Recent news highlights three themes impacting the future of work: (1) A move from suburban to urban office space; (2) division over whether work-from-home is better; and (3) an ongoing battle over how office space should be configured (with more open plans seeming to be winning for now). Let's look at what's driving these changes and some of the implications for workers. 

Since almost the beginning of time technology has changed how we do work. From movable type to the cotton gin, to the invention of other mechanical devices such as ladders, the wheel and the pulley and the complex machines and systems they enabled, technology has driven changes to how people lived and worked.

For large and highly bureaucratic industrial firms, the idea of fast paced innovation may seem far fetched. But as manufacturing giant Alcoa proved, seeking insights from employees can help to increase safety, streamline innovation and, in turn, create a far more profitable and successful organization.

Today's workforce has different wants and needs from their employer, and organizations that want to maintain a healthy pool of talent must be willing to adapt and change to meet these needs. If you’re one of the companies that ignores this change there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself without qualified employees in just a few years. And we all know that without an adequate talent pipeline, you’ll lose out on the driving force of innovation and engagement. Over the next several weeks, we’ll focus on four key aspects of change to the American workforce, what drove this change, and how your company can adapt to the change in values of today’s workforce.

The current landscape of the business world is tough: employees expect more from their jobs relative to benefits, compensation and recognition and employers in turn want more out of their staff. Longer days and increased demand are two common expectations of most companies, and often this is to the determent of other factors - like long-term happiness and engagement. New research, however, suggests a middle ground, where employers can find greater productivity without the expense of unhappy employees. . . 

Innovation is important for businesses in any industry. Countless examples of innovation can be seen in technology companies, government, product manufacturing, etc. But one industry that often gets overlooked is the insurance industry. Now, more than ever, insurance companies need to find ways to stand out among the masses, and innovation just might be the solution. 

Technology guru General Electric has dominated the consumer products and innovation space over the last 30 years. But things haven't always been so easy for the multinational conglomerate. Growth for the brand was slow and steady until former CEO Jack Welch decided to take the idea of 'business as usual' and flip it upside-down. Take a lesson from GE and learn how better engagement with your company can lead to innovative success.

The shift from engaged and energized employees to clock punching 9-5ers can be a tough trend for any leadership team to curb. Many managers may turn to micromanaging or docking points on annual performance reviews to stir up more buy-in from their team. Instead, read our blog on motivating employees through a shared vision to find better tactics to take your team from phoning it in to all-in.

When discussing the modern work environment, two things become immediately evident: employee engagement and trust in management are at a low point. This is concerning as lack of trust in management can lead to resentment, high turnover and decreased production from employees. So what can leadership teams do to move their company beyond the current mindset of distrust? Click here to find out more.

2015 has been a big year for the Vocoli team. We have helped our clients to increase collaboration within their teams, become better at problem-solving and boost innovation within their company. After a really solid 2015 we also realized that we've come up with a lot of great blogs on everything from communication and employee evaluation to management and motivation. So, as our gift to you we've compiled the best of our best blogs into one easy-to-access page. Click here to brush up on these topics (and more) so 2016 can be a great year for your company too!

December is a time for focusing on your business strategy and revamping it for the following year. But before you start making a list of goals and to do's, brush up on the 5 strategies that successful companies will be embracing in 2016.

Most companies find value in employee feedback and ideas for innovation. Unfortunately, many don't know how to effectively capture and respond to these great ideas. Stop your company from taking a huge engagement misstep by brushing up on our tips on how and why you should launch a formal employee innovation program at your company.

Is your current annual review process crippling your business? Traditional performance review programs can lead to disdain, fear and ultimately huge employee turnover in companies large and small, don't let the prospect of an annual evaluation send your employees running for the hills.

Working in the tech sector has become increasingly popular over the last 15 years. In LinkedIn's recent release of the most in-demand employers, tech comprises 10 of the top 20 companies. So what is it that makes this sector so appealing? Is it increased pay and benefits . . . or something else?

Technological advances have made it possible to communicate with someone on the other side of the world with the click of a button. Messages that used to take days or weeks to send back and forth, can now be accomplished within a matter of seconds. This has opened many doors to organizations seeking to have employees in various geographic reasons. But, while technology has made communicating with widespread teams easier, one problem still remains - how to easily manage and integrate teams that are thousands of miles apart.

One of the biggest struggles that most companies face today, is a problem that has existed before the cellphone, email and computer age - effective communication! Technology has brought us out of the age of needing to pick up a landline to communicate with our teams, but too many emails, meetings and messages have taken us from under-communicating to inundated with info. How can your team communicate smarter, not harder?

