The benefits of using online collaboration for staff retention

Kelly Low, UK and Ireland Sales Manager, Premiere Global Services

An organisationís ability to attract, and then retain its best staff is vital to its long-term success. Companies therefore need to ensure that their most valuable asset remains motivated by making their working environment as favourable as possible. With staff turn over rates remaining high in the UK (average rate in 2006 was 18.3% with some industries such as hotel, catering and leisure recording a rate as high as 42.5% ), it would seem that keeping employees happy remains a major challenge for employers, but help is at hand. Some of the key drivers of staff turnover can now be managed through the effective use of collaborative technology because of its ability to connect, develop and help employees make better use of their time.

The cost of replacing employees is high, running into the thousands. The CIPD estimates it to be around 8,200 per employee, rising to 12,000 for senior managers or directors . This, when added to the challenge of finding a suitable person to take the position as well as the upheaval to other employees and unfavorable image that it portrays, makes staff retention a critical issue.

In our experience, many employers believe that most of their staff leave because they want better pay or new opportunities. However, in reality, most employees would say that they donít leave but are in fact pushed out of their job due to feeling isolated, underdeveloped and overworked.

Isolation
With the rise in mobile working, satellite offices, hot desking and home working it is no wonder that people are feeling more cut off and isolated than ever. Although these new working practices offer greater effectiveness and efficiencies in the way that people work, they do nothing for an employeeís sense of belonging, with many only meeting other colleagues on a weekly or even monthly basis.

Collaborative solutions such as web/audio conferences, virtual meeting rooms and podcasts can help remote workers by allowing them to communicate on a more personal level and keep them involved with projects as if they were back in the office.

A good example of how technology can help employees feel more included is that of a large recruitment agency that was experiencing staff turn over rates as high as 60-70%, with many employees leaving whilst still in their initial probation period. It was discovered that because the agency would induct all of its employees at the same time, many would have to wait weeks before they felt that they had been welcomed into the company.

By implementing an online induction programme, the agency was able to overcome this challenge quickly and effectively. Web meetings were held every Monday morning regardless of how many new recruits joined and included online discussion groups, a mentor from different branches and feedback sessions. New recruits felt that they were immersed into the company and wanted to remain past their probation period, leading to the company experiencing a higher staff retention rate.

Underdeveloped
There are many barriers to training employees, especially when they are dispersed over a wide area. The high cost of set up and execution as well as the potential loss of productivity felt by employees having to travel for training programmes all add up. However, personal development is a key driver for staff retention and so training is not just a nice to have but a must have.

Again, collaborative technology offers a great deal to the roll out of training programmes, allowing businesses to deliver courses directly to employees at their desks whilst still retaining the interaction of a classroom environment. One of our clients, a mobile phone company has adopted a more virtual training practise to great effect. Using online collaboration they have increased the impact of training as users are able to recap on sessions, follow up on lessons learnt and request feedback and additional help. Using the sessionís facilities, users can feedback by voting, polling, answering questionnaires and surveys, which inform employers on the effectiveness and relevance of the training. In addition, a dedicated training slot has been established in order to help employees get into a routine and increase acceptance of the programmes.

Overworking
Overworking is not always a symptom of too much work but in many cases it is caused by employees that struggle to use their time effectively or waste a great deal of time travelling to meetings or waiting on responses from colleagues. Employees become frustrated by the waste of their time that could have been spent better working on the task in hand.

By using online collaborative tools employees can increase their productivity by reducing the need to travel and by creating a channel through which they can cooperate with colleagues regardless of location.

Negative perception
It is probably true to say that an employer does not find out that an employee is unhappy until it is too late and the decision to leave has already been made. This need not be the case, again collaborative technology comes to the rescue.. Through the use of web surveys and feedback forums companies can track the general mood of their staff and act upon any negativity felt by individuals before they become a push factor.

All sounds great, so why donít companies scrap the idea of holding meetings and training sessions and do everything from a computer? Handled incorrectly collaborative communication channels can swamp employees, rather than serve them. New technology is scary and support needs to be provided for first time users and thereafter. Negative experiences will put people off quickly and therefore it is important that they are trained and given the opportunity to try it out before using it formally with superiors. The majority of users will only stick with new methods of working if they see the benefits.

Although online collaboration can take the place of many meetings, it is important for companies to have regular face to faces to ensure that the technology does not completely replace traditional ways of working. This is essential for companies where relationship building or where team bonding is crucial to their success. For example at Premiere Global Services all sales managers are taken to Marbella for a big sales kick off meeting at the beginning of the year.

Companies should realise that there is more to online collaboration than a cost cutting exercise, if used correctly it can be used to retain staff and minimise staff turnover rates.

Email Kelly.low@premiereglobal.co.uk for more information