To Build A Thriving Work Culture, You Need To Have The Right Tech In Place

Technology has a branding problem, especially in office settings. Far too many people assume that technology creates barriers between workers. A 2019 study by the International Data Corporation predicted global IT spending would surpass $5 trillion that year despite the hesitancy some companies still harbored regarding the usefulness of tech. Plenty of companies doubt tech truly streamlines productivity and feel it isn’t worth the investment.

However, the most innovative and thoughtful technologies can build company culture and drive employee collaboration. Chat solutions like Slack and Glip, by RingCentral, foster quick exchanges between team members that reduce email clutter. Similarly, centralized databases and cloud-based corporate wikis provide virtual spots for colleagues to collaborate, celebrate, share knowledge and find information.

Undoubtedly, technology can help with improving employee engagement in terms of candidate interactions. With the right stack, you can also enhance applicant diversity and prepare part-time, full-time and temporary personnel for an optimal experience.

As a leader, knowing which questions to ask can help companies build a stack that satisfies your company’s productivity and cultural objectives.

How a Robust Tech Stack Helps Company Culture

While it cannot completely transform a lagging culture, technology can boost efficiency, enhance communication, and strengthen team engagement. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, poor communication costs companies an average of $420,000 annually. Investing in and embracing technology that opens lines of communication between teams while aligning with your long-term goals can foster a thriving culture.

From a leadership standpoint, ask your CIO these three questions to make sure your tech stack boosts your culture and supports your company initiatives:

1. How will it mesh with your core values?

A company’s core values mean quite a bit to current and prospective employees. This is particularly true of the newest arrivals to the workforce: Generation Z. Only 19% of Gen Zers surveyed by global marketing firm LEWIS say they’d be willing to work for a company that doesn’t share their values.

Core values certainly matter, but they are just words on a page unless your team is living them. It’s tough for workers to feel aligned with core values if they’re not part of their everyday experiences. Technology can help put core values front and center.

Our company built an internal engagement app called “The Cube” for this reason. We use this platform to unite and acknowledge one another for exhibiting our core values in small and big ways. It’s our way of showing gratitude to each other while keeping the big picture in mind.

Find a platform that helps you disseminate information about internal updates while celebrating one another, including notifications on promotions, successes, and achieved goals. When you have team members that advocate for each other’s success, everyone wins.

2. What employee issues will it remedy?

A PricewaterhouseCoopers study polled C-suite executives and staff on how technology has helped them tend to employees’ needs. About 90% of executives felt embracing technology helped the company better identify and rectify those problems, but only 53% of employees echoed that sentiment.

While that difference is significant, it points to how innovation can bridge gaps and support teams efficiently. Technology can help remove barriers and streamline processes across departments. A tool like Zendesk allows organizations to provide meaningful access to FAQs for candidates and employees alike, plus it can open support tickets so different departments can quickly address candidate- and employee-related challenges.

Platforms that support automated employee surveys and tools to collect net promoter scores can also help you gather actionable feedback and keep an ongoing pulse on your employee sentiment. Companies like ClearlyRated offer tools that allow employees to respond anonymously, which can lead to more authentic and meaningful insights.

3. What high-level challenges will technology solve?

Your tech stack should remove obstacles for applicants that apply to your organization and enable existing team members to be more productive and focused on their job responsibilities.

Consider how technology can eliminate repetitiveness and expedite candidate responses. A PwC study of candidate experience found that 67% of companies take longer than a month to fill a position. Furthermore, 61% of those surveyed said a recruiter had ghosted them even after completing a first-round interview. Tools like Sense automate candidate responses and can gather information to help you better engage applicants.

Technology can ensure objective fairness across the hiring process, but its ability to eliminate bias in the workplace is only as strong as its programming. You’ll still want to audit recruitment data regularly to ensure objective fairness at all stages.

A strong tech stack can keep every employee informed, engaged, and thriving. Whether you want to announce a team’s success or conduct a town hall webinar, knowing the questions to ask your team about what they want out of technology can help you establish a vibrant, human-centric environment.