback is also important, as long as it’s constructive. Help employees with their work-life balance Your employees may go through so much in their personal and professional life. So, it may be hard for them to manage their personal and professional life. Whether they need financial help or extra days' leave, consider it. Prioritize your employee’s wellness because it will increase employee loyalty. Address toxic workers. An American survey found that 82% of workers would quit their job if their manager were a bad manager. A toxic person can make the whole workplace toxic. An environment that is toxic can affect someone's mental state and reduce their productivity since it is impossible to work in such an environment. So, make sure to deal with that toxic managers and decrease the turnover rates. Offer competitive fair compensation and pay rise. Provide a competitive salary to a deserving candidate because one reason employees leave the job is less salary. Paying competitive salaries to high-turnover employees is an excellent way to maintain loyalty within your company. When filling difficult positions, high salaries can help relieve stress. Offer incentives and perks. Besides direct compensation, you can offer incentives. When employees have stock options, they are more likely to connect corporate success with personal success. It encourages them to work harder toward company success. Offer great perks to your employees to build loyalty between employer and employee. Invest in perks like free time, gym memberships, flexible scheduling, employee discounts, health plans, and personal development programs. Company swag items you can use as incentives include branded drinkware, food trucks, hybrid workplace essentials, tech items, travel essentials, and more. Give responsibilities and ensure professional growth. Workers want to develop skills and grow in their careers. So by acknowledging their skills and experience, you should assign responsibilities and ensure their professional growth. Employers seeking long-term employee loyalty can increase employee loyalty by providing latitude in their roles. Co-create your strategy Top-down loyalty strategies are not effective. Managing and leading shouldn't be the only people responsible for creating and implementing it. They should discuss it with other workers too. If you want a high engagement between employees and managers, it's better to co-create your strategy. It will help you to design a strategy that will help your company and individual. Ensure a positive and safe work environment. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. Learn More Employees should not experience a sense of dread when they come to perform duties in the office. No one likes to hear disrespectful comments, be treated badly, or act in a negative manner. So, create a work-positiveenvironment and make your employees happy. Owners must promote an open, respectful, patient, and tolerant company culture. Even when a problem arises, solve them calmly without making the environment chaos. Offer flexibility in work. By providing your employees with flexible work hours, you allow them to plan their schedules according to their lifestyles and needs. It will generate more productive employees. Increasingly, people are working from home with multiple responsibilities daily as remote jobs become more prevalent. Most people say they don’t want to leave the company because they have such flexibility. So, a flexible working schedule is vital. Invest in education, training, and development According to the report, 86% of millennials would stay in their current jobs if their employers offered training and development. Improving the skills of your employees in the workforce by investing in education and training is a win-win strategy. Not only will it help you increase your company's productivity, but it will also increase employees' loyalty. However, before organizing any type of training, you must understand the types of education your staff wants. So, you must communicate with employees. Recognize the jobs of employees and provide them with the training needed to them. The education or training can be related to either manager coaching and mentorship, stretch assignments, or online training sessions and webinars. Remove unnecessary uncertainty and insecurity. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More Doing tasks that are not necessary for now might frustrate your employees and decrease your business revenue. So, eliminate such unnecessary tasks. Further, uncertainty is a common feature of the workplace today. Innovation constantly disrupts previously stable markets during a time of rapid economic change. Employees can be unhappy living in an environment where their future is unsure. So when they are stressed, it reduces the company's productivity. Even though you cannot fix the economy, you can help your employees cope with changes by providing notice and briefing them. Conduct recreational programs and celebrate milestones Celebrating milestones is another way to show your employees their dedication and loyalty are appreciated. Thus, if you want your workers to stick around your company, it is essential to appreciate them and celebrate employee milestones. Whether it's work anniversaries, the biggest achievements, or a birthday, celebrate them, offer a gift card and make your employee feel special. Encourage teamwork The employees should not feel alone in doing the work and that the management is not helping them. Employees get to know each other better when they work together on tasks. Further, they feel more loyal to the company and team when they share a common goal. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up Conclusion To be successful, an organization must have loyal employees. In today's automated, fast-paced, technology-oriented world, time is money and everyone is looking for ways to save time. In such a situation if you'd think keeping employees engaged and happy is easier than ever, then you are wrong. However, to solve this problem and keep your workforce engaged and motivated, check out these essential tips for improving employee loyalty in 2023. FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Have another question? We'd love to hear it. Book Your Free Demo What are the main factors that can increase employee loyalty? Some of the factors that increase employee loyalty are:- Salary- Active participation and interaction- Recognition and Rewards- Goal Setting- Leadership- Training and development,- Job security- Flexibility balance between work and life,- Empowerment.- Employee Engagement How do you keep employees loyal? The things that you should consider to keep employees loyal are: - Competitive Salary- Motivation and Appreciation- Career development and growth- An open line of communication- Flexibility- Positive work environment - Reward and incentive for High Performance How do I win over my employees? You'll need to show them that you're a competent and trustworthy leader. Here are some ideas for achieving this goal: - Be a personality- Show your ability- Arrive early and stay late- Be collaborative- Tackle issues- Provide occasional treats- Be discreet $(document).ready(function () { $(".show-hide-faq").click(function () { var el = $(this).parent(); var answer = el.children(".answer"); if ($(this).hasClass("bg-plus")) { $(this).removeClass("bg-plus"); $(this).addClass("bg-minus"); } else { $(this).removeClass("bg-minus"); $(this).addClass("bg-plus"); } answer.toggle(); }); });

In today's fiercely competitive market, employee engagement has evolved into a fundamental factor in business success. High levels of engagement strengthen organizational performance and stakeholder value while encouraging talent retention, fostering customer loyalty, and improving customer satisfaction. Retaining talented employees is a major concern for most businesses in the rapidly evolving modern business environment.Are you aware of the term "war for talent"? It refers to the phenomenon of businesses finding it difficult to retain top employees. This is due to a skills deficit and employee expectations. Prospective employees now assess not only the perks of working for a company but also the company's beliefs and growth prospects. In other words, you must have a strong employee engagement strategy to stay ahead of the competition and survive the "war for talent”. Levels of Employee Engagement To evaluate the changes in American workforces, Gallup launched an employee engagement tracking survey about 20 years ago. The study examined common elements and grouped them into 3 types of employee engagement based on commitment and dedication. The three levels of employee engagement are: actively engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged. Companies can benefit from this model to further understand the importance of employee engagement. The model can help companies increase productivity and commitment within the company. 1. Actively Engaged Actively engaged employees are heavily invested in and passionate regarding their work and the company. They want to drive their company to success with their productivity and high performance. Engaged employees believe in their company’s ‘customer first’ ethos. They demonstrate leadership, enthusiasm, creativity, ambition, tenacity, and a strong work ethic. Actively engaged employees: Offer creative ideas for enhancing operations. Take on initiatives that will benefit the company. Support the company's vision and beliefs. Show pride in their company. Exceed expectations. Create bonds within the company and motivate their colleagues. Are resilient when faced with obstacles and pressure. Maintain a positive outlook on the future of the business. 2. Not Engaged Not engaged employees are emotionally disconnected from their work and workplace. As a result of their demands not being adequately addressed, they only invest hours in their job, not their passion or drive. Consider an employee who completes their job but is motivated by responsibility and a monthly salary instead of interest. A not-engaged employee will prefer to stay low and decline particularly demanding tasks. Not engaged employees: Perform the bare minimum to survive. Don't make recommendations for enhancing processes. Don't like change or growth. Will constantly criticize the organization or become uninterested. Are reluctant to go beyond their duties and responsibilities. Don't respect the company's goals and objectives. Prefer working alone and are not team players. 3. Actively Disengaged Actively disengaged employees are not just dissatisfied at work. They are also disappointed that their demands are not addressed by their workplace. These workers potentially undercut the efforts of their motivated peers every day. An actively disengaged employee wastes time criticizing other colleagues, ongoing projects, management, etc. They may wish to discontinue their tenure at the company. As a result, they may actively be looking for alternative career opportunities as well. Actively disengaged employees: Through their statements, make it obvious that they do not wish to work for the organization. Sabotage the efforts of their teams, management, colleagues, and the company. Claim credit for another person's work. Blame their lousy performance on a lack of resources. Are outspoken about the issues with the company. Spread damaging information about the company outside work. Are not receptive to learning or growing. Complain about the company's flaws instead of suggesting remedies. Are not team players. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity Culture) Download the Ebook Now What Factors Cause Decline in Employee Engagement? Lack of Confidence in Leadership Employee engagement is greatly influenced by the interactions between employees and their management. Psychologically absent leaders don't take the opportunity to get to know their employees. They fail to give adequate guidance and constructive criticism. Apart from not showing appreciation, they may also micromanage their teams. They struggle to develop strong ties with their teams and frequently claim credit for the achievements of their teammates. Excessive stress and poor morale can eventually cause employee disengagement. The three main factors that contribute to employee disengagement are: poor leadership, a lack of mentors, and a poor working relationship with superiors. Limited Growth Opportunities Career growth and opportunities are significant factors that influence whether an employee will continue with your organization. Therefore, you must give your employees the necessary training and learning opportunities for them to be more engaged in their jobs. Without the same, employees may struggle to understand how to progress in their professions. They may also be unable to place their line of work within the hierarchy of the organization. Employee disengagement could result from insufficient training and development (LD) initiatives. Poor Reward and Recognition Program If your employees are delivering their best work but do not gain recognition for their accomplishments, they may burn out and stop caring about their job. Poor, impersonal rewards and recognition programs will be ineffective and may potentially harm employee engagement. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download Now Disregard for Employee Well-being Employee engagement is heavily impacted by employee well-being. A motivated workforce is more likely to exist in companies that take a genuine interest in employee mental health. Workplace factors like stress, anxiety, and burnout should all be addressed by companies. Failure to do so may lead to employee disengagement. Discrepancies with Company's Values and Goals Companies choose to work with people who match their culture. Similarly, employees choose to work with companies that share their goals and beliefs. An individual prioritizing work-life balance will not work for an employer with unpredictable work hours. Employees that appreciate diversity, equity, and inclusiveness at work would like their company to embrace these values. Both employers and employees must share the same objectives for the company. Unsatisfactory Compensation and Incentives Another factor for employee disengagement is inadequate compensation and benefits. Financial stress is an important factor in employee disengagement at work. Employees don't feel motivated by their jobs if they're not paid enough for their time and effort. As a result, they are less likely to be engaged. They may find it challenging to partake in workplace activities when preoccupied with paying bills and providing for their family. How Do You Keep Employee Engagement High? Strengthen Communication and Relationships Disengaged employees may have great potential but frequently feel neglected. Therefore, management should balance communication with a greater concentration on what employees have to say. They should also urge them to express their concerns, so appropriate steps can be taken. You can encourage employees' sense of belonging and participation by actively offering them opportunities to interact with peers. Make sure to also look into other ways to help them establish closer ties at work. 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 Invest in Career Development Most employers say that their companies provide limited opportunities for growth and development. This leads to disgruntled employees and, eventually, disengagement at work. Work on an employee development and training strategy. This can help employees grow in their careers and learn new skills. According to a Udemy survey, learning and development opportunities can increase employee engagement at work by 80 Provide Recognition and Reward to Employees By expressing your gratitude for their efforts and contributions, you can re-engage your workforce. Employee engagement and motivation increase when they feel appreciated and rewarded for their efforts. You do not need to design an expensive reward and recognition program. A solution can be found in implementing employee recognition software where you can acknowledge your employees' hard work and make them feel valued with ease. Another way is simply thanking them, complimenting them in meetings, or honoring them as an employee of the month can make a positive impact. Seek Employee Feedback Asking questions will help companies understand what motivates employees and how employee engagement can be strengthened. You can learn how to improve employee engagement using employee engagement surveys, exit interviews, and online reviews of your company. Provide Flexibility Employees are increasingly choosing flexible and work-from-home options over conventional 9 to 5 jobs. To encourage your workforce, consider offering a flexible hours policy. You can also let employees work remotely, provided the nature of your firm supports it. This will be more effective than giving them annual incentives. Employees who have greater control over their schedules are more efficient, and happier, and work harder to achieve the company's goals. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now Review Pay and Benefits A lack of competitive perks or poor wages can make employees feel disrespected and disengaged. Use an HR payroll system to examine all aspects of employee remuneration. This includes incentives, bonuses, time off, and other benefits. Make sure to conduct an in-depth analysis of what you currently provide your employees. Employee disengagement affects countless companies globally. If not treated with extreme caution, it can be an epidemic in the workplace. Regardless of the reason for employee disengagement, it is the company's responsibility to initiate the process of re-engagement. When businesses understand the consequences of poor employee engagement, they are more likely to make incremental changes and implement initiatives that boost employee engagement. ​​There is no quick fix for increasing employee engagement in your organization. However, there are steps to identify probable reasons for disengagement. With the insight we've provided, you can accelerate progress toward increasing employee engagement by building relationships, knowledge programs, rewards, and recognition. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up