It has long been thought that the primary reason why people go to work every day is for one thing: money. But successful organizations have begun to realize that employees are motivated by more than just fiscal drives. . .

Being a great manager goes beyond understanding your business and knowing how to inspire and guide others, it's also about knowing when to be involved and when to step back and let your employees take the reins.

"Employee engagement" has long been thought of as an HR issue - how to make employees happy, productive and focused on their work. But as the idea of engagement has shifted from focusing on individual employees, to bettering the organization as a whole, it is no longer just the responsibility of Human Resources to foster better engagement.

As the primary source of qualified candidates shifts from the tried-and-true Baby Boomer generation to the characteristically fleeting Millennials, many employers are pondering the question - is it possible to retain and engage long-term employees from such a fickle group?

Long ago the idea of the annual performance review was introduced, but as companies have begun to shift the way they view leadership and people management, discussing employee goals, performance and career pathing only once a year seems antiquated. More large organizations are seeing the light in changing the way they evaluate performance, is yours?

Few news stories have made as big a splash as the recent piece in the New York Times about workplace abuse at Amazon. The company, so recently the object of praise for surpassing Walmart in value to become the world’s largest retailer, found itself in full damage control almost overnight and was caught entirely flat-footed. But, after reading several blog posts, reactions from the public and news sources covering the story, one might be suspect as to who is really at fault in this situation. . .

The weekend is considered a time to unplug, relax and spend time with family and friends away from all things "work" but what most people don't realize is that what we do Monday through Friday directly impacts how enjoyable (or not!) our weekends are. . .

Employee turnover is a constant theme plaguing annual boardroom meetings, HR departments and leadership teams across the U.S. - how much is too much? Is low turnover a good thing, or maybe a constant flow of new employees can help establish a fresh perspective . . .

It is no surprise that after weeks of heated debate over Boston's candidacy as the US Host for the 2024 Olympics officials threw in the towel this past Monday, but some important lessons can be derived from Boston's poor execution of the bid. . .

When it comes to the topic of Boston hosting the 2024 Olympics, it appears as though locals sit divided. Could this be a fantastic opportunity to build infrastructure, tourism and bring unprecedented wealth to the New England region as did the 2012 Olympics in London. Or will it be a bloated three week party for the international elite that will be plagued with cost overruns and expensive and short-used infrastructure? One thing is certain, the lack of input solicited from local residents certainly has left much to be desired from the Boston leadership . . .

Over the last ten years or so there has been a shift in focus within large organizations from viewing employees as a by-product of doing business to an actual asset to the organization. This was a huge change in perspective because assets are managed in a much different way.

The world watched in amazement when, in December of 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed into 15 separate countries. The great social experiment's failure marked the triumph of capitalism and the free market over socialism and central planning. But, looking at many American companies today, over 20 years later, and one can see the Soviet command-and-control management style is alive and well. . .

Summertime for most people usually means playing hookey from work, sunshine, trips to the beach and those fruity umbrella drinks. While we at Vocoli love all of those things, we love one thing even more: awesome new features! So, to help kick off the first week of summer right, we have launched a brand new app feature that will knock your flip flops off.

So you're sold on innovation and want to unleash the creative forces in your organization. You can see how doing so will create new products, raise revenue, improve productivity, save company money, and lower the employee turnover rate and now you are ready to take the plunge.

But wait, hold on. Are you REALLY ready?

 The general 'pulse' of an organization can be said to be the overall measure of employees' engagement in their work. In this fashion, a healthy pulse rate indicates workers are happy and productive while a low pulse rate indicates an apathetic and disengaged workforce.

Think your employees are happy and would never jump ship? You might want to reconsider that notion. Recent survey data from Indeed Inc. indicated a full 65% of people look for other jobs within the first three months of starting a new job.

It's not every day you get to present your software to hundreds of innovators and civic leaders at Google's famed Cambridge Office location in Boston but that's exactly what happened last Wednesday.

Given the recent gridlock and partisan fighting in Congress, it can sometimes seem as if the two ideals of low taxes or ample government services are irreconcilable. But what if there was a middle way? What if there was something simple we could put in place to end the gridlock and ensure the government provided top quality services at a low cost?

Boston is home to some of the best technology schools in the country, and has rightly earned a claim as one of the most technologically innovative cities in the country. Which is why we are so excited to be able to attend this week's Mass Innovation Nights at Google with our employee engagement product - Vocoli.

Prior to Lou Gerstner taking over for IBM their outlook was dismal - they were losing market share daily to less expensive PC providers, and their company culture was quickly waning. However, through a seemingly basic concept, Gerstner was able to take the nearly bankrupted brand back to the strong organization it had once been.

