We’ve written dozens of blogs about the future of work, productivity, analytics, workforce management, and moreover the past year. Now we’ve taken a look at the data (as always!) to determine which blogs our audience read and shared the most in 2021. Read on for a quick digest of our most popular blogs — click on the blog titles to dive deeper into the topics that pique your interest!
What is workforce analytics?
The Link Between Productivity and Employee Engagement
Why do high performers sometimes experience an inexplicable dip in productivity? How exactly does an employee who has been in a slump get their groove back? To answer these questions and more, HR leaders must pinpoint the factors, conditions, and habits that cultivate satisfied, successful employees — and those that will ultimately lead to burnout and attrition.
In The Next Must-Have In Your HR Tech Stack: Workforce Analytics, we discuss why developing a robust HR tech stack featuring workforce analytics has become a top priority for business leaders across all industries. Workforce analytics technology provides data-driven insights that allow organizations to design work environments where people are productive, engaged, and fulfilled. By helping managers start a meaningful dialogue about how employees do their best work, a workforce analytics solution can ultimately increase retention and reduce turnover.
Actionable Advice for Using Workforce Analytics
Workforce Productivity Analytics 101: Everything You Need to Know provides tactical info on how this technology is used to optimize employee, team, and organizational productivity.
This blog examines three essential uses cases for workforce productivity analytics:
- Creating an unbiased view of productivity – Gain an objective understanding of productivity through continuous data collection and analysis.
- Benchmarking and creating baselines – Identify work patterns and habits of top performers and teams, as well as the conditions that help empower high performance.
- Assessing workload balance and burnout risk – Make use of quantitative productivity data to measure the risk of employee burnout and to promote healthy workload balance.
Maintaining a Healthy, Holistic View of Work
A holistic approach is key for creating an engaging employee experience and delivering desired outcomes. That includes examining how we live our lives outside of the workplace and spending time thinking about how we can become the best version of ourselves. In The Best Books and Podcasts about Productivity, Wellness, and Workplace Habits (2021) you’ll find some amazing recommendations for reading, watching, or listening that will inspire you to live and work wiser in 2022.
Where Can Workforce Analytics Be Used?
Using Workforce Analytics Across Different Environments
Whether your organization is fully remote, hybrid, or in-office, workforce analytics is an essential tool for empowering the modern employee as we continue to transition into a new era of work. Some businesses are still reeling from the operational impact of the pandemic. However, savvy organizations have realized that workforce analytics are vital for assessing productivity, improving employee engagement, planning resources more efficiently, and measuring the results of both small and large-scale changes.
Dive into Why Workplace Analytics Are Critical No Matter Where People Work to learn more about the benefits of data-backed people management and how it can help fine-tune your organization’s work model for maximum success.
Learning to Adopt New Ways of Working
Hybrid work is becoming increasingly popular, but there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. The spectrum of hybrid work models includes universal, variable, flexible, and fluid arrangements. The primary distinction is that scheduling decisions can be made on the organizational, team, or employee level depending on the business’ cultural and operational needs.
What works well for one company may not be a great fit for another, even if they are similar in size or industry. Check out Transitioning to a Hybrid Model with ActivTrak to discover how workforce analytics can help you design a high-performance work environment where employees feel valued and supported in doing their best work.
Why Is Workforce Analytics Important?
Preventing Burnout Through the Power of Data
When our Productivity Lab analyzed data from 5 million employees’ working hours over the course of 2020, we learned that 78% of people work outside of typical hours and 56% log in on the weekend to get more done. One of the unintended consequences of remote and hybrid work is the line between work and life can get blurry as employees may find it difficult to unplug and recharge.
In Understanding (and Preventing) Employee Burnout: Data is the Key you will find out how keeping track of indicators such as employee engagement, productivity, turnover, and digital activity allows managers to recognize early signs of burnout and help employees correct course before they hit a wall.
AI and Virtual Coaching? Welcome to the Future
Because of the amount of digital work that goes unseen and unmeasured, organizations are missing out on critical insights into employee engagement, well-being, and productivity. While high value, the volume of data surrounding these key metrics can be overwhelming and coaching opportunities may be missed. Read Enable Managers to Unlock Employee Productivity Potential with ActivTrak Coach for more details about a product innovation that provides recommended actions and how this feature can be used to empower managers and employees alike.
How Can I Best Lead Remote/Hybrid Teams?
The Importance of a Hybrid Work Policy
Alongside many benefits, hybrid work models also come with potential challenges, such as lack of clarity and uncertainty about maintaining productivity. The key to solving these common pain points is to have your organization’s decision-makers unite to create a comprehensive policy.
This essential document serves as a straightforward explanation of your company’s expectations and responsibilities and gives a clear structure and standards to your hybrid work model. Take a look at the blog Create a Hybrid Work Policy to Help Employees Work Wiser for more guidance on drafting a hybrid work policy, including a free template for getting started.
Key Concepts for Managing Remote and Hybrid Employees
Because of increased interest in the topic of remote workforce management, we spent time last summer identifying three high-level concepts that managers and leaders can deploy across several areas of the business:
- Trust and transparency – Cultivate an inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their schedules and work preferences, such as their optimal time to focus on uninterrrupted work.
- Strategic alignment and accountability – Ensure that the organization’s workforce strategy is clearly defined by leadership, and that each department, team, and employee fully understands the unique role they play in the business.
- Embracing change and innovation – Recognize the fact that what is working well for your organization this year may need to be modified in the future.
Read Three Guiding Principles for Leading Remote Teams to learn more about leading the charge in the future of flexible work and developing your ability to overcome unexpected challenges.
Tips for Creating a Supportive Digital Work Environment
Nurturing an engaging and productive work environment while keeping all employees in your organization aligned, regardless of location, is an ongoing effort. Check out 10 Tips to Effectively Manage a Hybrid Team for an array of tried-and-tested methods you can use to bring order and harmony to your hybrid team. These tips will help you promote an accessible and supportive environment that keeps employees excited about going to work every day.
Using ActivTrak to Work Wiser in 2022
We believe the frameworks, tips, and guidance featured in these blogs are truly timeless, and we hope they inspire you to work wiser in the new year. Looking to become more data-driven in 2022? Our award-winning workforce analytics and productivity management software can help you increase employee engagement, boost productivity, and improve workplace experiences across remote and hybrid teams. Sign up for a free ActivTrak account to see for yourself.
About ActivTrak
ActivTrak helps companies unlock productivity potential. Our award-winning workforce analytics and productivity management software provides expert insights that empower people, optimize processes, and maximize technology. Additionally, with data sourced from more than 9,500 customers and over 450,000 users, ActivTrak’s Workforce Productivity Lab is a global center for ground-breaking research and expertise that helps companies embrace and embody the future of work.