Employee engagement software is a platform wherein it helps HRs or employers to connect better with their employees and strengthen their business relationships. It is a cloud-based system wherein employers could get in touch with their employees through various means. Engaging with employees requires a strategical approach that requires dedication and hard work. In this guide, we will share 10 important employee engagement tools to improve the overall engagement level in your organization. Let’s get started. Top Employee Engagement Tools The following 10 tools and software are approved by HR professionals in order to increase or improve employee engagement in the organization: 1. LIKE.TG LIKE.TG is a software used by many HR professionals around the world as a tool to increase employee engagement in the organization. One of the greatest benefits of using LIKE.TG is that the users are more connected to their organization or company as well as with each other. It provides an automated onboarding process, personalized paid time-off for the team, helps you recognize employee potential, and more. LIKE.TG helps you create a successful onboarding experience for new employees with self-service capabilities. Usecases of LIKE.TG, a employee engagement platform: Promotes employee recognition and good work with a centralized newsfeed of a company Automate the employee onboarding process Gamify the employee rewards program Welcome employees with a personalized portals with important information and a welcome letter Boost collaboration between internal team members in your organization Also, one of the important ways to measure the employee engagement level in your organization is by conducting survey and taking feedbacks. Fortunately, the tool helps you perform survey and polls with a detailed analytics reports. Book your free LIKE.TG demo 2. Bonusly This is software that helps to make the recognition of employees more impactful by helping you connect with the employee’s core values and giving recognition to everyone’s contribution to the company. It also helps to build a stronger team and a scalable culture of recognition by empowering everyone. It helps greatly in boosting employee engagement by encouraging and motivating the employees. It also helps employers to listen and act according to the employee’ feedback with fun surveys. It also reduces friction by helping you implement an easy to manage system. Price: bonusly starts its pricing at $3 per month for each applicant. They also provide a free trial. 3. Empuls This tool is trusted by various big companies. The main reason that empuls is this recognized is because of their help in providing various strategies to implement in order to increase employee engagement. They provide a “social intranet” that helps the employees to connect with the organization through open and honest communication. And through surveys, empuls helps to measure employee sentiment and to seek honest feedback to make improvement in the strategies. Empuls also help in recognizing employees for collaboration among teams and for motivation to do better. 4. Nectar Nectar has been helping to power up the teams that deliver great Customer User Experiences for over 15 years. This platform helps to strengthen your brand and also in improving customer service. It is cost-effective and helps in increasing efficiency. It helps in monitoring and alerting the environment of your employees. Nectar also provides help in reporting and analytics. 5. Awardco It helps to create, manage and customize various recognition programs for employees. Awardco helps you create modern service awards and milestones for all your employees. It helps you create automated incentive programs to reward your employees. Awardco helps your come up with ideas to reward your employees with the most powerful network you could find. 6. Quizbreaker It helps you custom your own questions to acquire honest feedback from your employees. Quizbreaker helps to build or strengthen the relationship or connection with the people around you. It also provides you with various fun activities to know more about the employees. 7. TINYpulse It helps you get the right tool or formula for the success of your company. It helps employees with more opportunities and to provide honest feedback. TINYpulse helps you in getting the right data and tools you need to build a robust employee engagement strategy. It also helps you to act strategically upon the feedback in order to improve them. It helps in activating the full potential and core values of your employees. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now 8. Slack Slack helps you bring your teams together. It also provides your employees with various opportunities within the organization. It helps you move fast and think quicker with tools and strategies all in one place. Slack offers two types of plans, i.e; standard and plus. The standard plan costs $8 per person per month, or a few cents more than $80 per person annually. Plus plan costs $15 per user per month or $150 per person annually. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More 9. Monday.com This software or platform is trusted by various great companies all over the world. Monday.com helps you create visual boards to tailor your way to manage anything from projects to departments or teams. It helps in supporting your growth every step of the way. It helps you streamline your work for maximum productivity. Monday.com also helps to bring your teams together in order to drive the business impact. It also helps your team to stay on track to achieve or reach your goals faster. Monday.com starts its pricing at $8 per user per month to $16+. It also provides a free trial. 10. 15Five It provides an easy-to-use system for HRs to make their work much easier. 15five helps to turn engagement insights into engagement outcomes. It helps in quick communication and to track your employees. It helps to upskill managers, employers, or leaders to drive performance and engagement simultaneously. 11. Vantage Circle Employee recognition stands as the number one motivation for more productivity. Vantage circle helps in recognizing employees’ hard work and efforts to get more flexible at work. It also helps in celebrating great accomplishments with employees and expressing your gratitude towards them. Vantage circle also helps you develop digital rewards and various ideas and offers on that aspect. It provides real-time and fun recognition activities. It also helps in deep analysis. Vantage circle starts its pricing at $3 per month for each applicant or user. They also provide a free trial plan. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. Learn More Benefits of Using Employee Engagement Software Employee engagement: These employee engagement tools help in Improving overall employee engagement on a large scale. Employee engagement is as essential as expecting the employees to contribute to the growth of the company. Productivity: These employee engagement tools help in Improving employee productivity. Employee engagement is the key to the success of one’s company. Retention rate: The following software tools also help in Increasing the retention rate and the onboarding process or employee experience. It can be designed to the will of the employer in such a way that it will help the employee feel comfortable around the new environment. Teamwork: With the help of these employee engagement tools, employers can keep an eye on the teams which helps in Improving teamwork among colleagues. Stop Conflict Before it Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how! Feedback: These tools also Help employees give honest feedback and the freedom to provide honest opinions. When an employee provides honest reviews or feedback, you might get an idea of how your strategy/tool is working and how to improve that tool to a better strategy. Communication with peers and employer: The tools that you implement also help drastically in improving employer-employee communication. Employer-employee communication/interaction is very important since it helps in understanding each other and acting according to it. Employee satisfaction: implementing employee engagement tools helps in Increasing employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is very crucial. Without satisfying their work needs, you cannot expect them to produce an amazing work either. Emotional well-being: Providing the right tools and environment for your employees to work in helps Improve employees’ emotional well-being. According to human psychology, the color of the room also affects the mood of the employee whether in a good or a bad way. To learn more about the features and capabilities available in Workmates, download our ebook now. Download now Company culture: Implementing the right tools also shows what type of culture your company follows. And a good company culture always attracts more people to your company. Providing the right tools helps your company Improve work or office culture Employee recognition: This is a very important factor in employee engagement. And that is to recognize your employees for their work. Recognizing their effort is very essential, as it helps them in getting motivated to keep up the work or to make it better. This software Help in recognizing employees for their efforts. Conclusion The above ten amazing tools and software are recognized and approved by various HR professionals all over the world. These tools have worked and have been working for many organizations as a leading strategy for improving employee engagement. The exact method of these tools may or may not work for every company. So, improving and enhancing your strategic plans in improving employee engagement should be put into thought and implemented into action.

Are you looking for employee engagement case studies? Learn from some of the best companies out there that have successfully increased employee engagement. See how they did it and what worked for them. As more and more employers in today’s corporate world realize the importance of employee engagement, the demand for effective and result-oriented employee engagement programs is rising. The internet may present many employee engagement initiatives, but here’s something more: case studies to prove that certain employee engagement strategies are really effective. Follow our blog to learn more about employee satisfaction and ensure that your company is teeming with higher employee engagement initiatives. According to Johnson and Johnson “the degree to which employees are satisfied with their jobs, feel valued, and experience collaboration and trust. Engaged employees will stay with the company longer and continually find smarter, more effective ways to add value to the organization. The end result is a high-performing company where people are flourishing and productivity is increased and sustained.” Nokia Siemens describes employee engagement as “an emotional attachment to the organization, pride and a willingness to be an advocate of the organization, a rational understanding of the organization’s strategic goals, values, and how employees fit, and motivation and willingness to invest the discretionary effort to go above and beyond”. While we learn what employee engagement means and its importance, incorporating practical and effective employee engagement programs as part of company culture is the right recipe for success. Here are certain strategies for best employee engagement with case studies. 1. Acknowledgment and Appreciation The first and foremost step to boost employee engagement is making sure your employees are valued, acknowledged, and appreciated. This motivatesemployees to become more productive, stay on track with tasks, and perform well. This can be done in many ways and you need to choose an approach that your employees can relate with. While some enjoy public recognition, others don’t. Hence, you can work on innovative recognition ideas. According to a study, social workers in a company received personalized letters of recognition at their home addresses. The workers were chosen randomly and half of them received letters while the rest half didn’t receive any. The first half of the letter was chosen from a few positive motivational sayings and the second half of the letter had a personal note of appreciation written by managers. After a month of the letter experiment, the workers who received letters felt more recognized and appreciated for their efforts, compared to those who didn’t get any. This also had a positive effect on their motivation levels and well-being, according to the results of this study. 2. Emphasis on Employee’s Holistic Wellness There are many components of employee wellness like nutrition, work-life balance, mental health, and stress management, to name a few. A healthy employee will be more productive and employees who are mentally and physically healthy will exhibit positive motivation, and better morale and resulting in a win-win for both employers and employees. A wellness program can be a good way to start where employees get a chance to explore yoga, in addition to vacation days. A wellness room provides employees with a personal space for their personal needs. The indispensable role of wellness and an overall effective wellness strategy for an organization can be best understood based on a study that explored the objective of workplace wellness programs and their impact on employees health and medical expenses and so on. The study identifies certain key factors to boost wellness ideas in a corporate setup such as: Effective communication strategy Organizations that were part of this research emphasized the importance of how a wellness program is communicated to employees, both in-person and mass information campaigns, with messaging and clear interaction getting the highest priority. Accessibility of wellness programs Making wellness programs accessible for all employees is an effective strategy to boost the levels of employee engagement in their organization. Engaged leadership According to this study, for wellness programs to be successful, senior leadership should imbibe wellness as an integral and important part of the company culture. Effective use of existing resources Organizations leverage the existing resources and then build relationships, which also include health plans to provide employees with more options. Ongoing assessment Most companies agree that continuous assessments are required for employers to better understand their employee’s wellness needs. 