To mitigate the impact of what is now being called the ‘Great Resignation’, organisations must seek to understand how the new working environment is affecting employee experience and take proactive steps to improve it. It’s clear that remote and hybrid working models have created many new challenges and there is no handbook available that tells us how to respond to this unprecedented shift in how we operate as businesses. One thing we know, however, is that the requirements of employees have changed forever. Addressing these will be essential when it comes to retaining talent over the coming year and beyond, which is where technology adoption and implementation that focuses on employee experience will be critical.

What do today’s employees want?

When work meant being present in the office, employee engagement and experience revolved around office space and in-office equipment being up-to-date. But in the hybrid era this has changed. The Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index shows that 73% of workers want remote working to continue after the pandemic and 63% of employees also want more in-person work or collaboration post pandemic. Employees now want choice in order to be engaged. Therefore, they need the tools to be able to perform their role seamlessly from wherever they choose. Catering to this need will help organisations combat the impact of the Great Resignation, as employees that cannot find flexibility in their current role will simply seek it elsewhere – according to Microsoft, 41% of the global workforce is considering leaving their job due to burnout or lack of workplace flexibility.

But a lack of flexibility is not the only threat to providing a good experience in the hybrid world. “Technostress” has greatly increased since the onset of the pandemic, as stop-gap technologies, hastily employed in March 2020, have made everyday tasks, such as meetings and team stand-ups, more complex, creating a negative experience for staff. For example, what once might have been a quick chat in an office environment might now be a scheduled digital meeting, which leads to clogged up diaries and time lost.  

The simple fact is that employee experience and technology are now intrinsically linked. Technology is now the driving force behind ensuring employee requirements are met, so it is essential that organisations invest in the right tools to enable seamless remote working capabilities as this has a huge impact on staff satisfaction.

Enhancing experiences with the right tools

Organisations need to look further than just investing in a unified communications tool to tackle employee experience and engagement. In the hybrid world, successful remote working capabilities are more than just video conferencing and instant messaging. Organisations should look to sophisticated, cloud-based digital workplace technologies that replicate the office experience from home and allow employees to access their tools, apps, and files remotely and with ease.

To really enhance the employee experience from home, organisations should invest in specialised employee experience tools, such as Microsoft Viva. These tools not only enable employees to seamlessly collaborate and connect with colleagues and allow all file- and knowledge-sharing to be accessed in one place, they also deliver dedicated employee insights to help with employee well-being.

Remote working has blurred the line between work and home for many. The ‘connected from anywhere’ nature of the hybrid era has meant some employees have found it difficult to disconnect from work and switch off. AI-powered insight tools embedded into employee experience technologies can flag to managers and employees when they are working too long after hours or  spending too much time in back-to-back meetings, and help employees carve out important focus time. As burnout is a growing problem among remote workers, and is a contributing factor to the Great Resignation, using technology to improve well-being is paramount.

It is important to note here that the communications and training around the provision of technology is just as critical as the technology itself. The implications of new tools can be far reaching for employees with differing technical abilities as they try to navigate an increasingly complex set of enterprise apps and services. Clearly articulating the organisations intent for usage and giving clear guidance to employees on configuration and settings, such as how to mute notifications out of hours, can have a big impact on the adoption of new technologies and help to provide a more positive experience to users.

Enhance the remote experience

As remote working mandates are still in flux, the need to provide employees with flexibility is still growing. Without the necessary tools to perform their role seamlessly from any location, and the ability to collaborate with colleagues and feel connected, employee engagement will suffer. As the job market continues to boom, employees that do not feel valued or empowered in their role and have a negative experience will not hesitate to seek a change. Organisations need to harness technology to enhance the employee experience in the hybrid world to help retain their talent during the ‘Great Resignation’.

For smaller, more agile firms, adopting new technology and building out employee experience capabilities early on will ensure a cultural mindset is established that puts employee happiness and wellness at the forefront of implementation, which will help retain talent.