Use Digital Technology to Improve Employee Engagement

As a leader, you’ve probably thought about all the ways in which digital technology can enhance communication with your clients—but there’s another side of the coin to consider. Digital technology can also facilitate better communication between your employees and one another, and between your employees and you.

Digital technology can even be a catalyst for team building. The question is, how can you leverage technology in your workplace so that it actually improves collaboration and engagement? How can you ensure technology is a tool, not just a distraction?

As a keynote speaker and leadership expert, I’ve spoken on this topic to a number of team leaders—and here are some of the tips I often provide them.

• Measure employee engagement. Look into a software suite called Officevibe, which promises increased employee engagement in just a few minutes each month. The software allows your employees to weigh in with their feedback and suggestions for new workplace initiatives; you can not only get feedback but also quantify and track your progress as you strive toward new goals.
• Provide tools for collaboration. You might use a project management tool, like Wrike or Baseline, to help your team members share ideas and files and work together on a particular project—an especially good tool for those who have remote employees. You might use something like Incentive to make collaboration more social. Or you may simply use something like Dropbox to ensure easy access to files and documents.
• Use technology to boost workplace wellness. There are some great programs that make employee wellness actionable, measurable, and fun. Limeade.com is just one of many that are worth looking into.
• Get feedback. You can conduct easy, anonymous employee surveys with tools like TINYpulse, allowing you to have a better sense of what your employees are thinking—and letting them know that their voices are heard and that they are important.

Technology can be a great enabler of increased teamwork and collaboration—and an amazing way to boost engagement within your team.