Author: Srikant Chellappa

Srikant Chellappa is the Co-Founder and CEO at Engagedly and is a passionate entrepreneur and people leader. He is an author, producer/director of 6 feature films, a music album with his band Manchester Underground, and is the host of The People Strategy Leaders Podcast.

5 Tips to Boost Your Small Business’ Productivity

It’s no secret that improving employee productivity is crucial to a small business’ success, in fact for all businesses. But for small businesses, it can often be challenging to make the right changes to improve efficiencies and increase profits. So how do you balance productivity with cost-effectiveness and maximize results?

Small businesses have several options for getting more done faster and cheaper. But suppose you want to see real, measurable improvements in your day-to-day operations. In that case, you may need to assess where your company could use additional support — especially when it comes to tracking employee performance. That’s where employee time trackers come into the picture.

How to Improve Employees’ Productivity

Improve productivity for Small businesses

One of the most effective ways to improve employee productivity is to hire people with the right skills for the job rather than relying solely on resumes. Hiring experienced and knowledgeable employees can help ensure tasks are completed quickly and efficiently.

Providing employees with the right technology and education by attending relevant seminars or taking a course can also help to increase productivity. Technology such as time trackers can track employee activities, allowing them to monitor their productivity and adjust accordingly.

Below are the five effective ways small businesses can use time trackers to improve their productivity — while helping employees become more efficient.

Also Read: Employee Experience vs. Employee Productivity: Does One Affect the Other?

Implement an Online Time Clock App for Accurate Time Tracking

Implementing an online free clock-in clock-out app is essential when improving a small business’s productivity. These apps help track attendance, timesheets, and labor costs and export payroll data while enabling many other features through which a custom report can also be created.

For instance, the GPS tracking feature can record employee location when they clock in and out of their work day. This can be extremely helpful for businesses that need a better handle on where their employees are at any given moment.

Time clock apps can also help businesses manage employee scheduling and time tracking. It can also help in task management and payroll with ease. Accurate employee time tracking allows business owners to build schedules around employee availability. They can assign tasks based on individual strengths. Furthermore, these apps can calculate worked hours and prepare detailed reports for accurate payroll processing at the end of the month.

Online time clock apps are a definite must for any small business looking to improve productivity and save time in the long run.

Set Clear Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Employees

Goals and KPIs provide measurable targets to track progress and efficiency. When it comes to performance-based metrics, KPIs are the standard. KPIs are quantifiable metrics used to measure progress toward a goal. 

They should be aligned with the business strategy, attainable, acute (easily measured and monitored), accurate (consistent), actionable (immediate or short-term), and alive (reviewed regularly).

Examples of KPIs include Voluntary Attrition, Employee Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Quarterly Sales Goals. Establishing these metrics throughout every level of the organization motivates employees. 

It also creates accountability for everyone on the team. NPS measures employee satisfaction by rating their performance on a scale from 1 to 10. While Quarterly Sales Goals help check whether groups meet their desired target sales. Setting clear goals for employees to reach helps managers determine how productive their staff is.

Also Read: OKR vs. KPI: Differences And Importance

Provide Adequate Training and Learning Opportunities

Providing adequate training and learning opportunities for employees will lead to improved productivity and higher staff retention. Training is a crucial factor for small businesses to stimulate proactive thinking. This can include onboarding, company culture training, leadership development, and even industry-specific skills.

The idea of providing training and learning opportunities is two-fold. It helps to build employee skill sets allowing them to stay current with new technology and systems. At the same time, it also gives them a chance to show initiative in the workplace. Both are important for improving staff morale.

Building a learning culture in small businesses has benefits. It can include better employee engagement and an understanding that their work matters within the business. This gives employees an environment where they can thrive. They can experiment with creative ideas and collaborate with different departments or colleagues. This leads to greater productivity.

Conduct Regular Performance Reviews and Feedback

Regular performance reviews and feedback can play a fundamental role in improving employee productivity for small businesses. Most companies have abandoned traditional performance reviews. However, many argue that feedback given during regular assessments can enhance employee performance. 

Performance reviews help maintain a healthy and positive company culture. It also allows employers to identify areas where employees need improvement. It can help in training them to manage their workloads better. Moreover, it helps employees feel supported. Knowing that their employers are invested in their success. And that they are available to offer constructive feedback when needed. 

Some tips for conducting effective performance reviews include:

  1. Be clear on the goals you set for each review.
  2. Allow employees time to share their thoughts on past accomplishments and present challenges.
  3. Always finish by providing constructive criticism and areas for improvement.
  4. Ensure a two-way dialog with both parties listening to exchange views.

Motivate Employees through Recognition and Rewards

One way to motivate employees to become more productive is by recognizing and rewarding them. A simple thank you, or a few words of encouragement can make employees feel appreciated. It can act as an incentive for them to continue working hard.

Moreover, rewards can reinforce good behavior and motivate employees to continue their best efforts. It can be bonuses, time off, gift cards, or recognition awards. The rewards don’t have to be extravagant. Something as small as a gift card or words of appreciation can go a long way in recognizing hard work. Rewards help boost morale and encourage employees to strive for higher productivity levels.

All people want to feel that their contributions are appreciated and rewarded. Businesses foster an environment conducive to higher performance levels by recognizing individual accomplishments. Recognizing employees‘ achievements boosts morale and motivation. This encourages them to continue striving for excellence. 

Also Read: Engagedly + Meta Workplace: Elevate Rewards and Recognition to New Heights

Challenges of Small Startup Companies when Having Remote Workers

Remote work - Challenges of Small businesses

Small startups tackling the remote working model for the first time might face a few challenges.

Communication is a Key Challenge

Communication is a crucial challenge for startup businesses. Especially when it comes to remote work arrangements. With tech-based solutions, it’s easy to keep everyone in the loop for communications.  But to do so, you need to ensure that everyone uses the same tools. This requires trial and error and training.

Remote Employees Requires Additional Consideration

When it comes to remote employees, there are more considerations you’ll need to take into account. Like job descriptions and communication style preferences. You’ll also need to consider handling work interaction without having an office space. Consider a place where workers can physically meet up and collaborate.

Remote Work Can Lead to Overworking, Isolation and Communication Breakdown

Remote work can lead to overworking. This is due to a lack of boundaries. Isolation also happens due to a lack of physical interaction with colleagues. Breakdowns in communication can occur when stakeholders need to learn how or when they can access your remote team. To avoid these issues, clear expectations must be set from the start. Regular check-ins are carried out with remote workers and on-site team members.

Final Thoughts

Implementing a few of the practices outlined in this article can improve employee productivity for your small business. Introducing a time clock app or setting boundaries for work hours can create a more efficient work environment. It can also promote productivity among employees. 

Ultimately, it’s worth the effort to optimize the workplace to improve the success and productivity of the business.

Also Read: The Essential Guide To Employee Productivity In A Hybrid Setup

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is employee productivity for small business?

Ans. Employee productivity for small business is the efficiency of workers in achieving business goals and completing tasks effectively.

Q2. How to improve employee productivity for small businesses?

Ans. To improve employee productivity for small businesses, focus on clear goals, training, engagement, work-life balance, efficient communication, proper tools, recognition, time management, streamlined processes, and teamwork.

Q3. Why focus on improving employee productivity for small businesses?

Ans. Focusing on improving employee productivity for small businesses boosts efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability, leading to better customer satisfaction and business growth.

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5 Coaching and Mentoring Examples To Empower Workplaces

Coaching and mentoring are powerful learning tools in the workplace, contributing to the empowerment of employees. The mentees, in particular, reap significant benefits, experiencing enhanced confidence and interpersonal skills. This dynamic relationship substantially improves individual performance. Implementing coaching and mentoring establishes a hands-on training program for new employees, aiding them in comprehending job expectations. Rather than thrusting a new employee directly into a position, providing a support system and an interactive learning environment through professional coaching and mentoring fosters on-the-job confidence.

What is Coaching and Mentoring in the Workplace?

Coaching and mentoring play pivotal roles in the workplace, enabling employees to achieve remarkable levels of professional development and personal growth. Coaching provides personalized guidance for skill enhancement and goal achievement, while mentoring cultivates enduring relationships offering valuable career advice and support.

Adopting these practices nurtures increased employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall organizational success. A culture that embraces coaching and mentoring fosters a dynamic learning environment, encouraging knowledge sharing and attracting top talent. This contributes to a thriving workplace where employees are motivated to excel, unlocking their full potential.

Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring 

Coaching and mentoring an employee makes them more valuable to the organization. It helps to develop and enhance their skills professionally and personally and provides a guided path towards the targeted goals. It directly benefits the employees to discover and embrace the truth about themselves and helps to explore by setting order and improving competencies.

Also Read: Coaching vs. Managing: Definitions, Differences, and Tips for Managers

Characteristics of Coaching and Mentoring 

  • Its focuses on improving performance and developing an individual
  • It provides employees with the opportunity to assess their strengths as well as their development areas
  • Commit to action
  • Preparing and supporting people through change 
  • Sharing curated resources 
  • Time management and skill competencies

coaching and mentoring examples 

Examples of Mentoring and Coaching in the Workplace

Mastercard

Mastercard considered mentoring as a means to break down silos and help employees connect with co-workers across the business who have similar ambitions and interests. This leading global payments technology company leveraged its talent marketplace to generate mentor pairings based on capabilities and ambitions, instead of making matches based solely on seniority. Mastercard’s mentoring program has proven to be particularly beneficial for welcoming new talents into their organization.

Schneider Electric 

Surveys revealed that nearly 50% of exiting employees cited subpar growth opportunities as their primary reason for leaving the business. Therefore, Schneider Electric decided to take action and launch a talent marketplace to transform internal mobility and empower its employees to take charge of their professional development. Mentoring is a core component of internal mobility at Schneider Electric. 

Novartis 

With a headcount that surpasses 100,000, breaking down silos is a priority for Novartis. In the past, associates struggled to gain visibility into opportunities outside of their region and function. This led to the launch of a mentoring program with an emphasis on cross-functional and cross-country pairings. The company used its talent marketplace to generate mentee-mentor pairs based on relevant expertise. 

Cooley 

Cooley is a global law firm with over 1,500 lawyers. The intricacies of their legal work demand that new attorneys be ready for action quickly. Their Cooley Academy Mentoring Program (CAMP) was designed to onboard new employees and get them ready to fasten connections with more experienced individuals. This provided them with a good support system that helped them become competent in their new roles faster. 

McGraw-Hill

The education publication giant, based in New York City, has offices in 38 countries, which provides interesting opportunities for mentorships. The company undertook a comprehensive planning and strategy approach to its mentoring program development. A case study on the process shows that most employees are well-served by the program. 97% of participants said that they would recommend the program. 

Also Read: 6 Guidelines to Developing A Professional Mentoring Program

Real-Life Success: Coaching and Mentoring in Action

Why diversity coaching is important?

In 2018, Starbucks found itself in the middle of a public relations crisis when an employee called the police on two black men who were waiting for a friend in a Philadelphia cafe without ordering anything. The men were arrested, despite doing nothing wrong, and the incident went viral. Many activists used the incident to highlight bias against Black people and protesters began to hold demonstrations inside stores. In response, Starbucks decided to close all of its 8,000 U.S. stores for a day to hold racial bias training. Experts in diversity and inclusion pointed out that research shows that this type of one-day training often fails to produce even short-term results. Starbucks leadership acknowledged that the issue could not be solved within one day, and promised to create a program that was central to the company’s core mission and in line with its values.

Productivity Mentoring

Deloitte created its D-180 digital mentoring program in response to COVID-19. It targets university graduates, high school students, and college students. The aim is to provide participants with the skills and support they need to find meaningful work within the evolving new economy. Deloitte provides this service to youth in the Middle East and Cyprus. They advocate for an education that goes above and beyond academia. Deloitte pairs with mentors through internet mediums with young mentees and oversees their relationships. The aim is to encourage future employment opportunities

Conclusion

Therefore, mentoring and coaching are related to the dissemination of knowledge and the development of skills provided at various levels. The processes, when effectively done, are likely to bring positive change in individuals and hence, increase the productivity of organizations. 

Talent Management

What Is Recency Bias? | Definition | Examples | Impact

What is Recency Bias?

Recency bias is a common human tendency that involves placing undue significance on recent experiences or the latest information when forecasting future events. This inclination can lead to the misconception that recent events play a more crucial role in shaping the future.

Recency Bias Examples

The following are some of the recency bias examples in the workplace:

Daniel has been a consistent contributor to the sales team of XYZ organization. In the last year, he has closed great deals with some major clients. But since January 2023, he hasn’t delivered well, and his overall quarterly revenue growth is 70% less than the team’s average. During the performance appraisal process, Daniel’s manager, Sean, overlooked all of his achievements and focused only on the last three months when Daniel’s performance was not as per the company’s expected standards.

Due to this recency effect, Daniel did not get an appraisal, even though his annual average revenue growth was much higher. This led Daniel to face disengagement, decreased productivity, and dissatisfaction with his job.

From the discussed recency bias example, it is quite clear that it can severely impact organizational productivity, engagement, and growth prospects.

Why does Recency Bias Occur in Workplaces?

Recency bias occurs in workplaces due to several psychological and cognitive factors:

  1. Memory and Attention: Humans tend to give more weight to recent events because they are more easily remembered and still in our immediate attention. The human brain may prioritize recent information over older experiences when making judgments.
  2. Availability Heuristic: People often rely on information that is readily available to them when making decisions. Recent events or experiences are more accessible in memory, leading individuals to place greater importance on them when assessing situations.
  3. Impacts of Emotion: Recent events or experiences may evoke stronger emotions, which can influence decision-making. Emotionally charged events are more likely to be remembered and given undue weight when evaluating an individual’s performance or behavior.
  4. Short-Term Memory Bias: The human brain tends to prioritize information stored in short-term memory. Events or information that occurred recently are more likely to be at the forefront of individuals’ minds, influencing their judgments and perceptions.
  5. Cognitive Load: In busy work environments, individuals may be overwhelmed with information and tasks. This cognitive load can make it challenging to consider a person’s performance over an extended period, leading to a reliance on recent information for convenience.
  6. Recency’s Perceived Relevance: People often assume that recent events are more indicative of a person’s current capabilities or behavior. This assumption may lead to the belief that the most recent information is more relevant in evaluating performance.

To mitigate recency bias in workplaces, it’s essential for managers and decision-makers to consciously consider a broader time frame when assessing performance, utilize comprehensive performance evaluation systems, and incorporate feedback from the entire evaluation period.

Recency Bias Effect on Performance Appraisal

recency bias in workplaces

Good reviews depend on the reviewer objectively reviewing an employee’s performance from the beginning of the year to the end of the year (for a 6-month period, a 3-month period, etc.). For a yearly appraisal sample that provides a balanced evaluation across the entire year, check out these performance review examples.

That means the final review is a summation of all the work that has been done, both the good and the bad, and the in-between as well. This is how a good review works.

With recency bias, however, the scenario is a little different. When reviewers suffer from recency bias, they tend to remember the most recent work the employee has done. And based on the quality of that work, they review their performance.

If a low-performing employee suddenly starts performing better just before the review, then despite their previous low performance, they are going to get a good review.

On the other hand, if an employee performs well throughout the year, but before the review, their performance drops, then despite their previous good performance, they are going to get a bad review.

Recency bias penalizes people based on factors outside of their control and rewards people for momentary bursts of effort.

How to Avoid Recency Effect in Performance Appraisals

One way you can prevent recency bias (unless you have an exceptionally good memory, in which case you have already won the jackpot) is to keep a track record of an employee’s performance. That means making notes of an employee’s work, making notes of their skills, keeping a record of feedback given and received, how they work with other people, etc.

You can do this manually, which might be slightly painstaking (or not, depending on your view), or you can use performance management software to do this. Engagedly has two features that can specifically help with tracking performance: employee feedback and private notes. The exclusive features help eliminate recency bias by providing a holistic view of an employee’s performance.

It’s worth remembering that recency bias cannot be completely eliminated. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try your best to get rid of it.