3. Initiatives that are Development-Focused Ongoing development is key for every employee andthere are a few development-focused initiatives that you can adopt actively to help your employees gain professional growth like professional networking, master’s or even Ph.D. programs, industry seminars, training courses and conferences, internal promotions, mentoring groups, and career coaching. This study titled A Study on the Influence of Career Growth on Work Engagement among New Generation Employees involved six companies from diverse industries like consulting, finance, management, real estate, and so on. The findings of this study show that: Organizational identification (IO) is very important for engagement levels and career growth. Employee career growth positively impacts work engagement; Person-organization value is positively linked to career growth and organizational identification (IO). If employees recognize that they can make career progress in a company, they feel more attached and this increases employee loyalty, particularly for the new generation. It motivates them to put in the extra effort, improve performance, work on new skills, and so on. 4. Develop a Sense of Purpose, Values Mission A visible employee engagement program to achieve higher employee satisfaction levels requires employees to gain a sense of purpose, portray the company’s values and understand the mission. It is important to also understand what each of these attributes stands for. Purpose A company's purpose is the reason it exists in the first place. Purpose-driven companies are devoted to achieving goals that are bigger than just making money and increasing shareholder value. They also want to make a positive impact on the world around them and approach their work sustainably and ethically. In other words, they're committed to making a difference. Mission The mission of a company is similar but not identical to its purpose. Many people use the terms interchangeably, but we see the main difference as follows: the mission statement focuses on what the company has been built to achieve. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download Now Values Values are important because they act as a compass for the overall expectations of an organization - they guide how employees do their jobs, how managers communicate with clients and partners, and how workers interact with their peers. By understanding and sharing company values, employers can make better decisions that reflect the priorities of the business. According toa study by Deloitte, a company’s purpose and mission impact corporate confidence as well, as indicated by the results of this study. Nearly half of all executives (47%) say that they can identify with their company's purpose, while only 30% of employees feel the same way. A whopping 44% of executives believe that exemplary leadership involves setting an example that lives and breathes the company's purpose - but only 25% of employees share this belief. 41% of executives believe that a company's purpose plays a significant role in major corporate decisions, whereas only 28% of employees feel the same way. 38% of leaders claim that their company's purpose is communicated clearly and openly to all, but only 31% of employees actually think this is the case. Ultimately, teaching your employees about the company's purpose, mission, and vision takes time and patience. It's a gradual process, but when done correctly, it has numerous benefits for employers. Creating a sense of purpose for your employees allows you to see numerous benefits in the long run such as a more committed workforce and less employee turnover. 5. Maintain Transparent Communication Channels Many employees feel reluctant to share their concerns and opinions with their managers or peers, either due to a perception that their managers don’t pay much attention to them or maybe they tried earlier but no action was taken by the leadership. Encouraging employees to share their concerns with leaders has its own benefits. Practicing reflective listening helps managers to understand the message, through attentive communication. Making employees understand they are respected helps them to respect you back and this is an employee engagement strategy based on common sense. Acknowledging employee views is a way of recognizing a diverse range of ideas and respecting what they say, even though in the end you may still agree to disagree. Seeking employee’s input actively helps to boost job satisfaction levels. A research study analyzed communication between employers and employees and its impact on engagement levels. The findings supported the general definition of engagement as a sense of shared responsibility between both supervisors and employees, proving that establishing communication with your employees has a wide range of benefits and can work wonders for a company’s employee engagement levels. 6. Create Conducive Working Conditions While expecting high performance from employees by an organization is quite natural, it is also equally important to provide necessary conditions for employees to do their best, by supporting them in any way you can. You can encourage positive and healthy competition in the workplace, show zero tolerance for toxic behavior, maintain a clean and healthy workplace ambiance, and create supportive teams. One way to support your workforce is by encouraging them to focus on things that are already good in their lives. According to a consultant, Stephanie Pollack, a visible change is possible when employees are encouraged to know more about the benefits of gratitude and become aware of good things already existing in their lives. Showing gratitude has a plethora of benefits that range from reducing stress to making people feel better about themselves. It's important to build a culture of appreciation in your company so that employees feel comfortable expressing gratitude to one another and also feel appreciated in their jobs. This will not only lead to employees appreciating their jobs and coworkers more, but it will also help them appreciate themselves on a whole new level. Creating a grateful environment takes time, but it's worth it to see the positive transformation it can have on your organization as a whole. “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 7. Create Space for Fun Happiness Workers who are content with their jobs are more likely to be motivated, productive, and engaged than those who are unhappy with their work. And happiness usually comes with having fun. However, this doesn't mean that employees should neglect their tasks or ignore deadlines. Learning how to balance work and play is key to being successful in both areas. Employees should get the chance to do fun stuff to uplift their moods and refresh their minds and thoughts. This will make them more productive while handling their daily tasks. This can be in the form of having lunch together, organizing joke sessions, quizzes, celebrating employee milestones and birthdays, hosting parties, sports activities, recreational outings, and so on. According to a study “Finding Fun in Work: The Effect of Workplace Fun on Taking Charge and Job Engagement”, having fun in the workplace motivates employees in a positive way improving their job satisfaction levels, productivity, commitment, energy, and creativity. It also helps to reduce anxiety, turnover, stress, and absenteeism. Conclusion There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improvingemployee engagement in the workplace. You can employ one or more of these strategies based on case studies and see what works best for you and your workforce. Creating a nurturing and fun-filled productive place can make a great difference for your company and its growth in the years to come. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up

Working remotely is growing in popularity as it becomes easier and more affordable to set up a completely functional workplace at home or on the go. How can HR maintain communication with a remote workforce? The correct remote workspace is even more crucial for productivity, worker safety, and well-being. Whether it comes to construction, safety, or transportation, it is essential. A competent HR team may take actions to assure your team's success as you plan for remote teams or remote working arrangements. 12 Tips on How HR Can Support Remote Employees Want to know how you can support remote employees? Read below: Create Expectations Changes are inevitable when a new method of operation is adopted. Uncertainty about the new procedures, communication methods, and employee deliverable expectations causes discomfort. You can outline these expectations with HR manager and department heads as an HR representative. Make documentation and provide information about how to discuss routine meetings, output from work, deadlines, etc. You may encourage practical work by establishing expectations and conveying them to others. To learn even more about managing remote teams and keeping employees working at home highly engaged, download our ebook now. Download now The rapidity of Response is Crucial Regular communication keeps remote workers informed and demonstrates your respect for their time and attention. It illustrates the importance of giving your remote staff the deadlines and objectives. As a remote worker, it frequently rests on the individual to establish the ideal working environment. They are, therefore, in charge of maintaining contact. Keeping your reaction times brief will make it simpler for your staff to keep you informed. Remote project management can be complex at start. Experiential learning and improvement are possible. Observe Payroll Rules Depending on where they reside, remote employees may be subject to different payroll laws. To avoid fines and penalties, adhering to payroll requirements is imperative. Make sure the needs of those who work from home are met. Monitor their performance and maintain contact with them. The executive board must operate shrewdly and methodically. Regulators may monitor variations in the minimum wage, tax withholding, and workers' compensation. Use of New Tools and Technology Using new tools and technologies will be one of the most significant changes in remote working. Using an online HR platform may simplify tasks like PTO requests and perks. Programs and tools that aid in the performance of their duties must be available to employees. This can involve software for developing, managing and creating content, and more. Video conferencing is also an effective technique for staying engaged. The firm and personnel who handle contracts with customers and suppliers might benefit from legal documentation tools and e-signatures. Including security and data privacy protections and the appropriate technologies is critical. As more work is done online, this safeguards the company's assets and guarantees the privacy of your employees' information. Provide Comfort and Satisfaction to Employees Regularly creating engagement is a necessary action where you can make a big difference. Making events and activities that bring your team together and encourage interaction is enjoyable and good for your well-being. Slack talks with a theme and questions to better understand one another are entertaining ways to interact online. You are likely to get intriguing answers when you ask questions about food preferences or anything else. Hold online gatherings to foster communication. If you do, make sure to buy RDP online for online communication to provide utmost safety and effective networking environment. This year, instead of our usual retreat, we held a day-long online retreat with games, tests, and other activities. Birthdays and work anniversaries should be quietly observed. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now Ask for Opinions There will be difficulties and disruptions in these times of transformation. People may have trouble communicating with one another or using particular instruments. Some workers may experience disengagement and disinterest. It could impair productivity or cause other problems. It won't be easy, but you can make it easier by listening. This entails frequently soliciting feedback and providing a forum for discussion. And also, it entails paying attention to what others say. Encourage your staff to keep sending in comments using a survey or a submission form on an internal page. Feedback can also be gathered via casual discussions and online meetings. Provide Cooperative Environment Provide a shared record that monitors work activities. Even when teams are in the office, it's a useful exercise that will aid managers greatly. It helps in clarifying what exactly is expected of workers during this uncertain time. The use of apps for remote working can be beneficial. Also, come to agreements on what constitutes appropriate virtual teamwork conduct. Provide HR Self-Service Additional platforms provide quick ways to submit expenses and request time off. Employees who work outside the office frequently have less access to HR. It includes informal communication channels like strolling up to the HR department and asking a quick inquiry. HR may address this by providing self-service portals so workers can complete more tasks independently, such as locating solutions to frequently asked queries. The time it takes an employee to access their payroll and benefit information can be reduced with the use of self-service HR solutions. Stay Flexible in New Situations The HR manager needs to be receptive to change and willing to listen. This will enable the group to continue producing work while operating remotely. Understanding is improved by putting new digital solutions into practice and communicating frequently. Doing this lets you learn about the significant life events that affect your staff members and recognize their achievements. For effective employee engagement, monitoring and acknowledging internal shifts among the workforce is essential. In this manner, the HR manager can progressively implement new regulations that consider remote workers' requirements. Elaborating Communication Guidelines Face-to-face communication is no longer safe, so it's crucial to establish efficient communication channels and cultivate a high level of response. By implementing a multichannel communication protocol, you and the staff will have more options for communication and information gathering. Keep all business-related and formal contact emails alone. People don't have to reply in these circumstances. Invest in a live video conferencing system like Zoom or a complete system like Microsoft Teams. Set a deadline for email responses and commit to responding promptly. Establish Appropriate Benchmarks Since performance evaluations can be subjective, it's crucial to collaborate with your hiring managers to establish the criteria for success. It can be challenging to determine what tasks staff work on during the day. Good outcomes occasionally go unreported. It's much more difficult for people working from home to receive praise for their efforts. The team is split between office-based employees and remote workers. The performance of all employees within the firm must be best captured. Thus, HR must develop clear and appropriate benchmarks. Equip Teams with the Necessary Tools One component of the equation is offering the appropriate technology. If possible, provide your distant personnel with a tablet or smartphone to stay in touch. It's not just about technology. In most cases, the remote worker is in charge of setting up their workspace in an ergonomically ideal way for productivity. However, HR and head office can discover ways to simplify that. The accurate GPS and management tools can assist keep your team safe while on the road if your employees work remotely because they must travel for the firm. Conclusion As an HR, you have enormous responsibility to keep the remote workers engaged. Make sure to facilitate them with tools and updated information. The above-given tips will help you work efficiently. About Author: Emily Johnson is a reputable member of the perfect essay writing team. She writes informative content with extensive research and analysis. Her passion for work and positivity are a source of inspiration for all.

