Fail to plan
At Greensquare we are huge fans of the digital landscape but equally
we know there the creation of a new app has to meet a real need if
it is going to be of any benefit to the intended audience. Launching
a new app into an organisation is the same as launching any new
product it’s all about the research. Understanding the needs of the
your audience and meeting those needs sounds extremely simple
but you would be surprised at how many organisations fall at this
hurdle because they don’t ‘know’ what their audience want.
BYOD
With 67% of all workers using their personal mobile
devices inside the workplace, and this number is
only going to grow, the trend of supplying workplace
digital tools to employees to access through
their own personal devices is gaining popularity
and widespread adoption. This creates a clear
opportunity to easily support and engage with those
members of the organisation that want to connect
with colleagues and business after the day has
finished. Although there is a clear need for a work/life
balance, for many people work forms a massive part of
their social life and engagement with colleagues after
hours is simply part of their day to day.
The global business
Organisations are becoming a more diverse place
to be, sometimes with global work forces that have
their own unique culture and ‘ways of doing things’.
This is where technology can really break the
barriers and have a major impact on what can often
initially be seen as quite a diverse business and help
create one common culture throughout. At a micro
level there are clearly individuals that make up the
organisations and each have their own personality
and skill level. The identification of these personas
is absolutely critical when creating any employee
engagement program and never more so than when
technology is involved. The golden rule here is
embrace not alienate when planning the content and
user experience of any digital tool..
Engage with the written word
Fundamentally, creating content for the printed
word and the digital world is exactly the same
and can be likened to the old advertising mantra
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action (AIDA). Attention
– are you creating a piece of content that grabs the
attention of the audience, is it supported with great
images, does it have relevance to the audience?
Interest – Is the article you have written interesting
enough to keep the reader engaged throughout the
entire piece? Desire – Are you supporting the article
with information that creates the desire within the
audience to explore additional information around
the article? e.g. are there quotes from colleagues
enabling them to communicate to find out more on
the subject matter or the opportunity for further
reading? Action – Are you creating a clear journey
for your reader to allow them to carry out this
follow up action easily, can they share the content,
comment or otherwise engage with it?
Who me?
It is a popular and well documented theory that
people have the desire to feel important. This is at
the heart of the success of any social media you come
across today. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are
awash with images of what people have been up to in
their day to day lives. However in the workplace this
need to feel important can sometimes be ignored /
overlooked. A workplace app can provide the perfect
tool to allow all employees to have voice in the work place and a sense of belonging and importance. This
could be in the form of user generated content such
as the ability to be able to share their successes
and achievements via a photowall feature or indeed
through a digital rewards and recognition platform
that are becoming more of a feature as companies
look to identify talent in the business and foster it
for continual growth.
Wrapping up
Although technology can engage with a workforce
in ways that have never before been possible there
should never be an over reliance on this and it is
unlikely to replace the need for face to face contact
with your team. Like all applications an engagement
app is a tool and nothing more. Listen to the problems
of your team, guide them, be interested in them, put
yourself in their shoes and you will go a long way to
having a successful and engaged team.
If you do decide that an engagement app is part of
your toolbox to help engage with your business then
remember its objective, plan it well and enjoy the
benefits that this amazing technology can bring to
your organisation for years to come.
If you do decide that an engagement app is part of
your toolbox to help engage with your business then
remember its objective, plan it well and enjoy the
benefits that this amazing technology can bring to
your organisation for years to come