Are you experiencing a lack of morale in the workplace? You’re not alone. A 2023 study by Gallup found a whopping 57% of UK employees are not engaged at work.
The study went on to reveal that stress is at an all-time high, and Europe was amongst the most impacted by a lack of mental wellbeing.
The bottom line: things are tough right now. And this leads us to the topic of todays article: How HR employee engagement software can boost morale.
And as an owner or manager, one of your key responsibilities is to learn how to drive employee engagement in order to create a productive and motivated workforce. So, if you’re interested in finding out how HR software can help you achieve this, carry on reading.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to the level at which your employees feel committed and invested in their work. An engaged workforce is motivated and productive; they will go above and beyond in their duties. Engaged employees are likely to stay at an organisation for longer, contributing to its overall success. This not only leads to more efficiency, but improved customer satisfaction, and ultimately, higher profitability.
When it comes to HR software, much of its features can actively contribute to an engaged workforce.
Many SMBs struggle with how to drive employee engagement, but by implementing tools for communication, recognition and feedback, you can improve employee morale and retention.
1. You’ll encourage honest and constructive feedback
HR software helps facilitate an open forum for feedback; this can be achieved specifically through appraisal software. Appraisal software (or ‘performance review software’ as it is also known), is a feature included in some HR software systems.
It is designed to assist with performance evaluations:
- Automating processes around creating, conducting and analysing reviews.
- Providing access to goal setting, feedback collection and report generation features.
- Ensuring appraisals are timely, consistent and actionable.
Many businesses we speak to (particularly in the SMB space), struggle to maintain consistency with their performance reviews. They are often paper-based and lack structure. By digitising this process, employees get a better idea of how they are performing and what they can do to develop in their roles.
By improving consistency with performance reviews, you are also fostering a culture of constructive feedback. 360 feedback functionality allows you to collect responses from multiple stakeholders. This provides employees with a well-rounded overview of their performance, better enabling you to set realistic expectations. Click the aforementioned link if you’d like to learn more about how HR software can help you achieve 360 feedback.
2. Employees will have clearer goals
To add to the point previously made, HR employee engagement software can help give your employees definitive, tracked goals that their line manager can refer back to. Find out how SMART goal setting can motivate your staff.
Goal setting provides a sense of purpose and direction for employees. When they have a clear understanding of their goals, they’re more likely to feel empowered and accountable for their work. As you will be aware, this can lead to a greater sense of ownership and investment in their role.
3. Productivity and happiness will be higher
If you’re looking to boost productivity, it’s important to focus on how to drive employee engagement and create a sense of purpose and belonging. When you have tools in place to track progress, set actionable goals and reward employees, it is inevitable that you will see an increase in productivity and happiness.
But how does HR software contribute to productivity and happiness? Here are just 4 examples:
- Better appraisals. Appraisal software ensures performance reviews are standardised, consistent and fair. Clear goals can be set off the back of them.
- Employees can self-serve easily. HR software with mobile app functionality allows employees to book time off, view pay information and update their personal details – all from the comfort of their smartphones. This gives workers greater autonomy and a more streamlined process for approvals.
- ‘Shout outs’. Many modern-day HR systems offers the ability to ‘give thanks’ to fellow employees. This information then gets fed to the recipients’ line manager. This can help spread positivity in your workplace.
- Overall efficiency. HR software is designed to automate manual HR processes. By automating routine tasks, you are increasing productivity. This allows you to focus your attention on more strategic initiatives.
In addition to the above, employees can stay up to date with company news via dashboard features and ‘news boards’. This, according to Trade Press Services, is why 85% of employees say they’re most motivated.
4. Retention will improve
In 2022, a study found more than 40% of people left their current positions without first securing a new one. But why are so many people quitting their jobs these days? Amongst the top reasons, according to a recent poll reported on by the Independent, found that workers are suffering from a lack of motivation and progression.
You can address some of these issues through the use of HR software. By conducting regular performance reviews and providing a forum for open communication, you are giving employees a chance to get concerns off their chest before they turn into an issue. Similarly, having goals to work towards will encourage workers to continue to progress within your organisation.
When workers feel valued, heard and understood, they are less likely to jump ship.
5. Managing benefits will be simpler
The buzzword here is centralisation. When you strip a HR software of all its bells and whistles, it is essentially a hub to centralise all employee information. This has numerous benefits for most business areas. But when it comes to HR, it can streamline the administration of non-wage benefits such as:
- Retirement benefits
- Health insurance
- Discounts, vouchers etc
By centralising this information, you can manage and track employee benefits to ensure they receive appropriate rewards in a timely manner.
In addition, when employees are given easy access to information about their benefits, it can help them make more informed decisions about their financial future (especially when it comes to retirement).
6. You’ll have full visibility on engagement data
Finally, HR software with employee engagement tools can give you full visibility on your engagement data. This includes things like leaving trends, performance review trends, and so on.
With access to this data, you can identify patterns and trends in employee engagement levels, helping you make more informed decisions. This could lead to retention strategies and employee satisfaction initiatives to increase engagement and reduce turnover.
Next steps
There are many factors that contribute to employee engagement, but as a leader, it’s critical to understand how to drive employee engagement. HR software can be a powerful tool for tackling this. As you will know, engagement is a critical factor in the success of any organisation, and is key to maintaining a productive, committed team.
To recap, HR software can:
- Improve employee appraisals
- Help set realistic and actionable goals
- Improve communication
- Act as a centralised hub for easy access to key information
- Automate tasks, freeing up time for managers to focus on strategic initiatives
In truth, the list above is endless. By utilising HR software, you can create a culture of engagement and satisfaction. This can lead to increased productivity, reduced turnover and overall success.
If you’re interested in how Access PeopleHR can improve engagement within your SMB, don’t hesitate to speak to an expert or take advantage of a free trial.
