Internal communication mobile apps: Drivers of employee engagement!

The dynamics of how employees work, choose to communicate and interact in or about the workplace has radically changed over the past 20-30 years and most significantly in the last 5 due to the rise of technology adoption, increase in different generations in the workplace and impact of social media.  Business leaders are becoming more aware of the value, having employee centric internal communication strategies has in driving higher levels of employee engagement and the positive impact that has on the company and the value it delivers to the bottom line, via customer acquisition, growth and retention. Leaders and managers are using a variety of methods to improve, action and facilitate involvement, collaboration, processes and policies accordingly.

Strategies and business models are rapidly integrating internal employee focused targets, centralising on key working aspects and areas which offer the most optimised working environments and terms as well as providing incentives to attract staff as well as reduce staff turnover levels.

From the introduction of flexible working hours to accessibility of working schedules from any location and off any device, company led targets to individual based goals – the evolution of the working environment has shifted how we work, communicate and operate daily.

Jacob Morgan, author of The Future of Work identified the shift between management led models to employee-empowering models, highlighting the workplace changes in the following Evolution of the Employee infographic: 

As companies adapt more forward thinking approaches in engaging staff, technology advances are also shaping how we communicate and interact between employees, managers and colleagues as well as with customers.

Next generation technology has inspired the increase in integrating mobile applications into employee engagement and internal communications strategies, providing a wholesome employee experience that is content, individual, role, company and target specific.

Adapting to the shift in employee engagement has led to the mass adoption of enterprise software which enable employees to work anywhere and at any time through better document sharing, flexible communication channels such as Skype for Business or Yammer as well as schedule focused productivity platforms, all of which offer employees the flexibility to work more efficiently, effectively and remotely.

Then there’s project collaboration focused apps such as Basecamp, Trello or Atlassian or integration of cloud based platforms such as Microsoft’s Azure which also offer employees and senior leadership teams the opportunity to create, maintain and manage specific areas of work securely and without restriction of location, time or workloads.

Employee focused internal communication apps, whatever their key drivers,  be it about fostering greater collaboration, innovation, involvement teamwork, inclusion, or just great two way  internal communication, provides the opportunity for quicker and more interactive communication, accessible from almost any device, location and operating platform, avoiding the restriction and clogging of traditional digital channels such as email or system alerts.  The capacity to better connect and consistently contact employees who work remotely or at different times, ensure a more efficient and reliable platform of communication and feedback that is not just driven by the employer but by the employee also.

With an average employee using over 3GB on a mobile device and research finding an average user spending over 90 mins a day on their phone; integrating apps which increase engagement and the variety, relevancy and frequency of internal communication  is no longer a luxury but a necessity for the right employee audiences, particularly those in retail, hospitality, leisure, logistics, field sales and operational roles.

Creating unique employee experiences and content relevant to the employees stage or role within the business is also a developing consideration. Modern employers are getting new candidates better engaged and more informed before they accept a job offer and when they do getting them up to speed and engaged before their official start date. Having engaging and relevant personalised content that’s in context to the individual employee, their role and experience with the employer is necessary to cut through all communication noise now filling up most people email boxes. It’s what people expect and best respond to in the consumer aspects of their lives and so it’s no surprise this is now the expectation within their work life too.

Engaging staff is about listening, improving, progressing, actioning and evaluating and doing it all over again and again; mobile apps offer the deliverable platform to enhance and strengthen communication for all employees wherever they are and whatever they do. The only thing to consider is which internal communications app (ours of course) and what to communicate and ‘say’ to who and when and what will you do with what is said back?

Employees and technology; founding partners in enabling internal communication, better employee engagement as well as engaging employees!

Further reading:

http://www.apppicker.com/applists/3939/the-best-iphone-and-ipad-apps-for-employee-management

https://deviceatlas.com/blog/16-mobile-market-statistics-you-should-know-2016

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Engage & Prosper is a UK based privately owned Employee Engagement Consultancy and Social Enterprise, on a mission to help organisations develop a highly productive and fulfilling workplace culture, with their people, through enhanced employee engagement strategies, fabulous and effective internal communications platforms and tailored reward and recognition programmes.

For more information on Engage & Prosper or to discover how we can help you achieve your organisational and people goals please call +44 (0) 330 223 0464 or find out more at www.engageandprosper.com