It is well known that employees are the most important part of an organization. If an organization is about to fall, it’s the employees who will play the role of the soldiers and prevent the company from crumbling. But all of these are only possible if they have positive morale towards the organization. As per Gallup’s survey, around 51% of workers are completely unattached to their work due to reasons like no job satisfaction, toxic work culture, lack of recognition, etc. All of the said reasons are linked with employee morale, which we are going to discuss in this article. You will understand the benefits of positive morale and different ways to boost employee morale. Let’s get started. What is Employee Morale? Simply put, employee morale is the overall outlook and satisfaction that an employee gets while working with an organization. If an employee is not satisfied with their job description, company culture, or anything related to professional life, it will reflect on their work. Benefits of Positive Employee Morale Employee morale is directly proportional to various things, like productivity, creativity, engagement, etc. When tweaked the right way, positive morale can bring a lot of things to the table. Here are some benefits you can get if your organization fosters positive employee morale - Increase in Productivity One of the major benefits that high morale can give is an increase in productivity. When employees realize that the organization cares for them and that their roles and work are justified with that by the company’s vision, it gives them satisfaction and an urge to work harder. As a result, the employee engagement rate increases, further improving the team's productivity. High Retention Most employees are looking for a company change as soon as they join an organization. Why? That’s because they do not feel aligned with the company’s work culture or values. But, if the company has a good environment to work in, they will tend to stay. In addition, positive morale leads to higher retention rates that further prevent the need to spend money on hiring new employees. Decrease in Absenteeism When employees are demotivated or dissatisfied with their work profile, they are most likely to take leaves and bring in excuses. Such absenteeism can suffer a company’s growth, and only good morale can remove it. Conversely, employees who are highly motivated and satisfied with the company will take leave only when needed and complete their tasks on time. Higher Motivation As stated before, morale is directly related to motivation and creativity. A highly motivated team will surely think of out-of-the-box ideas and methods to solve issues. Besides, if the company is falling, they will be there to prevent the fall. Stop Conflict Before it Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how! 7 Effective Ways to Boost Employee Morale Employees can either break or make the company. So, it’s up to the higher authorities how to treat them and get the results accordingly. So, here are the seven most effective tips that will help you improve employee morale in your organization. 1. Maintain Transparency Build Trust It’s difficult to create a completely transparent environment suddenly, but you can start with small steps. For example, if there are problems in the office, let your employees know about them. Maybe they might have a good solution to the problem that will help you out. Besides, when you enable transparency, it helps in building the bridge to cover the employee-employer gap. On the other hand, when you try to hide issues or news from your staff members when their morale is low, you are adding more damage to the lot. Doing so will break their trust. So, it’s better to remain as transparent as possible and let your staff members know about all the good and bad about the company. It will help uplift their morale. 2. Improve Internal Communication Employee loyalty and commitment to the organization may suffer when there is a communication gap between employees and management. Therefore, there must be clear and open communication, not only amongst employees but also between employees and management. Many organizations have also started adopting a bottom-up approach for internal communication where ideas and perceptions of employees are taken into account to make the most informed business decisions. Nowadays, technology is playing a big role in communication. Different communication channels have evolved like intranets, emails, voice calls, video calls, and a bunch of social platforms that make internal communication even more seamless. We’ll discuss more on technology later in this article. 3. Recognize Appreciate Employees A lot has been said about employee recognition programs and methods, but none of them are fruitful if you do not implement them. Even if you cannot provide a full-fledged program for appreciating your people, the least you can do is write a personal note to them stating how their hard work has brought results. Small gestures of appreciation like a pat on the back, a note of “keep up the good work,” or a note in the monthly newsletter can do wonders. It gives them a sense of belongingness and motivates them to work harder. Employee morale is all about how satisfied an employee is with their work, and proper appreciation helps them to know whether their work is helping the organization or not. 4. Empower Employees with the Right Technology Yes, technology can help improve morale if you use it correctly. Try providing software and tools to help your employees organize their work, communicate effectively, and collaborate with colleagues. Here are examples of a few such tools - Employee Engagement Platforms - We know how important employee engagement is to retain them. Proper employee engagement platforms where they can directly contact anyone in the company for guidance can do wonders to their morale. It gives off the feeling of transparent communication and removes the hierarchy rule as well. Platforms like LIKE.TG exactly do that. Project Management Platforms - All-in-one project management applications help employees organize their work, manage tasks effectively, and deliver projects on time without delays. These tools help them finish their work on time ultimately increasing their productivity and morale. Tools like SmartTask help you exactly achieve that. Communication Video Conferencing Platforms - We know how important internal communication is in the corporate sector. After the pandemic, keeping up with communication has been difficult during remote work. But, with tools like Slack and Zoom, you can remove the communication barrier with your remote employees and help them in their tasks, assign them new activities and conduct video meetings. Document Management File-Sharing Platforms - Tools like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are great examples of document collaboration and sharing. Everyone can work on the same files without any hassles. A clean workspace prevents employees from stressing out and improves their morale. 5. Offer Learning Growth Opportunities In the corporate world, employees should always have a learning attitude if they want to grow. On top of that, companies should also help them to adopt new techniques and skills. The new generation is looking for organizations where they can learn new things and have consistent growth. By providing courses for learning new skills related to the employee’s field of work, you can help them grow professionally. But how can these courses help you improve morale? By providing them with proper courses, paying off their tuition fees, or sponsoring their higher studies, you are helping them grow without financial problems. The gesture alone makes them feel grateful and loyal to the organization. Besides, they get a positive morale boost to implement their new skills for the company's betterment. 6. Ask Employee Feedback There’s not a single company that doesn’t ask for employees' surveys, but only some of them implement the suggestions and improve their shortcomings from the feedback. When employees feel you are listening, it helps them open up and openly tell you the problems they face. Once you start acting on the suggestions and the problems are resolved, it makes your employees feel heard and improves their work morale as well. When a manager solves an employee's problem, it gives the letter a sense of gratefulness that further takes the shape of positive morale. And, we know how helpful positive morale can be. Moreover, feedback helps the management team and higher authorities grow as per the changing market. So, it’s a win-win for both employers and workers. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now 7. Perform Team Building Activities Team building activities help a lot in instilling a good work culture with a collaborative mindset. When employees are made to work with each other in a fun environment, they get to know their colleagues, and the professional bond gets stronger. Companies can organize many team-building activities, like trekking, treasure hunt, and other adventurous games. Besides, you can also let the employees put in their choices, and you can randomly select one for the day. Team building activities remove the feeling of loneliness in the office and make way for transparent communication. Besides, employers understand their employees and know whom they can rely on for help with difficult tasks. All of these things improve employee morale in the organization and foster a good work culture with no toxicity. Conclusion Positive employee morale begins with a positive work culture. When you foster a good work environment, have transparency in the company and trust your employees, you are giving them a morale boost. Workers with a good morale boost will remain loyal to the organization and help to recover the losses during any falls. No matter how big an organization is, the company's growth suffers if the employees are unhappy. That’s why the management and HR team must maintain positive morale within the organization

In many ways, remote working is the future. Remote work opens up a world of endless possibilities for flexible work, especially for people often excluded in the traditional workplace. However, it does open remote workers to risks that must be managed to protect yourself and your company's data. According to Gallup's 2017 State of the American Workplace report, 43% of American employees tried working remotely in 2016. Up from 39% in 2012, experts expect the remote working trend to continue, with more than half of all employees having a remote jobby 2025. There are several reasons why companies are starting to focus more on hiring remote workers. With remote working, employees can save time, effort, and costs from traveling to and from the office. In addition, remote working makes working more accessible for those who typically struggle to work in traditional office environments, such as people with disabilities and single parents. However, while there are many benefits to working remotely, there are also security risks that employees should know and manage. Here's why it matters. Why good security practices matter for remote workers In 2017, Symantec reported that nearly a quarter of organizations had experienced increased attacks targeting remote workers. One of the reasons for this is that remote workers often use their own devices, which may not be as secure as devices issued specifically by companies. Additionally, they may not have the same level of access to security resources as on-site employees. According to the 2019 Cost of a Data Breach Report from Ponemon Institute, the average total cost of data breaches is $3.9 million. With this, it’s no wonder that companies are starting to realize how preventing security issues is always better than dealing with its poor aftermath, especially those which have embraced remote work. This article will discuss the best remote work security practices to protect your and your company's data. Invest in a virtual private network (VPN) One of the essential security practices for remote workers is to use a virtual private network (VPN), a secure connection that encrypts data and routes it through a secure server. Although VPN can't completely prevent hackers from accessing your device, it can help discourage anyone from intercepting your data. While some employers provide their employees with a VPN service, many free and paid options are also available. To learn even more about managing remote teams and keeping employees working at home highly engaged, download our ebook now. Download now Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) Another important security practice is to use two-factor authentication (also known as two-step verification). 2FA is an extra layer of security that requires you to enter a code in addition to your password when logging into accounts. With 2FA, codes are sent to your phone or email or generated by an app such as Google Authenticator. With two-factor authentication, you can protect your accounts even if your password is compromised. Avoid unsafe network connections Employees working remotely should also be aware of public Wi-Fi risks, often unsecured and unprotected. However, hackers can also still intercept your data using supposedly safe and password-protected Wi-Fi, such as hotels or cafés. If possible, it's preferable to bring your Wi-Fi stick or use your phone mobile hotspot instead of networks owned by other people. With this, you significantly reduce your risk of hackers infiltrating your device. Be wary of social media While everyone seems to be on social media, it's important to remind employees that anything you post on social media is public information. Generally, it's best to be mindful of webcam protection and be careful about posting sensitive information that could reveal company documents, private meeting rooms, etc. Aside from this, it's best to avoid posting your precise location, especially when you're on holiday, which can inform thieves that you're not at home. With this, they are more likely to target your house for theft. Create strong passwords Hackers commonly gain access to accounts is by guessing or brute-forcing passwords. To avoid the risks of weak passwords, here are some tips on how to create strong passwords: Use passwords at least eight characters long. Combine uppercase and lowercase letters. Add numbers and special characters. Don’t use obvious passwords, like your name, birthday, or pet’s name. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. Alternatively, you can invest in password managers to quickly generate and keep strong passwords for all your online accounts. Lastly, it's best to never share your passwords, even with those you love. Keep software updated Among the variety of ways hackers typically gain systems access, outdated operating systems is one of the most common. In numerous instances, hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in devices to access your device, which may include company information. Aside from investing in antivirus protection, updating your software can help protect yourself and your company from known vulnerabilities. Thankfully, many software programs have automatic update features that can help make this process easier. Regularly back up data While it's crucial to purge files from your device regularly, it's also essential to ensure you don't lose the important ones. By backing up your data, you can protect yourself even if your device is lost or stolen. In addition, if you ever become a victim of ransomware, backup data helps make sure your company isn’t inconvenienced during the investigation. In general, there are two main ways to backup data: hardware and software. For example, you can use a USB, external hard drive, or cloud storage service for your important files and documents. Although there are many options to backup your data, the most effective one will always be the method you can commit to regularly doing. With this, it's best to choose a backup plan that is right for you and your lifestyle. Does Your Work Style Align With Your Zodiac Sign? Take our workplace Zodiac quiz to find out! ♉♊♌♍♐ Start the Quiz! hbspt.cta.load(549864, '492bccaa-9525-47dc-bc17-031d3b6ddfc8', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Conduct regular virus scans Since remote teams often use their own personal devices, it's important to remind them to scan their machines for viruses regularly. While it’s not always possible to monitor your device 24 hours a day, there are plenty of apps which have breach notification features. Viruses can sometimes slip through the cracks, primarily if you work in public areas and use Wi-Fi in hotels or coffee shops. If possible, it's best to invest in apps that you can use to scan your device on-demand or do it automatically. Be careful what you install When working remotely, you must be careful about the applications and programs you install on your devices. Hackers often develop apps that look similar to legitimate apps to avoid. Here are some ways to avoid downloading questionable apps on your device: Download apps from the App Store, Google Play, or other trusted platforms. Avoid purchasing activation codes from third-party sellers. Read the app permissions carefully. These ads, apps tend to ask for access to your contacts, location, and other personal information, even if they're not necessary for the features you need. Aside from being careful what you install, it's best to only grant permission to apps you trust that need the information. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity Culture) Download the Ebook Now Watch out for phishing scams These days, companies should also train employees on how to spot phishing emails. Phishing is a type of online scam where criminals send emails that appear to be from a legitimate source. However, these emails are used to trick people into giving them personal information or money. While these emails can look very convincing, there are usually some red flags that you can identify. Here are some of them: Typos or grammatical errors Words with wrong spelling Suspicious attachments or links If you receive a suspicious looking email, do not open it or click on any links. Instead, report it to your IT department for threat management. Afterward, you can proceed to delete the email and block the user. Protect your device from theft Because remote working lets you work from home or anywhere with a stable internet connection, many remote workers tend to go to places like coffee shops or co-working spaces. However, these places can also invite enterprising thieves looking to make a quick buck. Even when you're not using your devices in a public place, it's essential to keep them with you. Avoid leaving your laptop, mobile phone, or tablet when you use the restroom or buy a drink. If you must go and leave your device in a public place, lock it up, hide it from view, or ask a friend to watch it for you. HR mistakes impact your entire organization. Learn how to avoid the 12 most common mistakes with our free ebook. Download now Conclusion When it comes to staying safe while working remotely, it is best to approach internet security holistically, all days a week. Aside from increasing remote work productivity, it's also essential to know how you can keep yourself safe from hackers and other bad actors. Although no method can guarantee to prevent all security threats, taking multiple precautions can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a cyberattack victim. Using Workmates by LIKE.TG, you can help engage your employees with regular tips on how to protect themselves while they're working remotely. 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. Stop Conflict Before it Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how!

