New NCHRA and Waggl report suggests a gap in employee engagement tech

The Next Concept Human Resource Association (NCHRA), and Waggl, the leading platform for real-time feedback powered by Employee Voice, today released their newest “Voice of the Workplace” pulse on the subject of technology and engagement.

Using Waggl’s transparent engagement platform, thousands of HR professionals from organizations of all sizes, including attendees of NCHRA’s HRTechXpo 2019, were invited to participate in the pulse from August 1-October 1, 2019. Of those who participated, 92% agreed with the following statement:

“I would like my organization to create a strong internal culture that impacts results.” In addition, another 81% agreed with the statement, “If my organization invested in people-focused programs and skills such as onboarding, performance, and employee engagement, we would have a more positive impact on revenues and profit margins.” By way of contrast, only 45% of participants agreed with this statement: “My organization is using technology to improve employee engagement.”

“In Northern California, where NCHRA and Waggl are based, we have a technology-driven economy in which many companies are subject to rapid growth and disruption,” said Lisa Hickey, Vice President of Professional Development, NCHRA. “Given the volatility of the business climate, it’s not surprising that the vast majority of our members want their organizations to create strong internal cultures that are agile and resilient enough to withstand constant change. Given that backdrop, we are a bit surprised that only 45% of members say that their organizations are currently using technology to improve employee engagement.”

NCHRA and Waggl also posed the open-ended question, “Do you view employee use of social media and gamification platforms as tools to increase employee engagement?” Crowdsourced responses were distilled into a ranked list. Here are the top three responses:

• “I think both those tools can be beneficial, but it also needs to be based on the type of company, demographics and how agreeable employees are to change or something new.”
• “Yes, creating a community online and showing off our team and company culture not only makes the work environment feel comfortable but also attracts others to want to know what our ‘secret sauce’ is that makes working for our company the best.”
• “Social media interaction used for employee engagement is a positive. Gamification of interaction could also have a positive impact as long as it is not viewed as a nuisance and a distraction from accomplishing job tasks.”

Waggl is a real-time engagement platform that goes beyond measurement to catalyze authentic dialogue and alignment around critical business topics: Culture, Experience, Vision and Execution. Waggl elevates Employee Voice to deliver actionable insight, fresh perspective, and tangible knowledge to leaders and teams.

“From the responses to this pulse, it’s clear that HR practitioners recognize the value of creating a strong internal culture, and want their organizations to invest in people-focused programs and skills,” said Alex Kinnebrew, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Growth Strategy, Waggl. “Although technology is no substitute for one-to-one human interaction, it can be beneficial for boosting employee engagement and performance by giving everyone in the organization a voice. In order for employees to be truly engaged, they need to feel free to express their ideas, share their knowledge and know that their opinions matter. When organizations give employees an opportunity to participate in the dialogue about topics that matter (e.g. culture, experience, vision and execution), they feel more connected to the workplace and empowered to drive change.”

SOURCE NCHRA and Waggl