Employee management trends and the workplace tools available to businesses in 2022 make work-life–especially remote work life–far easier and more manageable. With that in mind, below are some of the best employee management tools and trends this year and into the future.
Increased transparency
Increased transparency allows for employees to feel like they are part of the decision-making process, in everything from onboarding 
to operations; this has various benefits, including increased job satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity. By showing workers what is happening within their company (in an ethical way), it makes them more invested in its future, which drives motivation.
Telecommuting policy
A telecommuting policy enables employees to work from home. This saves money for the company and allows employees who live far away to apply for jobs they may not otherwise be able to. It also increases productivity among workers as they do not have to waste time commuting, allowing them more hours in a day.
A telecommuting policy contains things like how many days per year employees may work remotely, the hours they may do so, and what kind of technology they must be using. It also lays out things like the time zones that employees are expected to be working in and the kind of flexibility allowed with respect to work hours and when people need to be online.
Mobile apps for communication and collaboration
By using mobile applications to communicate and collaborate among workers, businesses are able to provide a better overall experience for their employees. For example, chat apps allow employees to communicate more efficiently and effectively than email, as they allow for real-time communication.
Employee referrals
Employee referral programs give existing employees incentives such as cash bonuses, gift cards, or even extra vacation days when they find talented candidates within their personal and professional networks and refer them for interviews.
Open door policies
An open-door policy is one where managers make themselves available to meet with workers at any time; this creates an environment of trust between management and their teams as well as shows that all concerns will be taken seriously.
Ongoing feedback
Employees like to know how they are doing; giving regular feedback allows managers to track progress and adjust goals or actions as necessary to help employees achieve maximum performance. This indicates trust in the employee by management, creating an attractive business culture for potential employees.
Peer-to-peer recognition programs
Peer-to-peer recognition programs allow workers to congratulate each other on their contributions to the company. This encourages teamwork and makes all members of staff feel valued, which, in turn, helps keep workers happy and productive.
Employee growth opportunities
Employee growth opportunities allow employees to pursue work that interests them and uses their skills in multiple areas. As a result, they become more valuable to the company and happier with their jobs. This allows workers to achieve job satisfaction and feel like they are developing, which is crucial as millennials come into the workforce.
Ability-based interviewing
Ability based interviewing allows those conducting hiring interviews to assess applicants based on skills, not indicators such as school or GPA. This removes bias from the equation as performance can be measured based on ability rather than past achievements or social class/status. The focus of assessment then becomes what potential employees can do rather than who they know or where they have been.
Flexible work hours
Flexible work hours allow workers to set their own schedules so that they can manage personal commitments such as school, parenting, or caring for a family member. This encourages work-life balance, which, in turn, reduces absenteeism from work and increases worker satisfaction improving business performance overall.
Online collaboration tools
Online collaboration tools allow team members to communicate effectively with one another outside of the workplace. Using a company blog, for example, is a great way to create a culture of transparency and keep workers in the know. In addition, it allows employees to help each other, which leads ing policy enables employees to work from home. This saves money for the company and allows employees who live far away to apply for jobs they may not otherwise be able to. It also increases productivity among workers as they do not have to waste time commuting, allowing them more hours in a day.
Virtual assistants to manage your inbox and calendar
These tools allow employees to stay on top of their workload without having to dedicate themselves full-time to keep up with all the emails and meetings they need to attend. Giving people the ability to automate the majority of their planning allows them to focus on what really matters.
Slack for team communication
Slack is a very successful internal messaging tool that brings all the different technologies used by an organization together in one place. This creates cohesion across teams, particularly if staff are working remotely or are members of multiple teams within the business.
Telecommuting is now more accepted than ever before
There are many benefits to this for both employees and companies alike, including increased productivity, better work-life balance, and cost savings for the employer. As well as being able to complete tasks anywhere with access to Wi-Fi, it makes it easier for those who live away from home to apply for jobs.
IT and software automation for HR
It is becoming increasingly popular to use software to manage HR, allowing employees’ information to be stored and shared easily among managers. This makes it a lot easier for workers to track benefits and see what is happening within the company.
More collaboration between departments
In order to keep up with this trend, each department must work together efficiently, meaning that there needs to be increased transparency between them. This will most likely include marketing, sales, management, and R&D. In addition, it can also include teams from neighboring companies allowing for knowledge sharing, which is invaluable in improving business performance.
Unplug days to cultivate mindfulness
What this refers to is having days where employees unplug from technology and get back to nature. This trend has been growing recently as studies show that the constant use of technology that we are subjected to is leading to increased stress levels, especially among millennials.
Unplugging gives employees a break and helps them gain perspective, which in turn reduces stress and increases productivity. The unplug day movement has even started a campaign called 1:1:1, where members share one tech tool they gave up, one book they read, and one thing they did for themselves daily during lent.
An online platform to connect employees with internal documents and knowledge as well as job listings and events.
This is becoming increasingly important to companies to enable employees to work efficiently and share knowledge. It will allow people to access all internal documents and company-wide announcements, as well as provide a space for employees to discuss work topics. It also gives employees notice when there are jobs available within the company that they didn’t know about, allowing for more inclusive hiring practices.
Conclusion
These are only a few of the ways in which companies have begun to change their approach to employee management. With the amount of technology available combined with a growing interest among millennials to prioritize company culture over salary, it is likely that more businesses will integrate these practices into their system in 2022 and beyond.
