How balancing technology and people can elevate employee satisfaction

The pandemic has forever changed the workplace, especially for my support and product success team at ServiceNow. One thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to operational excellence, which starts with a great employee experience.

My goal is to improve employee satisfaction for our technical support engineers (TSEs). If our TSEs are satisfied, then our customers reap the benefits. When TSEs feel valued and appreciated, they build greater trust with customers.

Simplifying the job of a TSE

As the definition of work evolves in today’s digital-first world, many organizations are intentionally taking time to ensure the employee experience takes a front seat. Happy employees are critical to fostering a better customer experience. Aligning the customer and employee experiences produces a multiplier effect that benefits both while driving better business performance.

Using technology to create an engaging employee environment in which everyone feels included, no matter where they’re located, is essential. The opportunity is for leaders to apply technology to improve employee sentiment and steadily reduce the number of repetitive tasks a TSE performs.

One example is the auto-agent workflows we built on the Now Platform to automate TSE administrative and follow-up tasks, such as internal stakeholder review, status updates, and reminders to customers to review and close cases. This workload accounted for about 30 to 60 minutes of a TSE’s time per day. TSEs now spend less time on repetitive, manual work and more time on intellectually stimulating cases.

Another example of useful technology is Guided Decisions, which provides AI-driven guidance to TSEs so they can follow an optimal path to case resolution. With contextual prompts, TSEs can solve complex issues fast, ensure consistency across customers, reduce time to resolution, and decrease escalations. It’s a win for employees and customers alike.

Improving employee onboarding

TSE onboarding is the third target area for my team. We’re using technology to both reinforce the in-person experience and optimize learning in a virtual setting. For example, we use automation to encourage connections through cohorts, or groups of new hires who form a bond during onboarding.

Technology facilitates communications within a cohort so that its members can stay in touch after onboarding and feel closer to the ServiceNow family.

As with customers, if employees have a favorable onboarding experience, they’re likely to be more committed to the company. Even when we encounter bumps, employees know the company supports them. And it all starts with the bond formed from day one.

Looking ahead

We’re exploring more ways to use technology to improve the employee experience. Our TSEs compile lists of manual tasks they’d like to have automated. At the top of the lists are dashboards that automatically prioritize cases so that when a TSE logs in each day, they don’t need to manually prioritize their tasks.

A portion of a TSE’s work is repetitive. If we can automate those tasks, it’s a victory. We’re sending out a team of shadow agents to watch TSEs do their jobs and identify redundant steps that can be automated.

Balancing work and fun

Technology can fill gaps, but it doesn’t replace personal relationships. Earlier this year, the support and product success and product development teams hosted Unified Technology Group (UTG) Connect at strategic global locations. The events brought together employees for in-person presentations to learn about UTG goals and roadmaps.

A part of each agenda centered on fun. Employee-run booths, games, and a community service project enabled employees to meet new hires and reconnect with old colleagues. The tour boosted morale for employees by showing that ServiceNow cares.

When it comes to employee satisfaction, automation is a major part of the equation for business success. But don’t forget to include time for fun. Every satisfied customer can inevitably be linked back to a satisfied employee who feels appreciated.

Find out more about how ServiceNow helps elevate employee satisfaction.

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