Performance Management Tool

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Complete Guide by HR Experts: Best Practices for Effective Onboarding

Employee onboarding is one of the most crucial steps in the hiring process. The critical onboarding process ensures new hires have the information, abilities, and attitude necessary to fit in with the company. Onboarding best practices entail giving a new hire the resources and knowledge to contribute effectively to the team and introducing them to the company and its culture.

According to the statistics on customer service onboarding, companies with the best onboarding process experienced a 60% increase in revenue from the previous year. Onboarding is also the first brand impression an employee gets; if it’s bad, employees won’t stay long.

It is estimated that 17% of employees quit between the first and third months of a new job if they don’t experience a good onboarding process.

Thus, it is crucial for HR professionals to create an effective onboarding process for the company’s growth. We have compiled a new employee onboarding guide to help you understand the best onboarding practices.

What Is the Onboarding Process?

A new hire should pay close attention to onboarding since it is their first experience getting to know the organizational values and their team members. Employee onboarding is meant to familiarize them with all the required tools, bring them up to speed on important initiatives, and prepare them for success in their new position.

The best method to welcome and keep new staff is to have a solid onboarding procedure.

As per a survey, 33% of employees leave their jobs within the first 90 days, which raises the cost of recruiting and hiring.

With onboarding best practices, they are more likely to feel engaged with the organization, enhancing performance and motivating workers to stay with the firm longer.

Also Read: Onboarding Survey and How to Conduct it

Onboarding Best Practices Guide – Easy-to-Follow Steps

The onboarding process is one of the most important aspects of ensuring newly hired personnel will be successful, satisfied workers. One study found that 51% of workers would go “above and beyond” at work if they had a positive onboarding experience. So, here is the onboarding process checklist for making your new hires’ onboarding process smoother:

Optimize the hiring process

Optimize the hiring process

To remain competitive in a difficult, candidate-driven job market, it is essential to identify ineffective and outdated processes. You don’t want to make a poor first impression on new joiners.

According to Forbes, 88% of the workforce think they don’t receive a quality onboarding program.

Many HR professionals make the common mistake of not contacting the employee after sending them the offer letter. As a result, it gives the candidate the impression that the management is not interested in taking the hiring process forward. Thus, ensure staying in touch with candidates before, during, and after onboarding to alleviate their fears regarding the job.

Additionally, you should begin onboarding when your employee receives their offer letter. Giving new employees access to the necessary resources for performance, such as laptops, internet connection, and more, can help you create a positive impression on candidates, so ensure everything is set up in advance. For example:

  • Keep the employee’s workstation ready.
  • Get all the paperwork done before joining.
  • Set up their work email and login credentials. 
  • Ask them for all the necessary information you require, such as their address, phone number, emergency contact information, etc. 
Also Read: Hiring Advice: Staffing and Employment Trends for 2023

Welcome the new hires

Expressing special gratitude to employees for joining your company would be excellent. Making new hires feel at home and comfortable in their new surroundings is your responsibility and the finest practice for your onboarding.

Your new hires will undoubtedly undergo numerous paperwork on their first day, so be patient and don’t rush anything. Moreover, ensure that new hires thoroughly understand the company’s processes. Whatever you do, let your welcome offerings showcase the company’s cultural identity.

Set up an orientation program

Set up an orientation program

Employee orientation is essential to ensure the new worker aligns with the company’s objectives. Accurate and thorough employee orientation is essential to giving employees the direction they need to approach their new work. Thus, create a written document or visual presentation that prospective employees can read to inform them about the company’s history and culture.

The new hire will likely lose interest if they are unprepared or confused about their task. To make employees confident and engaged, welcome and answer their questions and concerns.

Establish a thorough onboarding schedule

New employees will quickly lose motivation if they have no task to complete in the first few days. Therefore, it’s smart to plan and follow a predetermined timetable for each hire the first week before settling them into their regular tasks.

A detailed schedule aids in making new employees feel comfortable on their first day of work. Your onboarding calendar should include various activities to let new hires meet their coworkers and learn more about their team members and dynamics.

Assign a buddy mentor

Giving your new team member a buddy gives them a safe space to learn about your company’s procedures, work environment, and their day-to-day job. By designating a “buddy mentor,” you demonstrate to the employee that you are prepared to help them adapt to their new position and duties.

Newcomers must feel comfortable asking questions about the culture and team to their buddy mentor. Thus, it would be ideal if the mentor were a colleague rather than a direct manager or supervisor. Additionally, ensure the person you choose for this position has a helping attitude.

Also Read: Mentoring Complete Integration with Engagedly

Organize essential training

Organize essential training

Organizational training is essential because it enables new hires to become familiar with their surroundings, coworkers, and assigned tasks. Employees must have the resources to keep learning to advance their careers and provide fruitful outcomes for your company.

Employees can regularly attend frequent skills evaluations, structured training videos, certification programs, and lunch-and-learn seminars.

Schedule regular check-ins

A fantastic technique to make sure the onboarding procedure goes successfully is to schedule check-ins with the manager and the new employee in one-on-ones. HR personnel must be the new employee’s point of contact to whom they can ask difficult questions they might feel uncomfortable asking the management.

During the check-in, don’t forget to thank the employee for their contributions and ask if they require extra training or assistance regarding work. Regular check-ins can make a difference between an employee who stays on board for a long time and one who leaves early.

Also Read: Social Flow of Work: Enhance Digital Real-Time Collaboration with Engagedly

Get senior leaders involved

While new employees might not frequently engage with senior leaders, they must understand who they work for. Try to include senior team members as much as possible in the onboarding procedure.

The directors or senior managers might offer employees a tour of the office, take them out to lunch, provide a quick summary of the company’s history, or even lead a compulsory training session. Such quality time helps break down hierarchy barriers and increases openness and comfort in the workplace.

Get the new employee’s opinion

Get the new employee's opinion

Your new employee would usually be equipped with new perspectives and recent experiences from other businesses. Thus, asking them for input on your operations, procedures, and improvement areas might enhance your company’s onboarding. Additionally, with seamless feedback software, you may create surveys, allowing new hires to share their honest opinions anonymously.

Use technology to combat challenges

Employee connection and communication may suffer when working remotely. Thus, the role of HR in the onboarding process is crucial. Work efficiency and accountability are a couple of prevalent difficulties with remote workers.

It is crucial to give your remote workers the tools they need to succeed during the virtual onboarding process. With the help of remote work collaboration, the following easy recommendations might help employers recruit remote workers:

  • Invite the employee to a virtual welcoming meeting to introduce themselves to the team. 
  • Arrange a 2-week on-site orientation for the new remote worker if it is possible for them to arrive at the workplace. As a result, they will interact with everyone in person and get to know the company’s employees better.
  • Ensure your new employee has received and can set up any required equipment.
  • Consider recording training sessions so the new hire can review them later.
Also Read: 8 Best Strategies To Improve Global Remote Employee Experience

Summing Up

A successful onboarding process is essential for new employees. Smooth onboarding requires time, effort, and cross-departmental cooperation to make the new hire comfortable in your organization. Onboarding must be flexible to adapt to organizational changes. With onboarding best practices, you will prepare new employees for success, benefiting the business and the team.

Engagedly helps align and motivate employees to level up your workforce with ease. Among the best features of Engagedly are goal-setting, manager feedback, peer recognition, idea generation, knowledge sharing/e-learning, rewards, objectives alignment (OKR), and social performance. Our platform is the best-automated tool for promoting employee engagement effectively. Contact a consultation today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is an onboarding checklist?

Ans. A way for hiring managers to organize the duties needed to support new hires during their first few weeks and months at a company is known as an onboarding checklist.

Q2. What makes onboarding crucial?

Ans. An onboarding program is crucial for getting new employees started in their careers with your company. It helps the company complete all employee-related formalities and formally introduce employees to the business.

Q3. What is a good onboarding procedure?

Ans. A good onboarding procedure involves the following:

  • A checklist officializing the hire
  • Concluding a background investigation if required
  • Determining the schedule and job responsibilities
  • Preparing and completing necessary new hire forms

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A Guide to Employee Risk Management

In the dynamic landscape of modern workplaces, organizations striving for success continually encounter new challenges. Failing to adapt and implement necessary changes can result in adverse outcomes such as employee attrition, a damaged reputation, and regulatory issues. Employee risk management emerges as an inevitable aspect that is challenging to eliminate entirely. However, companies can proactively adopt specific practices to anticipate potential risks, thereby reducing the likelihood of risks materializing and mitigating potential damages.

What Makes Employee Risk Management So Important?

Other than the aforementioned consequences, risk management also helps with the overall productivity of an organization.

Imagine how focused a worker can be if potential risks are on their mind while working. Creating a cohesive work environment is an unreasonable aspiration under such circumstances.

Of course, given how popular a hybrid work model and remote working are in general, those who stay at home do not face immediate threats that occur in-house. They have an easier time focusing. 

On the other hand, it does not mean that remote workers can rest easy knowing that they can avoid possible risks.

If anything, the employee risk area list goes beyond what is just happening on-site. Organizations have to consider multiple factors that make a monolith, that is, the workforce. 

Also Read: 3 Proven Ways to Boost Employee Productivity

The List of Key Employee Risk Areas

Key Areas - Risk Management

Development

It is in the hands of human resources to ensure employees are equipped with the necessary skills and tools to carry out their tasks.

By dedicating themselves, workers also expect to get something in return, i.e., career opportunities. 

The risk is in the failure to provide the development at the right time or providing it only to a select few. The latter, especially, reflects poorly and creates friction within the workforce.

Ethics

Disputes between peers or employees and upper management may result due to poor ethical practices.

Some organizations might take the risk of choosing one candidate over another because of religion, sexuality, or gender. 

Such a mindset signals that the organization has problems when it comes to ethics. One of the most prominent hazards associated with HR risk management is to encourage and implement equal opportunity hiring, which leads to a more non-discriminatory work environment.

Safety Laws

Many people associate work risks with various incidents that lead to physical injuries. At the same time, there is also a bigger emphasis on the mental employee state. 

It is crucial to ensure that an organization’s policies and activities are in line with local regulations. Moreover, since the law gets updated on a regular basis, keeping up with the changes and implementing them can be tricky.

Security and Privacy

Cybersecurity is another headache for many organizations. Data breaches occur without prior warning, so it is imperative to have a proper system in place to prevent the risks.

Both employee and client data have to be stored safely. Also, people in charge of handling the information have to be held to a high standard considering the repercussions of misusing data.

Workforce

The general functioning of an organization’s workforce in relation to employee engagement with peers and the company itself also poses multiple challenges.

Conflicts, burnouts, the sense of unfulfilled expectations, and other similar issues are an obstacle preventing a productive environment. 

Also Read: The Go To Guide To Perfecting The Employee Engagement Survey

Employee Benefits

No employee will work for free. They expect to get a salary that justifies their qualifications and the effort put into carrying out the work. 

Besides, it is not just a salary. Benefits come in different forms, and it is up to the employer to find out what the workers need. Otherwise, the risk of having some of your employees leave for a competitor increases.

Structural Changes

Structural changes vary from small to significant. A department may promote someone from outside or within. Alternatively, a company could merge or get acquired, which poses serious questions to consider for the staff involved.

It helps when there is enough time to prepare for everything, but there are still different risks, such as someone deciding that they do not want to continue working in the organization just before the change.

Disruptions are a nuisance when transitioning to a new structure, and it is no wonder that so many organizations struggle.

Creating an Effective Employee Risk Management Strategy

effective employee risk management strategy

Understanding where the risks lie is part of the management, but you also have to create an effective strategy. Let’s take a look at how the process should be.

Assessing the risks

The first step should be assessing the current risks in the organization. Looking back at the history of what was the biggest problem helps in planning and preparing in advance. 

If a company has few problems to take care of, they will have an easier time than those who have a plethora of risky areas.

The sense of feeling overwhelmed can be crippling, but even that is possible to overcome if you break problems down one by one.

Sometimes, companies see a risk and question how likely it is to actually occur. Or whether the consequences are detrimental enough. For instance, if you have to invest more money in a security system than the losses that would occur in case of a hazard, financially, that does not make sense.

However, safety and employee risk management, or rather prevention, should be a priority. The assessment should not be about cutting costs. 

Identifying suitable precautions

Precautions are a safety net that exists in case of a threat becoming an actual problem. Different organizations have different models and areas, so they have to adjust accordingly.

Putting enough effort into finding the risks means it is easier to find precautions. Some implementations will be company-wide. Others, meanwhile, will involve individual employees and departments.

Personal advice is heavily encouraged as well, particularly when it comes to senior employees or those from another department who specialize in a particular subject.

Take IT, for example; let’s say someone receives a new MacBook for work but does not know how to delete apps on Mac that won’t delete. Such issues can cause one to think that there is a potential malware threat, and who knows what that could lead to, especially if the device has sensitive data on it or is part of a bigger network.

Checking in with someone who understands such things should be a heavily encouraged policy throughout the organization. Not only does it identify potential risks, but it also leads to finding solutions.

Also Read: The Importance of Workplace Environment in Employee Engagement

Establishing a monitoring system

What follows after assessing the risks and finding solutions is a monitoring system. There should be a constant assessment of what is going on. 

It will require additional resources, but the step is inevitable to ensure that the risks are minimized. At the end of the day, there is only so much that supervisors can do.

A monitoring system will also answer whether the risks are managed better. Registering incidents and seeing the trend of how the numbers change over time is a worthwhile investment.

Monitoring also lets organizations observe how specific risks affect different employees/departments. 

Finally, by having a bigger picture, companies can determine whether people within the organization require additional training. Lack of communication, personal skills, and other areas can and should be improved if it helps with the overall organizational risk management.

Seeking new solutions

Staying ahead of the curve is an excellent piece of advice for risk control. An effective system in place is great, but it does not mean that organizations should give up on an idea to improve it.

Perhaps an employee comes up with something from their personal experience and shares what could have been done to avoid a problem.

Keeping an eye on the industry and learning from the troubles of other organizations are also worthwhile considerations. Instead of waiting for a risk to get to you, be proactive and introduce preventive measures.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, organizations have to create a strategy that prevents or minimizes risks so that employees can focus on their work instead of pondering what might happen.

There are multiple sources for potential risks, but it is to be expected, given how volatile everything is these days. 

At the same time, though, changes also mean new and improved means to fend off the risks, and that is what organizations should take advantage of when working on applications of risk management and prevention.

Also Read: Best Employee Engagement Strategies for Better Workplace

Employee Career Development

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is employee risk management?

Ans. Employee risk management can be defined as a business aspect of ensuring that people within the organization can focus on the work instead of worrying about risks that are present in the environment.

Q2. Why must organizations work on reducing potential risks?

Ans. A risk-free work environment means that employees can focus on what matters the most—carrying out the tasks given to them. This leads to a functioning and productive organization that achieves its goals.

Q3. How to create an effective strategy to reduce potential risks?

Ans. An effective strategy should be based on risk assessment, precaution identification, constant monitoring, and seeking new solutions.

Since different companies have different pain points to worry about, there is no universal answer to how a risk management strategy should be carried out. Instead, organizations have to take already established and effective methods and apply them accordingly while making adjustments along the way and looking for better alternatives.

HR Virtual Summits 2023: Benefits, Importance, and Future

Virtual events have provided businesses and individuals with a socializing lifeline in a world turned upside down by the COVID-19 epidemic.

In 2022, 40% of corporate events were virtual, up 5% from 2020, according to a poll of marketers globally.

HR conferences were among the many offline activities that shifted to online in 2020. An organized event known as a “virtual summit” brings together staff members, clients, and stockholders worldwide in an online platform to discuss certain subjects related to their sector. This method has gained popularity and has become a potent tool for businesses and entrepreneurs. In this article, we will learn about what is HR virtual summit, its importance, takeaways, and more in detail.

What Is an HR Virtual Summit?

What Is an HR Virtual Summit

HR virtual summit is the largest virtual event in the world, connecting and elevating HR professionals. The virtual HR summit’s main focus is developing HR leaders’ executive presence. This online conference aims to equip HR leaders with the resources and encouragement to transform their teams and businesses.

