Did you know that only 31% of the workforce is engaged (paying attention)? Did you know that level of disinterest hasn’t changed in the last 15 years? As an employer, how can you possibly be “ok” with that? What employer wouldn’t want to increase productivity up to 30%? It’s critical to build companies (think communities) that employees love and want to work for.
Did you know that people look at their phones over 100 times per day? That’s only phones! Most people now have more than one device. You know that there’s a trend to more remote workers, in virtually every industry. Did you know that remote workers now total 37% of the workforce (and growing every day)? We are hyper connected . . . just not to our work.
Think about how we use social media to connect with those people in our lives that we care about . . . those that matter to us. Did you know that you can extend that social connecting and support (and caring) to the workplace with the use of private social networks? There are very simple ways to create comradery and support friendship and collaboration within a workforce. New employees can learn about and become part of the team before they start! The internal transfer of knowledge can accelerate.
This is some of Chris Dornfeld’s thinking and some of the rationale behind Bonfyre, an app that accomplishes what I’m talking about. But wait! There’s more!
When’s the last time your employer asked your opinion about anything? When’s the last time you were able to internally complement some exceptional effort on the part of a colleague? How much internal communication really happens beyond that memo or email from the boss? Imagine the power of real time communicating with the entire workforce, no matter where they are. The notion of internally crowdsourcing solutions or sharing ideas becomes powerful.
I could go on. The point is that as technology and the workforce change and accelerate, new and powerful solutions emerge. As a talent management and human relations (not resources) professional, I especially like that technology creates data. Data is information that can be used to improve the status quo. Workforce improvement and increasing happiness is a noble goal!
I’ll thank Chris Dornfeld, CEO of Bonfyre for the insight and resulting technology that I believe will positively accelerate change for the better in the workplace.