In today’s turbulent consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, motivated employees are a company's greatest asset. It's a simple fact: The more engaged your people, the more resilient and innovative your business.
CPG business leaders looking to harness a less reactive, more strategic approach to work are going to great lengths to ensure employee engagement. This requires leaders to take a strategic rather than reactive approach by identifying opportunities for teams to communicate and collaborate more effectively. The key is having the right tools to maximize employee engagement and collaboration.
Without those tools, companies risk lower engagement, which can lead to more turnover, damage company culture, and diminish overall productivity. According to Gallup, 2020-21 saw the most significant decrease in employee engagement in decades. In the US, low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion and accounts for nine percent of global GDP (Global Domestic Product).
As companies adapt to changing market conditions, clear internal communications are critical. But they are not always easy to achieve. Lack of transparency can lead to confusion and loss of employee trust, resulting in a disengaged workforce. On the opposite end of the spectrum, information overload is also stressful.
Additionally, companies are under increasing regulatory pressure to create positive workplace environments. For example, in Europe companies are now required to disclose the risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues and the impact of their activities on people and the environment.
Changing workplace requirements, including the combination of remote and in-office work, makes enabling a great employee experience more complicated than in the past. Tracking employee satisfaction and engagement is more difficult in a dispersed workforce than in a centralized one. Disconnected data and systems cause teams to spend more time searching for information instead of focusing on high-strategic activities.
Along with providing the foundation of the day-to-day work environment, employee experience directly impacts the bottom line. Business leaders that seize the opportunity to modernize the workplace can make work more satisfying, boost employee engagement and, ultimately, achieve greater productivity and increased profits. Doing so requires a fresh approach and the right tools to prime engagement and motivate employees for the long run. Today, those tools are found in the cloud.
Cloud-based collaboration is good for employees
For business leaders aspiring to create an environment that supports employee wellbeing, technology is one of their greatest assets. Leading organizations use a cloud-based network where every stakeholder, from marketing to distributors to suppliers, can collaborate seamlessly. When employees have tools to make informed decisions autonomously and they feel their opinions are heard and valued, disruption is minimized. They become a true growth enabler, increasing revenue by accelerating time to market.
At the most basic level, technology provides employees easy access to information and knowledge resources. When data is centralized into a single source of truth, employees can quickly find relevant information, best practices, and insights. That single source of truth empowers employees to make informed decisions, solve problems independently, and contribute strategically.
Giving employees a means to take in information at their own pace is a smart way of delivering key data without overwhelming the workforce. Employees can save time by accessing existing data, quickly building a new dossier or responding to a request by repurposing past responses.
Technology replaces inefficient external communications, such as email, with a system that securely connects all participants to structured, organized data and workflows. This way, roles and responsibilities are clarified for all stakeholders, employees are provided the most updated and appropriate information and can collaborate on projects with colleagues across teams and even globally.
How data analysis tools empower employees
Cloud technology equips employees with data analysis tools that enable them to extract insights and make data-driven decisions. Employees can quickly analyze trends, patterns, and product behavior to identify opportunities and inform strategic initiatives. This empowers employees to contribute to business growth and optimize processes.
Personal care company L’Occitane provides an excellent example of a major CPG company that has implemented digital tools to improve employee engagement. L’Occitane is a signatory to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment to reduce waste and pollution. To accommodate new and future packaging regulations and to track the Packaging department’s efforts to meet sustainability commitments, senior leadership supported internal R&D teams, which harnessed Veeva Vault–an advanced, cloud-based communications system–to clearly define roles, responsibilities, and overall vision.
This type of digital transformation can disrupt workflows, require re-skilling, and impact employee experience. But when the vision was properly executed through an agile approach and people took an active part in implementation, team morale improved.
L’Occitane successfully moved away from siloed organizations and toward a unified workforce by focusing on four best practices.
- Create a clear vision aligned with overall business goals. Introducing new ways of working can be stressful. This will help identify areas for improvement and shape transformation initiatives into smaller, more achievable goals.
- Build buy-in by seeking input from employees to understand their pain points and aspirations. Once you embrace a collaborative and unified culture of knowledge sharing, automating repetitive and manual tasks will free up employee’s time and allow them to focus on higher-value strategic activities. Employees will be more efficient and productive and dedicate their time and expertise to meaningful projects that matter for the company.
- Identify areas for improvement and shape transformation initiatives. Track the employee experience of transformation and continuously analyze results. Seek feedback from employees and adjust strategies as needed. Use data-driven insights to identify areas for improvement and implement iterative changes to optimize the employee experience.
- Celebrate success and recognize achievements. Celebrations and rewards create a positive work environment and reinforce that employees work for a company that cares about them and that they can believe in. At the end of 2020, the Veeva Vault initiative was recognized by L’Occitane as its most successful project of the year.
Experts can help you integrate the right solution
Breaking down silos and increasing the engagement of each individual employee allows them to fully contribute their talents. Modern solutions can offer a range of collaboration and communication tools to facilitate seamless interaction and knowledge-sharing among employees and between existing systems and applications.
It’s crucial that any new modern R&D or regulatory management system seamlessly integrates with a company's current IT landscape. This way, teams can be properly staffed and equipped with the data they need at the right time to operate effectively in their realm of activity.
Modern technology must offer options for personalization, catering to individual employee preferences and work styles. This can include customizable dashboards, user preferences settings, and tailored workflows and notifications. Personalization empowers employees to configure tools according to their needs, enhancing their productivity and satisfaction and ensuring they're prepared for whatever comes in the future.
But keep in mind that implementing a digital solution is not a one-time project. Whatever your choice, your solution must constantly evolve at the pace of your business–and the market.
Veeva offers a variety of unified and consolidated information systems that create a positive environment for collaboration. With Veeva’s cloud-based solutions, each group within a CPG company is guaranteed to use the same, latest version. Businesses benefit from high-speed upgrades without the need to wait for the system to be maintained, allowing ownership and employee engagement to evolve with the business.
Find out what Veeva can do for your employees and your business today.
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