New Gallup data should concern any leader: only 32% of U.S. employees report being engaged at work, particularly among hybrid and remote workers.
Many feel disconnected from purpose, isolated, unclear about what’s expected of them, or uninvolved in decision-making.
“There is a gulf between fully remote employees and ones who could go into the office,” one surveyed worker told Gallup, which is a highly regarded opinion polling organization.
Core to the disconnect is how well communication flows among employees. That’s why closing communication gaps with Mobile Unified Communications can boost engagement. When remote, hybrid or deskless employees can communicate with the same ease and efficiency as a worker at an in-office desk phone, engagement and productivity rise.
What the Gallup Study Found
Here are some of the key findings that are especially relevant in today’s remote, hybrid, and deskless work environments:
- About 32% of employees in the Gallup survey strongly agree that they know what’s expected of them.
- Only 31% feel that someone at work encourages their development.
- Just 28% strongly agree that their opinions count at work.
Remote, deskless and frontline employees are much more likely to feel that their workplace is impersonal and isolated.
“Culture doesn’t form by chance,” another worker told Gallup. “Especially in hybrid environments, connection takes planning: frequent feedback, shared routines and meaningful interaction. Everyone should understand the organization’s priorities and know how their roles fit as things change.”
Many of the Gallup metrics that are lagging (opinions count, connection to mission, knowing what’s expected, development) are especially fragile for remote and deskless employees. If technology and tools mismatch, or don’t allow for easy collaboration, the sense of being connected and part of the team mission suffers.
An essential part of those initiatives, Gallup explains, is to ensure employees have the tools and resources to execute their tasks efficiently. That includes the ability to engage with one another, share knowledge and collaborate.
A separate Gallup report indicates that the return-to-office trend has barely moved the proportion of workers in hybrid work models. “The percentage of remote-capable U.S. employees working in a hybrid work model has decreased from 55% to 51% over the past two quarters,” Gallup reported. “But during that same period, fully on-site work and fully remote work each increased by two percentage points. Hardly a win for the back-to-office camp.”
So the core question for companies who want engaged and productive employees is how you ensure communication is seamless and simple among the distributed workforce.
Enter Tango Extend: Bridging the Gap
This is where Tango Extend can make a difference.
Tango Extend allows you to install a business eSIM on any business owned or personal mobile phone and turn it into a Universal UC Endpoint that works with any corporate communications platform.
These eSIMs allow the addition of a business line to any smartphone. Most commonly used in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) personal phones, it allows personal devices to operate with a separate company controlled business line with all your IT-controlled desk phone and compliance features. The personal line remains private, and no device management software is required to use it.
With this solution, workers in any role can use their own phone’s native dialers and place calls with the company identity or use calling features just like they would have with an office desk phone. They can use the same landline number as on their office phone, if they have one.
Distributed knowledge workers can now have a single phone that ties them into the corporate platform and compliance systems without any on-phone apps, allowing them to work hybridly while ensuring calls can be tied into the CRM or compliance systems.
That’s how Extend also can help address the Gallup identified challenges. With easy shortcode extension dialing on any mobile, Extend allows for regular, lightweight check-ins. Employees can easily communicate mission updates, share stories from the field, highlight wins, troubleshoot problems – helping remote/deskless workers see and feel how their work ties into the bigger picture.
Gallup’s data sends a clear message: engagement is weak, and many employees – especially remote and deskless – feel disconnected and undervalued.
Get in touch today to learn how Tango Extend can turn mobiles into Universal UC Endpoints that can provide better communications for every work style in your enterprise.
