How to leverage on mobile phones to engage employees

NAIROBI, KENYA: Good communication is the foundation on which strong companies are built. With increased use of mobile phones, organisations have to leverage on how to use mobile devices to communicate with employees. Below are five ways SMS will enhance communication between the HR department and employees.

Scheduling is easier

When you have a large company, keeping track of individual schedules is a big job. If employees work with a schedule that changes each week, it's easy to use SMS to give employees their schedule. If there is a shift cancellation, or someone needs to get approved for overtime pay, this can all be done through text messaging. Your HR department won't be wasting time trying to track down people through email or phone calls. In addition, employees can ask for time off by sending a quick text to the HR department.

Send reminders to keep employees on task

No matter why you need to schedule a meeting, the process can be difficult. Whether to schedule a benefits review meeting or set up an interview, it takes time out of a busy HR person's day when phone calls have to be made. Once the meeting is scheduled, you can set up a reminder so that the recipient receives an automated reminder of the meeting a few hours prior. When you are able to remind employees of an upcoming meeting throughout automated texts, it is more likely that the employee will make the meeting.

Use texting to share important information

Texting is fast and has an open rate of almost 98 percent. If you have an emergency and you need to close the company, you can send out a text message that will be received by your employees within minutes. The same is true if there is a security breach in your building and you need your employees to shelter in place. A text message will reach your work force no matter where they are and help keep everyone safe.

Send out surveys through text messaging

Feedback is necessary when you want to improve HR processes and keep your employees happy. Use SMS surveys to gain valuable feedback from your employees. When you have training and you want to know how your employees felt about it, a survey sent through text messaging is the answer. Employees will be able to see the survey almost immediately but be able to answer the survey questions when they have time. There's no hurrying through a survey to try to get out of training faster, which often results in poor or useless feedback.

Motivate and engage employees with interesting text messages

Employees like to know that you care about their motivation and learning. When your employees feel that you care about their well-being, they are more likely to work harder. Use texting to send out a motivational quote or to share a reminder of your company's vision. Your employees will be able to receive the information and be kept in the loop of any new happenings going on in your company.

Ken Rhie is the CEO of Trumpia. He holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He has over 30 years of experience in the software, internet, and mobile communications industries.