We鈥檙e well into the second half of 2021, and, though much remains uncertain about the future, the waning days of summer can be a time for many businesses and individuals to revisit the resolutions they set out to achieve back in January.
At the same time, more and more people have utilized the past nearly two years during the pandemic as a moment for reflection, making both personal and career changes. As a result, today鈥檚 companies are especially reflecting on how they can continue to keep their employees engaged and motivated.
At the core of this is understanding that employees have to be inspired to do good work鈥攁nd having the right technology and tools in place to fuel and make room for that creative inspiration goes a long way.
What attracting, inspiring and upleveling employees in the new era looks like
One bright side of the pandemic is that it forced internal reflection in many of us, including within businesses. What do we value? What do we stand for? How do we want our people, clients, partners and stakeholders to view us? These were all questions many organizations had to face in light of societal and economic pressures over the past year.
What's more, "" became a direct result of an increasing number of employees recognizing the need for change from their current work situations.
Keys to employee engagement and retention
Intranet technology as a means of inspiring community and culture
At the center of carrying out all of the above successfully鈥攅ncouraging strong communication, reinforcing your principles to create community, and fostering collaboration in any type of work environment鈥攊s the right technology. Technology plays a bigger role than ever before in attracting, inspiring and upleveling today's employees. Prospective employees look to organizations that have the infrastructure to foster a productive and motivating work environment.
For Brightspot, the past 12 months worked successfully because, for the most part, teams went into a remote environment (with projects already in-progress and an infrastructure that supported them), and they had experience working together across the organization. We also noticed that customers needed increased support with their internal communication strategies, which is why there鈥檚 been a tremendous amount of focus on intranets and communication tools, and making sure key company values and information were available at the fingertips of all employees.
In fact, a based out of Europe on mid-size organizations found that 42% of respondents said technology platforms introduced in their businesses during the pandemic had increased their workload, rather than reduced it. What's more, nearly two-thirds (65%) believed their company had digitized processes to copy customers or partners, rather than to address a particular need within their own business.
Understanding the right technology your business needs to foster internal community and culture鈥攁nd thus inspire employees鈥攊s the first step. And, when done right, it makes an impact. According to a recent , more than 70% of respondents value digital solutions that deepen their connection with other people. This is where intranet technology can play a critical role.
How your intranet can foster employee community and culture
With a flexible and future-proof intranet, there's one central place for employees to stay up to date on the latest business priorities, and find important communications regarding goals, objectives and progress.
No matter where employees work, a strong intranet provides an always-on central repository for key business updates and information, as well as for connecting with colleagues.
More and more, people are seeking opportunities where they can be both challenged and inspired鈥攁nd we know that inspired employees mean inspired work. Motivating people in this new era is different than it's been before, and technologies like modern intranet solutions go a long way in not only building, but creating room for inspiration.