Today’s business leaders know that investing in workforce engagement is crucial to increasing profits, improving customer experiences, and reducing operational costs. The more you can empower and optimize your team, the more your organization will thrive.
Workforce engagement management (WEM) software helps companies make the most of their resources with staffing and scheduling tools. However, it can also boost employee morale, with recognition capabilities, reduce turnover, and improve employee training.
As demand for this software continues to accelerate, with the market expected to reach a value of $28.64 billion by 2033, here are some of the major trends business leaders should be aware of.
1. Increasing Integration with Other Business Tools
Companies are constantly looking for ways to improve business performance and team productivity, while reducing costs, by consolidating their technology stacks. WEM software that can integrate seamlessly with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, contact center software, and calendar apps can help companies get more value out of their investment.
However, integrations with other resources can be extremely beneficial too. For instance, a WEM solution that integrates with unified communications platforms can improve workplace culture, bridging the gaps between hybrid and distributed teams.
This integration can help simplify communication and boost engagement by creating a centralized hub for information sharing. Additionally, integrations with AI note-taking tools, summarization apps, and various other solutions can boost productivity and agent morale.
2. Greater Focus on Employee Recognition
51% of employees say they want more recognition for their work. However, delivering constant positive feedback is often difficult, particularly in large businesses with thousands of staff members. Innovative workforce engagement tools can help streamline the process of providing recognition.
The right technology can instantly notify business leaders when employees achieve their targets or exceed their goals. It can automate the process of sharing feedback with team members or delivering rewards and perks to employees that deserve them.
Some solutions also make it easy to personalize feedback and recognition for team members. For instance, companies can use their technology to set individual targets for employees, and allow them to choose the perks they want to receive. After all, different generations of workers may want access to different types of benefits, from access to free classes, to extra paid time off.
3. Workforce Engagement Solutions for Flexible Work
Hybrid and flexible work are now commonplace in the contact center. Although flexible work practices can improve employee satisfaction and productivity, managing a hybrid workplace can be challenging. That’s why many leading workforce engagement management tools are beginning to introduce specific solutions for flexible teams.
Modern platforms can allow business leaders to create customized work-from-home policies, scheduling options, and more. Many tools can integrate with room and desk booking systems, to help companies keep on top of the flow of workers in their contact center.
Additionally, these tools can help support diversity and inclusion in the workplace. They can empower companies to allow each team member to customize their individual dashboards, calendars, and tools to address their specific needs. WEM systems can even support various different performance management frameworks, based on the needs of the organization.
4. The Integration of Workforce Engagement and AI
Artificial Intelligence is having a significant impact on every facet of the contact center. Not only is it helping companies to deliver better self-service experiences to customers, but it’s having a major impact on workforce engagement too.
With AI-powered workforce engagement management solutions, companies can more effectively track performance metrics and access real-time suggestions on how to improve employee experiences. AI tools in the WEM space can also act as real-time guides and coaches for team members, streamlining onboarding processes and training strategies.
AI and machine learning tools can even use historical data to predict the future needs of the workplace and help businesses optimize resource allocation to avoid understaffing and overstaffing.
Plus, AI tools can help to optimize workplace wellness, providing insights into employee sentiment, and even helping team members to handle stressful situations more effectively with best-practice guidance. This can help to reduce absenteeism and turnover.
5. Evolutions in Upskilling, Reskilling and Training
Studies constantly show that strong employee training and development programs significantly benefit businesses. 59% of employees say that training improves their job performance, and 51% says it gives them more confidence. The latest WEM platforms are making it easier for companies to deliver more effective training experiences.
With modern workforce engagement platforms, companies can deliver training and onboarding experiences to team members in real-time, with AI-powered bots. They can even create customized training strategies based on the metrics and KPIs they monitor with their software.
Plus, many WEM solutions now come with gamification solutions that can further enhance employee morale and motivation. Businesses can reward team members with points and badges when they achieve specific results, or create leaderboards to inspire healthy competition.
6. Simplified Solutions for Collecting Employee Feedback
Most companies are familiar with the value of listening to the “voice of the customer” to improve experiences. However, listening to the voice of the employee is equally important. Team members provide valuable insights into how businesses can improve their operations and drive better customer experiences. They can also help businesses to avoid churn and turnover.
Listening to the voice of the employee, with feedback surveys and questionnaires, helps business leaders identify what causes burnout and disengagement in their teams. With intuitive WEM solutions, collecting these insights is easier than ever.
Companies can automate pulse surveys and similar strategies to collect regular feedback from staff. They can also use integrated AI analysis tools to track employee sentiment, monitor performance metrics, and identify the potential issues affecting their workforce.
The Future of Workforce Engagement
Cutting-edge workforce engagement management solutions are helping businesses to improve employee satisfaction, enhance customer experiences, and reduce costs on a global scale. With the latest intelligent tools, elevated by integrations, AI, and automation, organizations can reduce turnover, scale faster, and make the most of their available resources.
As the workplace continues to evolve, with new technologies and new generations of workers, WEM solutions will only continue to grow in value.
