What is an augmented culture and how organizations can benefit from it

The COVID-19 epidemic has changed our lives on many levels and reshaped the workplace landscape like never before. How can we make sure that people’s commitment  towards our companies will prevail after so many months of remote working? The answer lies in using technology to generate an Augmented Culture and building strong organizations, based on connection, which can prosper in any context.

Since Covid-19 outbreak, several months have gone by and, looking back, we may find ourselves surprised at  what our daily lives used to be like. Now, people´s work routines  have noticeably changed, and while some continue working remotely, others have returned to office.  Without a doubt, this has reduced the chances to meet workmates we used to share a physical space with, and our schedule is also determined by the dynamics of collaborative work through technologies like Zoom or Slack, household chores  and many other factors that were never part of our working life. What’s more, although we seem to have found effective ways to keep in touch beyond physical boundaries, some companies still thrive to nurture the emotional connection among employees, which is what enhances collaborative work and motivation to give one’s best.

This sort of disconnection with their employees has become a main concern for leaders nowadays. A study carried out during the pandemic showed that nearly half of the people (49%) felt that their professional performance decreased when working from home, mainly because they found it difficult to connect with their workmates (35%).

Now, this situation has certainly opened the door to a new reality: how is it possible to  re-establish those daily bonds we used to physically cultivate? How can we  ensure that the culture of our companies remains solid and spreads throughout the organization? The answer here lies in boosting your culture with an Augmented Culture powered by digital experiences and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AN AUGMENTED CULTURE

An Augmented Culture is one which makes use of technology and AI in its processes and functions to promote innovation, efficiency and agility among its teams.
The organizations that have  Augmented Cultures make use of AI to promote aspects of human bonding within their company, such as connection and relationships among colleagues, recognition, everyone´s visibility, professional development, etc. Strengthening the human component within their companies is what makes the difference and  guarantees their success.

Check out what our digital platform can do for your organization

3 BENEFITS OF AN AUGMENTED CULTURE

1. You boost personal connections

Managing a workforce remotely in an effective way, while keeping personal relationships close  is a major challenge that can be approached with the implementation of technology specifically designed to help organizations achieve this. By digitizing daily behaviors, companies make it possible for everyone to share and access information, provide recognition and feedback to colleagues, and strengthen bonds, allowing them to generate new connections among them. Technological tools turn crucial when it comes to promoting effective collaboration and personal relationships within your company.

2.You  get predictive data and insights to shape your organizational culture

Each employee transforms the culture of a company on a daily basis. The combination of AI and technology allows us to obtain valuable data about their connections and bonds, which helps uncover behavioral patterns. By monitoring employees‘  interactions, for example, we can  visualize their day-to-day collaboration and connectivity, and thus use these insights to develop specific programs that would improve such indicators, this became crucial to keep our operations running during 2020. The Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) of our platform, StarMeUp OS, accurately shows what the real state of an organization is. Our Customer Success team, made up of  Data Analysts, organizational psychologists and experts in communication and HR, work hand in hand with companies so that they can visualize and analyze data and thus come up with more effective business strategies –  not only can they obtain  information before executing ideas, but they are also able to measure their progress and constantly adapt them.

What’ s the outcome? A smarter, more human and flexible organization.

3. You empower leadership

Without a doubt, effective leaders are those who acknowledge what motivates their teams and encourage people’s commitment by merging their personal goals with the organizations’. However, this has become a challenge during the past months, as 45% of managers claim they feel they did not have the visibility they wanted from their employees. In this sense, technology has made the difference in those organizations that were able to manage the needs of their teams while boosting their productivity. Take the case of  BetterMe – our performance management platform, for instance, which allows you to provide feedback, set goals and conduct evaluations. This type of technological tool has allowed our clients to have a better knowledge of their employees, as they were able to visualize which competences stood out in the feedbacks provided during 2020 by the organization and, based on such insights, they could develop personalized plans of professional growth, according to the skills, interests and points for improvement of each employee.

AN AUGMENTED CULTURE: THE PATH TO THE FUTURE

As our business landscape is being shaped by the digital revolution and the abrupt changes taking place around the globe, it is fundamental for organizations to look into the way they adapt and evolve.

At Globant, a digital native company with more than 12,500 people in 16 countries, they have adopted Augmented Culture as a groundbreaking approach that merges the power of technology with the ability to reinvent themselves and mould the way they work.

Want to know the results? Let’s simply compare what the behaviour of our employees were like on our StarMeUp recognition platform between 2019 and 2020: there was a 42% increase in sent recognitions and  37% increase in received recognitions. Far from merely highlighting percentages, these indicators show us the number of relevant moments that have been experienced despite the physical distances. Plus, we get to see that the consolidation of the organizational culture was further deepened and that the relationships among people multiplied despite any challenging context; in a nutshell, we see how solid the organization is.

We can‘t ignore that it‘s leaders who have the ability to pave the way towards a new way of collaborating through technology and AI, and thus optimize the experience of each employee. More connected people means stronger collaboration, an expanded culture, and a successful company. Have you experienced any of the challenges mentioned above during 2020? Our group of specialists is always available to hear about your experience during the past months and help you boost the culture of your company.