Automation has been touted as the “future of work” in several shapes and forms, but HR is one area that’s often left out of the conversation. However, it might also be one of the areas that can use automation most effectively, especially when it comes to employee engagement.  

At its core, automation tools help to reduce manual, repetitive tasks so that employees can spend more time on valuable work. And since HR is such a high-touch environment when it comes to bridging employees with the company, it could be the perfect candidate for introducing automation in the workplace in 2022. 

Defining Employee Engagement and Why It Matters 

Employee engagement has two sides: 

There’s engagement in the employee’s role, which involves the daily tasks they handle. A Gallup report found that over 85% of employees are not engaged (or at least fully engaged) at work, resulting in a collective $7 trillion in productivity losses. Many of those who are disengaged at work are consistently working on tasks, but they feel like they can’t perform their jobs effectively because of mundane and repetitive tasks. 

The other side of this same coin is emotional engagement. This is how employees feel connected to the companies they work for. When employees feel invested in their teams, they are more likely to enjoy their work, be more productive, and stay with the company longer. In turn, this means higher overall productivity for the company, lower turnover and associated costs, and a more competitive work environment for future candidates. 

How to Automate Employee Engagement Effectively 

It’s fair to say that emotional engagement and physical engagement share a positive correlation. Automation technology can help to address both sides of this coin in several ways, particularly from the HR perspective. 

It starts with understanding what valuable work looks like to the employee. Automation tools that help employees do their jobs better provide the biggest gains. Employees can feel like they’re doing their best work, which also allows them to contribute more to their teams and see how and where they’re adding value.  

One way to accomplish this is to automate how employees network within the company. For example, Zenvoy is driven by AI and introduces employees to each other that they may not otherwise engage with. It looks for shared connections like special interests and shared values. Employees can grow their internal networks and lean on those connections for support in their roles.  

Automation also supports ongoing collaboration by helping employees make connections, share ideas, start discussions, and learn from each other. When employees can access the right people resources when and where they need them, they can feel more empowered to do their best work and make a real difference. 

Automate HR with Zenvoy 

Zenvoy’s feature-rich suite of HR automation tools helps you to put internal networking on autopilot while also collecting data about how your automated engagement is working. To learn more, contact us today for a free demo.