Happy employees work harder and stay with your organisation for longer. But a happy team can be hard to achieve – especially if you don’t have good systems and processes. One thing that many companies overlook is the link between technology and employee happiness.
But how are the tools your team use and how happy they are linked? Let’s take a look:
How technology and employee happiness are linked
For many modern businesses, everything that gets done in the working day relies on technology to one degree or another.
It could be collaborating with colleagues on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. It could be planning your next marketing campaign or using the Internet of Things to monitor devices remotely.
So it’s no surprise that technology is such a force when it comes to how happy your team is to come to work every day.
Imagine an office where the staff has to wrestle with the IT systems every day. This breeds low-level stress. It creates frustration. It makes people feel stupid that they can’t make the system do what it’s supposed to.
There’s also the issue of team cohesion and loneliness in the workplace. Recent studies have shown that most people wish they knew the people they worked with better. The right technology can drive stronger feelings of belonging to a cohesive and positive team.
How to use your tech to make your team happy
The overwhelming majority of younger people in particular are fairly receptive to the idea that tech tools might be able to help them feel more like part of the team. Especially if these tools look a lot like Facebook or other common social media platforms they’re used to (and many do).
But if you’re going to use this kind of tool or “happiness app” to give your team a boost, do be sure to:
1) Check for demand before you buy
Realising your tech could make your team happier is one thing. Actually implementing it is something else. Many organisations fall down by trying to enforce change from above when it’s not needed.
In some instances, strong leadership on improvements to technology can be good. Implementing a new collaboration tool organisation-wide, for example.
In others, it can be bad. Instituting a new tech system that comes with a “will make you happier” label (there are many tools out there for measuring team happiness) won’t work if your team doesn’t feel the need for it in the first place.
This means you need to work out if there is demand for such a system. In short:
- Does your team want it?
- How easy will it be for them to use?
- Will it actually do what you want it to do?
2) Use your tech to collect feedback
One of the biggest drivers of employee happiness is a team that feels like they have a voice that is listened to by the higher-ups. With or without dedicated happiness apps, you can use tech to:
- Help you recognise hard work (everyone wants a little recognition now and then)
- Let you reward behaviour you want to see repeated
- Set channels that help you collect (possibly anonymised) feedback on workplace practices
3) Take everyone with you on your tech journey
Whether it’s a new tool that helps you measure team happiness or making the digital transformation to using a tool like Microsoft 365, it is vital to take your team with you on your journey.
Proper IT training – and, more importantly, explaining why this tool should now be used and how it will directly benefit your team’s working day as well as your bottom line – ensures that the adoption of new tools is more than just skin-deep.
Want to work out how you can improve your workplace tech to keep your team happy (and productivity high?)
Let’s chat! Dial A Geek has already helped over 900 businesses in Bristol and the UK get the best from their tech.
Set up a cost and commitment-free chat with Chief Geek Gildas Jones today and let’s see what we can do for yours.