Can Apps Help Employees Enjoy Work More

We use apps nowadays for everything from depositing checks to counting calories. Recent data from Yahoo’s Flurry analytics revealed that 90 percent of the time we spend on our mobile devices is spent using apps. Clearly, in the personal realm, consumers are quite enthralled with apps.

Those same consumers are also employees, so capitalizing on that app obsession in a work setting makes sense. Your employees are likely already familiar with how to use an app, and probably also prefer using them to traditional software. But is using apps at work a gimmick or a legitimate way to work more happily and productively? Check out these four innovative ways to incorporate apps into the workplace and see for yourself.

Embrace Facebook at Work

If you don’t think Facebook has any legitimate business purposes, think again. The social media juggernaut now has 1.15 billion total users, 700 million of which are daily users according to GroSocial. What’s more, 70 percent of monthly active FB users in the US are engaged and connected to a local business, which explains why, in any given week, there are about 645 million views on Facebook business pages.

Here’s the catch — Facebook only works for your business if you meaningfully engage with the consumers who friend/like you and comment on your posts. The more diverse you can make your social media team, the more authentic that engagement will be. Equipping your employees’ phones with the Facebook app gives them the power to respond to customers, post interesting content on behalf of your brand, and serve as personal advocates for your brand and products.

Show Your Employees Some Digital Love

Workplace apps aren’t just about work, either. Apps can also help you recognize and reward all the hard work your employees do. Giving your team a well-deserved kudos every now and then improves productivity, boosts morale, and encourages retention. Back in the olden days, employers rewarded workers with things like employee-of-the-month awards and premium parking spaces.

Now, more and more employers are turning to employee-recognition apps to give their team members a virtual pat on the back. Typically, these apps cost little to nothing and allow you to applaud employee achievements, express gratitude for a job well done, reward performances, and more. Some of these apps, such as iAppreciate, also allow your workers to send each other encouraging messages and even post those props on social media.

Virtual Collaboration From Anywhere in the World

Giving your employees the option to work remotely can improve job satisfaction and reduce your overhead. However, for a remote team to work effectively, you need your employees to stay in sync and in communication. As long they have phones with app and video capabilities, such as the LG G5, your team members can regularly video conference with each other using apps like Skype and Oovoo. Even when working remotely, your employees can still get that all-important face time with one another.

Collaboration is the other critical ingredient in an effective remote team. Email falls short when you’re trying to manage a team’s progress on an involved project, which is why apps like Basecamp and Google Drive can be invaluable. These apps allow you to create a project page that your whole team can view, while you track their progress toward goals and create and manage each member’s to-do lists. You can also swap files, share calendars, and work on documents together.

Skip the Timesheets

Punching a time clock or keeping a timesheet is a thing of the past. With an inexpensive app like Labor Time Tracker, you can spare your employees the hassle of having to do either. This app lets your employees enter their hours on digital cards. You can quickly see who’s working, who’s out, and who’s in overtime. This app is especially useful if you have a lot of employees who work remotely and set their own hours.

If you can check your fridge for milk and start your car with an app, surely you can leverage apps to make your employees’ jobs easier and more satisfying. These four apps will help you cultivate a happier, more productive workforce at little to no cost.