How Automation Can Increase Employee Retention and Optimize Performance
Burnout and Inefficiency: The Catalysts of Turnover and Poor Performance
The COVID pandemic brought a definite shift in how workers view their jobs and workplaces. Remote work has forced people to reevaluate their priorities, rethink their roles and discover if they have achieved personal fulfillment.
According to researchers at McKinsey, 70% of employees believe work should contribute to their sense of purpose. Another survey found that an unhealthy work/life balance and a lack of advancement opportunities were among the top reasons employees quit.
Any job description might include repetitive tasks that are tedious and time-consuming to complete, and it’s no surprise these tasks hinder employee satisfaction, increase employee turnover, slow down processes and reduce overall productivity.
Today, many organizations are beginning to adopt automation tools to reduce employee burnout and subsequent turnover. Automation not only improves the experience of employees, but it also impacts the experience of customers and the organization’s effectiveness.
What Automation Tools are Available for Businesses?
In July 2022, a McKinsey employee survey found that 70% of the employees surveyed confirmed that their organizations are piloting or already using automation in one or more functions of their roles. This shows a significant increase from numbers reported in 2021 and 2020.
So, how are automation tools enabling these organizations to shift towards automation? Some of the most common tools enable the automation of document handling, data processing and analysis, data entry, customer service, and payroll processing.
Automation tools can also be useful in email marketing, marketing analytics, sales and lead generation, quality control, recruitment, employee performance management, invoicing, and scheduling. Content generation tools like ChatGPT may also help to improve content for websites and social media.
Executives are also beginning to depend more on business process management (BPM) tools to keep workflows and tasks organized and help employees become aware of how they contribute to the bigger picture.
How Can Your Brokerage Benefit from Automation Technologies?
Automation tools are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, a company must work to find pain points that are draining time, effort, and efficiency and then find the right automation tools to help solve these problems.
As a brokerage, you may find automation tools ideal for marketing and lead generation. Customer service may become more efficient by delegating simple questions and requests to a chatbot.
Automating mundane tasks gives employees more room to unleash their creativity and problem-solving skills and reduces human error, thus improving the quality of the work produced. Automation can also lower stress, improve work/life balance and the work environment.
Getting Started with Automation
Employee education and advancement opportunities are important factors contributing to employee retention. Providing opportunities for learning, growth, and skill development improves employee morale and increases commitment to the workplace.
Before implementing automation tools in your business, it’s important to train your employees so they understand how to use the tools, their purpose, and how the tools contribute to a more efficient and enjoyable workplace.