Employee Retention - Evaluating The Role of Technology

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Written by: Rashmi Anchi

The main issue that all organizations are facing today is employee retention. The way employees look at the company as their place of work and growth has drastically shifted. It is no longer about what compensation and benefits are provided to employees, but what outstanding efforts employers take to ensure their employees stay! Well, employee retention has a few strategies wherein employees are induced to remain in the company for more extended periods, grow professionally and contribute to the company in their capacity. Employees want to work but need timely motivation to keep performing well. In the modern world of digitalization and virtuality, technology places its support for organizations to leverage it and use it to the maximum. Technology can enhance productivity and performance and in turn, retain the best employees. We will look into it soon, but let’s talk about why employees are leaving and changing jobs so often nowadays.

The rate of employee turnover is increasing by the day. Freshers and young employees keep switching their jobs vigorously because, after a point of time, they stop deriving satisfaction from the work they do and the workplace no longer gives them anything in return which will want them to stay. Even though employees don’t mention it often, it is implied that they have current expectations and need a comfortable space to work which fulfills certain wants and needs. Technology is itself a factor that might want employees to wait and work for more time.

Recruiting and retaining the right talent is the challenge today. To overcome this, recruiters need to know the employee as a person and their intent as to how they want to grow through their journey in the company. Technology helps boost this employee retention as it facilitates easy access and instant gratification. Well, how?

Easy access regarding money management matters, automation, information capturing and reviewing, data retrieval, hassle-free utilization, fast communication, the finding of content that may get lost and the degree of accessibility is far better than it was earlier. As for instant gratification, a tech-savvy company is likely to satisfy its employees in a short time frame. It gives the employees immense power to take charge of their work and helps them embrace the real changes happening. It brings speed and efficiency and promotes transparency and corporate responsibility. Hence, we can say that a tech-driven organization can attract consumers which can be a good thing. It is our way to pave out how we can positively make the most of it.

With the rise in technological advancements, the landscape of the workplace has completely undergone a transition. Employers are ready to decentralize and delegate powers. We all know what McClelland’s theory of motivation talks about needs. Need for achievement, need for affiliation, and need for power. At some point, in the work life cycle, employees need some authority to get work done and technology helps gain that power. A decent pay, flexible work hours and recognition in work have become basic needs that each employee expects, but after the pandemic work-life balance, mental health and technology are kept as priorities by both, employees, and employers because it all ties back to how effectively work is done.

Now, what we see is a revolution in digital and virtual spaces, communication is faster and no matter where you are, you can work! At each stage in the employee work life cycle, integration of technology is a must. Right from onboarding as the employee experience starts to retaining them for the better good. The onboarding process can make the employee want to stay longer as he sees the company for the first time, the techno-environment empowers efficient working and employees can strongly connect with their colleagues. When we talk about a healthy work-life balance, technology helps work faster and makes employees happier! They can get work done quickly, take prompt decisions and spend some time in interactions, this reflects in consistent productivity.

Technology allows senior-level managers to take up responsibility and accountability without having second thoughts or hesitation, various tools and software are used to monitor employees daily and keep a check on their work, project completions, team goals, health and foster social collaborations.

Reality and virtual reality, chatbots and humans, technology is taking up processes and making life easy for us all. Microsoft Viva Insights scans emails, collects calendar recommendations, and optimizes an employee’s workday better. Virtual reality can be developed to such an extent that one can smell the place they see and view the location from a 360-degree angle. When all these little details are integrated into the employee’s work journey it adds to their employee experience wanting them to stay and not leave soon.

Software apps and tools make work paperless, replace outdated technology and brighten up everyday mundane daily tasks. There should be a focus on technology to help employees stay because every working person wants to work and experiment with cutting-edge technology. However, the same technology and techniques would not apply to all organizations the same way.

When choosing what type of technology fits your company, the choice must be based on whether the technology is streamlining productivity and triggering innovation in the minds of the workforce. Human capital management tools can help all human resource functions turn into opportunities that lead to better employee engagement and retention. Employee expectations that go in line with digistrats outpace a culture of innovation and modern ways of working.

Technology reduces employee turnover to a huge extent because every step and process has some tech-savvy twist to it. Employee satisfaction polling platforms, employee recognition and reward platforms, predictive analytics for HR, flexible hours of work / WFH (home office) and remote working, etc. are some ways that can be put into practice to keep employees retained.

With the tight talent market, recruiting and retaining the right talent is crucial. Using technology to its best advantage to train and upskill employees allows them to grow and get better at what they do. Methods such as online job shadowing and mentoring can be implemented to keep employees on their toes to keep learning and choosing to stay!

Also Read – Why Learning Should Be An Organizational Culture

” Start the retention process when the person is still open to staying and not after they’ve already told you they are leaving.” – Jeff Weiner