How to Improve Employee Collaboration With Nudgetech
Nudgetech was cited as one of the top work trends for this year. It’s a term for solutions that offer nudges around critical milestones such as deadlines. Most project management and related tools have nudgetech built in. The “nudge” is typically an AI-powered notification in your software solution.
The idea evolved from nudge theory, a behavioral science approach developed by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. The idea is that nudges towards an action make someone more likely to take the preferred action.
A 2024 Gartner survey revealed a significant dip in employee satisfaction related to collaboration at work, sliding from 36% in 2021 to 29% in 2024. One way to improve employee collaboration is with Nudgetech.
It can improve collaboration by reminding workers to contact colleagues by their preferred method and having key stakeholders review something before it is sent out. In a fast-paced work environment, reviews are often skipped, leading to mistakes and after-the-fact cleanup. Better collaboration, aided by nudges, can prevent this.
Ideally, nudges promote positive behaviors and outcomes that improve productivity and engagement. The Harvard Business Review stated that deployment of nudgetech can improve collaboration and behavior.
We’re all used to email and calendar reminders, Slack notifications, and other pings. Technically, these are all nudgetech, but AI has brought something new: it learns your habits. That way, the nudges are based on a combination of your user behavior and important deadlines or milestones.
How Nudgetech Helps Managers
According to Jessie Knight, VP of Research at Gartner, a dip in collaboration has also led to a corresponding dip in on-the-job learning. The disconnect between employees with skills and those without is widening, risking the danger that vital company data gets siloed in the brains of a select few.
If managers set notifications for new hires to check their work with a more senior employee or themselves, this problem is solved. It also solves the issue of giving new hires a clear roadmap for processes and approvals. Without that roadmap, they may feel like they have to handle tasks that they realistically can’t manage.
Nudgetech also helps managers do their jobs without micromanaging. In most project management tools, you can set universal reminders for projects, departments, and individuals. This saves you from constantly checking in with employees about what they are doing. And, of course, you can always use Prodoscore to understand how employees work.
Managers who use and respond to nudges also benefit significantly. Rachel Dillon, Head of Leadership Development at Kraft-Heinz, notes that managers who regularly engage with nudges are likely to be rated highly effective by their employees.
Nudgetech and Neurodiverse Employees
According to the British Medical Bulletin, up to 20% of people are classed as neurodivergent, which means they have conditions such as ADHD or autism. This is not bad news, according to Harvard studies, these employees are up to 30% more productive than neurotypical people.
Nudgetech can be both a blessing and a curse for the neurodiverse. Set to the right cadence, it can help neurodiverse employees stay on track rather than diving too deeply into their special interest projects. Done poorly, it will take them out of their deep work. Neurodiverse staff require more time to reset between tasks, so constant reminders will throw them off significantly, possibly reducing the improved productivity they bring to the table.
The key with these employees - and likely neurotypicals - is to let them set their nudges for everyday work. There may be overriding “nudges” that you must have for rush projects or essential deadlines, but you should keep these to a bare minimum.
Nudgetech may not be new, but the introduction of AI to many solutions—including Prodoscore—makes it more useful in guiding direct reports to do what you want them to do. It just needs to be employed judiciously so your staff isn’t overwhelmed by an avalanche of notifications.
Do you want to better understand what your people are doing during the workday?
