11 August, 2022
HR Challenges in the Hybrid Era: How Technology can Help
A clear trend of employee burnout and attrition has emerged over the past few years, as a result of momentous socio-economic crises and global upheavals. Organizations across the globe have been striving to get their bottom line on track and keep their sustainability in check by adopting flexible working models, initiating people-centric rewards and recognition programs, and focusing on holistic employee engagement.
However, HR leaders have been facing the inevitable brunt of these circumstances as they are expected to spearhead workplace transformation, smoothen the shift to hybridity, and tackle the Great Resignation; largely on their own, which has resulted in over 98% of HR professionals feeling burned out.
Technology Solutions to HR Challenges in the Hybrid Work Culture
The hybrid version of the workplace symbolizes the shift from traditional to modern work environments that are driven by technological advancements and an agile organizational culture. But how does HR, the propeller of change, materialize this vision? What are the key challenges that need to be addressed? This blog walks you through these cardinal questions and explains how R&R technology can be leveraged to tackle them.
Building on an insightful HBR article, the fundamental HR concerns in the hybrid era fall under the 5C’s: Communication, Coordination, Connection, Creativity, and Culture.
1. Communication
A mix of in-office and remote employees renders it exceedingly difficult for leaders to establish a collective knowledgebase, and may also result in deterrent communication gaps between the organization, leaders, and the employees. How can employers orchestrate the visibility and transparency of information being shared across its’ stakeholders? Leverage an employee engagement software!
An employee engagement software serves as a one-stop communication channel with a dedicated social wall that can be used to deliver organization-wide announcements related to policy changes, updates, or new initiatives; and features such as 360-degree recognition, social sharing, and AI-powered chatbots make it easier to navigate through a dispersed workforce over a single platform.
2. Coordination
Coordination is a significant challenge when it comes to geographically expanded teams. Undesirable issues such as proximity bias, delays in decision-making, and threats to inclusion can arise, that hamper the overall employee experience.
Digital R&R platforms can be of great help to HRs as such software facilitate easy, 360-degree feedback through recognition as well as ongoing performance assessment tools. Pulse surveys and polls can further assist in creating two-way communication regarding new organizational policies. Moreover, the end-to-end employee rewards management is streamlined, thereby reducing administrative overheads for HR.
3. Connection
Research shows that personal connections are socially sustaining and important for our psychological well-being. The same applies in the professional world too, as forging strong bonds with teammates is one of the most important factors that influence employee engagement. How do you enable connection in a hybrid workplace? Adopt an employee engagement platform equipped with tools such as peer recognition, social recognition, virtual contests, user posts, and digital forums- fostering connection among your people just got easier!
4. Creativity
Creativity, innovation, and ingenuity can take a serious hit amid a dispersed workforce, as the exchange of ideas and collaborative thinking becomes limited. In industries where firms compete heavily for talent, such as tech, consulting, or banking, this can pose as a definitive challenge.
Spur your employees’ imaginative and cognitive capabilities by providing them an avenue to express their extracurricular skills through virtual employee engagement platforms. Tools such as open and closed hobby forums as well as virtual contests and leaderboards can prove to be instrumental in propelling creativity and productivity across the organization.
5. Culture
Last but not the least, nurturing your organizational culture is the final piece of the puzzle. Agreeably the most daunting challenge for HR, proliferating the firm’s values and ethics, and ensuring they are put to practice by the employees may sound like an impossible feat but it can be done with the help of digital tools!
Read more about how you can tailor your R&R platform to reflect your organizational culture here.
Digitization is the Future!
The memo is clear- hybrid work has accelerated the need to restructure and invest in adequate digital tools that can ensure the sustainability of flexible working models. Such changes can be daunting for those about to adopt them and challenging for those who already have, but being aware of the probable obstacles and preparing for them in advance is a good way to set your strategy up for success.
Use this blog as a checklist while strengthening your hybrid work culture, and get in touch with us to know how our cutting-edge R&R technology can assist you!