The majority of employers consider the onboarding process necessary, but many of them don’t seem to adequately prepare individual employees for a new position. Gallup found that only 12% of organizations do a great job of onboarding recent hires, and they often suffer as a result. Research by Brandon Hall Group showed that organizations with a strong onboarding schedule improve productivity by 70% and new hire retention by 82%. When an employee is faced with a weak onboarding process, they’re more likely to lose confidence and quit within the first year. But a generic process can be just as destructive as a poor or unstructured one. If individual employees are trained similarly to their peers, even if it’s for the same position, it could lead to inconsistencies in performance and knowledge. That’s because your employees aren’t alike. The best employee onboarding examples have a few things in common: a diversity-first workplace, a longer or fully online onboarding process, and a customized onboarding schedule. However, personalization isn’t just about putting a person's name in an email. It’s about understanding each individual’s needs to help them reach their goals. Fortunately, creating a customized onboarding process is easier and cheaper than ever before, thanks to technology. Why is an Individual Employee Onboarding Process Important? Great onboarding leads to lower turnover, an authentic work culture, and better engagement, but any good onboarding process can do that. Why is a custom process necessary? Employers Should Foster Unique Skill Sets Instead of Stifling Them Modern employees look for employers that champion diversity, but diversity goes beyond what a person looks like. It’s unlikely a born-and-raised Nigerian woman is going to have the same experiences as an American man. Listening to new perspectives and thoughts is beneficial, and not just for business reasons. With new ideas, humanity, in general, can grow and succeed. However, if an employee is taught to keep their options to themselves, directly or indirectly, it prevents their personal growth and the potential growth of the company. Your employees won’t be able to lead a project if they can’t vocalize or beat the competition in your industry. The onboarding process sets the tone for your employee's experience. It’s vital to encourage new hires to ask for help or give their opinion. Otherwise, they may feel it isn’t wanted. Now, their special skill set, whatever that may be, will stay unknown to the rest of your team. Instead, ask the right questions to find the right candidate during the interview stage and affirm that their skills are needed during onboarding. Be clear that they can express themselves. This guide was designed to help you navigate through those difficult tasks and help determine the right software for your organization, download our ebook now. Download now Employees Respect Employers Who See Them as Individuals Every single person, no matter how alike they may seem at first, is a unique individual with their own thoughts, feelings, and preferences. When individuals are treated as a collective, they often feel less important, but that doesn’t necessarily make our staff selfish, narcissistic, or hard to work with. What this does mean is we value those who treat us as individuals rather than as part of the group. This is reflected in everyday life. If we group people and judge them based on what we assume they’ll be like, it causes unnecessary arguments, undue prejudice, and potential harm. But If you listened instead of assuming, you’d be able to respond to what they actually believe and what motivated the individual to think this way. In the end, you’re showing that you respect them and their opinion, and respect is often rewarded with loyalty and kindness in return. If you want to keep someone engaged in the onboarding process, you have to offer the same respect to your individual employees. Employers should prove to their employees that they made a great choice choosing their company. Individual Employees Don’t Learn at the Same Rate HR professionals agree that most onboarding processes should take three months, but two-thirds of hiring managers spend less than a month onboarding new employees. A short onboarding process leads to lower productivity, a toxic environment, and poor relationships. While it makes sense why employers would want their new employees to learn a task as quickly as possible, it actually causes a lot of stress for you and your workplace. For example: A rushed employee is more likely to make mistakes or not read the material properly. Someone who is unprepared or unable to perform adequately may feel like they aren’t meant for the job they occupy. In the end, they may develop imposter syndrome or quit. If employees are confused and discouraged from asking for help, they may pretend they know how to complete a task. This may cause them to make more mistakes or ask their coworkers for help, which makes them appear incompetent when they aren’t. An employee who falls behind needs help, not a threat. If an employee is left to fend for themselves, they’ll feel their employer doesn’t care about their personal wellbeing. Onboarding processes should be slow and calculated. If you push too much too soon, you’re more likely to overwhelm new employees, which leads to negative results. A self-paced onboarding schedule that works with an individual's abilities and work style will enable a new hire to find their place sooner. “As soon as we saw LIKE.TG’s Onboard demo, we knew this was the perfect solution for us. We loved that it was extremely simple and powerful out of the box, but that we could customize it with advanced capabilities to make it work in our company setting.” Elisa Garn Vice President, HR and Talent Christopherson Business Travel Learn More How to Customize and Personalize Your Onboarding Process Personalization works, whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise. However, you need to apply specific onboarding techniques to keep individual employees engaged. 1. Use Data and Tags Throughout the Onboarding Experience If you use onboarding software (and if you don’t, you should), you know that you can create sign-up forms that include the user's information, such as name, email, and job title. Using tags, you can insert this information on the program’s welcome page and throughout modules. When your employees are greeted by name on the dashboard, they’ll feel like your training programs were designed especially for them. However, personalization may not be enough, as person-to-person customization won’t prepare you for future hires or new training programs. Using data, you can populate information and training preferences based on a person’s current role, where they’re located, industry, company, and team. With this data, you can tailor and simplify the onboarding experience for new and current employees transitioning into new roles. 2. Segment Individual Employees Based on Their Personality Most personality tests aren’t accurate, but the DiSC assessment seems to match employees to the correct personality type 90% of the time. You can use the DiSC test to assess how a person manages conflict or takes direction, which is very important during a training session. For example, a Dominate (“D” in DiSC) person will feel comfortable asking questions, while a Steady (“S” in DiSC) may be afraid to ask a question out of fear they’ll upset you or the recruiter. Or, you could ask how they prefer to be managed, but a direct question could intimidate new employees. With DiSC, there aren’t any wrong answers or incompatible personality types. DiSC is great at providing non-judgmental information you can use to train more effectively. 3. Further Segment Employees By Their Motivations and Goals We all have career goals, and many of them are shared with our peers. Even so, that may not mean you and your coworkers are in a similar position. In fact, your peers may be much closer to the finish line than you, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never succeed at your goal. It just means you need to take more steps to get there, and any onboarding program you’re a part of should be aware of your unique starting position. With this knowledge, your recruiters can help you succeed. If you’re the recruiter, use this knowledge to shorten or lengthen training. For example, if your software engineer doesn’t know how to use one of the three programs they need, spend more time training in that one program. Then, provide them with a brief overview of the other two programs. Not only does this prevent boredom, but it also decreases downtime. 4. Communicate Using Personalized Emails and Messages Individual employees may receive the same generic welcome email during the initial stages of the onboarding process, which can feel a little lazy. With all the data you’ve gathered, you should be able to offer personalized suggestions for their next steps or hold a conversation. Here’s a few ways you can personalize email or message communication: Show them what the next three months will look like with a schedule Introduce them to their mentor if you’re using a mentorship program Encourage them to take full advantage of their benefits and perks Schedule an end-of-week meeting with their supervisor or mentor Talk about something you have in common to show you’re listening Building rapport with your employees is just as important as getting to know your clients. You’re putting your trust in them to help run your company, and it’ll only benefit you to truly know them. 5. Meet Your New Employees Face-to-Face (or Through Video) Face-to-face communication, whether it’s done in person or through a screen, can help you build stronger connections with your team. It’s easier and quicker to problem solve when you’re speaking to someone in real-time, making Zoom or in-person training sessions more effective. As another positive, in-person conversations are easier to personalize and can help potential hires feel like they’re having a casual meeting. While you should follow a loose script for consistency, make parts of the training more casual to encourage your employees to talk. If time zone differences are preventing you from chatting live, record product demos or training modules that use the trainee's name. Use data to create the best video for their needs. Author Bio 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. This guide was designed to help you navigate through those difficult tasks and help determine the right software for your organization, download our ebook now. Download now

Employee engagement refers to the connection or relationship that employees have with an organization. Low employee engagement can result in low productivity and lower revenue. It also results in lower employee satisfaction. Employee engagement is crucial for an improved employee experience, a productive workforce, low employee turnover rates, and overall employee well-being. That's why organizations are beginning to pay more attention to employee engagement levels. One way to monitor employee engagement is by tracking several metrics. This article will cover seven employee engagement metrics you should track at your organization. Let’s dive in: 1. Productivity and Workload Balance Productivity and workload balance are some of the most important employee engagement metrics to monitor. There is a strong relationship between employee engagement and productivity. The percentage of employees that can deliver output consistently and efficiently needs to be measured. This can show you how engaged your team members are. You can measure employee productivity in different ways, depending on the type of business and goals. For example, you can measure productivity by the objectives reached or profit. You can also use quantitative measurements, like how many calls or products an employee processes in a week or month. Engaged employees can offer higher levels of productivity than disengaged employees. Apart from productivity, the workload balance is another metric that can show the levels of employee engagement. One of the things that can affect employee satisfaction negatively is overwork. According to a study, 77% of employees have experienced burnout at least once in their current jobs. Team members who are overworked or at risk of being overloaded are likely to have less job satisfaction. The workload data offers insight into work distribution. It should identify overworked employees and those who do minimal work. Also, the work-life balance should be kept in check. There should be a healthy balance between the personal and professional lives of the employees in your organization. When there is a disruption, it could affect employee engagement and retention. 2. Employee Health Index The employee health index is another factor to consider when measuring the employee engagement rate in your organization. The employee health index evaluates fatigue, burnout, and the physical and mental health of the current employees in an organization. The general well-being of individual employees is critical to having an engaged workforce. This is why it is crucial to have frequent check-ins to measure the well-being of your employees. An assessment will point out the gaps between employee well-being and the efforts taken by the organization to support it. For example, investing in virtual assistants may help to reduce the workload of overworked employees. Automation tools can also reduce workload and boost employee health index. Ask work-related and non-work-related questions to ensure each employee receives the support needed to be productive at work. Employee surveys can help identify the percentage of employees facing high stress and anxiety at work. Questions such as “Are you comfortable with the number of tasks assigned per day?” or “How would you rate the workload assigned to your team?” can be helpful here. Check out the top reasons for burnout at the workplace in the image below. What does it mean if more of your employees are reporting these issues? Well, chances are you have a poor employee health index. That could also mean you’re about to have a disengaged workforce. Something needs to be rectified. You should measure how satisfied your employees are with the workload and their general well-being at the workplace. Your organization can formulate an action plan based on employee feedback. You can provide resources such as wellness programs to create a happier workplace. Improving overall employee health and welfare is vital in changing workplace culture. 3. Rewards and Recognition This is another factor for monitoring the employee engagement rate at your organization. You must track if your employees are adequately rewarded. Aso, if they feel acknowledged for their work. Employee recognition results in improved employee engagement. Confirm if there are effective employee recognition programs in place. This is even more critical for employees who have gone the extra mile and have contributed to meeting company goals. Workplace recognition will also help to track productivity and the percentage of engaged employees in your organization. Employees who feel adequately compensated for their efforts will be motivated to put in extra effort in the future. Employees who are frequently recognized for their efforts will also feel valued by the organization. The markers of employee recognition include retention rate, employee loyalty, and motivation. To track this, hand out questionnaires to individual employees. Ask them how satisfied they are with the existing employee recognition system. You can also ask them whether they found the recognition or rewards valuable. You can also ask them if they think they get recognized frequently enough. A positive score will indicate that your employees are happy with the level of workplace recognition. The results may also show how your employees would prefer to be recognized and how often they would like to be recognized. You can improve your rewards and employee recognition programs based on those results. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity Culture) Download the Ebook Now 4. Employee NPS NPS refers to Net Promoter Score. This metric is widely used across different organizations to track the levels of employee engagement. Employees with a high NPS score are generally considered engaged. NPS is often measured through employee engagement surveys. Employees are asked questions like “On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or company?” You can then categorize the responses into promoters, passives, and detractors. Promoters refer to employees who indicate that they are satisfied with the organization and are very likely to recommend the company. For example, on a scale of 1-10, employees who select 9 or 10 are promoters. Promoters are engaged employees. Passives refer to employees who are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the company. While they are not likely to recommend the company to a friend, they also won’t discredit the company. On a scale of 1-10, scores between 7 and 8 are passives. Here’s a Net Promoter Sample from Contact Monkey: On the other hand, detractors are employees who are unsatisfied or unhappy with the company. Employees who give scores below 6 have poor employee satisfaction. The NPS can be calculated using this formula: Employee Net Promoter Score = (Promoters – Detractors) / Total respondents. An NPS score above 50 is excellent. Tracking the NPS also allows you to follow up and find out why certain employees are unsatisfied. Through feedback, companies can devise methods to increase their employees' satisfaction levels. 5. Performance Review Performance review is another employee engagement metric to track at your organization. Successful organizations are filled with highly engaged employees who perform their jobs well. Tracking performance reviews can give more insight into the level of employee satisfaction. Generally, performance metrics can be divided into four categories: Work quality metrics: This includes results such as NPS, number of errors, and general feedback. Work quantity metrics: This includes results such as the number of units produced. It could also be the number of conversions or sales. Work efficiency metrics: This balances the work quality and quantity metrics to measure efficiency. Progress tracking software, for example, can be used to track work efficiency. Organizational performance metrics: This includes project results, revenue per employee, and the return on investment (ROI) on human capital. Timely performance reviews will benefit both the employees and the organization. When you track how well employees perform, as well as the organizational performance metrics, it can help measure employee engagement. Check out this performance review template from Indeed.com: When employee engagement improves, it is likely to reflect on performance. Bad performance reviews may indicate employee disengagement. 