You probably know that having a tech disadvantage makes you look bad against your competitors, especially in the eyes of your customers. They know when things work – and when they don’t!
But did you know that having a poor tech stack can put you at risk of losing employees? It’s true.
Think about it: If your technology is difficult for your employees to understand, or is outdated, why would anyone want to work for you? If you have bad tech, you won’t be able to attract top talent, and you’ll be in danger of losing the talent you already have. This is especially alarming during COVID-19, when you need good workers more than ever.
COVID-19’s Impact On The Importance Of Tech
COVID-19 has forced offices to close and turned many employees into remote workers. This transition has made IT extra complicated, but also more important than ever. It also became a bigger factor when it comes to employee satisfaction.
Adobe Workfront’s State of Work 2021 report found that 32% of workers have left a job because their employer’s technology “was a barrier to their ability to do good work,” a 10% increase from pre-COVID. Meanwhile, 49% of U.S. workers said they are “likely to leave their current job if they’re unhappy or frustrated with the technology they use at work.”
More employees than ever are turning down jobs because their tech is out of date or hard to use, while many apply for jobs when they hear the company has a great tech stack for its employees.
So how do you improve your worker IT satisfaction to ensure you retain your top talent? Can you also promote employee growth/success and boost productivity (yep!)? Let’s take a look at a few strategies.
1. Make Sure Your Existing IT Tools Work & Meet Your Needs
Before you even think about rolling out new hardware and software, look deeply into the tech stack you already have. Ask your team if the current stack is meeting their needs through a survey.
Through their feedback, you can identify weaknesses that you’ll want to address with new tech or find areas that aren’t yet being addressed at all. Once you know your team’s frustrations and pain points, you’ll know what your new IT needs to fix.
But don’t just go about making wholesale changes without knowing what needs to be changed! Solving IT problems takes budget, to be certain, but you need to be smart about your tech stack upgrades.
2. Use New, Up-To-Date Technology
As the Adobe Workforce study mentioned above highlights, workers are actively seeking companies that use new technology. The needs of the modern workplace are forcing companies to rethink how they manage IT, including their budget.
You don’t want to make life harder for your employees due to outdated technology. Quite the opposite — your tech stack should be modern and agile to meet the demands of remote workers. Keep your tech stack fluid and you’ll boost productivity and retention.
3. Listen To Your Employees
To retain your top talent, you have to show them that they matter. The easiest way to do this is to regularly engage with them and listen to their feedback. Keep an open forum and take their answers to heart — your team members are the ones who make your machine run, after all.
When you give your team the tools they need, they’re much more likely to perform at a higher level. Modern business management software and IT tools help you manage and support your team no matter where they are, offering the flexibility and empowerment your employees crave and have come to expect.
Summary
When you offer your employees support instead of limiting their ability due to outdated technology, they take notice. That shouldn’t come as a shock!
But when you build a tech stack that helps your workers do their jobs to the best of their abilities, they’ll be much more likely to stick around. New technology doesn’t have to be complicated; it can actually make their lives easier and empower them to be better performers. That’s a win, win for your business.
Check out our feature highlights to learn more about how our powerful business management software can help improve your worker satisfaction and boost your retention.
“I love aACE! I instantly found it very intuitive and user-friendly, especially as compared to our previous software which felt limiting, cumbersome, and NOT user-friendly at all.” -Joni Jarnagin, Redd Remedies