These summits don’t involve travel, and the financial investment is minimal. Therefore, new and existing businesses may take advantage of the chance to expand their networks and communicate with a wide audience. HR virtual summit focuses on high-quality educational materials and speaker sessions rather than promotional content.

It is imperative to attend these conferences to gain insight into how to adjust to today’s rapidly evolving work environment from HR specialists who are experienced in the industry.

Also read: 7 Examples of People Operations OKRs/ HR OKRs

Future of HR Virtual Summit

According to Gartner, remote work and shifting worker demographics will cause in-person meetings to decline from 60% to 25% by 2024. By 2028, the market for virtual events will likely rise at a compound annual growth rate of 23.7% from its estimated value of $114.12 billion in 2021.

With such technological changes, HR is also witnessing a highly observed transformation where tech tools and human innovation combine to exponentially increase HR’s business influence. Rapid technology breakthroughs continue to change the business landscape. The HR virtual summit is emerging as a source of knowledge and inspiration.

HR virtual summit intends to spark a revolutionary transformation in how we work, using the power of technology and unleashing the enormous potential of the human workforce.

Importance of HR Virtual Summit

HR Virtual Summit Importance

HR virtual summit provides excellent opportunities to advance your professional growth and improve your company’s HR procedures. There are many benefits of the HR virtual summit, like the following:

Showcases Industry Expertise

HR events are a fantastic way to increase your understanding of the field. Esteemed experienced professionals from reputed companies talk at the greatest HR conferences. These workshops offer insightful information about top-tier HR procedures.

You can move outside the cocoon of your firm and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the sector by interacting with HR experts in industries other than yours. Continually expanding your knowledge will increase your value proposition to your company.

According to a UK study, 89% of employers believe successful employees must be able to learn new things throughout their lives.

Saves Money and Time

While face-to-face interaction is lost in a virtual summit, the session can provide a more practical means of participating. For instance, you can participate in the sessions from anywhere as the entire event is online. As a result, attending a summit no longer requires troublesome and time-consuming travel, dressing up, or focusing an entire day’s schedule on the seminar.

Virtual summits allow you to watch the sessions while participating in all the discussion areas. Additionally, with a virtual HR summit, entering and exiting any online event spaces, networking lounges, and session rooms is simple.

Expands Your Professional Network

Networking with people in your industry is essential, as these relationships might help you and your business in the future with advice, finances, marketing, and more. Consider the HR virtual summit a chance to strike up a dialogue with those in your business that you may not have previously had the opportunity to work with.

One can network with hundreds of HR specialists while learning about market trends, practical tactics, and revolutionizing practices. You can network with business executives at the HR virtual summit, get professional advice, schedule strategic meetings, and create contacts for future collaborations.

Also read: Communication Is The Key Through Any Crisis

Provides Access to Resources

One of the best online places to find relevant HR industry knowledge is virtual summits. Attending an HR virtual conference may teach you all you need to know about HR strategies from experts. You’ll study tried-and-true techniques, best practices, insider tactics, and professional guidance while receiving trustworthy, well-assembled resources.

Additionally, you can pick up fresh information through conversations with other participants and apply it to your operations and business circumstances. Since many online summits are free, you need only invest your time and effort to access useful information, tools, and insights.

Offers Workplace Solutions

The best virtual HR summit features top presenters who explore the most important issues HR faces and share their knowledge on addressing them. These topics addressed in the HR summit may be relevant to your company’s situation.

You can also observe the latest goods or services that HR tech businesses have to offer, thanks to the live demos presented at the virtual HR summit. Thus, when you return to work, you’ll have a brand-new set of solutions with fresh tactics and technology.

Takeaways from HR Virtual Summit

Takeaways from HR Virtual Summit

More than ever, organizations now require personnel who can make decisions quickly and flexibly to better respond to changing circumstances. Let’s look at the top four HR virtual summit takeaways that will help the entire HR industry:

Organizational structure should be powerful

High levels of staff retention and production and individuals exchanging fresh concepts and coming up with innovative ideas are characteristics of an appealing company. More businesses are having trouble filling vacant positions. Many employees have quit their occupations in large numbers during the past year; they now choose their organizations carefully and deliberately.

Effective leadership is about recognizing this trend and always developing your talents as a people leader – not just a business leader. You can’t just fire people, replace them, and believe your company will function effectively.

Also read: Gender Equality Challenges in Leadership and How to Overcome Them

Employees demand a safe workplace

Organizations must learn the significance of psychological safety and trust in the workplace. Psychological safety includes feeling secure enough to take risks and share ideas socially. In contrast, trust entails feeling at ease and being vulnerable with another person about your opinions.

Organizations should emphasize proactive leadership, good communication, and a commitment to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) to foster trust and psychological safety. Educating managers on dealing with actions that weaken psychological safety and trust is crucial. Moreover, a thorough performance management system can enhance psychological safety and trust inside a company.

Use technology to innovate and stand out

Even while innovation is on the rise, some people (and organizations) are anxious about using too much technology at work. While the significance of manual touch in some work types exists, we cannot dismiss the time and cost savings that technology brings. It’s time for HR to comprehend the practical implications of adopting new technology.

HR departments must also discuss how advanced analytics may improve employee experience, provide a talent-centric perspective on problems, support laws, and regulations, and speed up internal operations.

Employ a human-centered approach

Building compassion, curiosity, and the courage to stay with employees during difficult emotional situations are the first steps in a human-centered approach. These abilities are fundamental to an organization’s culture, leadership development, well-being, and mental health. Since we have been taught that expressing vulnerability may be viewed as a weakness, people frequently conceal their feelings. In actuality, individuals must be open to vulnerability in all spheres of life, including their job. However, employees cannot do so unless their leaders exhibit this humanness, making the organization and teams robotic.

Summing Up

A virtual HR summit provides a collaborative environment stimulating networking and idea exchange with a carefully chosen program. This informative seminar includes interesting panel discussions, exciting keynote addresses, and interactive sessions. No matter how experienced or inexperienced you are in the HR field, participating in virtual summits has many benefits for you and your enterprise.

You may interact with and learn from industry experts, build your network, meet company executives and other key contacts, and receive access to useful (and usually free) content and resources. The best part is all this from the convenience of your home or workplace through online summits. 

When it comes to performance management trends, Engagedly is well-versed. All users, including employees, managers, CEOs, and administrators, can be engaged with our modern, customizable design. So, join us and level up your workforce with Engagedly!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the importance of a virtual HR summit?

Ans. Through tailored networking opportunities and on-the-moment attendee insights, a virtual HR summit assists HR professionals in identifying future trends, setting priorities, seizing opportunities, and concentrating on important recruitment, hiring, and onboarding strategies.

Q2. Who can benefit from an HR virtual summit?

Ans. A virtual HR summit is designed for HR leaders who want to further their careers beyond HR certifications. People wishing to obtain knowledge from experienced colleagues and mentors who have successfully risen through the ranks in HR can sign up.

Q3. What is the future of virtual HR summits?

Ans. The HR domain is witnessing high technological changes. The HR virtual summit aims to use technology’s power and the huge potential of the human workforce to unleash a revolutionary change in how we work.

 

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Importance of Goal Setting for Employees

Have you ever wondered why your projects are always behind schedule or why your employees are losing interest in their work? A simple answer to this might be that employees at your workplace don’t have clear goals to direct them. Many organizations fail to understand the importance of goal setting, and as a result, they fail miserably.

Why are Goals important?

Goals are super important because they give you direction and purpose. Think of them like a map. Without a map, you’d just wander around, unsure of where you’re going, right? Goals work the same way—they help you focus on what you want to achieve and keep you motivated to get there.

Plus, they give you something to measure your progress against, so you can see how far you’ve come and what you still need to work on.

Setting goals also helps you prioritize what’s important. In a busy world, it’s easy to get distracted by all the little things, but goals keep you on track toward what really matters.

And whether it’s personal or professional, having a clear goal gives you that sense of accomplishment when you hit it, which just feels amazing!

So, in a nutshell, goals are your guideposts—they keep you focused, motivated, and give you a reason to celebrate when you achieve them.

Importance of Goal Setting

Goal setting provides a sense of direction and focus, which helps in altering the behaviors and attitudes required to accomplish the objectives. It gives you momentum and a thrust that pushes you in the direction of self-mastery to improve every day and be resilient in challenging times.

Goal-setting benefits not only the employee but the organization as a whole. Considering the importance of goal setting, a good amount of time should be devoted to it. In this article, we will discuss why goal-setting is important for your employees.

Also to learn more about how to establish clear and achievable employee goals, check out this detailed guide

1. Motivates Employees

Goal setting keeps employees motivated by fostering a culture of accountability and progress tracking. It enables employees to stay focused and aligned with the company’s strategic objectives, resulting in improved overall organizational performance.

Goal setting serves as a powerful tool to not only communicate expectations but also to illustrate the broader impact of your team’s efforts. This fosters higher engagement, motivation, and productivity, ultimately fueling significant company growth.

Also Read: Chasing Goals When Motivation Is Low

2. Prioritizing Work

Having a clear goal in mind helps in focusing on priorities. Once the goals are decided, they can be taken up for completion in order of their priorities. This allows tasks to be completed on time and in a logical order. The ability to prioritize goals shows an employee’s ability to plan and focus ahead. This makes them better prepared and clear on what work needs to be completed and by when.

Goal settings and OKRs

3. Decision Making

Goals help in enhancing the decision-making skills of the employee. They serve as a guide in the decision-making process. Before taking any decision, an employee will evaluate it against the goal that they are trying to achieve. Every decision is taken based on the outcome of the decision.

Similarly, this applies at an organizational level, where every decision is taken thinking about how it will affect the business. Goals are useful for employees when they come across challenging projects as they helps in making wise decisions. 

Also Read: 3 Factors To Remember When Setting Employee Goals

4. Teamwork

When individual goals are linked to organizational goals, it promotes teamwork. The leaders and managers must let every employee know how their goal is linked to the organization’s goal. The employee will understand the importance of teamwork once they know how they fit in the overall organizational goal and how their goal is linked to their peers.

5. Measure Success

When goal setting is done correctly, it will help in measuring employee and organization success. The ‘SMART‘ way could be used to set a goal so that they can be measured quantitatively as well as qualitatively. The SMART method stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

For employees, a successful goal should be a specific one for which progress can be measured and achievable on time. Measurable goals will help everyone evaluate the results and help them know what was effective. This applies to all business processes—from how teams create paystubs to how they develop new products—providing quantifiable metrics for success.

6. Guides Employees

Goals setting guides employees in moving forward in the organization. It acts as a roadmap for the employee towards achieving what they want.

For example, if an employee wants to become a CEO someday, writing down that goal with details on what steps they will take to achieve it, can help them with the goal. Properly thought and stated goals will not only guide the employee continuously but will help in improving the skills and capabilities of the employees.

7. Time Management

If you want to improve how you manage time – stop doing what doesn’t need to be done! -Peter Drucker.

Time is one of the most important resources for every business. Having a clear goal in place will help employees to manage their time effectively. Goals help in prioritizing work and prevent employees from working on irrelevant things and getting distracted.

For example: When you have a deadline for a web application project, setting specific goals for each module of the project will help you finish the project on time and eliminate distractions.

Also Read: Engagedly For Managing Your Remote Team: Goal Setting And OKRS

Enhancing Organizational Performance Through Effective Goal Setting with Engagedly

Setting clear, achievable goals is pivotal for organizational success. It provides a roadmap for action, aligns individual efforts with company objectives, and fuels motivation and engagement. However, traditional goal-setting methods often lack agility, transparency, and collaborative input, hindering their effectiveness.

This is where Engagedly steps in, offering a comprehensive platform that elevates goal setting to a strategic level. Engagedly empowers organizations to:

1. Foster SMART Goal Formulation

  • Guidance and Tools: Engagedly provides resources and frameworks to assist in crafting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals. This ensures clarity, focus, and alignment with organizational aspirations.
  • Cascading Objectives: Break down overall objectives into smaller, attainable goals for individual teams and employees. This fosters ownership, engagement, and a clear understanding of how individual contributions impact the bigger picture.

2. Facilitate Collaborative Goal Setting

  • Interactive Platform: Engagedly encourages collaborative goal setting, allowing managers and employees to work together in defining objectives. This promotes open communication, buy-in, and a sense of shared responsibility for success.
  • Continuous Feedback Loop: Engagedly’s features facilitate ongoing feedback on goals, enabling adjustments and refinements as circumstances evolve. This maintains agility and ensures focus on the most impactful objectives.

3. Enhance Goal Visibility and Tracking

  • Real-Time Monitoring: Engagedly’s intuitive platform provides real-time visibility into individual and team goal progress. This fosters accountability, allows for course correction, and empowers teams to celebrate milestones along the way.
  • Transparent Goal Sharing: Engagedly promotes transparency by making goals visible across the organization. This fosters a sense of shared purpose, collaborative efforts, and heightened motivation to achieve collective aspirations.

4. Optimize Performance Management

  • Seamless Integration: Engagedly seamlessly integrates goal setting with performance reviews and development plans. This ensures alignment, clarity, and a holistic understanding of how goals contribute to individual and organizational growth.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Track goal progress and analyze data to identify patterns and trends. This allows for informed decision-making, continuous improvement of goal-setting practices, and data-driven adjustments for future success.

Engagedly goes beyond mere goal setting. It provides a robust platform that empowers organizations to translate aspirations into tangible results by driving strategic alignment, fostering collaboration, and providing valuable insights through continuous monitoring and feedback.

If you want to explore practical steps to set and achieve goals in your organization, check out our blog on setting workplace goals and making them happen here.

Goal Setting Module

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the importance of goal setting?

Goals are important because they provide clarity, motivation, measurement, accountability, and a sense of achievement.  They provide a clear roadmap for where one wants to go and what one wants to achieve.

By setting specific goals, individuals and teams can stay focused and motivated on what matters most, allowing them to work towards their desired outcomes with a sense of purpose and direction

Q2. How can goals improve workplace productivity?

Ans. By setting clear goals and objectives, individuals and teams can prioritize their work, reduce distractions, and stay focused on what matters most. This can lead to increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace.

Q3. How can managers help employees set and achieve goals?

Ans. Managers can help employees set and achieve goals by providing clear expectations, regular feedback, and opportunities for growth and development. They can also offer support and guidance to help employees overcome obstacles and achieve their desired outcomes.

Q4. How can individuals and teams stay motivated when working towards goals?

Staying motivated requires a sense of purpose and a clear understanding of how achieving goals will contribute to overall success. Regular feedback and recognition can also be highly motivating, as can a supportive and collaborative work environment.

How To Build A Performance Oriented Culture In Your Organization

Whenever you take a look at companies that perform exceedingly well, time after time, year after year, you will find that there’s one factor behind it. And that is a performance-oriented culture.

A culture of high performance can be an incredibly motivating force and change the course of an organization. But how does focusing on performance orientation in an organization’s culture help? For one, a culture of high performance does not just spring out of the woodwork in the organization.

Continue reading “How To Build A Performance Oriented Culture In Your Organization”

Use of AI in Performance Reviews

As the years go by, our relationship with technology changes. Emerging techs like artificial intelligence can assist human resources to empower their workforce. This makes annual team assessment effective and less stressful and gives optimal results to understand what’s next and how to bring improvements. 

Gartner forecasted how artificial intelligence is to pick up speed, with a 21.3% of growth rate in 2022 than 2021. 

What is an AI Performance Review? 

AI Performance Review is a modern approach to employee evaluations that leverages artificial intelligence technology to assess and analyze an employee’s performance. It involves using AI algorithms to gather and analyze data from various sources, such as work productivity metrics, feedback from colleagues, and self-assessments.

The AI system provides more objective and data-driven insights, enabling organizations to make informed decisions about employee development, recognition, and talent management. AI Performance Review and feedback help streamline the review process, remove biases, and enhance the accuracy and fairness of performance evaluations.

Also Read: Problems with Annual Performance Reviews

Benefits of Using AI for Performance Reviews

AI can track employee performance and assess the need for improvement. Let’s delve deeper into the benefits of the use of AI in performance reviews. 