6. Employee Retention Rate Employee retention rate refers to an organization's ability to retain its employees over a period. The retention rate can be used in measuring employee engagement levels. Disengaged employees are more likely to leave the company for a better organization. A good retention rate benefits the company by reducing onboarding and training costs for new hires. In addition, when valuable employees leave an organization, it reflects on the productivity and sustainability of the workplace. A good retention rate means having long-term employees who are familiar with the internal processes and company values and goals. Employee retention rate can be calculated using this formula: Employee retention rate = (Total number of employees – Total number of employees who left) / Total number of employees x 100. Tracking the retention rate helps you know how to work on issues that can lead to employee turnover. The retention rate varies by industry and sector. However, every organization should strive to retain valuable employees for as long as possible. Generally, a retention rate of 90% is excellent for most companies. Listening to employee feedback makes it possible to improve employee engagement and retain engaged employees. Does Your Work Style Align With Your Zodiac Sign? Take our workplace Zodiac quiz to find out! ♉♊♌♍♐ Start the Quiz hbspt.cta.load(549864, '492bccaa-9525-47dc-bc17-031d3b6ddfc8', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); 7. Employee Engagement Surveys Employee engagement surveys are crucial in tracking the engagement levels of your employees. An engagement survey lets you know what employees feel about the organization. It provides an effective way of gathering employee feedback across every department in the organization. Regular employee engagement surveys provide an easy and comfortable medium for employees to express their thoughts and opinions about the workplace. An engagement survey should cover employee satisfaction, relationship with team members, personal growth, individual needs, and communication. The form below gives an example of an employee engagement survey: Conducting regular surveys means getting regular feedback from employees. The survey results can indicate the level of employee engagement at your organization. Based on the results, you can create an action plan for implementing changes that can improve employee engagement. In Closing Tracking employee engagement is important in every organization. The level of employee engagement at your organization has a huge impact on productivity, retention rate, and much more. Productivity and balanced workforce, employee health index, rewards and recognition, and employee NPS can help you measure employee engagement. Timely performance reviews, employee retention rates, and employee engagement surveys are also effective ways of measuring employee satisfaction. Tracking your engagement score isn’t enough. You should create action plans to improve employee engagement and resolve issues that can lead to disengagement. HR mistakes impact your entire organization. Learn how to avoid the 12 most common mistakes with our free ebook. Download now

Employee engagement truly matters. In the modern age, people are starting to understand this to a much higher extent than historically within workplaces. Undeniably, companies get better results if they have a team of engaged employees working for them, who care about the company and what happens within. It stands to reason, if you are running a team full of people looking to move away or not really buying in or engaging with the process, there is every chance the business is going to fail, or at least struggle to meet its objectives when it comes to productivity. Trust in the Business Leaders Within a team or within a business there is always a message that comes from the top. In any hierarchy structure, the leaders are often the ones who are setting the tone and this means that they are a big factor in whether or not people are motivated. Trust is a big part of employee engagement. If they constantly feel like they cannot confide in their management or their leaders, or that they don’t have a good enough relationship with them to know what their plans are or where the team is going then there is every chance that the engagement levels will drop. Leadership is an absolutely huge part of a business, and in virtually every team there is at least one leader setting the tone. While some managers or small business owners are still of the opinion that they should rule with an iron fist, this rarely gets results, especially when trying to manage a team and its engagement. Good Communication and Relationships Business leaders are just one part of the jigsaw when it comes to good relationships and communication between the team. Social chemistry has a big impact, and this includes people in management or supervisory roles. To keep employees feeling engaged and like they are part of the process, it is a good idea to try to cultivate good relationships. Give people an opportunity to get to know each other and host team events and social activities. It is worth investing in the relationship and encouraging clear communication in the workplace. Some studies have shown that the majority of workers within a workplace consider themselves to be lonely. This is a big issue for a lot of people, and social wellness is not something employers should ignore if they want to improve their employee engagement. Even if it means dedicating time when employees are being paid to improve relationships and allow people to build up those relationships, it is always good to invest in your people. Support and Equipment If you have ever worked in an environment where you do not feel like you are properly supported, you will probably know how stressful and difficult this can be. Support is about knowing that those around you will have your back and that they are understanding. For example, if you needed some time off due to a family illness or wanted to adjust your working hours to allow you to manage childcare, would that support be on offer? Employees tend to have a feeling that there is a real sense of giving and take within a business and it is not just about what you can give the business and the team you’re working in, it should be about a mutual relationship. If times are hard and you need support, not getting it is a surefire way for engagement to drop among employees. Support also extends to things like equipment and the right time and resources to do a job effectively. If an employer makes unrealistic demands of their employees then there is every chance that gradually they will lose some of their faith and some of their engagement. Not getting the right support to do their job is one of the ways that they can lose passion for the role or decide not to put in the sort of effort that might be required. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More Recognition All too often this is something that is ignored in the workplace. When somebody does a good job, spends some extra time and attention on something or goes the extra mile, do they get the recognition they deserve? If not, it can lead to employees feeling isolated or even bitter towards those they work with. A lot of us have experienced this before. Imagine working incredibly hard on something, presenting it to the company, and then not being thanked or recognised for the work. Recognition comes in many forms, and of course, most employees appreciate things like pay rises based on their performance, but that isn’t always necessary. Sometimes, simply discussing the work someone is doing, thanking them for their extra work, and showing them that it has been considered and appreciated can be enough. Recognition can come from those in the same team but it also means a lot when it comes from above, with supervisors and managers really needing to think carefully about the people they manage. Are they getting the recognition they deserve? Opportunities to Advance and Train A lot of people take on a job with a view to turning it into a career and as such value progression routes. For many employees, it is not just about making some money while they are at work and then going home at night to relax. It is about building a career, learning, and advancing into other positions. For some companies it is harder to offer this, it depends on things like the management structure, of course. However, employees appreciate knowing that they can move forward if they wish, learn on the job, train to a higher standard, and move forward in their career rather than stagnate and stay in the same position. Employers can provide things like training courses, certifications, and hopefully even pay rises and the opportunity to continue to advance within the company. It is good to garner this kind of buy-in from employees, who will wish to stay in place and engage with the business and its goals far more if they feel there is a clear way for them to be a part of the future. HR mistakes impact your entire organization. Learn how to avoid the 12 most common mistakes with our free ebook. Download now Company Culture Great company culture sounds like quite an abstract thing, and it can be difficult to pinpoint and cultivate. However, if you have a lot of good people involved and they are all working towards a common goal, it tends to be easier to build the sort of relationships required. Some of the company cultures will come from things like the rules, and how strict things are around the office, as well as the impact of the leaders on the business. For instance, if the culture in a business involves poor habits and leaders not taking responsibility this will inevitably spread. Sum Up By giving people plenty of support and respect, and allowing people to have their say on how the business or an office is run you can also help to create a good company culture where people feel valued. This is bound to greatly help with employee engagement and allows people to buy into the projects and mission of a company or other organisation.

Stress at work affects 83% of Americans and while all jobs have their stressors, if left unchecked these high levels of stress can cause reduced employee engagement and mental health struggles and this can have a direct impact on employee engagement at work. What Does Employee Engagement Mean? What do we mean when we talk about employee engagement? Many people assume employee engagement means employees feel happy or satisfied at work. However, this isn’t strictly true. Employee engagement is when an employee feels emotionally committed to an organization and its goals. In other words, an engaged employee cares about the company they work for. They don’t just come into work at 9am, leave at 5pm and count down the days until their next paycheck. They are fully engaged and committed to the company and its future aspirations. The Relationship Between Engagement and Mental Health We can’t mention employee engagement without mentioning mental health. After all, there is a direct link between these two things. When an employee is struggling with their mental health they are more likely to be: Depressed Disengaged Unmotivated Distracted Emotionally volatile Withdrawn Anxious Uncommunicative There are many signs and symptoms of mental health struggles and it is very likely there may be employees in your workplace who are silently struggling. So, it’s important to know your employees well so that you can note any changes in their behaviour that could signify a problem. If you notice an employee who is showing signs of mental health issues and struggling with workplace engagement as a result, it’s important to be proactive. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity Culture) Download the Ebook Now How to Prioritize Employee Mental Health to Increase Engagement The health and wellbeing of your employees plays a vital role in workplace productivity, engagement, and success. If you haven’t given this much consideration before, it’s time to prioritize employee wellness and mental health. In America alone, one in 25 adults live with a serious mental health condition that significantly impacts their daily life. The cost of mental health struggles to an employer, through loss of engagement and productivity alone, is higher than most other health issues. So, providing the proper care and support for struggling employees is essential. If you take the time to prioritize the care of your employees’ mental health, you will build a happier work culture, retain employees for longer, and see your company succeed as a result of high levels of employee engagement. But how do you prioritize employee mental health? Well, we have listed a number of very effective strategies you can utilize below. 1. Offer Mental Health Days Mental health affects everyone differently and everyone uses different strategies to cope. What we can all agree on, however, is that sometimes you just need to take a day off. If you want to support your employees’ mental health and wellbeing in order to promote better engagement at work, you should offer mental health days. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a mental health day is “a day that doesn’t involve engaging with major sources of stress or frustration. It’s a day to relax, decompress and take care of yourself overall. If you notice that you’re easily agitated, physically or mentally exhausted, anxious or unable to focus, you could probably use a mental health day.” Employers should recognize that offering mental health days is just as important as offering physical sick days. Taking a day out for mental health reasons ensures employees can return to work refreshed and better able to engage. Stop Conflict Before it Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how! 2. Provide Flexible Working Options Allowing work-from-home days can make all the difference to employee mental health and engagement. Not everyone works best between the hours of 9am-5pm and many people find the noise and distractions of the office difficult for concentration. Mixing things up by providing flexible working options can make all the difference. It shouldn’t matter whether your employees prefer to work from home, a bustling cafe, or a park bench. The most important thing is that they can choose where they work best and have the option to do so a couple times a week. If you’ve noticed an employee becoming disengaged and detached from colleagues, it’s possible they could be struggling with their mental health and withdrawing as a result. Consider suggesting they work from home a couple days a week. Simply offering this flexibility can make all the difference in helping employees take charge of their mental health to more effectively engage with work. 3. Permit Time Off for Treatment People experiencing mental health challenges often fail to seek the support they really need. So, when an employee approaches you requesting time off for treatment, this is something to celebrate! If you want to increase employee engagement at work, you need to ensure everyone receives the treatment they need to succeed. Whether your employee is struggling with anxiety, PTSD, depression, burnout or addiction (to name a few) they may request time off ranging anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to seek the treatment they need. Burnout is one of the more common causes of employees requesting time off work. “Experts have identified six key domains of a person’s life that are related to burnout.” According to LuxuryRehabs.com, “Stress within these areas may represent a risk factor for developing symptoms”: Workload Control Reward Community Fairness Values Permitting employees time off to receive treatment is essential. Not only will this ensure your employees receive the help they need, but it will also encourage others who may be struggling to come forward and seek support. 4. Prioritize Clear Communication Communication is one of the most important aspects of being an effective employer. According to the Corporate Wellness Magazine, “more communication about mental health benefits and resources means more people know about the care options available to them and can seek them out when needed. Clear communication in the workplace is especially important when it comes to tackling mental health as it allows you to avoid misunderstandings, communicate care to your employees, and form healthy relationships in the workplace. Often, we resort to emails or text messages during the busyness of any given day. However, these communication channels can make anxiety or mental health issues worse as it can be hard to read emotions behind the words on the page, which can often result in overthinking and high levels of stress - particularly from anxious employees. This is why it’s always best to communicate in-person where possible. 5. Destigmatize Mental Health at Work While mental health issues are easier to spot in some people than others, it is essential you create a working environment where employees feel safe and supported, no matter what they are going through. Reducing the stigmas surrounding mental health is a great first step towards this goal. To destigmatize mental health at work, we recommend running team training days or workshops focused on mental health, how to spot the signs, and how to offer support. Doing so can encourage struggling employees that it’s okay to seek the help they need. According to Forbes, “mental health remains a stigmatized topic. If you’re a leader, you can influence mental health stigma through both policy and cultural change. Reducing mental health stigma is not only the right thing to do, it also helps people perform at their best.” Final Words As you can tell, there is a close relationship between employee mental health and engagement at work. We hope that by following the strategies outlined in this article, you can make positive changes to your workplace that help increase employee engagement for the long term. Stop Conflict Before it Begins witha Culture of “Thank You” Does your organization foster a culture of micro-rewards and gratitude? If you’re not sure or the answer is “no,” your company culture could be contributing to workplace conflict. Building a culture of “thank you” can be difficult (especially with remote teams), but it doesn’t have to be! Learn more in our eBook, "10 Free / Low Cost Employee Recognition Ideas.” Learn how!

