Onica’s VP of Talent Featured on HR.com

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Onica’s VP of Talent, Karin Kuo recently wrote a guest post on HR.com about how businesses can leverage technology to increase company morale on a global scale.

While it’s one thing to embrace a global expansion strategy, it’s another to manage cohesive communication and oversee corporate processes on a global scale. Whether it’s recruiting and on-boarding new talent or retaining and engaging current team members, for many business leaders technology is essential for delivering efficiency and driving innovation. Here is a look at some of the ways companies can leverage technology to manage a workforce that expands beyond its borders.

Open the Lines of Communication

According to a research report from StaffConnect, a mobile employee engagement solution, 80 percent of the global workforce (which includes 2.7 billion deskless employees) are deployed remotely and offsite. One of the biggest challenges that these employees face is the lack of face-to-face communication with management, other employees, and operational departments like human resources.

At Onica, we rely on technology to keep all our team members engaged and connected. The strategic approaches we use can benefit practically every team member — whether they are working from a home office, traveling for business, or based in a remote location several time zones away — and can be embraced by any business considering a global expansion strategy:

Virtual Town Hall Meetings

Town hall meetings are a great way to discuss the state of the business or relay important news to team members. When holding these meetings, it’s important to leave time for questions and answers, so concerns and comments are being heard. Companies could also consider using a tool such as Officevibe or Sli.do to solicit the submission of anonymous questions and comments, which can easily be moderated and addressed immediately, or at a later date.

Newsletters

When a 30 or 60 minute townhall is not an option due to busy schedules, a newsletter is a great way to pack all of your company’s relevant information into an easy-to-read document with links to more in-depth information. Consider making your newsletter stand out by recognizing employee successes, showcasing photos/GIFs of your remote employees and office culture, and using it as a resource for sharing information that may not be available elsewhere.

Team Chat Tools

Have a question or need to send one of your remote team members a timely reminder? For those quick communications that don’t require a more detailed email message, consider using a team chat tool such as Chime, Slack, or Yammer.

Project Management Tools

To effectively manage tasks across distributed teams, there are several project management tools like Trello, Asana, Podio, and Monday that can be used to track deliverables, assign tasks, and ensure that every team member is up-to-date on project status.

Streamline Team Collaboration

With tools like Google Drive, employees can work on the same document at the same time, without concern for version control. Sharing content among employees is also easy using tools like Dropbox and Box. Zoom is also an easy to use video conferencing tool that brings employees face-to-face without having to be in the same place.

Cut Through Red Tape When Crossing Borders

Employees on assignment who must work overseas for short periods of time can get caught up in governmental red tape. To combat this, businesses should consider putting a global mobility program in place.

At Onica, we created a global mobility program for those team members on project-based assignments and use it to manage the logistics of relocation. In addition to immigration, we use this program to oversee a team member’s benefits, travel arrangements, housing, etc. Ultimately, the program should take the hassle out of global employee travel and remove barriers that team members would face if managing the process independently.

To view the full article and list of recommendations on how organizations can utilize different tools to gauge employee morale and engagement, click here.

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