Employee Engagement Technology to Empower People and Accelerate Change

Employee engagement technology has become increasingly important in the workplace. With organisations across industries looking to harness the power of technology and data to optimise ways of working, it seems inevitable that the future of work and communication is technology-driven. However, technology and people are often viewed as opposing sides of a spectrum.

At Afiniti, we firmly believe that people are at the centre of any successful, long-lasting change initiative. ‘People at the heart’, one of our core values, is a guiding principle of this philosophy.

In this insight, learn how, with conscious and people-focused application, technology can be used to support people and accelerate positive, sustainable change.

Technology to empower learners

Learning is a critical pillar of change readiness. The capabilities and skills of people are what ultimately translate change from theory to reality. Traditionally, learning has been largely business-driven, with workplace learning relying on trainers and top-down curricula. Due in part to recent shifts in working patterns, workplace learning is shifting toward more learner-led, technology-enabled models.

Employee engagement technology opens a whole new world for learning, with continuously enhanced Learning Management Systems (LMSs), scenario-based and persona-driven learning, gamification and even Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR). On their own, these tools are simply technologies. However, when utilised in conjunction with a people-driven learning strategy and training needs analysis that understands the audience, these technologies can be used to truly empower learners by creating a learner-driven, accessible learning environment.

Technology for communication

Active people engagement is crucial for any change initiative, especially given our often increasingly geographically disparate workforces. Whilst technology cannot offer a replacement for human engagement, it can provide the critical interface between teams that would otherwise be unable to connect.

Whilst most organisations use collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Slack for day-to-day communications, it’s important to also think about how you can leverage these tools to create communication channels that bolster engagement and contribute to community building. Connecting Change Agent Networks, creating hyper-care communities and generating community feedback are just some of the ways in which you should utilise these technologies to facilitate change.

Technology for measurement

The monitoring and measurement of learning, communications and engagement activities provide change teams with vital knowledge and insights that allow for the continuous iteration and targeted improvement of change activities. Most modern LMSs and Intranets provide rich, detailed analytics on clicks, utilisation and completes, however, the full value of this information is often left untapped. By analysing these metrics in conjunction with qualitative feedback and in the wider context of the change journey, this information can help to cut through the noise and provide key insights into how your change activities are resonating.

Technology as an accelerator

Today, automation and AI are top of mind for many organisations across industries. With the release of ChatGPT, many organisations are thinking about how they can utilise technology to support and reduce friction within their operational processes and workflows. Even in the absence of AI, widely available technologies such as Workflow Management Tools can now be used to automate small, repetitive processes and tasks. By exploring the functionality within your existing tools, you can ensure you are maximising the potential of your employee engagement technology to support people, freeing up time to allow focus on creating change and value-adding activities.

Technology can often be seen as a blocker to change; new, unknown, potentially complicated systems to get to grips with can be a frightening idea for some. However, by approaching it as a tool to support people whilst truly considering the purpose and audience of any platform or system, technology can enhance ways of working and act as a real accelerator of change.

If you need any help leveraging employee engagement technology to support your change and people, our specialists are available to learn more about your needs. Please get in touch to discuss your change programme.