The first impression your employees get of your business and how it works is through the onboarding process. Although they may have met your hiring team or members of your human resources department during the application process, it’s whilst onboarding that new hires set the foundations for a strong work ethic and approach. Getting your onboarding plan right can integrate new hires into the team seamlessly, motivating them and helping them find job satisfaction. Each new hire adapts to your business differently, yet there are common goals and targets that everyone needs to meet to take on their new role. These are often thrown at new hires immediately, expecting them to understand online phone systems, team hierarchies, and project software in a few weeks. However, for the onboarding process to be a positive experience for everyone, staggering these goals with a 30-60-90 plan may be more effective. What is a 30 60 90 Onboarding Plan? As a strategy for helping your business to effectively and efficiently guide new hires into their roles, 30-60-90 onboarding breaks it down into manageable sections. These sections set targets for the first 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days of a new hire’s employment with your business, helping them to engage with your onboarding without overwhelming them. The 30-60-90 method helps new hires to understand the basics and initiate training elements and learning that may take longer. Highlighting different focuses for the first months can be useful for both new hires and those overseeing the onboarding. Doing this removes the pressure for new hires to understand everything instantly. Instead, they concentrate on: Day 1-30: learning about the company, how it’s structured, and what their role is within it. Day 31-60: implementing their learning and taking on tasks according to their position. Day 61-90: setting longer-term goals and becoming a reliable part of their team. How to Use 30-60-90 to Guide Your New Hires Give an Overview In the first few days of your new hire’s employment, schedule time to give them an overview of the onboarding process. This ensures everyone’s on the same page from the start and sets expectations of what needs to be covered over the coming months. Your overview should focus on how the 30-60-90 onboarding plan works as well as a general background of the company. Make sure you choose the most effective way to give your overview. A phone call may prove to be limited if you plan on using visual aids. A video call with a screen-sharing option would be a better option and allow you to provide an overview to a number of users at the same time. During this time, work with the new hire to establish a reasonable workload and introduce them to your project management software to help them oversee their onboarding. You don’t want to overload them with responsibilities and tasks, so it’s better to underestimate their capabilities. If necessary, you can add more responsibilities and tasks to their workload over time if they can handle it. Schedule regular catch-ups using a VoIP phone system to make sure your new hires feel comfortable and not overwhelmed by their new responsibilities. You could even send text messages as a quick way to check in as long as you have their permission and it’s within work hours. If you use multiple communication channels in the workplace, you may need to talk them through what is CPaaS platform and how you use it internally. New hires may find using different forms of communication overwhelming, and you want to ensure as smooth as possible a transition. Set Targets The 30-60-90 plan is built around target setting at a reasonable and achievable rate. You may have general targets for the onboarding period, however, ensure you also make specific targets too, using the SMART method to dictate a timescale and how you measure achievements. What type of targets you set depends on the stage of the onboarding process the new hire is in. 30-day Targets Targets for the first month of employment should center on learning and acquiring knowledge. This could be through training sessions and online courses, as well as ensuring new hires know where to ask questions in the future. Your new hire won’t acquire all the knowledge they need for their position within the first month, so the 30-day targets can be ongoing. In this period, your new hire’s targets should cover getting to grips with the structure of your business alongside its values. Particularly if you use recruitment automation for hiring so the new employee hasn’t met many people in your business, this is essential for making introductions and highlighting what people are responsible for. From here, the new hire’s targets can move on to learning about your products, how to set up caller ID on their desk phone and mobile devices, and the responsibilities of their role. ​​If they will be using their personal mobile phones for work, consider moving their number onto your business phone service provider. You will be able to check phone number portability before, and this way, they won’t be charged for any work-related activity. It can be a nice perk to offer new hires too. 60-day Targets Your 60-day targets focus on integrating new hires with their team and taking on the responsibilities of their position. Therefore, these targets are going to be more task-based and set the groundwork for how they work with the rest of the team. This starts to form work habits and routines, so new hires need to get them right and address any issues early on. Some of the crucial 60-day targets need to include setting up regular one-to-ones and meetings, identifying ways of addressing issues with the team, and discussing what feedback is most useful to them. Other practical targets may include using call software functions from your hosted PBX provider, using your email finder, and meeting deadlines for tasks or projects. These enable the new hire to work effectively in their team. 90-day Targets During the third month of your new hire’s onboarding, they should be used to their role and able to set long-term targets. The focus should be on managing their responsibilities effectively and ensuring their quality of work meets your business standards. These help your new hire become a valuable team member, matching the accuracy and consistency of their colleagues. Targets for the 90 days can, again, be ongoing, setting expectations of the level of work the new hire can complete in their workday. For example, the targets set an amount of sales conversions the new hire wants to reach or use metrics to measure their productivity and efficiency within the team. These may be similar to other employees’ targets, based on the feedback of their manager. Provide Support You should support all your employees in various ways however, for new hires, this support needs to be even more evident. Whether they have questions about where to find specific documents for a client like a release of liability template or a vendor agreement, want to shadow someone running a project, or need encouragement as they take on new tasks, your teams need to be on hand to help. Not everyone has to be constantly available, but the new hire should know where to find support. One way of supporting new hires is by assigning them a buddy - someone from within their team to answer questions and show them how things work. During the first 30 days, this buddy may reduce their workload with the help of productivity tools to dedicate time to the new hire. Over time, the buddy will gradually return to their work routine, although still looking out for the new hire when possible. Check-in As the 30-60-90 onboarding plan centers around target setting at a steady pace, it’s important to check in on these targets and see how the new hire is hitting them. Reflecting on the new hire’s experience so far provides an opportunity to encourage them, track how much information they remember during onboarding, as well as plan their route forward. Whilst checking in with your new hire, you may need to adjust some targets. This could be because they aren’t achieving what you initially anticipated. Slowing their onboarding or focusing on one part of the role can help the new hire become familiar at a more gradual pace. Alternatively, the new hire may beat their targets, needing more challenging goals to be created. If you choose to check in using your small business phone system consider using call recording. This way your new hires can listen back and review their targets before each meeting. Just make sure your call quality is good enough for them to do this. Collect Feedback If you want to keep improving your onboarding and refining your 30-60-90 plan, having feedback can direct your attention. Asking new hires who’ve just gone through the onboarding process about their experience and what could be improved can emphasize where the plan is unclear or useful additional resources. This feedback could also be generally about the business, such as ensuring your unified communications as a service software connects remote workers to the network too. Asking for feedback can also make your new hires feel like a part of the team. Rather than feedback being one-way comments on how the new hire can improve and adjust to their role, receiving their feedback acknowledges that team integration is a group responsibility. It also shows that your business values the opinions of its employees, acting on their feedback. Gradually Guide Your New Hires With the 30 60 90 Method We’ve all been the new hire at some point and onboarding has such an impact on the rest of your experience with a business. The information you learn and the people you meet can shape a new hire’s perception of a company as well as influence their new work routines. Rather than making joining a new business an overwhelming experience, gradually guiding new hires into their roles can create a more seamless and positive transition for everyone involved. Introducing the 30-60-90 onboarding plan to your business doesn’t necessarily disregard your previous onboarding strategies. Instead, it acts as a way of pacing the information and tasks you load onto your new hire, giving them time to adjust and become familiar with them. This can work alongside employee handbooks, training schemes, and other onboarding approaches to build an informative and engaging program, whilst helping your new hires to avoid burnout. Author Bio John Allen is a driven marketing professional with over 14 years of experience, an extensive background in building and optimizing digital marketing programs across SEM, SEO, paid media, mobile, social, and email, with an eye to new customer acquisition and increasing revenue This guide was designed to help you navigate through those difficult tasks and help determine the right software for your organization, download our ebook now. Download now

In any business, there are tasks which involve different teams and external stakeholders. Most times, such tasks can run simultaneously. Managing such tasks via email and over the phone is not only difficult and time-consuming; it also leaves open the possibility of everyone not being on the same page. Add to that, in a post-COVID world where employees often work remotely, it has become essential for organizations to invest in an efficient employee collaboration tool. While it is easy to acknowledge the need for an employee collaboration tool like an employee app, it is quite difficult to choose products that can effectively scale up the collaboration amongst employees. Depending on your business, you may need tools that provide video calling, group access controls, bookkeeping reports, and software integrations. In fact, you may very well need more than one tool to arrive at an appropriate solution. Let’s look at 15 amazing tools you can consider for scaling up employee collaboration. Workmates Workmates by LIKE.TG is a powerful intranet platform that helps boost employee engagement using announcements, rewards, and recognition. Management and HR professionals love the built-in analytics and reporting which allows you to easily see metrics related to onboarding, collaboration, and ROI. The collaboration metrics in Workmates let you see how employees work together. You can also integrate 3rd party analytics to gain even more insights. Pros: Great onboarding and support make it possible to get up and running in a matter of days. Cons: There are many features and options so administration may seem overwhelming for some. Slack Communication is one of the most important aspects of collaboration, and there is hardly any application out there that does it better than Slack. Often touted by its fans as the best messaging app for businesses, this powerful application can serve as a full-fledged collaboration tool for companies of disparate sizes. From early-stage start-ups and small businesses to some of the largest companies in the world; Slack today commands a loyal user base that swears by its expansive range of features. From video calls to instant messaging to file sharing and task management, Slack covers nearly every basic collaboration feature you might think of. However, what makes Slack so popular with its user base is its capacity to integrate different tools and create workflows. The Slack App directory boasts of over 2200 apps to integrate different platforms in quick time. For example, if you want your entire marketing team to know how your Twitter feed is performing, you can just integrate it with a Slack channel and everyone on the team can view live updates and share their views on any post. Pros: One of the best collaboration tools in the market. Easy to use, and fit for everyone. Cons: Not much unless you end up creating multiple redundant conversation channels. Microsoft Teams The Redmond based software giant first introduced Microsoft Teams in 2017 with an eye on making a mark with its existing enterprise clients who were running Office 365. The tool has become increasingly popular with the general public who have lapped up its free edition. The application offers a robust collaboration tool with features for video calling, screen sharing, integration with Outlook calendar, and effective features for document management especially in conjunction with SharePoint. Teams is a great option for businesses including enterprises that already run applications from Microsoft. For example, a user who is running Outlook can seamlessly integrate with this sophisticated platform and plan Teams meetings from right inside Outlook itself. Pros: Great for enterprise users and firms using Microsoft 365 Cons: Not an ideal solution for small teams and has limitations related to numbers of channels, permission settings etc. Twist For those of you who prefer structured conversations, Twist comes across as a great collaboration tool. The application sports an uncluttered look and uses a thread-based message system for managing communication and tasks amongst team members. It offers comprehensive video calling features and comes equipped with features like channels and message search. Pros: Simple to use, offers a more laid back approach to collaboration. Cons: Does not offer detailed workflow and automation features Trello If you are looking for an absolutely easy-to-use collaboration tool that does basic collaboration tasks quite well then Trello can be a great choice. The application builds on the concept of the Kanban method of work management wherein you utilize poster boards and sticky notes to manage to-do lists. It works exceptionally well for small firms and simple projects but is not really suited for complex activities. Trello offers Power-ups to extend its functionality and add features like Automation, Charting features, etc. Pros: Ease to use, lightweight application, free for