While the remote work era has ignited countless discussions and initiatives centered on supporting individual
In an in-depth survey of 395 employees, behavioral data company Emotive Technologies found that remote workers feel 182% less engaged than those who work more often in-person. But as the pandemic proves to be a constant variable in employer’s plans, it is unlikely remote work will see an end anytime soon.
Humu is an
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“It’s not easy to create changes in the workplace,” says Jessie Wisdom, co-founder and head of people science at Humu. “But nudges — small, personalized, recommendations that come at the right time — encourage better habits one small step at a time.”
This AI tech focuses on two crucial points when it comes to employee retention: team-bonding and career advancement. According to Humu, employees who feel a sense of belonging in their workplace are 9.2 times more likely to stay with their current employer, while employees who can envision a clear path of advancement within their company are nearly 8 times more likely to stay.
Nudges track what competencies are recommended to an employee’s colleagues and managers, allowing for said employee to develop complementary skills. Over time, the AI learns which nudges have proven the most beneficial to teams and adjusts accordingly, explains Wisdom. Consequently, employees cultivate abilities that promote better teamwork as well as abilities that will empower employees to grow within their company.
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“A lot of what we encourage through our nudges is better collaboration and connection between people,” she says. “These small nudges make it easy for anyone to act and transform the culture and environment that people are working in.”
And this starts with the AI understanding what different teams in a company need, so team members can grow together. For example, while a team of five may be able to work through projects quickly, the same team may be struggling to propose new, creative ideas. Humu will nudge the team towards creative openness and flexibility rather than time management.
“A big employer blindspot is letting the needs of smaller teams remain unaddressed by department- or organization-level initiatives,” says Wisdom. “The team is precisely where training tends to break down: you can encourage an employee to ask questions all you want, but if they’re not on a team that encourages and rewards curiosity, they’ll never do it.”
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Wisdom also believes that Humu’s AI can assist diversity initiatives, even if the nudges do not function based on any demographic data. Rather, the AI pushes every user to personalize their nudges by selecting what topics or talents interest them the most. Theoretically, users then have fewer gaps in knowledge and team engagement, although this does not guarantee equitable treatment by colleagues and managers.
“Research shows that the initiatives to improve the diversity and inclusion of an organization are most successful when these initiatives have participants from people of all groups, including the majority group members,” Wisdom says. “Their engagement is critical in making a real change from the bottom-up.”
Employers may discover team development to be the key to employee retention as well as company advancement. If employees are growing as professionals alongside their team, bonding with the people they interact with every day, then companies have a better chance at garnering employee loyalty, Wisdom says.
“We spend one-third of our lives at work, and the work experience is generally bad for most people,” she says. “We’re trying to make work better one small step at a time.”
