Technology has opened incredible doors for workplace collaboration. Thanks to this ever-evolving technology, teams can collaborate faster and easier than ever before. And location is no longer an issue. In fact, some of the best IT teams in the world aren’t even in the same room. Whether employees are based in India or Indiana, staff augmentation keeps businesses competitive and agile, no matter the scope of their work.
But regardless of whether employees can physically brush elbows or will never enter the same physical space, augmented employee engagement is a pivotal cornerstone for the success of any business, and leaders should pursue it if they want to build a successful, sustainable organization.
What is employee engagement?
It is important to remember that your augmented IT staff are an essential part of your team. To put it simply, they are employees too. They need to be considered when analyzing the state of employee engagement. And the current state is precarious, as only 32% of employees are engaged in their jobs.
This statistic is concerning because employee engagement is linked to employee performance, a main factor that encourages business outcomes. Other benefits of employee engagement include:
- Lower turnover
- Improved productivity and efficiency
- Better customer retention
- Increased profitability
Since 90% of remote employees plan on working remotely for good, it is incredibly important for companies to prioritize employee engagement. Especially if they have augmented employees on their team.
Why is engaging your augmented IT staff important?
You have high expectations for your augmented team. These can include, but are not limited to:
- The acceleration of time-to-market for products and services
- Providing niche expertise
- Delivering a completed project within the deadline
- Solidifying your company’s competitive position in the IT industry
To meet these expectations, augmented employees need to be engaged in their work. Engaged employees are not only 40% more efficient, they are also 17% more productive. These statistics are not only tied to company hires; they are true for your augmented employees, as well.
The World Economic Forum predicts 133 million new roles will develop as a result of technical advancement, increasing demand for skills like programming or app development. The demand for top IT talent is also increasing. When you consider the widening talent gap the tech sector is struggling with, employee engagement becomes even more vital to keeping IT talent – because those top talent engineers staffing your projects can easily find work at a company that will engage them if yours won’t.
Ready to learn more about engaging an augmented IT team? We’ve collected a few ideas to get you started.
6 Ways to Engage Your Augmented IT Staff
1. Cover the Basics
Since the pandemic, the number of employees who feel prepared for success in their jobs has declined. It is important to boost morale and ensure your augmented employees feel supported. This can be done by making sure your employees have what they need to do their jobs well. This includes equipment, office supplies, and communication tools.
2. Keep All Team Members In the Loop
All team members want to be informed. This goes for augmented team members too. Withholding information from augmented team members is likely to cause tension and distrust. Make sure everyone is being kept up to date on any company changes, issues, or developments, particularly from leadership. Implement – or develop – powerful software that will enable employees to use chat programs, schedule video meetings, and encourage virtual in-person meetings.
3. Establish Clear Goals
This goes hand-in-hand with communication. Although everyone, regardless of location, should understand clear goals, this is especially important for remote teams or augmented employees. When expectations are clear upfront, employees are more motivated to work to achieve those goals.
4. Prioritize Training and Coaching
Professional development is a valuable benefit for both augmented and regular employees. Professional development and new skills training give employees an opportunity to sharpen their skillsets and explore new ones. It also boosts employee confidence and diversifies the capabilities of your entire department. When employees feel they’re being equipped for future roles, it’s much easier for them to envision a future at the organization.
5. Provide Meaningful Tasks
Being given meaningless busy work can be soul-crushing. Too much busy work can result in employee burnout, an avoidable phenomenon that can cost businesses up to 150 billion in lost revenue. Tasking remote and augmented employees with something meaningful conveys confidence in the employee, and is more likely to make them feel valued. It also makes them feel like part of the team, which results in higher productivity and morale, and better connections with managers and other employees.
6. Recognize Great Work
Don’t allow a remote employee to slip by unnoticed when they do excellent work. Acknowledge their work and go the extra mile to celebrate their accomplishments. Try to implement fun activities into the work day, like a work-sponsored Zoom lunch or snack break with other employees. This goes a long way in building confidence in augmented employees.
Is your business seeking engaged IT talent?
TechGenies can help. As your partner for IT staffing solutions, we recruit, vet, and coach our talent, but you have the final say in who joins your team. And we are here to help with the administrative aspects of engaging your augmented team along the way. To start a conversation about your IT needs, please contact info@techgenies.com.
