How is tech driving talent retention in the new age of the hybrid workforce?

If there's one phrase everyone's hearing right now, (apart from you're on mute), it's 'hybrid working'.

How is tech driving talent retention in the new age of the hybrid workforce?

If there’s one phrase everyone’s hearing right now, (apart from you’re on mute), it’s ‘hybrid working’. With most organisations planning to adopt this model, they are equally considering the implications this can have, especially when it comes to talent retention. 

With The Great Resignation already in full force, employees are walking away from their jobs in staggering numbers. As such, leaders must take careful consideration as to how to execute a hybrid model effectively in order to drive, not hinder talent retention. 

This is where technology can once again, save the day. As demonstrated by the sudden shift to remote working, technology has proven to be the glue in keeping teams together. But how can it be used to drive talent retention in the new age of the hybrid workforce?

The current challenge: churn on the rise 

With hybrid working, organisations are no longer restricted to pick from a talent pool in one location. The job market is much more buoyant, meaning employees now have choice. So if a company culture doesn’t fit a certain preference, you may struggle to keep an employee engaged or retain them all together. Our research revealed that 42% of HR leaders believe employee churn has increased since the ease of restrictions, meaning new possibilities bring a wave of challenges too. 

Additionally, hybrid working can lead to less visibility and this can deteriorate culture. We discovered that 42% of employees think the culture of their organisation has declined since the pandemic. With employees dispersed, this can create an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality and lack of motivation, causing this decline. Finding a way to build a company culture that can bring teams together is therefore crucial for talent retention.

Why technology is key to talent retention

The pandemic has shown us that if a company has a poor digital strategy, this can lead to an inadequate employee experience. Adobe Workfront’s State of Work revealed that almost half of the UK workforce would go as far as leaving their job due to frustrations with technology. Therefore the ability to retain the ‘A players’ rests on the quality of technology, and so businesses need to create collaborative, digital work experiences that empower and bring together distributed teams.

Build culture through comms

According to McKinsey, when people feel included in detailed communications around remote work, they are almost five times more likely to be productive. This suggests that to build a positive culture, leaders need to find ways to communicate with all of their employees and give them a voice. With many people feeling disconnected and craving a sense of belonging, leaders can use communication channels that generate a sense of psychological safety, and  help overcome challenges with inclusion. 

News feeds, team chats, social channels, video meetings, phone calls, emails and pulse surveys are all likely to help ensure you build a positive culture regardless of location. Not only that but ensure employees (remote or otherwise) have an opportunity to feed back their thoughts. 

Better insights drive engagement 

Technology can also provide insights into who your employees are, how they work, what they need to succeed, and who they work with. Often, the amount of data available can be overwhelming, so this needs to be accompanied by analytics and reporting processes to make the data meaningful. By integrating data streams into your HR platform you can leverage information in a way that it maximises worker productivity. This enables leaders to produce reports in real-time, helping them better understand the dynamics that matter most. 

As such, HRs can use this data to build models which will boost necessary behaviour for optimal outcomes. Real-time data allows you to build models and predict future eventualities whereas past data (think annual appraisals) focuses on past events and are therefore descriptive in nature. Consequently, with a deep enough level of insight, leaders can create and provide communication or learning opportunities that keep employees motivated. 

HRs vs The Great Resignation

In the hybrid model, businesses need to reject silos and commit to integrated technologies that connect people, processes and data. Using technology to achieve this, can help create an irresistible company culture which in turn will shield you against becoming a victim of ‘The Great Resignation’.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Seemann
Mark Seemann
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