Ignite! New technology and the future of workplace engagement

New technology The future of workplace engagement

brightwave.co.uk

Who am I?

Rich CalcuttSenior Learning Designer @elearner_rich

Fact:I was once told to ‘bugger off’ by Ian Hislop at Warwick train station after an argument over a baguette.

The technology we create reveals our desires.

Engaging with tech is not optional – in using it (or not) we construct tech personas.

Services – Internet; ecosystems; streaming; cloud

These are about convenience and lifestyle desires:How we want to live, and what we want to do

New tech falls into two categories

Gadgets – phones, watches, peripherals, smart rings…

Gadgets are about ego - how we want to be perceived, and how we want to interact with internet services.

What do these things say about us? What do they reveal?

Contradictions

We want to be:

• Connected, but alone

• Open, but private

• Entertained, but not• distracted

It shows we can’t talk about using tech homogenously – everybody wants something different

Tech is ubiquitous, and it’s also democratic – how you use it is up to you.

We still have the choice of how to engage with it.

Thanks to our newfound choice in tech we express ourselves through this new universal language.

We build our persona with technology

Are you an:• Early adopter • Techno pragmatist • Techno-fashionista• Techno-phobic?

But tech can also build our persona for us

Apple Game Centre / Google Play Games build your gaming persona across your whole gaming experience.

In short, technology is about visibility – making ourselves known

It makes sense for employers to use technology to engage employees.

But history is littered with examples of failure when tech is forced on people.

Great example from Xerox –where a community of technicians had tech ‘forced’ on them and they fell apart.

Technology is becoming invisible. We love it at home but hate it at work.

So what can we do?

Some suggestions:

Organisations should be overt about how and why they’re using technology

People are complex – so are their digital identities.

Respect and manage people’s existing online profiles

Tech can feel deeply personal.

It can either bridge the gap between work and home… or divide them further.

Thank you

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brightwave.co.uk