Posted on: Tuesday August 20, 2019
Is tech the new road to engagement?
In this new era of high-tech workplaces, it is important to utilise your benefits offerings properly. It’s all well and good giving each of your employees’ laptops, tablets, smart cars and work phones – but if your benefits offering doesn’t match up to your tech then they become more or less obsolete. However, all these new things can be intimidating, especially with diverse workforces, so here are some ways you can introduce each generation to the latest benefits technology – and help them get the most out of it.
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers are stereotypically categorised as the least likely to adapt to new technologies compared to any other generation, but this may not be the case. We assume that because they have lived a large portion of their lives perfectly fine without all these gadgets, they wouldn’t want them anyway. Workplaces live in fear that introducing these will push some of these workers away, but in fact almost a quarter (23%) of baby boomers are identified as ‘tech savvy’. 81% of younger boomers go online as do 76% of older boomers, which suggests that maybe the introduction of workplace technology wouldn’t be too traumatising. The tech transition doesn’t have to be sudden – it can be as simple as slowly introducing things like e-payslips, online company newsletters or even an online EAP service for your employees. These will undoubtedly make your boomers’ lives much easier, which is the only reason.
Gen X
As they are born slightly later, Gen X had the advantage of being introduced to early technology stages and are therefore less likely to resist adoption. Gen X are known to prefer management (and rarely question it), being challenged and their independence. Because of this, they are likely to appreciate the opportunity of flexible working, which is where technology fits in nicely. Providing your workforce with laptops or phones so that they can work outside of an office is a sign of trust, which Gen X in particular, very much appreciate.
Millennials
With Millennials, there is a relatively large technology gap compared to Gen X. Millennials seem to be the first generation categorised by their technology skills, which makes sense when 92% own a smartphone and 85% use social media. They were exposed to technology from birth and have watched the evolution from then to where we are today, which means they are trained to learn and understand the latest technological releases. Furthermore, encouraging Millennials to use technology within business is easy, and much like other generations you can do this through the independence of work phones, laptops and tablets. Depending on the nature of the job role, it may benefit Millennials to use other technology such as cameras and recording equipment. However, if this doesn’t make their life easier than before, then it is unlikely they will use it, so make it worth their while!
Gen Z
Much like millennials, Gen Z were introduced to technology very early in life. However, in recent years it has become increasingly popular for children as young as two years old to be using technology competently; which means Gen Z are able to understand new tech at a rapid rate. Whether you give them the latest phones, tablets, laptops or whatever other workplace tech you can find, they are more than likely to make use of it.
Despite the stigmas of technology, it can be a force for good when it comes to the workplace and can definitely encourage engagement.
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