How Technology Impacts Employee Retention

With many still trying to recover from “the great resignation” employers are not only looking at what they can do to bring in new employees, but also to keep their top performers. Supplying better benefits, shorter workweeks/workdays, and in-office perks like free lunches, gyms, and parking are all nice-to-haves that may help one company stand out from another, but a major player in keeping employees is one we’re all interacting with all day long, technology.  

While we may not think about it, the tech a company chooses to implement and have their employees interact with can greatly impact how long individuals are willing to stay with an organization and the work that they’ll produce. From the onboarding process through review time, the tech you implement not only affects employee output, but their happiness as well.  

Onboarding Experience 

The dreaded onboarding process – a hassle for managers to take time out of the day for weeks on end to prep and coach, team members to help teach a new person the ins and outs of the business, and generally a stressful time for a new hire as they are learning a new procedures, meeting new people, and trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible.  

By having a strong onboarding process, organizations have shown to increase new hire retention 82%. So, where does technology fit in here? Without sacrificing security within your organization, giving employees autonomy with how they’d like their digital office set up can make them more comfortable and reduce the need to learn a new operating system, phone system, etc. This leads to higher productivity and more independence from day one.  

Implementing digital tools into your HR process that allow employees to digitally access and sign documents can speed up manual tasks and free up time as documents are signed and stored right away – no more worrying about physical employee files and losing lose papers because of not implementing technology.  

Support Work + Life Balance 

What many of us viewed as a normal work week has been flipped on its head since the pandemic. While much of the workforce was used to a 5-day, in -office workweek, many organizations are now navigating post-fully remote office situations that encourage increased productivity and innovation while allowing employees to live a more balanced life.  

Technology plays a leading role in aiding this hybrid and remote workforce to reduce friction between office and home.  

While nearly everyone has used Zoom, Slack, or Microsoft Teams over the last few years, departments are looking at how processes may be automated to aid in better workflows while having a real-time pulse on what is going on in the business at any given time (without being a micromanager).  

With thousands of tools out there, managers can have an overview and insights about what each team and individual employee is working on without the need for team meetings, one-on-one conversations, and unnecessary communication that takes up time in the day where employees could be focusing on higher priority tasks or taking a moment for their mental/physical help and well-being.  

Fostering Relationships within the Workplace 

While everyone might not love being the center of attention or making connections with their new coworkers, understanding the importance of workplace relationships that go beyond “just talking about work” can make your teams feel connected, involved, and like they belong.  

Tools that let you work from anywhere can aid in these relationships as team members see each other outside of the workplace, even on a screen. Seeing a dog run on a Zoom meeting may derail the meeting for a couple of minutes, but you may have just learned something about your coworker that you didn’t know before.  

When employees are in the office, using technology to send out a quiz, survey, or game keeps employees engaged and may get them talking and interacting with different departments and people they may not interact with on a day-to-day basis. While these pieces of tech are small and take minimal effort for someone to run and take part in, they keep employees connected and happy within the organization.  

Gathering Feedback and Recognition 

Everyone wants to feel appreciated and acknowledged for the work they do. Technology plays a key role in doing so – whether you’re using a channel in a platform like Slack, or a company email that goes out regularly recognizing those employees that have gone above and beyond.  

Along with recognition, adding a technology platform into your review cadence will keep employees more engaged. By allowing for more regular company-wide feedback, leadership can ask more questions throughout the year and consistently receive honest feedback.  

So how does this tie back to a new employee and keeping them? Soliciting new hire feedback improves your relationship by 91%. When an employer asks for feedback, new hires are more likely to have an improved relationship, meaning the chance of 90-day turnover significantly decreases. Setting up an automated cadence to poll new hires or send surveys is a fantastic way to get immediate feedback about their onboarding as well as overall views on the company.  

Understanding the technological needs of your business not only to run but to create an environment where your employees can thrive is critical in attracting and keeping top talent. By doing so, you’re creating a workplace that is inviting and puts the employee in control of their workday and some of the tech they use to communicate and get their job done.

Ready to see how to tie in technology to your processes to create a happier, more effective workforce? Contact us today to learn more.