Having Trouble Retaining Talent? Here's How HR Technology Helps.

On top of their tendency for higher proficiency in their positions, employees who are committed to your organization are the most cost-effective as well. One study conducted by the Center for American Progress uncovered that the average cost a business will pay replacing each employee is roughly 21% of their annual salary or pay rate. 

Fortunately, today's business tech market offers many tools for HR professionals to help them unlock the potential value of a retainable workforce. That's why we've written advice on some of the most revolutionary technology available to HR professionals. Advice that can help them foster a more productive, engaged and collaborative work environment that is sure to keep today's employees invested in your business's future. 

Today's workforce is tech-proficient

Despite age or position, your HR teams are dealing with a body of workers that are more tech-literate than ever before. Millennials and Generation Z have grown up with access to technology in their personal lives, but even older employees have acclimated to smartphones, computers and other tools that drive modern businesses. More than half of employees in digital spaces say that outdated tech usage in their current company would be the reason for them to leave.

Contrary to popular belief, technology is more often than not a humanizing force when businesses use its services correctly. Because technology creates digital platforms and spaces for conversations that may have otherwise not occurred, many employees, for example, may feel uncomfortable approaching their managers or peers with criticisms or feedback, but anonymous polls or feedback software allow these same team members to speak freely and without the fear of potential consequences for speaking their truth. 

Better technology, better benefits

When offering a higher salary or position in the company aren't options, re-evaluating your benefits package is one of the most effective strategies in an HR professional's toolbox for minimizing turnover. Even if you already offer comprehensive benefits, there are likely other easy-to-implement opportunities that can result in higher employee satisfaction within your organization. Examples include mentorship programs, designated career tracts, flexible work opportunities and partial or full-time work from home. 

Because many of these benefits are inexpensive, it will be simple for your team to get any required approval from leadership and pair them with your office technology for simple integrations. Mentorship programs, for instance, are a great way to help your teams hone their soft skills (public speaking, email etiquette, etc.) or learn about a position outside of their current area. By building your mentorship program from your digital learning workspace of choice, you can ensure that mentorship sessions are iterable, measurable in their success and accessible to the entire company—including those who are working from a different location than your office. 

When you have designed your mentorship program or buddy system it’s easy to implement it in the Appical platform through the use of the Manager Toolkit. 

Remote work or flexible hours, similarly, are benefits that have only recently become widely accessible thanks to more comprehensive connectivity these days. If your company has already migrated many of its services to the cloud, offering flexibility on employees' work location and hours is a logical next step to keep them satisfied.

Improved communication for greater engagement 

We've all experienced a meeting or conversation at work that didn't go anywhere productive. Inefficient communication is time-consuming, frustrating, and can contribute to spikes in internal churn rates. In fact, 51% of employees surveyed by Gallagher in 2018 identified improvements to leadership communication as a top priority for the year, despite a considerable 60% businesses having no strategy or long-term goal for improving communication.

For HR departments who have not yet rolled out an internal communications plan for their organization, starting with a communications technology audit is an excellent first step. This process will help you compile a list of your current tools, identify what each one is used for and streamline your communication strategies by removing overlap in functionality. From there, your team can decide which communications require updated tools or strategies.

Take your current phone system as one example. Between business cell phones, tablets, and other smart cellular devices, your employees are rarely at their desks. Tethering your team to an office phone is not only outdated, but it makes working outside of the office a challenge (which is mainly a problem in the era where workplace flexibility is so highly valued). Phones connected through the internet, known as VoIP telephony, offer the mobility that today's workplace demands, allowing your teams to send and receive calls online through their mobile devices or laptops. That's why you can begin your voice communications audit by researching Voice over IP to learn why this is a tool that your team may consider implementing.

Another example for facilitating communication with new hires, managers or buddies is the messaging function in our onboarding platform. You can use this for:

• Communicating with your new hires directly and more efficiently
• Get direct feedback and answer questions 
• Send a personalized welcome message to a specific group
• New hires can contact HR, direct managers or their buddies directly, even before their first day

Targeted inefficiencies

The overall purpose of technology in the workplace is to identify inefficiencies in processes and create solutions to remedy them. HR software, therefore, seeks to improve inefficiencies with people management that contribute to turnover. By allowing your technology to take on some of your workloads, your HR teams will have more time, energy and resources to tackle top-of-mind projects and more significant concerns within the organization, which can lead to higher levels of happiness and engagement across the board. 

Let's take a look at employee onboarding as just one example where many businesses fall short. These first few weeks on the job can be critical to the long-term success and duration of each of your new hires. A poor onboarding experience is not only an unprofessional first- impression, but it can also mean that you have inadequately trained employees walking around.

Without a tailored program, how can you ensure that each new team member is getting the certifications, experience and documentation they need?

To better retain your recent hires and more effectively prepare them for their positions, whether they move jobs internally or are new to your company, integrate your technology from day one with an onboarding platform like we offer. A digital solution for storing and disseminating your new hire information across departments and positions. Gamification and interactiveness seek to make learning this information more immersive and engaging, while the people-finder and manager toolkit ensure a human connection on those initial nerve-wracking weeks in their new position.

If you have any onboarding-related questions, or if there is anything else wandering your mind, please drop us a line. We're always happy to help out!