Collaborative work goes hand in hand with better talent retention ⁰

Companies are rethinking the tools they use to keep employees engaged and loyal – especially at a time when flexibility and choice are increasingly important to an workforce that craves mobility and choice. A newly released survey from Jive Software claims that as the workforce continues to evolve and new future of work trends emerge, seven out of ten (72 percent) employees want to use more technology in the workplace that enables them to work from anywhere. Furthermore, the same percentage state that the freedom to try tools make them more effective in their job, with 43 percent finding it a powerful loyalty driver. According to the study of 1,000 US based employees, firms are also catching on to future of work trends and the impact that technology can have for employee retention. Eighty-four percent of employers want to implement technology that enable workplace flexibility.

However, there is room for improvement, as 72 percent of respondents believe their company could do better to provide technology that enables more flexibility and 64 percent believe it is “very important” to have the flexibility to work from anywhere.

Other results include:

• 81 percent of employees feel that the freedom to try new tools impacts their job satisfaction.
• The more senior a person is in their organisation, the more strongly they feel about flexibility. 82 percent of senior staff consider flexibility either a “must have” or “very important.”
• 79 percent of respondents work remotely once a week. But among those who don’t, nearly half say they like going to the office and interacting with colleagues and 43 percent say the nature of their job makes remote work difficult.
• 79 percent of workers who currently have flexibility to work remotely would consider exploring other employment if the option was removed.
• 62 percent of people report that working remotely is a priority when seeking new employment.  84 percent of workers who don’t have the option to work remotely say they would take advantage of the benefit if it were offered.
• 30 percent of job seekers would not even consider working for a company that doesn’t offer flexible working.
• While 72 percent of companies provide access to modern technology to aid communications and collaboration, and 60 percent see access to this technology as “very important” or “essential,” 35 percent of workers say their employers don’t provide any such tools at all.
• 60 percent of employees say it is very important to have access to modern technology for communicating and collaborating at work.
• 68 percent say their company gives them the freedom to use or try tools that make them more effective in their jobs.
• 90 percent of workers are more likely to freelance for an organisation that provides access to the same tools used by employees to connect and collaborate with others in the organisation.