Technology has a vital role to reshape work culture in the new normal: Smiti Bhatt Deorah

The post-Covid world has altered the work landscape.  Before the pandemic struck the business, the workforce needed to visit the traditional brick-and-mortar setup. The scenario has undergone a sea change: office landscape, environment, and workforce demography have been reshaped in the post-pandemic world.

In the new normal, organisations need to focus on how technology can help them reshape the office culture. It is well-known that a good company culture scales up productivity and drives business growth.

Renowned business leader, Smiti Bhatt Deorah, who is also the Co-founder and COO of Advantage Club, spoke about the importance of employee engagement in the right manner. According to her, changing office culture requires a movement, not a mandate. 

“Business practices, peer interactions, processes, perception, leaders, and core values are the drivers of culture in an office,” said Deorah.

She talked about how technology can be utilised to make a better culture in the organisation. According to her, there are four aspects of company culture where digitisation can be implemented in the right manner. It also includes employee wellness, recognition, engagement, and social interactions.

While speaking at the TechHR Singapore 2022, Deorah emphasised that instead of having a document-based engagement module, organisations must go for image-based communication.

“The communication material must be dynamic and contains attractive content,” said Deorah. She also suggested that rather than organising celebrations at the end of the month, special days of an employee such as birthdays should be celebrated on the same day.

“Celebrating to mark the special day of your employees makes them feel more connected and enhances their belongingness at the workplace,” she explained.

Amid the changing work culture due to the pandemic, there has been an increased focus on effective and two-way communication. Besides, she also highlighted the importance of appreciation and feedback culture.

“Appreciation makes us elated and if the same comes from your peers it doubles your happiness and makes you feel more connected,” said Deorah.

Corporates should continue to explore new ideas to strengthen employee engagement offerings and reward employees by getting employees involved in community-building programmes. “Creating hiking clubs, and mentor-mentee relatioship are some of the examples that can be adopted by companies to forge a bond with their employees, she noted.