Making Employees Feel Valued Amidst Digital Transformation

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here, transforming industries, work processes, and jobs. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, though: While it’s bringing in more efficiency, productivity, and accuracy, it’s also frequently causing workers to feel uncomfortable, disengaged, unmotivated, and occasionally redundant.

For instance, many workers now have to constantly learn new skills to stay employable. Others are having their jobs replaced outright. Moreover, not all technology is beneficial to human wellbeing. Being “hyper-connected” due to excessive use of devices, says Pew Research, is causing dangers like social alienation and increased depression.

This isn’t exactly a desirable state of affairs. It’s going to affect your employees’ productivity, increase your turnover rate, and hurt your workplace culture. Employees remain an indispensable asset for every company, and they need to be treated that way.

In this mini-guide, RAMShard offers some suggestions on making your employees feel valued amidst big technological changes. RAMShard offers reliable, high-quality web hosting and domain registration services. We’re mobile-friendly, located worldwide, and offer personalized support.

Train them in the use of technologies

Training your employees’ technical skills is killing two birds with one stone: Not only does it put their fears of redundancy to rest, but it also increases their productivity – especially in the use of new tools. According to Talent LMS, 5 must-have skills for future employees are technical writing, project planning, big data analysis, quality assurance, and subject matter expertise.

Keep them in the loop

It’s human nature to feel threatened by change. People get used to doing things a certain way and things being a certain way. Anything that upsets the balance will lead to anger, nervousness, frustration, and distrust. One way to get workers on board with incoming technological changes is to keep them informed. Let your people know what to expect and reassure them that it won’t impact their livelihoods.

Allow flexible working schedules

Employees love flexible working hours. It allows them to meet their various obligations, reduces their stress levels, and helps them to achieve a desirable work-life balance. If you can allow flexible schedules – like a 4-day workweek, flexible work times, or telecommuting options – then they’re going to feel much more appreciated.

Encourage feedback and do something with it

Nothing makes employees feel more understood and appreciated than having their feedback accepted. The feeling increases manifold if you make changes based on said feedback. Some ways to encourage feedback include creating a feedback culture, having clear expectations, and creating a communication channel.

Enable more social interaction

Humans thrive on connection and bonding. When you provide your employees with more opportunities to connect with their co-workers, both casually and for work, it’s going to bolster their mental and emotional wellbeing. Some ways to foster more social interaction include using collaboration software, teaming employees up, offering virtual live events, and coming up with team-bonding activities.

Come up with an extensive benefits package

Benefits packages are like free goodie bags – they get everyone excited and enthusiastic. They send a message that your employees are important and you care about their well-being. Some suggestions on the benefits you could offer are paid personal days and extra paid vacation time. They will be well-received and make it easier to retain existing employees. Also, incidentally, the word will spread, drawing in new talented employees.

Technology like Business Process Management (BPM) can help

Technology, when used strategically, can help your employees feel more valued. For instance, you could use business process management (BPM) for automating common business practices. This would free up valuable employee time, so they could focus on more important tasks instead of “grunt” work. It would heighten employee engagement. The business benefits include more efficiency, fewer errors, and a better bottom line. When designing a BPM framework, you need to constantly monitor its effectiveness. Act on your observations to keep improving the process.

Conclusion

Finally, don’t forget to share your gratitude with your employees for everything they do. You’ll be surprised at what a simple thank you can do for people’s self-worth and self-esteem. It’ll make them happier, more loyal, and less worried in general.

Image via Unsplash

Updated on: 01/17/2024