AI in performance reviews

1. Automated reviews 

Business leaders prefer AI-driven performance reviews as they allow them to focus on factual details. It is required to produce performance reports. The employees don’t need to collaborate; the AI software is suitable for effective performance management. The ROI on performance management shows the benefits of using AI in reviews.

2. No human intervention required

Chances of human errors were high in conventional performance reviews when managers mostly depended on trusted feedback from team leaders. This can break or make an individual’s career. From rating to suggesting training courses, the managers take up a lot of effort. Doing this for a large group can be taxing and increases the chance of human error, and things like personal bias, incomplete data, and favoritism can interrupt the appraisal. 

AI in performance management has no personal connection and helps create analytical reports based on the data collected.

3. Real-time analysis and assessment 

The shift from periodical performance appraisal to continuous reviews offers benefits. Now, performance can be continuously improved and corrected, and the organization can become flexible and alert.

The digital power of AI helps capture continuous data from various sources like communication among employees. This is where the system can show real-time insights into an individual’s performance and managers can give instant and constructive feedback. It saves time and effort to frame periodic reviews, where employees must recall and verify details from sources.

4. Solving bias or exacerbating it

It is time to let go of the age-old prejudices when managers often get biased toward an employee. This is what AI can avoid and keep away from biases, ensuring equality. AI keeps away prejudices based on ethnicity, nationality, age, race, and others and offers equal opportunities.  

Human nature might get directed, resulting in biased behavior, unlike machines that follow a direct path. So, artificial intelligence and machine learning can create an unbiased environment that can provide equal opportunities while appraising or giving promotions. 

Also Read: 5 Performance Management Biases to Avoid

5. Identifying incompetence and making improvements 

To identify incompetence and make improvements, an organization should focus on creating a collaborative workspace. It should promote teamwork, regardless of bias or hierarchy. Though technology will improve and speed up HR management, human interventions can help build ideas and campaigns and reach customers to maintain a real connection with them. 

AI and data are valuable company assets, and AI in performance management will give leaders more time to invest in core business functions and develop new ideas. It can further help individuals have a realistic timeline and set achievable goals to meet deadlines. It should show in individual performance and help boost productivity.      

AI can further help in the predictive appraisal so that there is no unfair practice or emotional decision-making. Unfair treatment can be caused by emotional instability, and AI software can remove that. 

6. Training and developing improvements 

Managers should know how to identify the gaps between talent tools and arrange for personalized training. It can help individuals analyze their career progression through the effective use of performance reviews and hone skill sets. Managers need to identify employee competency and not miss any scope for improvement that directly impacts an individual’s performance. Having AI can help identify an employee’s performance that needs improvement. AI technology in learning programs enables fast learning. 

7. Higher employee engagement 

A continuous performance review can help AI conduct frequent surveys and get real-time feedback. It can also offer personalized insights to employees with the help of surveys in self-evaluation. This is how management can help employees promote engagement and get a clear picture of the daily achievement of individuals and teams. AI can unveil an individual’s potential and predict one’s future performance level.  

Also Read: Best Employee Engagement Strategies for a Better Workplace

Managers can win with – Intuition and AI Tech 

AI alone cannot be enough to derive the best results. Managers working with multiple employees know an individual better and help perform at an optimum. Human knowledge can be strengthened with AI to help an individual improve accuracy and have greater foresight into performance. 

The use of AI-driven performance reviews is the new trend preferred across industries. If organizations are to focus on employee performance and satisfaction, this performance feedback is integral.   

AI in performance reviews

Why is the market for AI-powered performance reviews progressing?

AI-powered performance assessment takes place in real time, and the progress scale is well evaluated. As it happens in a real-time scenario, it introduces incentives with positive enforcement and alerts the leaders regarding the performance scale. Most top companies are deploying a continuous feedback strategy that has reduced turnover. 

Even the HR management team gets continuous feedback on performance and context-specific performance, depending on specific projects an individual works on.

Also Read: Continuous Feedback and Its Benefits

Executives already using AI performance management tools can combine the results of the tools with personalized oversight. Therefore, the combination augments employee efficiency and productivity without replacing it.

Performance Reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How can AI make a team productive?

Ans. Artificial intelligence is one of the effective tools to boost team productivity and efficiency. Regardless of the industry, there are repetitive tasks, and AI can handle them better. It is one of the major reasons companies have started infusing this tech into existing infrastructure. It helps boost customer experience and reduce the chance of human errors in daily activities.

Q2. How does AI in performance reviews help?

Ans. AI-driven performance reviews revolutionize traditional evaluations, providing objective, data-driven assessments, eliminating biases, and offering real-time feedback for personalized development. Automating the process saves time, identifies patterns, and fosters a culture of accountability and recognition, benefiting employees and organizations.

Q3. How is AI an essential aspect of a performance review system?

Ans. It is about collecting vast data about individuals, as data collection is vital in reviewing. The key to the performance management system is to analyze things from various perspectives and anticipate what can come out of the reviewing process.

6 Problems Companies Can Reduce With Gamification

According to a statistics compendium published by Gitnux, 9 out of 10 employees noticed a rise in their productivity once a company integrated gamification techniques into the work experience.

The stat alone indicates that gamification has its place in the workplace. After all, it is common to see the trend of gamification growing in human resources. Specialists are looking at the available gamification mechanics and how these mechanics can be integrated with an everyday work environment. 

What Makes Gamification Effective?

If your supervisor puts in the effort to gameify the department, it means that they believe in the method. But where does such an approach come from?

Take yourself back to the days of when you were a student. The odds are that instead of doing schoolwork, you were more interested in playing games. The desire to procrastinate is hard to resist when you are surrounded by friends who encourage you to go outside and have some fun. And what about video games? Many of us have spent hours and hours on those.

The idea behind gamification’s success can be attributed to two notable characteristics—collaboration and game immersion. 

You cooperate with others and immerse yourself in a reality that helps you escape dullness. In a workplace that gets monotonous, introducing even a little bit of gamification can make a significant difference.

Also Read: The Growing Trend of Gamification in HR

The Benefits of Gamification

Benefits of gamification

It is also worth mentioning the benefits that come from gamification. It is not just a company as an entity that can benefit from it. Individuals stand to gain something valuable as well, which further encourages them to engage with the system. 

Besides the aforementioned aspect of having fun, gamification also:

  • Improves memory and attention span
  • Enhances storytelling and imagination
  • Helps with decision making
  • Creates a sense of achievement

Understanding how gamification benefits individuals makes it easier to see why the implementation of the concept can reduce certain problems that a fair few companies struggle to overcome. Let’s take a look at those problems in detail.

Employee Attraction, Motivation, and Retention

Employees are the heart and soul of a company, and it is up to the higher-ups to keep them happy and engaged while also ensuring that the right people join the team.

There are multiple perks that influence a potential recruit’s decision whether to join or not. It might not seem like a big deal, but if a company has a digital environment to help employees reach their goals, it will stand out from the competition.

An employee can join and play a game that tracks their status and goals. Once the participant clears a stage, they can move on to the next goal. A sense of direction also works as a means to motivate and encourage employees to continue. And if there is a reward in it, then that further boosts the desire to participate. With all that said, an employee who is happy and motivated will be much easier to retain, even if they receive offers from other companies.

One final thing to note, of course, is the fact that different departments have different priorities, and not every single person in a department is likely to have the drive to join. As such, it is crucial to think about different gamification levels and techniques that should be introduced.

Also Read: Hiring Advice: Staffing and Employment Trends for 2023

Employee Health

In a busy work environment where productivity and profits are prioritized so much, it is common to see health being overlooked. 

Overworking yourself to a point where you suffer consequences later is hardly ideal for long-term success. 

Implementing gamification is relatively simple. You can hire an app developer or pick one of the already available applications and encourage employees to treat using these apps as a game.

For example, an app could track one’s time spent in front of a monitor or how many calories they consume on average throughout a week or a month.

Setting goals to take regular breaks, balance your diet, or spend more time can be treated as a game so long as you track your progress and checkmark goals. 

By prioritizing employee health, a company further strengthens itself as a responsible employer. And similar to work productivity, instances of success in overcoming health problems or maintaining a positive result can also be rewarded.

Maintenance and Development Costs

By gamifying the workplace, a company stands to reduce its maintenance and development costs long-term. The overall savings might not be significant, but every little bit helps, especially for those who run on a tight budget or want to dedicate more resources to the well-being of the employees.

In this case, the purpose of gamification is to create a knowledge base and build a tool that collects data about employee engagement, training, progress, and so on.

It becomes much easier to identify which methods work and which do not when you have a gamification system in hand to provide instant results based on past experiences.

If a method is successful, it is worth continuing to use it and maybe developing further by investing more. On the other hand, if one of your gamification techniques did not prove good, you will have a piece of data to justify giving it up. 

Customer Loyalty and Brand Awareness

Brand Awareness

There are true and tried methods to boost customer loyalty and raise brand awareness. However, it does not mean that you cannot look for new and less conventional ideas.

Even if it is for the sake of variety, businesses stand to gain if they gameify certain aspects of their products and try gamification in sales.

First of all, you need to decide which elements you want to introduce. Choosing between one of the following should be a good start:

  • Points
  • Levels
  • Virtual currencies
  • Badges
  • Leaderboards

From a consumer’s point of view, there are two notable points of attraction. The first is competition against others, and the second is taking a direct advantage by participating.

Breaking these two down, let’s cover the competitive side first. Take Duolingo, for example. This well-known language education app has weekly leaderboards and multiple divisions that encourage users to spend more time on the app to learn and collect points and achievements because they want to be at the top of the leaderboards.

As far as the direct benefits go, those are pretty self-explanatory. If a service offers a discount code or a loyalty badge that enables free shipping, for instance, you can expect the engagement rate to grow significantly. 

So what does this all lead to? By engaging with the product, customers become more attached and loyal. Not to mention that they are more likely to share their positive experiences with others. And considering how effective word of mouth is, it is understandable to see more and more companies try gamification marketing a go.

Data Collection

In the era of digital information and strict laws on data management, it is tricky to collect data and utilize it. 

Brands make decisions based on the information they have. Customer demographics, habits, and other details help create a consumer persona that can then be utilized to create your targets.

However, businesses have to align the data collection with GDPR. Otherwise, they stand to break the law and face consequences.

The great thing about gamification is that it helps you circumvent the regulations. There are certain tools and services that let brands collect data legally. As for how this data is utilized, it is entirely up to the companies that gather the information.

Multiple Platform Reach

Roughly half of all the internet traffic comes from mobile devices. The other half is from desktops. 

The split creates quite a few problems for brands that are looking to create a universal marketing campaign to cover as many potential consumers as possible.

For example, ads display differently on smartphones compared to desktop computers. Or, if you open an email on a tablet, the odds are that it will not display as the sender initially wanted. Sure, in some cases, the fault lies on the user’s end because they do not have optimized devices. 

According to the Backlight blog, failing to clear the cache, remove spyware, or enable updates leads to performance and display issues. However, as a brand, you do not focus on these obstacles and want to do what you can do.

It is about efficiency. Managing resources is easier when there is a marketing method that works on multiple platforms.

Gamification is exactly that. Social media, apps, software as a service, and anything else with the potential to be gamified on both computers and mobile devices opens opportunities to make the most out of gamification without worrying about restrictions.

Also Read: Engagedly Gamification Module

Closing thoughts

All in all, the fact that gamification solves such significant problems illustrates why gamification solutions are on the mind of those managing both big and small companies.

The idea of gamifying your work environment is still relatively new and comes with certain challenges, but the benefits outweigh the drawbacks by a significant margin. As such, if your organization has not considered implementing gamification, now might be a good time to reconsider.

After all, companies that do not bother with it stand to fall behind the competition, and it can be difficult to make a comeback once everyone else is ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is gamification and it’s example?

Ans. Gamification is the application of game elements and mechanics in non-game contexts to engage and motivate individuals. It involves incorporating elements such as points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, and rewards into activities or systems to make them more enjoyable and encourage desired behaviors.

Example: A fitness app that uses gamification could award points and badges to users for completing daily workouts, achieving personal milestones, or participating in challenges. Users can compete with friends on leaderboards, earn rewards or virtual goods, and track their progress visually. This gamified approach helps to motivate and sustain user engagement in their fitness journey.

Q2. How does gamification work?

Ans. Gamification works by incorporating game elements like goals, challenges, rewards, and competition into non-game activities. It engages and motivates people by tapping into their desire for achievement, progression, and social interaction.

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A Complete Guide to Improve the Performance Appraisal Process

Performance Appraisal 

The performance assessment, also known as a performance review, performance evaluation, or worker appraisal, is a systematic way of evaluating an employee’s overall performance and contribution to the business on a regular basis, with the ultimate objective of enhancing their performance.

Performance evaluations serve several functions, including providing useful feedback, providing a defined time to analyse work performance, and ensuring the equitable distribution of compensation increases and incentives among employees.

The fact that the employee and the supervisor share responsibilities for the employee assessment process is critical. While the supervisor is in charge of this process, active engagement from the employee is essential to establish the required commitment to make the improvements that the performance evaluation seeks to achieve. We will discuss more about this in the upcoming sections.

Performance Appraisal vs Performance Management

In the realm of workforce optimization, an important distinction lies between performance appraisal and overall performance management cycle. While performance appraisal centers around formal evaluations, performance management encompasses a broader spectrum of interactions between workers and managers, all aimed at driving performance enhancement. Today, we delve into the intricacies of the performance appraisal, an integral part of the performance management cycle that bestows official recognition upon the diligent efforts of employees.

Performance management, a comprehensive framework, encompasses both formal and informal discussions that we will explore in the table below. These meaningful exchanges, ranging from planned sit-downs to impromptu conversations, form the backbone of a dynamic and growth-oriented work environment.

We are all well acquainted with the performance appraisal cycle. Usually, this occurs a couple of times a year, taking place at the start of the year and across the half-year point. These are formal sit-downs wherein the direct supervisor or manager evaluates overall performance on the primary responsibilities and duties of the employee. An overall performance rating is derived based on this appraisal, which is used for promotions, rewards, and terminations.

Also Read: How To Shift To A Web Based Performance Appraisal System?

Job Performance 

Job performance

As performance appraisal is directly related to performance and can enhance overall job/task performance, it is essential to outline what it is.

The degree to which an employee performs the tasks outlined in their job description is referred to as job performance. Individuals with perfect task performance accomplish all of the requirements of their tasks, meet their work objectives, and meet the overall performance criteria. This is sometimes referred to as in-function task performance.

Workers can also help their organisation by engaging in behaviours that aren’t directly related to their given tasks. Extra-function performance, contextual performance, or organisational citizenship behaviours are examples of this.

This extra-function behaviour includes aiding colleagues with work after they return after an absence, assisting colleagues who are dealing with excessive job stress or other issues, and being willing to perform things that do not match your function but contribute to the organisation in general. Both in-role and extra-role behaviours are important in terms of exact performance and must be included at some point in the performance review.

Also Read: Performance Appraisal Checklist For Managers And Employees

Key Success Factors of a Performance Appraisal

Every corporate firm approaches performance evaluations differently. Nonetheless, there are various quality practises that every supervisor must recognise while evaluating employee overall performance.

Use of clear intention

Both supervisors and workers may feel uneasy at some time during the performance assessment. That is perhaps the highest official placement they may have all year, and it does not occur frequently enough to be considered a typical occurrence. Utilizing an activity-based overall performance assessment may help both the parties, with better instructions and the overall performance evaluation process.

Involvement of employees

One of the key issues in worker value determinations is a loss of buy-in from the worker. A meta-evaluation via way of means of Cawly, Keeping & Levy (1998) suggests that there may be a robust correlation between the participation of the worker and their reaction. Employee participation is the quantity to which an employee is able to take part in the performance appraisal process. Employees who participated in their performance evaluation had been extra satisfied, rated the process as fairer, and useful, and had been further influenced to improve. A higher level of employee participation revealed 40% higher satisfaction, 35% in fairness, 30% in usefulness, and 19% in motivation to improve.