small teams Cons: Not suited for complex tasks, very limited project and employee management and communication features. Wire With a focus on enterprise customers, Wire offers a highly secure collaboration platform that is protected by end-to-end encryption. Some of the features it sports include secure guest rooms, file sharing, video conferencing, etc. If you want, you can choose to deploy the application on your own servers or even on a private cloud. Pros: Highly secure platform fit for enterprise use Cons: Not suited for small teams, limited feature range Bitrix 24 If you are looking at a collaboration tool with a full-fledged CRM and elements of a marketing suite then you should look no further than Bitrix24. It’s a powerful platform that is suitable for businesses of any size and integrates several solutions into one platform. As opposed to most collaboration tools which tend to run from the cloud, this platform can also be hosted on your own servers. Pros: Exceptional marketing and collaboration platform suited for enterprise and large firms. Cons: Small teams can get lost in its sea of functionality. Nifty Often regarded as one of the best project management tools in the market, Nifty has over time emerged as a great collaboration tool. It boasts of an array of communication and scheduling features including meetings, chats, and calendar options. It further allows you to integrate different apps and extend the functionality of the tool. For example, you can link up your Zoom account with Nifty and initiate calls right of project discussions or even direct messages. Pros: Excellent document sharing and collaboration options, exceptional project management, and time tracking tools Cons: Resource heavy, not suited for small teams. Does not offer a free edition. Flock If you are looking at a comprehensive communication solution at a reasonable cost the Flock application comes across as a robust solution. It encompasses an array of features like project management, video conferencing, workflows, and integration with other platforms. In some ways, it mirrors the feature set offered by Slack but at a lower price point. In fact, the free starter package of Flock is exceptionally good with reasonable limitations. Pros: Good for small teams, cost-effective over more established competitors like Slack Cons: The tool lacks sophistication in many aspects like notifications, file sharing, etc. Chanty Chanty combines a host of advanced communication and collaboration features in one neat package. It offers you an easy-to-use interface, team spaces, and powerful video calling features at rock bottom prices. Add to that it has a forever free plan which is exceedingly popular with small teams, individuals, and freelancers who find the software convenient for most of their needs. Pros: Free and Low-cost pricing options. Great for small teams and start-ups Cons: Lacks the capability to handle complex projects Zoho Cliq Designed to handle collaboration in a structured manner, Zoho Cliq comes loaded with a host of features like video conferencing, real-time chat, calendar management, channels for teams etc. The tool supports integration with other Zoho products and offers support for slash commands and SSL encryption. Pros: Easy to use, attractive pricing, ideal tool for existing customers of Zoho products Cons: Limited features for task management. Asana Counted amongst one of the finest workflow management tools in vogue today, Asana boasts of a range of collaboration features like project conversations, task comments, and support for rich text. It allows integration with video tools like Zoom that can then directly be initiated from its meeting options. The application offers convenient features for file sharing, team management, and task management, etc. Pros: Great for Overall collaboration and Project Management. Offer integrations with a range of popular tools. Can be used in specialized tasks such as lead generation, event management, etc. Cons: Communication features are slightly limited unlike some Asana alternatives that offers more team workflow collaboration tools. Cisco Webex Considered amongst one of the earliest employee collaboration and video conferencing tool ever introduced for the web, Cisco Webex continues to find a loyal user base amongst enterprise clients and large firms. For over two decades some of the largest companies in the world have relied on this venerable product to manage team meetings across different locations. The application now boasts of a range of features like screen sharing, whiteboards, options to create spaces for different teams, etc. Pros: Great tool for enterprise with focus on video conferencing Cons: Limited features, legacy design issues Zulip If you are looking at an open-source collaboration tool that is easy to use and offers a forever free plan, then Zulip would come across as an ideal choice. The application is completely open-source and you can host it on your own server too. It is ideal for small teams, especially those who are technically savvy and can work with the integrations offered by the platform. Pros: Open Source, comes with a forever free plan Cons: Limited features, not suited for enterprise use. Missive Missive is an innovative collaboration platform suited for start-ups and companies focusing on a lot of social interaction. It offers you the flexibility to integrate social channels such as Twitter and Facebook along with email into a one comprehensive dashboard view. The tool is a boon for marketing teams looking to quickly manage their tasks and improve response times. The application offers integration options with popular tools and offers support for automation. Pros: Easy to use, ideal for tracking marketing activities, sales, and lead generation activities Cons: Not suited for enterprise or complex workflow management tasks A Few Last Words At times you may need to find the right mix of tools based on your budget and business goals. It makes sense to try out free editions or trial versions of all collaboration tools to shortlist before making a purchase decision. Tools by themselves can only do so much and it is critical for teams to invest in products that work for them.

Every year Employee Appreciation Day is on the first Friday in March, and with it comes the opportunity for companies to show appreciation for their most valuable resource—their employees. According to research, organizations with effective recognition frameworks experience a 31% reduction in voluntary turnover. It also contributes to employee morale. So on Employee Appreciation Day, show your team members how much you appreciate them. Here are a few suggestions that will appeal to everyone in your company. Employee Appreciation vs. Recognition Typically, employee appreciation is about rewarding employees’ general contributions to the workplace. Employee recognition, on the other hand, usually focuses on a specific achievement of a single individual or team. Both are crucial for a positive company culture. First, Create a Culture of Appreciation Celebrating Employee Appreciation Day is a bit misguided if you don’t already have a culture of appreciation established. And that starts by setting an example at the top of the organization. Regularly acknowledge individual and team achievements during meetings and by personally express gratitude for employees' efforts in day-to-day interactions. Establish an employee recognition program, such as peer recognition platforms or award nominations, and ensure that it’s actively used and promoted. The more you foster an environment where gratitude is the norm, the more authentic Employee Appreciation Day feels. Tips for Employee Appreciation Day Start planning several weeks in advance to ensure all details are covered. Tailor activities and gifts to suit the preferences and culture of your team. Establish a budget to guide your decisions on activities and gifts. Plan a variety of events to keep the day interesting and engaging for everyone. Customize thank-you messages or gifts to add a personal touch that employees will value. Encourage all staff to participate in planned activities to boost engagement and fun. Publicly acknowledge the hard work and achievements of individuals and teams. Offer gifts that employees will genuinely appreciate and find useful. Gather feedback after the event. Don’t forget remote or contract employees! 1. Special Event or Award Ceremony Since Employee Appreciation Day is a special day, it’s the perfect time to host a special event or award ceremony to publicly recognize and celebrate employee achievements. Some ideas of what to include in the presentation include: Individual awards Team accomplishments Milestone employees New employees Launch a new benefit Introduce a recognition program 2. Bonuses Money isn’t the most original incentive, but there are few employees who’ll find disappointment in a cash bonus. Show that you recognize employees’ value and the work it takes for them to help your company reach its goals with the gift of cash. You can also complement the financial rewards with some additional perks for your most valuable employees, such as additional vacation days or vouchers for various online retailers. 3. Gift Cards Sometimes, bonuses aren’t in the budget. Still, if you like the idea of employee appreciation gifts, you can give your employees gift cards. Instead of giving every employee the same generic T-shirt or water bottle, gift cards allow employees to select incentives with personal significance. 4. Gifts or Care Packages Some of the most successful employer brands are those who take the time and effort to get to know their employees. Then, when the time comes for your HR team to start generating employee appreciation ideas, this data will be invaluable. Personalized rewards make all the difference in outreach attempts such as care packages. A care package is a particularly useful employee appreciation idea, particularly for remote employees or teams. While you don’t need to make care packages hyper-personalized, you should still acknowledge the individual’s unique traits, values, interests, and core drivers. 5. Pick-a-Prize Allowing employees to pick their own gift can significantly enhance its value, as it ensures that the reward is desirable and useful. This approach not only empowers employees by giving them a choice but also demonstrates the company's commitment to catering to individual preferences. 6. Catered Breakfast or Lunch Providing breakfast or lunch on Employee Appreciation Day is a thoughtful and inclusive way to celebrate, offering a shared meal that fosters camaraderie and a sense of community. Plus, it creates an opportunity for employees to bond and relax together, enhancing employee experience and facilitating team dynamics. 7. Happy Hour Hosting a happy hour for employees allows them to unwind and socialize after work hours. It can be held on-site with options like craft beer tasting and cocktail mixing stations, or off-site at a local pub or restaurant, providing a fun break from the usual work routine. 8. Snacks or Dessert Bar Setting up a snacks or dessert bar offers a delightful treat for employees, featuring a variety of options such as gourmet cookies, artisan chocolates, a build-your-own trail mix station, or a selection of local ice creams. 9. Spa Services Provide in-office services such as chair massages, manicures, or reflexology sessions. This offers staff a chance to relax and de-stress right at the workplace and shows the company’s care for its employees' health and well-being. 10. Company-Wide Email Send out an email highlighting individual and team accomplishments to the entire organization. This could include a summary of achievements, personal stories, and photos from the past year, making everyone feel valued and reinforcing the company's appreciation for every team member's hard work. 11. Video Tribute Similarly, you can create a video montage, compiling clips from managers and colleagues expressing their gratitude and appreciation for the team's efforts. This video can be shown at a company meeting or shared on internal communication networks, providing a personal and heartfelt recognition. 12. Say “Thank You” Simply saying “Thank you,” in person to each employee can have a profound impact. Leaders and managers can make a point to visit each team or department, expressing their gratitude directly and personally, which can significantly boost morale and make employees feel genuinely appreciated. 13. Personalized Notes Write personalized notes to each employee (bonus points for handwritten!), recognizing their specific contributions and achievements. These notes can mention particular instances where the employee excelled, showing that their efforts are noticed and valued. 14. Game Day Organize a game day with board games, video game setups, or outdoor sports to make the day fun and engaging. It's a chance for employees to interact in a non-work context, which can improve team cohesion and offer a stress-relieving break from the usual routine. 15. Go Outside Encourage employees to go outside together, whether for a group picnic, a team-building activity in a local park, or a volunteer day supporting a community project. Activities in a natural setting can reduce stress, increase creativity, and enhance team dynamics in an enjoyable and healthful setting. 16. Offsite Activity Plan a fun activity away from the office, such as a day at a team-building retreat, escape room, bowling alley, cooking class, or local amusement park. This provides a change of scenery, fosters team spirit, strengthens relationships, and allows employees to create memorable experiences together. 17. Donate to Charity Allowing employees to choose a charity for the company to donate to on their behalf can be a meaningful way to show appreciation. This approach not only honors the employees but also aligns with their personal values and interests. 18. Volunteer Organize a volunteer day for employees to give back to the community together. Whether it’s helping at a food bank, cleaning up a local park, or building homes for a housing charity, volunteering fosters a sense of purpose and teamwork that extends beyond the office walls. 19. Social Media Shout-Outs Giving shout-outs on the company Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn involves highlighting an individual’s or team’s achievements. This can boost their professional profile and make them feel celebrated not just within the company but by the broader public, enhancing their sense of pride and accomplishment. 20. Extra Paid Time Off Taking a break during long hours of work will certainly help your employees to contribute in a more productive way. Offer late starts, longer lunches, or early quitting time, which is especially appreciated on a Friday.Another option: Many companies designate an Employee Appreciation Day as a full-paid day off where team members can participate in things they've always wanted to. Besides providing a vacation from work, hobbies can assist staff in learning new abilities that will benefit your business in the long run. 21. Company Swag Distribute high-quality company-branded items, such as branded apparel, tech gadgets, or personalized items like engraved pens or custom notebooks. Quality swag items aren’t just practical; they also serve as a daily reminder of the company’s appreciation. 22. Use Employee Engagement Software Implement employee engagement software—like the one LIKE.TG offers—to enable continuous and real-time recognition among colleagues. Features can include peer-to-peer recognition feeds, reward systems, or communication tools that facilitate celebrating small wins and major milestones alike. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now About the 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.