Let’s face it, employee performance is the key to getting things done. Whether it’s day-to-day tasks or huge projects, how productive your workers are is the most direct influencer of results. This makes it imperative that your human resources (HR) and management teams regularly strive to make improvements in this area.
The good news is that your business isn’t solely reliant on performance motivation programs to be effective. Over the last decade, there have been some significant technological leaps, including the emergence of tools that can influence activity levels. We’re going to explore a few of the ways you can unleash the power of technology to boost worker performance.
Improving Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the most important characteristics linked to performance. Certainly, this means that part of your focus should be on guiding workers to adopt more effective time management and organization practices. However, integrating technology into workflows tends to boost efficiency and overall performance, too. By investing in the right digital equipment and processes, you can streamline colleague coordination, simplify document and database management, and reduce the disruptions caused by human error.
This begins with adopting solid communication tools. Software platforms such as Slack or Microsoft Teams enable your business to set up dedicated and reliable comms channels from a single cloud-based hub. This means that employees can efficiently interact with one another whether they’re spread geographically across multiple sites or collaborating between departments in the same building. Clear protocols around how each channel must be used within the workflow also helps to ensure that your workers utilize these to have the best impact on their performance levels.
Additionally, data analytics tools in the workflow are an influencer of employee efficiency. Work alongside your information technology (IT) department to ensure that every tool workers use gathers data points throughout the workflow. This enables you to utilize data analytics software to interpret insights such as workflow gaps or bottlenecks in processes. Artificial intelligence (AI) driven analytics tools could utilize machine learning algorithms to spot patterns in your data and make predictions about potential future obstacles. This allows you to make well-informed adjustments to the workflow to counter these.
Supporting Training and Development
Great performance doesn’t arise from simply hiring good staff. Rather, you have to give your employees regular training and development to bolster and advance their skills. This not only directly affects performance, but investing in your workers can boost their positive connections to your business, influencing their engagement. Technology today can be a great part of your training processes.
On the most basic level, e-learning courses can be a useful framework for regular skill growth, certification gaining, and compliance training. You can tailor this online education to your company’s specific performance and productivity needs. Workers can also access these courses at any time, meaning they can fit conveniently around schedules, causing minimal disruption. Many e-learning platforms will collect data on employee learning progress to enable more personalized learning programs, too. HR departments can adjust courses to address the challenges individual employees are facing with their development, which can improve their outcomes.
You should also consider how the metaverse is beginning to influence the future of work. This online virtual space holds great potential for more interactive remote collaborations, but — importantly — it is showing significant potential for multifaceted virtual training. Some of these elements are already accessible today.
Virtual reality (VR) workrooms can connect employees with expert trainers from across the globe, providing a digital yet physically interactive education. A combination of VR tools and augmented reality (AR) applications can produce simulation scenarios that realistically replicate the challenges workers might face and allow them to test efficient ways to navigate them. Even at this very early stage of the metaverse, it’s well worth exploring how you can start to implement the technology to the benefit of your workforce and, ultimately, your business.
Boosting Satisfaction and Wellness
Skills and workflow efficiency aren’t the only contributors to workplace performance. Unless your workers have a certain amount of satisfaction in their roles, they may find it difficult to engage fully, which affects productivity. Similarly, if your workers are living with health challenges — either outside of or influenced by the workplace — that go unaddressed, this could also disrupt performance and satisfaction. You should explore how you could use technology to influence more positive outcomes.
First of all, you can adopt technology as part of a comprehensive worker wellness plan. This might include subsidized access to telehealth services. Don’t just focus on physical wellness, but also therapists for mental health. This means workers can use wellness services as and when they need them. You might also consider offering workers wellness program mobile applications. These provide advice about nutrition and exercise, with some including guided meditation resources. Companies often link these apps to wider wellness programs, which provide rewards for employees who engage with them and meet health goals.
In terms of workplace satisfaction, an app could be geared toward the reward and recognition program. Enable workers to see the milestones they need to hit before gaining bonuses or gifts. Create channels on these platforms that allow colleagues to make peer recognition recommendations. It’s also wise to make certain apps can host surveys and open feedback channels. When workers can give comments on what the company should improve on and receive direct responses on these, it can help make them feel as though they’re an integral and respected part of the business.
Conclusion
You can utilize technology in a variety of ways to enhance employee performance. Tools integrated into the workflow can boost efficiency, while online and VR training platforms can give employees the skills they need to thrive. Even apps to support wellness and satisfaction make a difference. That said, it’s vital not to simply rely on this tech for good performance levels. You need to make certain that you approach investment in tech mindfully. Make certain the tools are suited to your specific business needs and create protocols to ensure they are used effectively. With some planning and knowledge, your workers and your tech can be great collaborators in your business’ success.