Constructive feedback first!

According to Daniel Pink (2018), it has been observed that individuals tend to experience the highest level of satisfaction when addressing negative news early on in a conversation or interview. By doing so, the stage is set for a more productive discussion, allowing for a smoother transition towards positive information, which is then purposefully saved for the latter part of the interaction. This strategic approach ensures that the overall assembly concludes on a high note, leaving a lasting impression of effectiveness and accomplishment.

Consistency of feedback

Receiving feedback only once a year is insufficient in driving performance improvement. Employees express a desire for regular and ongoing feedback to enhance their work performance. It is important to explore methods that enable managers to stay connected with their employees consistently, leveraging the use of technology.

By leveraging technology, managers can establish efficient channels of communication to provide timely feedback and guidance. This could include the use of digital platforms, such as email, instant messaging applications, or project management tools. These channels can facilitate regular check-ins, allowing managers to stay informed about their employees’ progress, address any concerns promptly, and offer constructive feedback in a timely manner.

Moreover, technology can enable the implementation of performance management systems that streamline the feedback process. These systems can incorporate features such as regular performance evaluations, real-time feedback mechanisms, and goal tracking functionalities. By utilizing technology-driven tools, managers can establish a framework that promotes continuous feedback, fostering an environment of growth and improvement within the organization.

Organizations recognize the significance of frequent feedback and actively work towards cultivating a culture of open communication. They achieve this by fostering transparent and collaborative environments where employees feel at ease seeking feedback and sharing their progress with their managers. By nurturing a supportive feedback culture, organizations ensure that employees receive the necessary guidance to excel in their roles and make valuable contributions to the overall success of the company.

In conclusion, embracing technology and fostering a culture of continuous feedback stand as pivotal steps in meeting employees’ expectations for regular and ongoing feedback. By harnessing digital tools and promoting open communication, organizations create an environment that propels performance improvement and empowers employees to unleash their full potential.

Key Success Factors of a Performance Appraisal

Accurate documentation

Important choices regarding who to promote and which salaries to raise, as well as who to terminate, are based on performance management information. It is crucial to maintain meticulous documentation during performance appraisal conferences. Consistency in evaluating and reporting performance statistics throughout the company is crucial. Storing this information in a central database, like a talent management system, becomes imperative for effective management. This is likewise essential when you turn to more continuous feedback.

A 2016 paper from the NeuroLeadership Institute discovered that 91% of corporations that have followed non-stop performance management document better facts for people’s decisions. These corporations additionally file a primary development in doing away with bias in promotion and advancement.

Evolution form of job performance

A job performance evaluation form often has multiple components. Additionally, we can index the appraisee’s call with their worker ID, appraisal date, as well as the call made by the appraiser or direct supervisor and the appraisal period.

Following that, there is typically a performance portion, followed by a behaviour section. The supervisor might compliment the employee for exceptional aspects in the performance segment. These might be skills or a leadership quality. Both function is to assess the worker’s performance in their current employment.

In the behavioral segment, the worker may be rated for going the extra mile. This consists of ratings including excellent teamwork, altruism, and dedication to the organization.

The activity of filling in the performance evaluation form commonly also includes areas of improvement, that an appraiser needs to highlight.

Competencies

Jobs often have a predefined set of skills required to do them successfully. These skills fall into 2 categories: Core abilities and job-precise competencies.

Core abilities are the abilities that everybody within the organisation needs. These are set with the aid of the board. Every person is needed to have at least a minimum amount of information about them. The more senior the function, the better the desired competency stage. An example is being a business for a consulting firm, in which associates and companions all want to work to generate greater sales from new and present customers.

HR and the direct managers are constantly describing job-specific competencies. These are the talents necessary for superior work performance. For each skill, we can define three to five levels that correspond to specific behaviors. We can evaluate the worker based on their performance in these abilities. Here’s an example from the SHRM special report on performance management below. As you can see, they employ a five-factor scale based on three skill levels here.

Job performance and job behavior scales

This technique is used generally in the scientific literature. When analyzing a person’s performance, it is not possible to create a customized evaluation for all functions. Instead, researchers searched for one way to evaluate them all.

Researchers use a device that measures matters: in-role and extra-position conduct.

In-role behavior encompasses all actions pertaining to the worker’s job description. To assess performance quickly, managers can ask questions based on the following statements and have them voiced back to them by the immediate manager.

  • Employee meets the process’s objectives
  • Employee fulfils performance expectations.
  • Employee meets all of the process’s requirements

The second point to mention is extra-position behaviour. Extra-position behaviours are any activities that go above and beyond the definition of the task. This involves aiding coworkers, arranging team activities, and other responsibilities.

  • When one employee is absent, they delegate their task to other employees.
  • When their workload rises, a worker permits others to do so (assists others till they recover from the hurdles)
  • Employees volunteer to execute tasks that are not technically underlined by the employment.

The management can analyse the worker’s performance on each factor based on the scores of those behaviours.

Also Read: How To Conduct Performance Appraisal For Remote Employees

Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal

In the past, employee performance evaluation followed a formal, top-down approach that hindered its effectiveness. Evaluations were conducted sporadically throughout the year without clear justification, and employees were assigned scores based on their Key Result Areas (KRAs). A record from SHRM states that 95% of managers aren’t happy with their company’s annual overall performance appraisal process. In fact, as referred to in a record through Towers Watson, 75% of personnel consider that appraisals are unfair.

Hence, it is necessary to restructure conventional performance appraisals to be employee-centric. Employee experience, private growth, and professional improvement are all visible factors that drive worker engagement and productivity.

Thoughts on the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal System

Appraisals can assist your organization to improve worker engagement and retention. With a powerful performance appraisal system, you can pull off annual appraisals and behavior-common performance reviews.

According to Forbes, the conventional yearly assessment method is giving way to increasing realtime interactions among staff and managers.

Do comprehensive overall performance assessments and recognise top performers as an activity. With appropriate reviews, employees can reach their full potential. In reality, managers must ensure that the performance evaluation method is free of prejudice and errors. Then employees would also be more open to it.

In addition, clear communication of work expectations to employees and equipping them with the essential tools, training, and support to enhance job performance is crucial. By taking these actions, employees will experience greater job satisfaction and motivation to continually improve their performance. Ultimately, a well-designed performance appraisal process plays a pivotal role in cultivating a highly engaged and appreciative workforce, fostering a deep commitment to accomplishing organizational goals.

Performance Management Tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the top tips for managers to implement an effective performance appraisal?

Ans. To implement an effective performance appraisal, managers should establish clear goals, provide regular feedback, encourage employee self-assessment, offer development opportunities, and ensure fairness in evaluations.

Engagedly Launches Growth Hub to Empower Career Development with Marissa AI

Clients can drive growth and development in the future of work for their employees powered by Marissa AI

ST. LOUIS, May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Engagedly, the leading AI powered cloud-based software for Performance, Learning & Development and Employee Engagement solutions, is excited to announce the launch of Growth Hub powered by Marissa AI™, a powerful new module that empowers employees to take ownership of their career growth, empowering them to develop their skills through skill-based organization. The new module is powered by Marissa AI and provides a customized development plan for each employee based on their individual goals and the needs of the organization.

Integrating 1:1 meetings into the Growth Hub further helps in setting clear expectations for employees and managers and provides ongoing support for employees looking for career progression opportunities. The use of Marissa AI gives employees insight into what competencies and skills are required from each level, helping them build the knowledge needed to advance their careers as well as better aligning individual objectives with organization objectives, benefiting both parties in terms of improved business outcomes.

Growth Hub module include:
Individual Development Plans (IDPs) – enabling employees to put forth their growth aspirations as a development plan with learning objectives and milestones

Integrated Learning Path with LXMS- enabling employees to integrate comprehensive learning journeys through different courses from the Engagedly LMS for themselves.

Skill Library, Competency and Learning Resources: Growth Hub will offer a library of competencies and skills required for different roles across multiple industries, for employees to focus on developing to advance their careers within your organization. In addition, a first of its kind learning resource recommendations provided by Marissa AI.

This enhanced Growth Hub capability empowers each individual to take ownership of their career growth within organizations to quickly level up their growth.

“Employees need to have an agency in their own careers and upskilling and Engagedly’s Growth Hub does precisely that for them,” says Sri Chellappa, Co-founder & CEO at Engagedly. “Our unique offering integrates Learning Management (LMS), Skills, Learning recommendations, all powered by Marissa AI will give people centric organizations an edge.”

Research has shown unambiguously that employees are more likely to stay with a company that supports their career growth and development.

These updates provide Engagedly clients with more powerful tools than ever before for creating an effective nurturing environment that is tailored to each individual so they can level up their workforce.

About Engagedly

Built on best practices and decades of research, Engagedly’s AI powered People+Strategy platform helps organizations build high performance culture. With Engagedly’s Modular Platform, organizations can Execute on their strategy with goals/OKRs, performance appraisals and 360 reviews, Enable their people development with Growth Hub, 1 on 1 feedback, LMS, Mentoring/Coaching, and Engage their people with Recognition and Rewards, Employee Survey and Social Praise.

Employee Engagement

What Is A Weekly Check In? Definition and Tips

Weekly check-ins are a great way to touch base with your team. They give managers and employees a chance to get on the same page without the stress of the check-in being treated like an actual meeting. Moreover, effective managers will use weekly check-ins to gain insight into how the employee works, what does not work, and what needs to change. And, considering the current times when most of the employees globally are still working from home, it is crucial to have weekly check-ins.

Continue reading “What Is A Weekly Check In? Definition and Tips”

7 HR Tasks That Could (And Should) Have Been Automated Yesterday

Imagine having to cook every meal from scratch, day in and day out. It would take up a significant amount of your time and energy, leaving you little room to focus on other important tasks. But with a personal chef, you could enjoy delicious, healthy meals without having to spend hours in the kitchen. It could be expensive, but surely worthwhile, keeping your work-life balance intact. Here we’re discussing outsourcing and automation, and this applies to your work-life as well. 

As an HR professional, it is possible to eliminate the tasks that you dislike and focus on more productive tasks.

As an HR professional, there’s a lot on the table to complete by the ‘end of the day’, right? You may wish to eliminate this term, but you can neither complete your tasks or nor remove this word from your work life. Unfortunately, as an HR professional, you do a lot of work like generating reports, filling out attendance forms, maintaining databases, and many other not-so-fun tasks. By the end of it, you are not even sure if the report you generated has been touched.

This reinventing era demands HR professionals to deliver smart work. And for that, it is important to learn the art of prioritization, to understand what work serves little value and which tasks can be eliminated or automated to deliver value to the table.

In this blog, we will discover some HR tasks that could have been automated yesterday, so, the sooner the better. There are so many tasks that you may think you can do manually because you do them the best, but who knows, one day ChatGPT will be in our lives and have the power to reduce our potential to zero.

So, before we get into the important HR tasks that can be automated right now, what exactly is human resource automation? 

HR Tasks Automation

Also Read: 9 Progressive HR Approaches From HR Professionals

What is HR automation? 

The use of technology to streamline and optimise various HR functions such as recruiting, onboarding, training, payroll, and performance management is referred to as HR automation. It entails the use of software, tools, and platforms to automate routine and repetitive HR tasks, thereby reducing HR professionals’ workload and time spent.

This allows them to focus on more strategic and value-added activities that can contribute to the organization’s growth and success.

HR automation can help organisations save money, increase efficiency, and improve employee satisfaction.

Reimagining Employee Experience Webinar

The Benefits of HR Automation

HR automation has completely revolutionized the operational landscape for businesses, bringing about simplification and enhanced efficacy in HR processes. The adoption of HR automation software offers a multitude of advantages that play a pivotal role in bolstering an organization’s triumph.

  1. HR automation enhances productivity by reducing processing time and facilitating seamless data sharing. Essential tasks like employee onboarding, performance management, talent management, and time and attendance tracking can be automated, resulting in swift processing and enabling HR personnel to dedicate their time to more intricate responsibilities.
  2. Furthermore, HR automation fosters greater employee engagement, which contributes to lower turnover rates. By automating HR processes, employees gain control over their personal information, benefits, and time off requests. This empowerment fosters higher job satisfaction and cultivates a workforce that is more actively involved.
  3. Moreover, organizations benefit financially from HR automation by reducing costs associated with paper-based processing. This encompasses expenses related to printing, storage, and retrieval of physical documents. Additionally, it mitigates compliance risks and policy violations, ensuring adherence to pertinent laws and regulations.
  4. Automation also streamlines the hiring process, empowering HR personnel to swiftly and cost-effectively identify and select the most suitable candidates. It minimizes data entry errors and the misplacement or loss of documents, further enhancing the efficiency of the hiring process.
  5. Finally, HR automation generates insightful reports that facilitate informed decision-making for the organization. These reports offer valuable data on various HR metrics such as employee performance, turnover rates, and training needs. Armed with this information, stakeholders can make data-driven decisions and develop a more effective HR strategy.

Benefits of HR Automation Infographic

Also Read: Benefits Of Having HR Management Software In Organization

7 HR Tasks That Can Be Automated in a Blink of an Eye!

Recruiting:

Recruiting plays a vital role in HR, yet it can be a time-consuming task to review resumes and conduct interviews. Automated recruiting tools, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), can effectively streamline the process. ATS software scans resumes for relevant keywords and qualifications, matches them with job descriptions, and ranks candidates based on their suitability. This enables HR professionals to save time and swiftly identify the most qualified candidates.

Onboarding:

Onboarding entails introducing new hires to their roles and the company culture. However, it often involves lengthy procedures like paperwork, orientation sessions, and training. Automating certain tasks can expedite the process. For instance, software can generate and send welcome emails to new hires, digitally collect their information, and assign training modules. This empowers HR professionals to efficiently bring new employees up to speed.

Benefits administration:

Managing employee benefits can be intricate and time-consuming. Automated solutions alleviate this burden by helping HR professionals track enrollment, oversee benefits administration, and generate reports. This grants them more time to concentrate on other essential HR functions, such as talent management and employee engagement.

Performance management:

Performance management encompasses setting goals, monitoring progress, and providing feedback. It can be a laborious process, but automation can enhance efficiency. For instance, software can track employee goals and progress, issue reminders for upcoming deadlines, and provide feedback based on predetermined criteria. This enables HR professionals to identify areas where employees excel or require improvement and take appropriate actions.

Time and attendance tracking:

Manual time and attendance tracking is susceptible to errors and consumes significant time. Automated solutions simplify this process by accurately tracking employee hours, generating reports, and calculating pay. This ensures that HR professionals can precisely and promptly compensate employees.

Payroll processing:

Payroll processing entails calculating employee wages, taxes, and benefit deductions. It can be complex and time-consuming, but automation simplifies certain tasks. Software can track employee hours, calculate pay, and generate reports for tax and compliance purposes. This guarantees that HR professionals accurately and punctually compensate employees while mitigating the risk of errors or compliance breaches.

Offboarding:

Offboarding involves the smooth separation of employees from the company, including revoking system access and retrieving company property. Although sensitive, automating specific tasks helps ensure a seamless transition. Software can automatically deactivate employee accounts, schedule exit interviews, and generate compliance reports. This empowers HR professionals to treat departing employees fairly and in accordance with company policies and regulations.

Employee Offboarding - HR Tasks Automation

Also Read: Your Comprehensive Guide to 360 Degree Feedback in the Modern Workplace

Engagedly is your Trusted HR Automation Partner, Here’s Why?

Engagedly stands as an all-encompassing HR automation platform (talent management platform) meticulously crafted to streamline HR processes and enhance employee engagement. Here are several reasons why Engagedly is an esteemed HR automation partner:

Comprehensive HR Solutions:

Engagedly offers a comprehensive range of HR solutions, including talent management, goal setting, employee feedback, 360-degree reviews, pulse surveys, learning management, and more. This empowers organizations to oversee all facets of their HR operations seamlessly from a unified platform.

User-Friendly Interface:

Engagedly boasts a user-friendly interface that ensures effortless navigation and usability. The platform prioritizes user experience, offering intuitive features and tools that require minimal to no training.

