For the third edition of Actimeetup – the ultimate conference for HR managers, communicators, and impact leaders – the yearly event went hybrid! Actimeetup 2021 attendees joined from near and far, in-person or online, for knowledge-sharing about leadership in the future of work.
Guest speakers and industry leaders joined the stage at Villa Copenhagen to lead discussions, share insights, and inspire the audience with stories on driving a digital employee experience. This was the major theme of the event.
Did you miss the digital employee experience conference? You can relive Actimeetup 2021 by watching the most valuable content, now available on-demand.
Also, check out takeaways from the event all about continuously engaging employees in a transforming workplace through the best digital experience.
Mobile and centralized make all the difference.
During the pandemic, many organizations learned about the need for readiness to communicate with employees in a way that is fast and easy.
Dachser took the stage at Actimeetup as one of these companies and talked about their journey with regard to crisis communication. Jürgen Sakry, their Corporate Business Development Manager shared how executives at Dachser appreciated being able to, in just 2 weeks, deploy a mobile solution for crucial information-sharing with their workforce. Particularly, they were fans of push notifications available on their employee app.
Slowly but surely, Dachser started taking advantage of
- Increased team member reachability
- Accessibility for employees to different types of company information
- A vehicle for connection and collaboration with colleagues
All from employees’ phones!
Spanning beyond internal communication, the experts in retail design and marketplace development at WorkShop, shed light on scaling a business and creating a great consumer experience, with the right all-in-one mobile tool. Nora Muqkurtaj and Nils Spetz from WorkShop tell all about how their retail engagement program involves a digital centralized hub to engage sales field staff for their top retail enterprise clients. Their branding team has been able to create a digital employee experience, via an employee app, that fits specific company culture and brand identity. For their clients’ teams, it feels like having their company in the palm of their hand with communication, training, surveys, and resources that enable company growth.
Watch WorkShop’s full Actimeetup presentation.
Understanding your audience and sharing relevant content is king.
Information overload, and the phrase “content is king” does not apply only to external marketing. These should stay top-of-mind when shaping the digital employee experience.
For example, communication experts Pernille Brandis Rosengaard and Isabelle Denhe at Svitzer, a global freight organization, were keen on having a strong internal communication content strategy. In designing one, it’s all about the intended audience. Indeed, content that was close to employees’ hearts is what they found most successful (resulted in higher open rates and engagement). See exactly what content worked for them.
Top tip: Create content that is local, not just macro, and “coming from corporate”.
Svitzer explained that their workforce is remote; they have team members dispersed across various markets, countries, and clusters. Keeping communications local when possible, instead of only general, went a long way. Pernille and Isabelle share that crews have been more eager to receive information about their specific ports, for instance.
Empowering your teams and leaders is a must.
What is the best way to communicate local news and updates to employees?
“We have empowered the frontline leadership”, answered Pernille to this audience question.
Truth is, at Svitzer leaders have access to a communication consultant if needed. Nevertheless, these are encouraged and supported to drive local content themselves.
You too can empower local leaders at different levels to create relevant, local content for their teams. Svitzer even has several employee app admins at every port!
Autonomy in the workplace is taking the world by storm as being highly empowering and engaging. In fact, Morten Christofferson, Head of Product says the team at Actimo – a Kahoot! company has been taking notes. He provides a sneak peek at what’s coming up on the 360° employee app with new features and upgrades that help motivate team members. Hint: More end-user controls are on the horizon.
Look ahead, it’s all about empowering leaders and employees at different levels to shape the experience they want at work.
Employee engagement pays off. Engaged teams stay.
An interactive session about employee retention took center stage at this digital employee experience conference and was a favorite. Tine Bjørnoboe and Kristoffer Kjellman share that the main factors that influence how long employees stay in an organization include:
- Purpose
- Culture
- Good leadership
- Community
Furthermore, they provide shocking stats that strongly suggest particularly employee onboarding, working arrangements, workload, relationship with manager, appreciation, and recognition, and development and advancement are not to be ignored.
Online and offline attendees joined in on the conversation with a Kahoot! where they shared their own perspectives on the topic.
When asked to explain the importance of driving a high retention workplace, the most popular responses from event participants were:
- It means keeping the knowledge and skills within the company
- Rehiring is quite expensive
- It contributes to positive work culture and to having company ambassadors
- Improves customer service and relationships with clients
The most desirable outcomes from retaining employees were deemed to be cost-savings, aka impact on the bottom line, and a happy workforce. Ultimately, all things pointed to their being an organizational need to engage employees and one to drive continuous efforts to shape a positive work experience.
Learn more about the impact of engagement throughout various touchpoints in an employee’s journey with a company, from onboarding to offboarding.
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The celebrated event concluded with an ode to employee engagement superstars. The winners of Actimo Awards 2021 were announced. May their successful efforts serve as inspiration to others in their journey for better business outcomes through modern leadership.
As for the main takeaway from Actimeetup 2021, the digital employee experience conference:
No matter where employees are, build an experience that works for them and support it continuously. It’ll be worth it.
See you in the next one! Take a look at highlights from Actimeetup 2020, still super relevant for people management in the present and future of work.
