MyKindaFuture, the UK’s leading underrepresented talent specialist, has announced a new version of its online employee engagement platform, Connectr, to support clients with furloughed employees. The revamped platform ensures that employers can maintain and enhance their relationships with employees who have been placed on furlough.
It has been designed to offer unrivalled support to clients during a period of furlough, allowing them to easily engage with staff as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause economic uncertainty. Tobin Murphy-Coles, Head of Commercial at MyKindaFuture has revealed that the platform will be made available to all businesses across the UK immediately.
With furloughed employees not allowed to access any work platforms, it is often difficult for companies to stay in touch with their workforce. Historically, text messages and messaging apps have been a way around this, but they offer limited support and do not provide staff with a true sense of belonging. The redesigned Connectr platform, which is normally used by employers to attract, engage, upskill and mentor diverse talent coming into the organisation, provides a third party platform from which organisations are legally able to encourage engagement and interaction with employees, offering regular news and company updates, helpful advice and new learning.
Businesses will be able to offer all furloughed staff learning modules, ranging from legal advice, news updates and wellbeing tips through to personal development programmes, internal news and suggestions on how to prepare for coming back to work. In addition, the platform can offer mentors, allowing workers to get support and advice on the subjects most troubling them, such as legal choices or loyalty. This will mean that staff feel valued and their sense of belonging within the organisation is reaffirmed, ensuring that they remain committed and loyal throughout their time away from the business.
Will Akerman, Founder and Managing Director at MyKindaFuture, said: “These are certainly troubling times, with the future very much still unknown. With this in mind, we want to be a force for good, so it is extremely pleasing that we were able to rapidly design a new version of our Connectr platform, not only to support UK businesses but also provide these workers with that sense of belonging that is so important to all employees. Such was the need to act quickly, that we managed to move from initial conversations to a fully operational platform in just a week. This was a challenge, but a necessary one to overcome.”
The Connectr tool will also play a key role once the pandemic starts to loosen its grip on the global economy. Furloughed staff that have engaged with the learning modules, talked to the mentors provided, and stayed abreast of company news, will likely transition easily back into the workplace, having developed a full understanding of the initial need for furlough. In addition, these staff are likely to appreciate the continued dialogue, giving them a strong sense of belonging, which makes them feel valued and connects them to the company throughout these very difficult times. If there are any employees that do not want to return or are not able to, they can use the platform to source other options.
Simon Reichwald, Strategic Lead for Talent at MyKindaFuture, comments: “We have been very aware of how difficult the current crisis is for many of our clients. There is a real sense that businesses are dedicated to making sure their furloughed employees feel as looked after and as engaged as possible through very difficult times.”
Will Akerman concludes: “At MyKindaFuture we are on a social mission to protect our clients, their employees and the underrepresented talent that is consistently overlooked for roles. Being given the opportunity to help protect and support UK companies and their staff is an honour and an area in which we thrive. That being said, with reports suggesting that up to 60 percent of SME employees are likely to be furloughed over the coming weeks, there will be a lot of companies having to make that heart wrenching decision. My main advice to these companies is to be proactive. Businesses that support and engage with their teams are likely to weather this storm and come out stronger on the other side.”
For more information about MyKindaFuture visit:
https://www.mykindafuture.com/