Customizability:

Engagedly excels in adaptability, effortlessly tailoring itself to suit the distinctive needs of any organization. It presents an array of customization options, allowing for personalized templates, workflows, and branding.

Continuous Feedback:

Engagedly champions continuous feedback capabilities, allowing employees to receive real-time feedback instead of relying solely on annual performance reviews. This enables organizations to swiftly identify and address issues while fostering a culture where employees feel valued and engaged.

Analytics and Reporting:

Engagedly empowers organizations with comprehensive analytics and reporting functionalities, facilitating data-driven decision-making. The platform offers an extensive array of reports and dashboards that provide invaluable insights into employee performance, engagement, and development.

Integrations:

Engagedly seamlessly integrates with an extensive range of third-party tools and platforms, including HRIS, ATS, and payroll systems. This ensures effortless integration with an organization’s existing HR technology stack.

Outstanding Support:

Engagedly prides itself on offering exceptional customer support, providing dedicated account managers who assist organizations in maximizing the platform’s potential. Moreover, Engagedly offers comprehensive online resources, including video tutorials and a knowledge base, to aid users in navigating the platform smoothly.

Also Read: Performance Management Tools And Techniques Every HR Leader Needs

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are some benefits of automating HR tasks?

Ans. HR tasks can be automated to save time, cut down on errors, and boost productivity. HR professionals may be able to concentrate on more strategic tasks like talent management and employee engagement as a result. 

Automating HR tasks can also lower the risk of legal action or penalties and help ensure compliance with regulations.

Q2. Which HR tasks are best suited for automation? 

Ans. The following HR processes are good candidates for automation: hiring, onboarding, benefits administration, performance management, time and attendance tracking, payroll processing, and offboarding. Software and other automation tools can be used to streamline these tasks, which are frequently monotonous and time-consuming.

Q3. Will automating HR tasks replace human workers? 

Ans. No, automating HR duties won’t replace employees. Instead, its purpose is to support HR professionals in simplifying their processes and dedicating more time to strategic tasks. Automation assists HR professionals by reducing the time and effort spent on repetitive tasks, allowing them to concentrate on responsibilities that demand human judgement and decision-making. By streamlining routine tasks, automation enables HR professionals to focus on more meaningful and impactful work.

Q4. What should organizations consider before automating HR tasks?

Ans. Organizations should consider their budget, the complexity of their HR processes, and the potential impact on employees before automating HR tasks. The automation process requires transparency and clear communication. Furthermore, organisations should ensure that the software or automation tools used are dependable, secure, and regulatory compliant. Consideration of these factors will assist organisations in making informed decisions about automating HR tasks while prioritising employee well-being.

6 Effective Coaching Strategies to Improve Team Performance

Companies consistently search for effective coaching strategies to enhance employee performance. This pursuit aligns to improve overall team performance, positively impacting sales, marketing, customer service, and product development. The adoption of coaching strategies proves to be not only performance-driven but also cost-effective.

As a manager, you’ll spend an average of $5,258 when hiring a new team member. However, when it comes to spending resources to coach and train your current employees, the cost goes down to $1,280 per employee. 

If you’re giving your team members exciting and challenging projects, coaching them, promoting a work-life balance, and paying them well while making them feel valued and appreciated, then they have enough reason to stick around for the long haul.

However, competition for talent means that you’ll need to be more effective with your coaching strategies to keep them around and still have them perform at their best. 

Here are the 6 Effective Coaching Strategies:

As a coach, you’ll work with team members at different levels. When having conversations about their performance, you’ll need to be flexible in your approach, and listen with empathy. 

Coaching allows employees to have access to professional development resources such as workshops, seminars, and webinars that focus on coaching them to perform better in the workplace.  

You’ll also need to provide relevant feedback that challenges your team members to take initiative to grow and do better. But that’s not all you’ll need to do. 

Also Read: Develop New Leadership Roles With Coaching and Mentoring

Here are six more coaching strategies that you need to use to improve your team/s performance. 

Effective Coaching Strategies Engagedly Mentoring Complete

Continuously improve your coaching skills

As a discipline, an effective coaching strategy is not static because a coach needs to respond to different needs that an employee has and help them to overcome challenges that get in the way of their performance. 

If you rely on peer-to-peer coaching or have team leaders coach their team members, you need to continually update their skills so they can learn about new coaching models and techniques and when to apply them to improve their effectiveness. 

A good place to start is expanding the company’s coaching policies and procedures to accommodate continuous improvement of the existing coaches, a core part of the company’s development program. 

Once you’ve done that, provide your internal coaches with training materials and access to more experienced coaches to help them expand their skills to help them become better coaches for the team. 

Identify areas where performance needs improvement

It’s difficult to coach an employee in several areas at the same time because it will lead to overwhelm and poor coaching outcomes. So before you embark on coaching, have a one-on-one meeting with each team member to identify areas that need improvement. 

This will help you know where to start, keep you focused on a specific area during coaching, and allow you to monitor progress and evaluate results over time. 

For example, when identifying areas that need improvement, you might come to the conclusion that an employee needs to acquire some skills that will help them improve their performance. 

In addition to identifying areas that need improvement, you also need to assess the opportunity cost of coaching an employee in one area over another. 

Assume you’re running a sales team and you need to train a couple of team members on how to run a successful product demo and how to negotiate. Given that you’ve already identified the areas that need improvement, you now need to assess and prioritize these areas based on what the business needs. 

Identify which of the two skills has a bigger impact on your current business objectives so that you focus on high-impact coaching that immediately translates to improved business performance and better results. 

Identifying and assessing coaching opportunities isn’t a one-time thing. Trust and constant communication are key ingredients because that’s how employees will feel free to share what they’re struggling with and what they need help with to improve their performance. 

Also Read: How To Improve Your Team’s Performance: Top 6 Tips

Collaborate with your team members 

 

effective coaching techniques

 

Once you identify and assess the areas that need improvement, talk to your team members and explore different approaches you intend to use to coach them. 

Your team members’ input helps you get their buy-in, because they have an opportunity to suggest the coaching method that works best for them. It also opens you up to new coaching methods that work for them which might not be what you had in mind before talking to them.

For example, some might suggest that they want a peer to coach them while others prefer using online learning resources such as courses and workshops. 

Whichever approach you both agree to use during coaching, you can be sure that each team member will embrace it and it will be easier for them to acquire the skills they need to perform better. 

Combine different coaching methods

You can coach your employees by providing insights and guidance where necessary and supporting them in what they are doing. However, your approach towards coaching doesn’t need to rely on one approach, whether you’re the only one providing support and guidance or allowing team members to coach one another. 

Initially, you can coach the team, rely on peer-to-peer coaching, or work with external coaches to improve team performance. Each of these approaches has its strengths, and you might want to bring in other approaches to fill in the gaps that other methods have. 

Consider peer-to-peer coaching for instance. It comes across as an efficient coaching method and saves on expenses because you use what is readily available, i.e., your team members. Team members also benefit from providing feedback to each other and learning from each other in the process to improve their skills. 

However, if you’re looking to improve performance in a specific area and you (or your team members) lack the skills and competence to provide relevant coaching, consider working with an external coach to complement the peer-to-peer coaching that you’re already using. 

In addition to relying on their expertise, having an external coach also expands your team’s worldview, as they’re working with an “outsider” who will provide new ways of thinking about their challenges. 

Also Read: Types of Mentoring Programs in a Workplace

Collect feedback to customize your coaching

 

Take Feedback-Effective Coaching Strategies-Engagedly-Mentoring Complete

 

No matter the approach you use to coach the team, you need feedback to know how well it is working, even identify areas where you need to adjust your approach, or use an entirely new approach altogether. 

After all, you’re coaching to get results so the feedback you need to collect should help you improve your coaching.

When collecting feedback, ask employees to share with you areas where they think the coaching approach is working, and where it’s not working, based on the results you intend to achieve. Also, ask them for suggestions on the approaches they would like you to use to improve your coaching. 

When collecting feedback during a one-on-one meeting, use open-ended questions and take the time to listen to what they say so you can uncover subtle issues that tend to get lost when providing feedback. 

If you’re using a survey tool to collect feedback, use a word cloud tool to help you identify prominent words that point you to underlying themes from the feedback you collect. 

Establish performance set points

Since coaching is about improving performance, it goes hand in hand with using set points that help you sustain the level of performance your team achieves during coaching. It’s easy for team members to fall back to old habits once they’re done with coaching, so set points help them stay accountable and sustain the level of performance they attained during coaching. 

Record these set points using collaborative goal-tracking apps, which will help everyone stay accountable and track progress towards their performance goals. Your performance set points could be based on industry benchmarks based on data from different industry players. You can also use internal benchmarks based on the standards you want to live up to that will stand out from your competitors. 

For example, when running distributed marketing campaigns, you want to make sure that your copywriters use the right tone and style when writing script copy for different types of content so you stay on brand no matter where your marketing messages show up. 

If you’ve already coached them on how to create content that aligns with your brand’s tone and style, an ideal performance standard would be making sure that your marketing messages don’t go through more than two rounds of edits for tone and style. 

Use these standards to make sure that your team’s performance is consistent and delivers the business results you’re looking for. 

Also Read: Does Your Organization Need Coaching or Mentoring?

Conclusion

Coaching is a continuous activity. Not only do you need to integrate it into your company culture, but you need to practice it continuously.

To establish this continuity, evaluate employee performance regularly based on the results you intend to achieve. See how effective your coaching is and what you need to do to improve. If a coaching strategy works, double down on it. If it doesn’t work, stop allocating more resources to it. 

Keep track of any improvements your employees make based on different coaching methods you’re using. Document the data to help you come up with evidence-based coaching programs that push employees to do their best and grow in their roles.

Hope our pointers on Effective Coaching Strategies helped you formulate something better for your organization. Let us know in the comments section.

Talent Management Software

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is coaching?

Ans. Coaching is a collaborative and goal-oriented process that involves helping individuals or groups to unlock their potential, overcome challenges, and achieve their desired outcomes. It typically involves a skilled coach working with a coachee or coachees to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth, and then developing a plan of action to facilitate progress towards specific goals. Coaching can take many forms, from executive coaching in the workplace to life coaching in personal development, and may involve a variety of techniques such as active listening, questioning, feedback, and accountability. Ultimately, coaching is about empowering individuals to realize their full potential and achieve their desired outcomes through personalized guidance and support.

Q2. What is an effective coaching strategy?

Ans. An effective coaching strategy involves setting clear goals, establishing a trusting relationship with the coachee, using active listening and questioning techniques to promote self-discovery, and providing constructive feedback and support to encourage growth and development. It also requires adaptability and flexibility to tailor the coaching approach to the specific needs and preferences of the coachee, and a commitment to ongoing learning and improvement as a coach.

Q3. Why do we need an effective coaching strategy?

Ans. We need an effective coaching strategy because it can help individuals and organizations achieve their goals by unlocking their full potential, improving performance, and increasing motivation and engagement. A well-designed coaching strategy can provide personalized guidance and support, help individuals identify and overcome obstacles, and foster a culture of continuous learning and development. It can also promote self-awareness, build confidence, and enhance communication and interpersonal skills, leading to improved relationships and teamwork. Ultimately, an effective coaching strategy can help individuals and organizations reach their full potential and achieve success.

Task Management: The Not-so-Secret Weapon to Maintain Efficiency Without Burnout

A survey of almost 2000 corporate workers discovered that the average employee is only productive for about 3 hours daily. You can increase productivity by deploying employee engagement strategies. But you should also focus on making the most of the average worker’s productive hours. Schedule complex tasks for when they’re most productive. A task management system is the best approach to achieving this. It helps get the best out of you and your employees during high-productivity hours. 

Here, we explore task management and how it boosts efficiency and reduces burnout.

What is a Task Management System?

Task management primarily involves getting tasks done efficiently. The process entails defining, prioritizing, assigning, and monitoring tasks. Executives and team leaders often do it to achieve the best possible outcomes without expending more than the necessary resources.

Task management is where you schedule activities and manage them. It often involves deadline and scale-of-importance considerations which give higher prioritization to the most important tasks and those with closer deadlines.

Who’s it for?

Task management system is for you, your employees, managers, and individuals with a broad list of workplace responsibilities. Many organizations don’t have designated task manager positions. Instead, they make it part of the team leads’ or project managers’ responsibilities.

Also read: 4 Leadership Skills to Improve in a Hybrid Work Environment

Why do you need to manage tasks?

Task management gives you a roadmap and often makes it easier to identify what you need to do. 

Ensures you complete all high-priority tasks

A key element of task management is prioritization. It involves assigning importance to tasks based on specific parameters. High priority tasks often have a tremendous impact on the overall results you intend to achieve. That’s why you must prioritize them.

But priorities aren’t set in stone and may change with situations. Task management ensures you’re doing the right thing at the right time. 

The best part is, task management makes it easier to manage multiple high priority tasks simultaneously. For instance, a business manager can set up a new marketing campaign for your business and manage payroll tasks with Paylocity at the same time. 

Increases productivity

Again, task management system helps you make the most of your employee’s productive hours to get the best results. Primarily, task management involves doing high priority and complex tasks in productive hours. You may then work on more mundane activities at other times. 

In addition, project managers can review and constantly appraise their teams based on task completion. As such, it encourages all members to consistently deliver their productive best.

Increased productivity

Also read: How to Build and Sustain Company Culture in a Hybrid Work Environment?

Helps you meet deadlines

Task management gives priority to important tasks, but it doesn’t disregard other assignments. All other activities are also key considerations and subjects to task management strategies. It generally ensures you complete all your tasks before indulging in less crucial activities.

Plus, it incorporates time management techniques that’ll help you maintain efficiency and work faster.

Task management

How to manage tasks?

Task management doesn’t have to be complex. It’s a term describing task planning, scheduling, and execution. 

Let’s explore how you can do it.

Create a to-do list

The good old to-do list remains an effective task management method. Drafting one is a straightforward process and shouldn’t take much time, depending on the complexity of the tasks at hand. 

Creating a to-do list outlines all the activities on your queue and helps you visualize their execution. Once you have the paper list, you can prioritize and assign importance to tasks based on parameters like deadline or complexity.

That said, it helps to make the to-do list as detailed as possible. Note all crucial information, including the parameters for determining tasks’ order of importance. Doing this simplifies the rest of the process.

Try a Kanban board tool

The Japanese designed Kanban boards in the early forties. It’s a digital post-it board. It’s a good idea for task management because you can visualize all the tasks comprising the project and divide them into columns. 

Each column in a Kanban board represents different stages of your team’s project workflow. And underneath each column will be different cards—each one representing individual tasks. 

For instance, let’s say your team is working on a content management project. You and your team will complete tasks like content research, keyword strategy, designing digital assets, and content promotion. You can separate these tasks into the appropriate columns, making your way down each column as the project runs into completion. 

Get a task management tool

While a task management system may not be a complicated process, it’s sometimes lengthy, monotonous, and time-consuming. Having a task management tool helps you avoid all of that.

The best part about task management tools is they are often niche-specific and will deliver the precise functionality needed for your industry.

Task Management Tool

Also read: 10 HR Technology Trends In 2023: Expanding AI, Digitization, and Elevating Hybrid Workplaces

Why do you need a task management tool? 

Task management software has the following benefits.

  • It lets you manage multiple workflows on a single platform: You get to organize your entire workspace on one task management tool. This reduces disparities in your processes and lets you manage all activities from a single framework.
  • It reduces friction in team collaboration: Most digital task management tools have functionalities that enhance collaborative efforts. Using these tools, you may delegate tasks and use tools for communication so team members can work on their assignments and deliverables without missing a beat!

Using an online scheduling system can also be a useful tool in task management, as it can help you allocate time more efficiently and avoid conflicts in scheduling

This functionality is particularly beneficial when you manage remote teams. Your team members won’t need to badger you every time for crucial information. They can access all your instructions and observations on the project board.

