We spoke with Will Eadie, Chief Revenue Officer at WorkJam, about how businesses can effectively engage their employees as a primary driver of their DEI workplace expansion efforts.
Will has 20 years of experience in employee relations and workforce management. Workjam provides digital workplace technology designed to bring your non-desk workforce together in a single experience.
What initiatives and tools are needed for the most effective engagement?
Technology has helped democratize the workplace — creating equitable opportunities and enabling more voices to be heard. Digital Workplace platforms connect, direct, and inspire businesses by delivering communication, learning, task management, and scheduling tools in one application. This creates a more engaging ecosystem to grow and develop culture. WorkJam does just this and many of our customers use this easy access to employees to power their DEI initiatives. Platforms like ours are loved by employees due to the knowledge, flexibility, and digital relationship created through the platform.
What does WorkJam management do to deliver effective DEI results?
Adoption, adoption, adoption. The best plans are useless unless they can reach everyone involved — including frontline workers. On top of that, the messaging and content needs to be consumed to make any initiative successful. For example, WorkJam’s Digital Workplace platform has adoption rates of +90% compared to industry averages of point solutions that hover between 10-30%. With delivery, receipt, and engagement improvements upwards of 80%, businesses can make the most of their strategies.
Explain the correct way to streamline communication channels, trainings and culture under a comprehensive DEI effort
Direct communication to everyone involved is important — that includes frontline employees. Head offices should not have to rely on regional, location, or shift managers to cascade information. Direct communication enables bi-directional communication which is an important piece of any comprehensive DEI effort. Broadcasted communications should provide opportunities for discussion and support. Digital training should allow for feedback. When the initiative becomes collaborative, the engagement drives culture.
What kind of expectations should stakeholders have?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have many stakeholders — employees, leadership, shareholders, customers, business partners, and more. And that’s a great thing. When a company’s culture is improved for the better, the entire ecosystem of stakeholders wins. Expectations, plans, and outcomes should be communicated directly and clearly — not an over-engineered production, just human.
Share a diversity success story at WorkJam
WorkJam is lucky to work with organizations that value diverse, informed, and respected workforces. One of the advantages of having a truly collaborative Digital Workplace is the ability to engage in meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion with the entire frontline. Leaders like Ulta’s Mary Dillion have used WorkJam to communicate their commitment to move to diverse suppliers and their commitment to inclusion for all their team members. Australia’s Dan Murphys uses WorkJam to allow their team to share what Pride Month means to them and show support for local activities.
– Will Eadie, CRO, WorkJam