Improving Employee Experience with Yammer
In a world of rapid change and en masse digital transformation, effective business leaders know that success is driven not by the technology changes but by its people.
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While modern systems and technology can amplify creativity and communication, it is the organisational culture that has the greatest impact on innovation, productivity, and customer experience.
As a result of this more and more organisations have shifted focus, placing employee experience at the core of their business strategy. Designed to support modern business, Microsoft 365 is packed full of clever tools to help organisations succeed and while a host of communication tools are available, many organisations have yet to realise the full potential of this platform from a cultural perspective. In fact, many have yet to roll out one of the platform's most powerful employee engagement tools, Yammer.
Organic office-based employee interactions play a vital role in strengthening your company’s culture. This culture is vital in attracting and retaining top talent and in providing a customer experience that leaves a positive lasting impression. Enabling leaders, and employees to connect across distances and time zones to share knowledge and connect on a meaningful level, Yammer helps bridge the divide created by a hybrid or remote business model.
Included as part of your existing M365 license, here are just some of the ways Yammer can improve employee experience within your organisation:
Connection Across Departments & Geographies
With many employers now offering a remote or hybrid working model, communication has never been more vital and getting it right remains a challenge. In the traditional office setting, much of the cross-departmental communication happens by chance, with employees bumping into someone they were looking to catch up with while grabbing coffee or lunch. These chance encounters not only allowed for employees to sync on work projects but on shared interests, helping establish a sense of belonging and community, something essential to building a strong company culture.
Providing a platform for your employees to connect and follow individuals and groups within your organisation, Yammer provides a modern communication platform that can replace these organic office place encounters. Employees can quickly and easily ask questions and share ideas with experts not just in their own department, but in the wider organisation. Take for example a HR update promoting an employee engagement initiative, while email would offer an effective means of distributing this message, its nature stifles two-way communication at scale, Yammer on the other hand encourages your staff to share their views, ask questions and engage with both the HR team and wider community about the initiative. Enabling this type of community forum helps build trust amongst employees.
Foster Innovation
Innovation and business growth go hand in hand, yet these innovations rarely occur in isolation, rather it is developed through open communication in a safe environment. For many organisations, Yammer provides such an environment, as leaders can actively listen and engage with employee ideas business leaders can build a culture of openness, collaboration and intrapreneurship, one where staff are empowered to share their ideas and feel they have a role to play in the company’s development and growth.
Community discussion can highlight areas for operational innovation, with employees sharing their experiences and discussing potential solutions asking for feedback from those in the community to fully develop an idea prior to investment or implementation. Similarly, business leaders can help to kick start discussions with the creation of a Yammer group dedicated to innovation or idea-sharing.
Reduce the Email Noise
When it comes to our personal interactions, we have a host of communications tools available, yet when it comes to the workplace emails continue to dominate. At home, we are likely to alter our chosen communication media based on the tone, content and speed of communication required, yet for the majority of our workplace communications, we revert to email. As a result, employees often find themselves overwhelmed by the volume of emails received on a daily basis, with corporate communications often overlooked.
While email still has a very important role to play, Yammer can help reduce the noise by providing an alternative, more suitable communication platform for non-mission-critical messages that may not require an immediate response.
Recognition & Praise
With Yammer, employees can publicly praise their peers for a job well done, ensuring they receive the recognition they deserve. By enabling peer to peer recognition, you foster a culture of recognition and praise which ultimately increases employee engagement as it shows employees they are valued and appreciated by the organisation.
With studies by Gallup showing companies with a highly engaged workforce have 21% higher profitability and 17% higher productivity than companies with a disengaged workforce, the benefits of increasing employee engagement are clear. If you are looking to leverage these benefits now is the time to ensure your organisation is leveraging the full potential of Yammer, to find out more about how your business could benefit or to conduct an analysis of Yammer adoption across your organisation, contact us today.
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