  • Assign tasks: Comprehensive task management tools have features that simplify task delegation. You should use these additions to assign responsibilities to your employees based on their capabilities. It’s anti-task management to take on all the activities alone when there are people around who you can share them with. Similarly, assigning tasks outside of an employee’s capability is bad practice. That may lead to ineffectiveness, burnout, and employee turnover.
  • Automate tasks: Task management tools also let you automate repetitive tasks like monthly report drafts and meeting schedules. The software takes care of mundane activities and lets you focus on more important work.
  • Portability: Video conferencing software like Zoom phone lets you participate in meetings and interact with team members on the go. But a task management tool does more. It lets you monitor assignments and progress on the go without necessarily interacting with the assignee.  
  • Monitor progress: Lastly, a task manager helps you stay abreast of task statuses and situations. It’s a platform to proactively monitor the individuals working with you and the tasks you assign to them. It’s important to monitor your proximity to task completion and constantly think of ways to speed up the process without compromising the desired results.  Again, task management software will make this activity easier for you. It’ll enable you to manage and monitor multiple projects simultaneously. 

Task management system

How to choose the right task management software? 

Choosing the right task management tool that suits your needs is crucial to your success with it. That’s why you must do proper research before picking one.

Before picking a task management tool, you must answer a few questions to determine what it is for. 

  • What types of tasks do you typically have in your workflow?
  • What’s your team size and how often do you have them collaborate on tasks?
  • How often do you need to monitor your team members? Or do you trust them to take on and complete tasks without much supervision from task managers?
  • Do you need special features like analytics and time trackers?
  • How will the task management software integrate into your existing systems?

Make a checklist of the functionalities your ideal task management tool must have based on your answers to those questions. Then, look for the tool that checks the boxes on your list.

That said, we’ll advise you to aim for simple and seamless. Fancy features and complex designs are often enticing and can sway you. But it defeats the purpose if you or your team members find it challenging to work with the tool you picked.

The whole point is to reduce task friction and complexity while increasing productivity. As such, go for software that meets this purpose and is easy for everybody to use.

Maintain efficiency with task management

Prioritizing, assigning, and managing tasks is a proven way to improve productivity. It’s the best way to ensure you and your employees fulfill responsibilities properly and on time. It also helps you get more out of your employees without increasing their workload or risking burnout.

Overall, task management is the best approach to improving employee efficiency. And the best task management strategies effectively employ digital software to their advantage. 

Drafting a task management strategy that doesn’t include the right tools is like creating a plan without considering how you’ll execute it. Start your journey to effective task management by picking the best task management software for your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the benefits of a task management system?

Ans. Here are the overall benefits of task management:

  • Task management helps in organizing and prioritizing tasks effectively.
  • It provides a clear picture of the progress of tasks and helps to stay on track with deadlines.
  • Task management ensures that important tasks are not overlooked or forgotten.
  • It helps to reduce stress by breaking down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks.
  • Task management improves productivity by creating a structured approach to completing tasks.
  • It helps to optimize the use of time and resources by identifying and eliminating unnecessary tasks.
  • Task management improves communication and collaboration among team members by providing a centralized platform for tracking progress.
  • It helps to improve accountability by assigning tasks to specific individuals and tracking their progress.
  • Task management provides a sense of accomplishment by allowing individuals to see the progress they have made towards completing their goals.

Q2. How to manage tasks?

Ans. Organize tasks efficiently with these simple steps:

  • Pinpoint tasks that are urgent and important
  • Analyze complex tasks and break them down into simpler steps
  • Create reasonable deadlines for each task
  • Utilize digital tools or go old-school with a planner
  • Categorize tasks by personal, work, or other areas
  • Delegate duties when possible at home or at work
  • Stick to a routine for updating and reviewing your task list
  • Schedule time-blocks for different tasks throughout the day
  • Set boundaries to help minimize distractions
  • Review and adjust your workload regularly for maximum productivity

 

Overall, remote and hybrid work can offer many benefits for both employees and employers, including increased flexibility, productivity, and cost savings.

Author: Grace Lau – Director of Growth Content, Dialpad

Grace Lau headshot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud communication platform for better and easier team collaboration with features like vanity numbers from Dialpad. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Grace has also written for other domains such as Trust.Zone and Packwire. Here is her LinkedIn.

Engagedly Introduces Powerful Updates to Learning and Development for the #FutureOfWork

Clients can drive learning in the future of work with Streamlined Automation, Tailored Learning Paths, and Access to Hundreds of Thousands of eLearning Courses

ST. LOUIS, April 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Engagedly, the leading AI-powered cloud-based software for Performance, Learning & Developemnet, and Employee Engagement solutions, is excited to announce the launch of new updates to their Learning Management solution. These new features will help organizations provide a more automated, streamlined and engaging approach to learning and development for their employees.

The updates include:
Learning Automation – enabling customers to automate courses as well as their employee’s learning paths.
Learning Path – allowing organizations to create comprehensive journeys through different courses for their employees.
Integrations with Bizlibrary, GoodHabitz, Open Sesame and Go1 – giving customers access to hundreds of thousands of engaging eLearning courses from leading providers.

These updates have been designed to accelerate time-to-competency with easier identification and delivery of content, reduction in required resources and improved accuracy in administering training across multiple users or groups. This enhanced capability empowers organizations to quickly upskill their workforce while providing individualized progression paths that are tailored specifically to each learner’s needs.

“At Engagedly, we understand the importance of providing a comprehensive learning platform that is both user friendly and effective in helping employees reach desired competencies,” says Sri Chellappa, Co-founder & CEO at Engagedly. “The introduction of these product updates will boost productivity while reducing manual effort needed for course creation, putting more focus on actual learning versus administrative tasks.”

Engagedly’s new Learning Management Product updates are designed to bring greater value to customers. The automation feature will allow for more efficient and accurate course delivery, leading to improved employee competency and mastery in their roles. The learning path feature provides organizations with the ability to tailor training paths to individual employees, while still meeting the needs of all users. Additionally, the integrations with Bizlibrary, GoodHabitz, Open Sesame and Go1 give customers access to a wealth of diverse resources so they can find the best content for their employees.

These updates provide Engagedly clients with more powerful tools than ever before for creating an effective learning environment that is tailored to each user’s specific needs – increasing effectiveness and reducing training time required to reach desired competencies.

About Engagedly

Built on best practices and decades of research, Engagedly’s AI powered People+Strategy platform helps organisations build high performance culture. With Engagedly’s Modular Platform, organizations can Execute on their strategy with goals/OKRs, performance appraisals and 360 reviews, Enable their people development with 1 on 1 feedback, LMS, Mentoring/Coaching, and Engage their people with Recognition and Rewards, Employee Survey and Social Praise.

Learning and Development

9 Progressive HR Policies From HR Professionals

To help you identify the next best HR approach, we asked HR experts and people managers this question for their best insights. From automating repetitive functions to conducting “stay” interviews, there are several HR approaches your team should consider.

Here are 9 progressive HR approaches from experienced professionals: 

  • Prioritize Flexible Work Policies
  • Automate Repetitive HR Functions
  • Offer Minority Groups More Support
  • Keep Benefits Competitive
  • Think About CYA Squared
  • Continue Leveraging Social Media
  • Make Data-Driven HR Decisions
  • Conduct “Stay” Interviews
  • Cross-Train Team Members
Also Read: How important is feedback in today’s world

Prioritize Flexible Work Policies

Flexible work policies are both a progressive HR approach that we practice and see as a rising trend. Having run a fully remote company for the better part of a decade, we have long offered employees freedom and flexibility in terms of working hours and practices. 

With the mass shift to remote work and the uncertainty and upheaval caused by the pandemic, this approach has become more needed than ever. Many professionals have experienced massive lifestyle changes, such as having to take on supplementary work or an increase in caretaking responsibilities. 

It is important for HR professionals and leaders to be conscious and empathetic about these complications and compromise on scheduling needs rather than forcing employees to adhere to strict working hours solely for the sake of following traditions or asserting authority. Allowing employees to choose their working hours and environments is a best practice in supporting your staff.

– Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding

Automate Repetitive HR Functions

Technology is developing so rapidly that sometimes companies have no time to incorporate it into their work for maximum benefit. Still, more and more businesses are introducing partial or complete HR automation. 

The benefits are incredibly tempting, especially if the company is growing fast. First, it saves a lot of money and reduces the HR budget. It also allows employees to solve their HR issues and get their questions answered 24/7. It is crucial when companies work with flexible working hours. Additionally, it reduces the toll on the HR department and allows them to focus on the things that matter the most instead of doing manual tasks like reviewing sick leave requests and analyzing feedback forms from scratch. 

Also Read: Why do you need a Real Time Performance Management Software

HR automation allows for maximum accuracy, efficiency, and productivity and becomes a great assistant in day-to-day HR operations.

– Ewelina Melon, Tidio

Offer Minority Groups More Support

One progressive HR approach that we are seeing as a rising trend is providing more support for minorities within the organization. As we have seen in the news and through our lives, minorities face numerous challenges that often go overlooked. 

As HR, it is our responsibility to help support these individuals with everything they need to perform their job successfully and feel comfortable in their roles within the company. This is why adding additional support to individuals of color or ethnic differences is so important when growing an organization and promoting diversity and inclusion.

– Jeremy Gardner, MadeMan

Keep Benefits Competitive

Organizations are struggling to fill up vacant positions now! The power of negotiation has shifted to the hands of the employees. Before choosing an organization, they evaluate the culture and work environment to find the correct fit.

Previously, interviews were very one-sided. Companies grilled candidates to decide if they were a good fit. A lot of that has reversed; employees are interviewing companies. To stay competitive, employers need to find new ways to stand out beyond offering a “great company culture” or “excellent work-life balance,” especially because that’s what everyone is offering. 

At our company, we lead with empathy and offer personalized perks tailored to each person. People are looking to work for a company that actually cares about them and fulfills their needs. 

Also Read: Employee Rewards and Recognition for an engaged workforce

The one size fits all, Friday pizza party days are over now. People want to be able to choose what works best for them, whether that be a gym membership, daycare stipend or support for continuing education.

– Amy Spurling, Compt

Think About CYA Squared

A simple but progressive approach to HR is what I call “CYA Squared”: cover your a__ and care for your associates. HR, particularly in California, typically swings the pendulum too far to the first CYA due to fear of a lawsuit. This strategy backfires, and we have witnessed it with the “great resignation.”

Employees are demanding to be seen, heard, and cared for in the workplace. Let’s face it, don’t we all want that?

Moving forward, companies will need to be mindful to swing the pendulum too far to the second CYA, causing them to get burned. Too much of anything is not good and ping pong tables and policies aren’t going to cut it.

HR will need to play a significant role in helping businesses find a new balance, creating a psychologically safe and compliant workplace. We’ve already seen what happens without it.

– Dawn Myers, Guided Leadership Solutions

Continue Leveraging Social Media

Recruiters reaching out to talent over social media platforms like LinkedIn will increase as “The Great Resignation” resumes, and many are pumping the brakes on applying for jobs. Now more than ever, recruiters are constantly seeing no-shows for job interviews or employees leaving the company after 20+ years — even some CEOs are taking a step down. 

The current job market is turning into not what a company can do for you, but what an employee can do for them. In today’s day, whichever business will respond to the fastest and offer the best benefits will retain top talent. Recruiters are utilizing their professional circles, such as LinkedIn, to successfully get more people into the office than walking out the door.

– Lance Herrington, UNICO Nutrition

Make Data-Driven HR Decisions

HR reps have to deal with a lot of data on a daily basis. This data can be streamlined to help HR process it more efficiently. HR analytics allows professionals to get deeper insights into the data they receive. 

With these metrics, professionals can find correlations such as voluntary turnover and promotion wait times. Having data-driven HR is a progressive approach that improves workflows. I expect this to be a rising trend.

– Evan Zhao, Revela Health

Conduct “Stay” Interviews

As we continue to navigate our next, I continue to encourage managers to proactively host “stay” interviews with their individual teammates. The changes since 2020 have altered the work equation. It remains a critical time to discuss with your current teams what they would like as they move with you into 2022.  

Ask specific questions about what it will take to keep them on the team as valued members of your organization. Salary, flexibilities, professional development, vacation increases, and new incentive plans are a place to start. 

This will be hard work, but will serve as a foundation of deeper trust if you are genuine in these efforts. This is an important moment to be proactive and take action.

– Diane Fennig, The Gallagher Group

Also Read: 6 step guide to conduct effective stay interviews 

Cross-Train Team Members

I think companies now need to offer more than just training programs for specific jobs. They need to train all people in all areas of business functions — marketing, graphic design, and human resources so they can be more effective at getting their jobs done. 

Too many companies are spending time hiring somebody new, but either never teach them or show them how things work before sending them off on their own. There should be a unified system where you’re not constantly managing your employees but helping them grow professionally and be more like business owners themselves.

– Iryna Kutnyak, Quoleady

We created this article in association with Terkel. It is a community-driven knowledge platform that creates content based on expert insights.

Want to know how Engagedly can simplify your performance management process? Request a demo from our experts!

Request A Demo

Hiring Advice: Staffing and Employment Trends You Need to Know

It’s been a tough couple of months for many people around the globe, with global mass layoffs hitting hard in the middle of 2022 and continuing into the beginning of 2024. It’s been a challenging time, but there are some bright spots on the horizon, too. One of the most interesting staffing and employment trends that we’re seeing is the use of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to help companies identify the best candidates for their open positions.

 

Layoffs

Also Read: Hello from Marissa AI- Your AI Enablement Coach 

Another trend that’s been growing in popularity is the use of virtual interviews and job fairs. With so many people working remotely due to the pandemic, it’s become easier and more convenient to hold these events online. That means that job seekers can connect with potential employers from anywhere in the world, without having to worry about travel or other logistical challenges.

Finally, we’re seeing more emphasis being placed on soft skills in recruiting. While technical skills are still important, many companies are realizing that things like communication, teamwork, and adaptability are just as crucial in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing work environment.

All in all, while it’s been a tough time for many people, some exciting new developments in recruiting could help job seekers find their way to new opportunities in the future.

Importance of Staffing and Employment Trends

Employment trends

Staffing and employment trends are changing. It helps businesses to anticipate and gear up for future changes and make informed decisions. Knowing the latest recruitment trends will help an organization identify and retain real talent, maximizing productivity and success.  

As the growing demand for technical and digital needs influences the recruitment strategy, it requires better talent management that can streamline designations and acceptance of remote working globally. 

Also Read: A Complete Overview of Talent Management in a Changing Global Workspace

Top 10 Staffing and Employment Trends in 2024

The workplace should prioritize employee well-being, flexible working mode, and diversity as key to retaining organizational talent. Though workplace trends have irreversibly changed as an aftermath of the pandemic in 2020, the new status quo isn’t static and demands new trends. It can help focus on talent acquisition in the first place, bringing other benefits for employees and the workplace. 

The top staffing and employment trends to dominate in 2024 will help deal with hiring freeze, mass layoffs, and other problems. 

1. Flexibility in Remote Work 

Give your team flexibility to work, which helps retain productive talent. Reports show that 25% of North American jobs will turn to remote mode by the end of this year, with a substantial increase by the coming year.  

There is a chance that 64% of employees may consider leaving their jobs if they don’t get the privilege of a flexible mode. This makes more businesses implement the flexible and remote work model, which eventually benefits both employees and employers. 

Remote work flexibility

Though flexible and hybrid work modes are preferable, employers wonder how to ensure that teams work productively. As the flexible mode is here to stay, mostly after the pandemic, there is an increased effort by employees to measure productivity and optimize it for better outcomes. Deploying a hybrid work mode can boost employee productivity. It can further help with effective constant performance reviews. 

Also Read: How to Prepare for the Future of Remote Workforce

2. Hiring Based on Data 

If you’re an employer looking to make smart hiring decisions, it’s worth considering a data-driven approach to recruitment. By analyzing data about candidates’ qualifications and expertise, you can gain valuable insights that can help you make more informed hiring decisions.

This approach is becoming increasingly popular in the business world, and it’s not hard to see why – with data analytics, you can identify the best candidates for the job more quickly and efficiently than ever before. So, if you want to stay ahead of the curve in your industry, it’s worth exploring the benefits of data-driven hiring.

