COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ENGAGING (AND RETAINING) YOUR WORKFORCE


How do employers expect deskless workers to feel a sense of purpose at work when they barely know some members of their team or are not up to speed on the latest company news? Purpose is a powerful driver in the workplace and 83% of employees want to find meaning in their day-to-day work, according to PwC


Deskless workers struggle to create bonds at work and feel less connected in general. Nudge’s COO, Jordan Ekers, explains how businesses can unlock a sense of purpose, even for these remote/deskless workers


purpose in their work. According to PwC, 83% of employees want to find purpose in their work, and 9 in 10 workers would take a pay cut if it meant having a greater sense of purpose. “It’s just built into our DNA,” says Jacinta


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Jimenez, a psychologist and the head of coaching at leadership development platform BetterUp. “As human beings, we’re wired to connect, and part of purpose is serving others or serving the greater good, something outside of us that allows us to feel more connected.” And now more than ever, that sense of


purpose is needed to keep workers engaged and loyal as the post-pandemic labour crisis worsens. Working in isolation without enough communication is making it difficult for workers to find meaning in their work, and this struggle directly impacts whether employees are going to stay in their current job or quit to look for something more fulfilling. In fact, a 2020 Deskless Workforce Learning and Development Satisfaction Survey by CGS found that nearly one-quarter of deskless workers are planning to change jobs, careers, or retire after the pandemic. So what’s the solution? How do you keep


your deskless workforce connected to a greater sense of purpose to ensure they’re engaged and loyal to your organisation? The answer is communication. Keeping your employees in the know and engaged in two- way communication is a great way to


48 JUNE 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL


he pandemic has shown us how important it is for manufacturing and supply chain workers to find a sense of


continually unlock that sense of purpose. And although it can feel daunting to forge a connection with your workers when your organisation includes thousands of workers across various locations, communication technology can remove the stress. Communication technology is an easy way


to create personalised communications that are bite-size and engaging, encourage feedback and idea-sharing, and create a sense of community across the organisation, no matter how large and dispersed. Here are three ways communication


technology can help unlock a sense of purpose for deskless workers: Drive home that sense of ‘why’: To create a


feeling of purpose, you have to start with the basic “why.” Why does a task need to be done? Why is it necessary to do the job? Why is a job important to an organisation? But it can be hard to share information with your workforce about why their task, job, and business are meaningful. Communication technology makes it easier to deliver that ‘why’. To start with, technology makes sure that


your information is actually reaching them — whether you’re using a digital communication platform or another type of automated messaging system, you can rest assured your message is reaching everyone. Communication technology can also help to


boost engagement and retention on crucial information like brand purpose by leveraging bite-size, image-rich content that’s more aligned with the content your employees are used to consuming on social media. You can


even bring in gamified elements like points or rewards to encourage interaction. Ignite a two-way feedback channel:


Feedback is an important part of purpose. In fact, a recent Salesforce Research study found that when an employee feels heard, that person is 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform to the best of their abilities. When employees share best practices and ideas that can benefit the company, they feel like they're contributing to the company's greater good. This boosts their sense of purpose and increases engagement. Two-way feedback is challenging for larger


organisations with workforces spread across the country or even the globe. Enter communication technology. With proper feedback channels in place, it’s easy to foster a feedback and idea culture — and to gather and aggregate employee insights. Use metrics to track engagement around


purpose: Traditionally, measuring a workforce’s sense of purpose would be done anecdotally. Or worse, through gut checks at the senior leadership level. But ideally, anything as important as employees’ sense of purpose would be measured using actual analytics. Communication technology can deliver metrics and workforce insights that leaders can use to measure employee engagement, sense of purpose, knowledge retention, and more. It can also send warning signs when there’s


a loss of purpose. For example, communications can help you understand when a region, location, or employee stops reading communications or engaging with forums — both of which are signs of disengagement. Organisations can then take steps to re-engage that segment of their workforce and ensure there’s full alignment on brand identity and purpose. While it can feel daunting to connect with


your entire deskless workforce, finding ways to foster a sense of purpose can have huge impacts on engagement, retention, productivity, and more. That’s why investing in communication technology can be such a valuable step for organisations looking to reap these benefits, but save as much time and energy as possible.


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