How IoT Will Improve Employee Engagement

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How IoT Will Improve Employee EngagementThis post is sponsored by Samsung Business. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When devices get to know us better, technology can instantly have an impact, creating better experiences. For instance, many of us have encountered targeted marketing. When we’re searching for something online, generally speaking, it’s probably an item we need or want. If we’re then given ads for those things in the future, they’re less likely to feel spammy, and less likely to be seen as a nuisance. Sure, we don’t love ads—but they’re a part of life, so the more targeted they can be, the better.

With the explosion of wearable devices currently on the market, how close are we to being able to “target” our workforces? Could more connected and prescriptive data, if used properly, result in happier, more engaged workers? Enter the Internet of Things connected workplace. According to the World Economic Forum, the future of an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled workplace could increase operational efficiency, blur traditional industry boundaries, optimize human-machine collaboration, and maximize productivity.

Machine: Man’s Best Friend

We already benefit from the devices we own. With GPS and mapping, our smartphones allow us to find our way to virtually anywhere we want, know where everything is, and buy or learn almost anything. We save time due to less fumbling around searching through files. We save time on our commutes, since we can track live traffic or local transit updates. These life-hacks have cut minutes if not hours out of our daily routines. All day long, we can be more efficient and make the most out of our time—all with the help of our IoT devices.

The future holds even greater things for IoT, especially in the workplace. In today’s highly competitive work environment, developers are constantly thinking of new ways machines can help even more:

  • Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will become the norm, creating a seamless multichannel experience as we move from one device to another.
  • IoT in vehicles will enhance the driver experience and help reduce commute times even further with intelligent traffic information.
  • IoT will be involved in every aspect of daily life—from stoplights to residences.
  • Better data will be available along with faster analytics.
  • Wearable technology will enhance our daily experience by communicating with our surrounding devices the moment we enter a room.

IoT can also save our planet (no, I’m not exaggerating). Being this connected will helps us reduce waste and fuel consumption, utilizing renewable energies like wind and solar instead. It will reduce emissions, lower manufacturing costs, and use “smart grid” sensors to regulate energy flow.

Utilize IoT in the Workplace

IoT is already making waves in the workplace. The Bring Your Own Device {BYOD} trend is gaining popularity in the office setting, as more and more companies have realized the benefits of a connected workplace. Team collaboration is becoming easier and more reliable, with the advent of apps like Buffer and Slack, virtual whiteboards, and hybrid video conferencing. Cloud technology is constantly being updated and re-imagined to adapt to the workplace’s needs.

IoT empowers employees to take control of their work lives. More employees are now working from home, using IoT platforms to stay connected to their teams at the office. Predictive devices catch mistakes, offer intelligent advice, and take the struggle out of collaboration efforts. They can make decisions based on your previous actions and perform duties without a command, thus cutting time out of the typical workday by keeping employees interconnected and using innovative methods of internal communication.

My Predictions for the Future 

I believe the human-machine bond will grow stronger and more seamless, creating an engaging work experience and resulting in unprecedented productivity levels. Employees will see less downtime and will spend less time doing things like brewing coffee, retrieving lost emails, and fumbling with Post-its. That means employees can instead focus on what the workplace needs, speeding up project times and getting more accomplished.

And it won’t all be work—IoT enables higher levels of user enjoyment. With less time spent doing things we don’t want to do, we’re left with more time for ourselves. In our “always on” world, many employees don’t even know what “me time” looks like. IoT can change that for the better. IoT in the workplace is powerful innovation, resulting in happier work and happier, more efficient employees.

Additional Resources on this Topic:

The Internet of Things is Here: Is Your Business Ready?
Employee Engagement: The Purpose Behind IoT Systems that You Might Be Missing
What the Internet of Things Can Do For Productivity & Employment
IoT Logistics Are Transforming the Trucking Industry

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Image credit: StockSnap.io

Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.

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