3. Upskilling 

Research focuses on skills gaps, as 64% of managers think their employees don’t match the required skills. Many employees also admit the lack of adequate scope to master skills required for any specific designation. 

Upskilling

Organizations are focusing on employees’ growth and development and inculcating ways for continuous learning. It provides better opportunities to develop new skills that also work as a retention strategy. Unique learning opportunities by employers are what employees will look for, including both soft and hard skills. Further, it can help employees succeed in their designated roles, benefitting the organization. 

The job market has brought challenges for employers and employees and the need to focus on new skills. In return, it will help employees instill competitive traits to remain focused and work at par with the competitive market. Developing new skills is a way to increase the efficiency of a team.  

4. Contingent Workers

The prolonged disruption and uncertainty in the hiring process caused by the pandemic pose serious challenges for companies. A fluctuating business needs flexibility and hiring contingent labor to meet the demands. Employers often found this hiring more profitable than regular employment. To handle the procurement of contingent labor, a vendor management system can help. Even social media marketing tools can help appeal to the contingent laborers with a different interview process. 

5. Recruiters to Become Business Leaders

The employee-centric approach is among the latest HR recruitment trends in 2024 when recruiters want to plan strategically in hiring. The recruiting leaders are expected to bring a new perspective to hiring talents. The strategies should align with business goals, advising clients to achieve their best. Recruiting will become creative as most of the work will get automated. It will be less about execution with more focused on talent strategy. 

Also Read: Why Your Business Needs This Foolproof Talent Retention Strategy

6. Gen Z Entering the Business Team

With Gen Z entering the workforce, 47% of Gen Z employees are identified as BIPOC compared to 34% of Gen X and 25% of boomers. Besides, 69% feel that they are paid fairly. Due to their young age and stage in their career, Gen Z employees can work in hospitality and retail, which is considered low paying. Also, this is the Gen Z that was hit hard with job loss due to the impact of the pandemic in 2020. With these scenarios, employers get an opportunity to hire and retain diverse talent in the workforce. Considering the new recruitment trends, employers should create a comprehensive environment to acknowledge Gen Z and their perspectives better. 

It looks like we can expect some big changes in staffing and employment trends as we move into 2024, especially when it comes to the expectations of Gen Z workers. One of the biggest shifts we’re likely to see is a demand for speed – this generation is used to a fast-paced, digital world, and they’re not going to be interested in a slow, outdated hiring process.

To keep up with this demand, we can expect to see more recruitment processes and agencies focusing on mobile-based applications and automation. These tools can make the hiring process faster and more efficient, which is exactly what Gen Z workers are looking for. So, if you’re a recruiter or employer, it’s worth considering how you can update your processes to meet the needs of this new generation of workers.  

7. Focus on Employee Experience 

The focus has now shifted to employee experience and the trend is continuing. It accelerates the need to improve employee experience and develop programs targeting their well-being, promoting work-life balance, and encouraging them to stay. It offers a positive experience to candidates with other options to look for; thus, retaining talents can help the organization. 

If you want to attract the best candidates to your organization, it’s important to focus on creating a positive employee experience. This means making it easy for candidates to apply for jobs and providing them with multiple reasons to be interested in the role you’re offering.

Employee experience

One key aspect of creating a positive employee experience is company culture. Candidates want to work for organizations that prioritize their employees’ well-being and happiness, and that offers a supportive and inclusive environment.

When companies focus on creating a positive employee experience, it can pay off in many ways. They’re more likely to attract and retain top talent, and they may even see increased profitability and success as a result.

So, if you want to stay competitive in the job market in 2024 and beyond, it’s worth considering how you can create a positive employee experience and company culture that will help you win over the best candidates. 

Also Read: The Complete Guide to Employee Health and Well-Being Strategy

8. Emphasis on Equity and Diversity 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are roles that the HR manager is responsible for handling. These directly affect the recruitment process and talent acquisition. Research shows how diverse companies see high revenues, are likely to capture new markets, and have increased cash flow for employees. 

Equity and Diversity

Organizations are trying to develop a diverse workforce, and recruiters are responsible for identifying and including candidates from diverse areas. This is where 3 out of 4 job seekers look for diverse companies, knowing employers prioritize diversity in the workplace. It is important to include this among the recruitment trends and tips for 2024. 

There are differences in attitude among employers when it comes to deploying the DEI initiative. Research states that 72% of workers from 18 to 34 years old consider leaving a job offer or resigning if company managers don’t support DEI initiatives. And the percentage varies depending on the age group. 

9. Collaboration between Talent Acquisition and Management 

To have strong talent pools, there should be a team-centric mindset. Talent managers should collaborate with the talent acquisition team and identify the essential prospects. The main focus of the acquisition team should be to connect the talent managers with prospects that can upgrade their skills to fill the gaps.  

Companies should work on investing in new talent because the economy has been hit hard since the pandemic. It has resulted in a stringent market, and businesses need to adopt diverse talent acquisition strategies. Hiring must be more than just finding the right person to appoint. To keep up with the latest staffing and employment trends, go by a suitable talent pool and avoid risks. 

Also Read: How to Use Talent Analytics to Inform Your Business Strategy

10. Prioritizing Brand Image over Open Positions 

Brand reputation

In today’s competitive job market, job seekers are not just looking for a high salary package. They also research a company’s brand reputation before considering a job offer. This means that HR departments need to adopt marketing skills to attract top talent and ensure their company’s branding is positive in the marketplace. 

Effective branding involves paying attention to ethical standards, employee satisfaction, workplace culture, and financial stability within an organization. By prioritizing these elements, companies can enhance their brand reputation and attract the best candidates to help drive their success.

Wrap Up 

These are the latest staffing and employment trends that are to stay and dominate in 2024. It gives employers a scope to have a competitive edge over their competitors. It also assures organizations that they are prepared for the future of work in 2024. Businesses can create strong teams to build a successful organization by leveraging these trends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What can be the impact of talent shortage at the workplace?

Ans. Talent shortage at the workplace can have several negative impacts, such as difficulty in finding qualified candidates, decreased productivity, increased workload for existing employees, longer time to fill open positions, higher recruitment costs, and increased turnover rates. It can also lead to decreased competitiveness and hinder growth opportunities for businesses.

Q2. What trends do you see for recruiting, staffing, and hiring in 2024?

Ans. The following trends are going to dominate in 2024 in the arena of hiring and employment:

  • Increased adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning in recruitment processes to enhance efficiency and accuracy in candidate selection.
  • A focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to promote a more inclusive workplace and attract a diverse pool of candidates.
  • Greater emphasis on soft skills and emotional intelligence in candidate evaluation, as employers seek to build more collaborative and empathetic teams.
  • The continued growth of remote work and hybrid work models, requiring recruiters and hiring managers to develop new strategies for assessing candidate suitability for remote roles.
  • The rise of gig work and freelancing, has led to an increase in the use of freelancers and contractors as a flexible staffing solution.
  • The use of social media and digital platforms to source and engage candidates, including the integration of chatbots and video interviewing tools.
  • The adoption of gamification techniques in recruitment processes to make them more engaging and interactive for candidates.
  • Greater attention to employer branding and employee experience as organizations seek to differentiate themselves in a competitive job market.
  • An increased focus on upskilling and reskilling programs to develop existing employees’ skills and retain talent.
  • The adoption of blockchain technology to improve the security and accuracy of candidate data and streamline the background checking process.

Q3. What are the common recruitment methods?

Ans. The common methods are internal recruitment, candidate search, talent search, recruitment agencies, and social media advertisement. Besides, the shift to remote work, focus on diversity, and the inclusion of AI and automation.

How Do the Best Organizations Identify and Develop Top Talent

How to identify talent in an organization? Workforce management is a consideration of many parts for any business. It goes beyond scheduling and how to best leverage your employees – including their potential. Identifying and developing top talent is a significant step toward workforce efficiency as you position your best assets and people in positions and paths that would work best. 

how to identify top talent in an organization

Identifying Talent

Managing your workforce should involve understanding who the talent in your organization is – and what their potential is. To achieve the most practical workforce efficiency, it would make sense to see where your assets are and then figure out how to support them.

There are, of course, any number of ways to assess employees for their potential, but often it will be dictated by what the company does and what is most needed. However, creating a talent development program that all employees can use may be the best option.

Also Read: A Complete Overview of Talent Management in a Changing Workplace

Developing Talent

When it comes to developing talent within an organization, giving every member of an organization a chance to build these skills is a wise move. Creating a training system that works within all levels to help identify potential superstars will do much of the work for you in identifying your most talented assets.

Also Read: The Value of Employee Development in the Modern Workplace

With such a system in place, by the time these talented employees are identified, they are already involved in talent development. But how can you take this further, and what sort of elements make for a talent-building program?

Set Clear Objectives

Objectives are an element of workforce efficiency. They serve as a guiding principle for decisions at all business levels. How well do your company’s plans to develop talent account for the overall objectives of the company? These two things should be closely linked.

Set clear objectives

For example, if your company is transitioning from products to a service-based economy, your employees should begin training in skill sets involved with service-based markets. After all, According to the UCLA Anderson Review, “the products and service businesses of the information economy make up about 62% of U.S. GNP as of 2017, up from about 46% in 1967.” Subscription or service-based duties would encounter a separate skill set from marketing one-and-done purchases – rapidly becoming a reality for many employers.

Rethink Skill Sets

When an employee is hired, they may have experiences and skills not utilized in their current position. Still, they can be used as the company’s objectives change, or market forces dictate. Taking a periodic inventory of employees’ skill sets outside of what is expected of the current positions is a vital step toward building workforce efficiency, as businesses must pivot for various reasons. Being an internal resource, employees may offer a wealth of untapped potential for transitions to new avenues.

Upskilling initiatives are also a great way to develop talent. As work grows more decentralized across entire industries, that can leave some employees behind in a skill gap as they must learn new technology and processes that differ from their in-office skills. Helping sales talent adapt to new at-home work methods is an excellent example of rethinking job skills and developing talent.

Also Read: How to Build a Successful Upskilling and Reskilling Program

Provide Multiple Learning Options

An essential element of developing top talent internally is understanding that different learning styles exist. In a broader sense, only some employees will benefit from training the same way, so instructional designers should work multiple training alternatives into whatever talent development program exists. Your talent development program must use various learning methods to improve workforce efficiency.

How many avenues are available for skill development? Do you offer on-the-job learning, coaching, mentorship, and self-guided instruction? These are valid learning styles that result in the potential growth of talent. When designing your skills training, don’t put all your effort into one method. According to a 2019 Training Industry report, 39% of midsize companies use a classroom-led approach to training, 25% blended learning methods, and 17% utilize virtual classrooms.

Also Read: Benefits of Implementing an Employee Career Development Program

Foster a Positive Culture

Promoting a workplace culture around developing talents and skills is critical to make employees more valuable. A strong business fosters a culture of adaptability and exploration. Allowing employees to explore processes and operations outside their department can create a cohesive and efficient workplace.

Making learning a core tenant of employment opens up many options for workforce efficiency. Major companies are investing heavily in education and learning within their workforce, such as in the case of Visa. Their usage of Visa University, an internal training program, yielded surprising results.

Embrace Coaching

One-on-one coaching in the workplace provides many benefits and should be integrated into any program to improve workforce efficiency. Coaching is one of the best ways for a business to leverage experience in a way that directly motivates and educates employees. Coaches can not only help instruct on job-specific processes but can help close skill gaps and promote personal growth. Employees also want coaching: One statistic suggests that 67% of Gen X leaders want more external coaching, and 57% want external development.

Businesses can do coaching within the company by pairing experienced employees with new employees, but external coaching can also be quite valuable. Thanks to their distance from the company’s existing culture, such coaches can identify areas that need improvement or skills that staff should be building to be more effective overall. 

Develop Leadership

Finding leadership and seeking it out at all company levels is critical to increasing workforce efficiency. So often, companies make the mistake of promoting from a poor pool of candidates through rote promotion habits and only looking at one level. A good leadership development plan allows anyone from any group to be put on a path toward becoming the kind of leader the company needs.

Great leaders can come from anywhere within the company. It just becomes a matter of opportunity to develop those skills and recognition to be in such positions. Developing leadership through training programs is a substantial investment toward workforce efficiency.

Also Read: 7 Leadership Traits That Drive High Engagement

Workforce Efficiency Through Talent Development

Understanding how to leverage your company’s #1 resource – the people within- is vital for improving business. Recognizing that talent needs to be discovered, fostered, and developed is one of the most crucial long-term success factors. Leveraging employee development and upskilling to embrace and enhance skills through proper scheduling also presents opportunities. 

Employers can also use AI to optimize employee scheduling. An optimized schedule, factoring in training and development, means a more efficient workforce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do you develop and retain top talent in an organization?

Ans. Developing and retaining top talent in an organization requires a multi-faceted approach that includes:

  • Offering competitive salaries
  • Providing ongoing training and development opportunities
  • Fostering a positive work environment
  • Recognizing and rewarding top performers
  • Having a strong employer brand and reputation
  • Providing opportunities for advancement and promotion
  • Providing a work-life balance and supporting employees’ well-being

Q2. What are the five key areas of talent development?

Ans. Here are the five key areas of talent development:

  • Skill Development: Building specific skills that are relevant to the individual’s field of work
  • Knowledge Enhancement: Staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends, news, and technologies
  • Leadership and Management Skills: Developing effective communication, delegation, decision-making, and conflict resolution skills
  • Personal Growth: Building emotional intelligence, self-awareness, adaptability, and resilience
  • Creativity and Innovation: Developing the ability to think outside the box, take risks, be open-minded, and embrace change

Engagedly partners with Go1 to unlock the potential of the modern workforce with dynamic, interactive learning courses.

Engagedly, an award-winning solution provider of performance management and employee engagement software, announced its new partnership with Go1, the largest curated eLearning library from the world’s top training providers.

Today, retaining the right talent and building high-performance teams are getting increasingly challenging. The skills pool is shrinking day by day and poses a threat to organizations to be successful. It is crucial for businesses to adopt an LMS as a key component in their people strategy.

Engagedly and Go1’s integration lets you access world-class content that will enable your organization to level up and win in the #FutureOfWork. Engagedly has always prioritized employee development and growth which aligns with Go1’s vision. This integration is designed to create an impact that will help organizations scale their workforce.

‘To keep up with the ever-evolving nature of work, employees need to develop their abilities and skills. We are thrilled to partner with Go1 to provide our customers access to the LMS content they need to succeed in the future of work. This partnership will further strengthen our agile LMS and help organizations tackle the skills gap and build a competent workforce’, said Sri Chellappa, President/Co-Founder of Engagedly.

‘We are proud and delighted to be embarking on this partnership with an award-winning provider like Engagedly focused on performance and engagement, two critical issues for today’s organizations. This new alliance will further power Go1’s mission to give learners, teams and organizations access to the world’s best learning content, enabling them to upskill, reskill, engage and optimize their potential’, said Basem Emera, SVP Partnerships and Alliances, Go1.

Key features of the integration include:

  • Seamless integration with Engagedly gives you access to courses from 200+ providers
  • Access 100,000+ engaging digital learning resources for your employees, as and when you need it
  • Facilitates learning across geographies, durations, styles, and levels
  • A diverse range of training, whether it be compliance, technical, or soft skills development
  • Wide range of topics provided by a versatile collection of global, regional, and specialized providers
  • Pre-curated playlists to build learning programs that are relevant to everyone

About Go1:

Go1 makes it easy for organizations to learn, with the world’s most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organization needs in a single solution. With over 3.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning.Go1.com has raised over US$280M in total funding from investors including AirTree Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Larsen Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, M12, Our Innovation Fund, Oxford University, Salesforce Ventures, SEEK, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, TEN13, and Y Combinator. To learn more, visit www.go1.com.

About Engagedly:

Engagedly is a fast-paced growth provider and an award-winning talent management solution provider. Built upon best practices and decades of research, Engagedly’s People + Strategy platform is evolving performance management, development, and engagement to drive successful organizational outcomes across the globe.

Employee Career Development