It's true in every organization - different departments and roles have different goals and objectives. However, in well functioning organizations, these groups put their differences aside and work together to fulfill mutually agreed upon goals. In dysfunctional organizations, these groups are at odds with one another, to the detriment of the company as a whole. . .

So you've employed a new employee suggestion program, you've gained your employees buy-in - they're excited, motivated, and suggesting up a storm. Your initial fears of not getting enough suggestions have all been silenced by an overwhelming amount of input - now what? Do you go for a few, big, impactful, out-of-the-park home runs? Or do you play it closer to the plate, and instead shoot for several smaller wins?

Promoting the launch of your employee suggestion program is a critical first step to driving engagement. 

You should be prepared to promote the launch and use wall signage, internal email newsletters, and company meetings to explain the program to employees, teach them how to use it, and communicate the company’s commitment to the initiative. If you don’t do this, you won’t get employee participation, and without that, you can’t achieve the process for innovation that’ll truly give your company the competitive edge it needs.

Tech has more and more of an influence on every facet of business today, and employee engagement is no different. From enterprise social networks (ESNs) to internal communication tools, it seems like there’s another tool or platform to evaluate every day.

It’s not only prudent to monitor the specific tools themselves, but also to understand broader patterns and trends in society and technology when you consider bringing new technology into your company. What’s going through your employee’s minds? What’s going on in their lives that will make them more or less likely to adopt this new technology?

We've been hard at work improving our employee engagement and suggestion platform for our customers. We're delighted to share our spring release with you today so you can see how we're changing the future of work, one great new feature at a time.

Tech has more and more of an influence on every facet of business today, and employee engagement is no different. From enterprise social networks (ESNs) to internal communication tools, it seems like there’s another tool or platform to evaluate every day.

In the days of the Roman empire, it took about 4-6 months for news in Rome to reach the furthest outskirts of the empire. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15 and Roman citizens in Syria didn’t likely know about it until September.

It was much different from our modern era. The best example of how quickly news travels today was the news of Robin Williams’ passing. News of this tragedy happened almost the instant someone found his body. My Twitter feeds was overrun with an outpouring of emotion from all over.

Never before in human history has there been this many tools for instant communication. Email, Google, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and others have stitched together a connected network out of billions of people.

The research is in and it’s clear that getting serious about employee suggestions can help your business in multiple ways - from increasing employee engagement, improving business efficiency, encouraging innovation and creativity, making safer workplaces, and improving financial performance.

But are all employee suggestions created equal? Anyone who has sifted through hundreds (possibly thousands) of employee suggestions in the traditional wooden box system will tell you “No.”

One need look no further than a traditional work meeting where some participants use the opportunity to go on useless tangents to witness this in action. Give people a forum and a flood of suggestions will be generated, some much more worthwhile than others.

Those even considering adding an employee suggestion program to their organizations are already ahead of the game. The changing nature of work means many things for businesses, including the fact that employee engagement has never been more important than now.

First, job hopping is less taboo than it used to be. It is almost expected these days, especially among millennials, as 91% of millennials plan to stay at a job for less than three years.

With the uptick in the American economy after years of recession, the priority for HR is now retaining the employees they have. Turnover enacts a major cost to organizations and with surveys indicating up to 70% of the American workforce is disengaged from their jobs, HR is turning to the improving employee engagement to stem the outflow.

Here are some of the tactics companies are using to hold onto the talent they have:

Engage Millennials

Millennials are dominating the workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2015 millennials will overtake the majority representation of the workforce and by 2030 this hyper-connected, tech savvy generation will make up 75% of the workforce. This means that millennials are going to start setting the tone for employee engagement. Organizations need to have strategies for attracting, retaining and engaging talent during this workforce shift.

More and more businesses are turning to the team concept to improve operations. As is proven again and again on the field, highly functioning teams win.

Here are the 6 secrets coaches and managers use to meld their individual players into one cohesive team.

It's been proven time and time again, great things come from employee suggestions. But ask a room full of employees for their advice and you'll likely be greeted by the sound of crickets.

In practice, launching an employee suggestion program is only half the battle. Internal communication managers have to promote the program internally to get workers to use it.

Here are 15 tips to help you achieve exactly that:

In the days of the Roman empire, it took about 4-6 months for news in Rome to reach the furthest outskirts of the empire. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15 and Roman citizens in Syria didn’t likely know about it until September.

It was much different from our modern era. The best example of how quickly news travels today was the news of Robin Williams’ passing. News of this tragedy happened almost the instant someone found his body. My Twitter feeds was overrun with an outpouring of emotion from all over.

In our modern age, the meaning of the word “entrepreneur” is fairly well known. But what to make of this “intrapreneur” word being used so much lately?