The landscape of employee efficiency and workforce capabilities has significantly changed in the past few decades, and one of the main reasons for that is technological advancements.
For example, large breakthroughs happened when we switched from typewriters to a computer and when the internet became more accessible. Nowadays, revolutionary advances in technology rarely happen, but new and innovative solutions are always emerging.
If you’re a manager that’s looking to maximize the capabilities of your team, try considering some of the solutions from this list. Depending on the source of your problem, implementing some of these methods, such as a flexible work schedule, can make your workers more effective by as much as 77%, yet such a decision doesn’t require any extreme investments.
Current Landscape of Workforce Capabilities
World has emerged from a terrible situation regarding Covid-19. The pandemic impacted our private and professional lives in many ways. During the pandemic, many companies had to switch to remote work arrangements.
Thankfully, some managers have realized the amount of benefits that working remotely brings for everyone involved and decided to stick with it. Remote or hybrid work arrangements are now desirable, and many top talents are looking exclusively for such job offers.
As mentioned in the introduction, technology has been a significant driver in the development and transformation of the workplace. Even people that aren’t working in IT companies are often required to use software that will help them streamline their processes.
Communication and project management apps have become a necessity if you want to make your team efficient. But technological integrations go even further. Artificial intelligence and automation are starting to redefine productivity and competency.
Most importantly, one of the most represented generations in the workforce are millennials. Every generation has grown up in an environment with different goals, values, and education. If you’re an entrepreneur or a manager, understanding the generation you’re working with is certainly a part of maximizing your workforce capabilities.
1. Utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
With artificial intelligence becoming more accessible to the average company, it’s worth at least trying it out. If you’ve spent a couple of minutes in online spaces discussing AI, you’ve probably heard opinions that range from “AI will take over the world!” to “It’s harming your productivity!”.
Like always, the truth is somewhere in the middle, with AI being a helpful tool that can enhance various aspects of your company. It can boost your employees individually by streamlining some of the tedious processes they are wasting time with, but it can also help directors make better company-wide decisions.
To maximize workforce capabilities, you can start by hiring top talents in the industry, and AI can be here to help as well. Your HRs can automate the creation of job posts and the ways in which they are distributed.
Furthermore, once you’ve received hundreds of resumes, analyzing them one by one is a waste of time. By setting proper filters that will leave only the candidates with the right skills, experience, and education, you’re going to be left with only the best candidates. Then, your HRs can focus on more meaningful tasks rather than wasting their time on reading subpar resumes.
Data-Driven Performance Management
To function properly, AI and ML algorithms require vast amounts of data to deliver adequate results and actually be useful. Companies that would like to use AI to see the performance of their employees would have to decide which metrics they would like to track.
Different roles will require different types of data. You don’t want to track the number of words written by your programmers, as it will likely be completely unrelated to their effectiveness and results. In the same manner, simply tracking their mouse activity or keystrokes is more often an intrusion than a way of ensuring that the workers are productive.
The process of data collection and analysis should always be overseen by a professional in the field. Not any software developer or person with a degree in tech can understand the interdisciplinary requirements for being a data analyst.
2. Flexible Work Schedule
Just like with remote work as a whole, the pandemic led to the popularization of flexible work hours. Depending on the country where you live, traditional companies usually have work schedules that require you to work from 7 to 3 or from 9 to 5.
These strict schedules should be left in the past if you ask me. They are neither the most effective nor accessible for the majority of people. When it comes to specific groups such as parents, people with disabilities, or people that live further from their workplace, this rigid schedule has an even worse impact on their well-being and routine.
Allowing your employees to have control over their schedules will certainly increase employee retention and engagement. You can use specialized software for scheduling shifts for employees, or you can stick to traditional spreadsheets.
3. Meaningful Employee Development Opportunities
Top talents in the industry are rarely attracted only by the salary height. Some people are looking forward to the previously mentioned flexible schedules, while others want opportunities for their personal and professional development.
In the context of maximizing workforce capabilities, you should start with research on the common skill gaps that they have. Instead of worrying about whether to start with frontline workers or managers, you should see what departments are the ones with the poorest performance.
Development opportunities can often require additional investments. You might need to hire additional professionals to create development programs and collaborate with your employees. Not all development opportunities need to be related to the skills required for their roles.
Employee development can sometimes include going to seminars to network or courses for their soft skills.
You can also utilize pre-recorded video content for developing the skills of your employees. To further increase accessibility and learning potential, you should create video subtitles and captions.
4. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategies
Companies with a diverse and inclusive company culture are always going to be respectable and effective. In the current year, this isn’t only an ethical imperative but also a strategic advantage.
Experts of various groups and backgrounds will likely have different perspectives on how they would solve a certain problem, thus leading to innovative and effective solutions. AI can also recognize certain inequalities among workers, which can help you eliminate them.
As a part of improving diversity and inclusion at your workplace, data-driven insights provide an effective solution. Performance numbers will provide the managers with a complete picture of who they should promote.
However, utilizing robots to calculate who has the best performance is only a small part of making the workplace more inclusive. It’s much more important to foster inclusivity as a value among your employees and cultivate empathy, understanding, and open communication.
5. Gamification of Learning and Tasks
A few years ago, while I was completely consumed by the self-improvement content on the internet, I stumbled upon apps that gamify your daily routines and tasks. At first, I was hesitant to try it, but it’s been shown to motivate you to achieve your daily tasks.
Gamifying tasks and challenges at the workplace can make the journey toward tackling them much more fun. By actively participating in the gamified version of their daily tasks, employees can earn rewards, points, or badges. In the end, this method of productivity monitoring can help you give your employees real-life awards in the form of well-being programs or financial stimulus.
Gamification affects people psychologically by making the idea of completing their tasks more enjoyable. However, there’s also an element of community and team-building by allowing your employees to collaborate on common goals or compete with each other.
Latest Trends Help Maximize Your Company’s Productivity
Each one of the innovative solutions from this list will make a positive impact on your company. However, each company is unique, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution that will help you skyrocket your efficiency and profit.
You should start by analyzing the common problems that your employees are faced with and what are their common setbacks. Conducting surveys or motivating your employees to share their thoughts and opinions with HRs can make the choice more obvious.
It’s important mentioning that none of these innovative solutions will help you cancel out the negative effects of a poor salary or a toxic environment. If your company is facing such problems, it’s significantly more important to make the work conditions better rather than experimenting with the latest trends.
About Writer
Veljko is a student of information technology that paired his passion for technology with his writing skills. He enjoys researching topics such as robotics and programming and cultivates his knowledge in philosophy, classical literature, and fitness. Veljko’s favorite writers are Borislav Pekić, Miloš Crnjanski, and Ernest Hemingway.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veljko-petrović-699ab0201/
