HR leaders have overwhelming options in HR technology to help build meaningful company culture.
From AI to recognition platforms, training apps or employee engagement software and analytics, many organizations believe the right tech can immediately solve their employee experience needs.
But technology is a lever. The real impact comes from how leaders use their HR technology to drive behavior and cultural change.
I often see teams lack a behavioral science strategy that encourages employees to use their HR technology or recognition platform in a meaningful way.
While technology makes it easier to scale how we engage or incentivize employee behavior, we still need to understand what drives our team members’ motivations, what recognitions matter most and who our employees are as people first.
How to improve HR technology adoption
Instead of expecting a new tool to readily make an impact, ask how to use a new technology to drive ideal employee behavior. Consider:
- What drives employee motivation
- What they need
- How they communicate best
According to HR Executive, nearly 6 in 10 employees say digital tools add to workplace stress, and fragmented use can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and disconnected. Not a great start.
Each team is different. One might be a global organization, while another’s divided into offices and frontline locations. They use the same HR tech, but have different behavioral strategies because of their people’s unique needs or preferences.
A behavior-change framework to enable HR technology impact
A widely used model of behavior change identifies three conditions that prompt an individual to take new action
- Capability
- Opportunity
- Motivation
HR technology, like a new recognition or employee experience platform, works like a gym membership.
Purchasing a membership gives you access to the weights and treadmills (capability), but it doesn’t automatically make you stronger. Progress comes from knowing what you want to achieve (opportunity), planning it out, getting support (motivation) and building habits over time.
I often see organizations start with the question, “What do we need our technology to do?” Instead, teams need to start with, “What do we need people to do differently?”
Capability
Clear expectations, ongoing reinforcement and real-world examples help develop capabilities.
Capability also increases the likelihood that recognition becomes a sustained habit, not just a short-term initiative.
For behavior change to take hold, team members need the skills and confidence to adopt new ways of working. For example, with recognition technology, HR teams need to coach team members on how to identify moments worth celebrating, how to connect recognition to core values and how to meaningfully issue that shoutout.
HR can work closely with leadership or highly engaged employees to create an advocate group that drives excitement and sets examples of meaningful recognition. Intuitive tools, like ITA Group’s recognition platform, can also help employees craft great recognition that feels personal and has an impact.
Related: Employee recognition examples (with writing prompts)
Opportunity
Opportunity is created when recognition is accessible, reinforced and integrated into the flow of work.
Technology tools reduce friction in the process, making it easy for employees to access, issue or get notified of recognitions. But lasting behavior change comes from the social environment.
When leaders consistently recognize desired behaviors and peers see recognition happening around them, gratitude becomes a natural and repeatable part of how work gets done.
Appreciation doesn’t need to be only in the tool. Teams create a culture of recognition by carrying meaningful shoutouts into meetings, one-on-ones or performance reviews.
Motivation
Capability and opportunity lay the foundation for behavior change, but motivation drives repetition.
By linking recognition, incentives and rewards to the behaviors that support business goals, organizations reinforce what matters most and encourage those behaviors to occur more often.
How to create a human-centered strategy with your new HR tech solution
A recognition platform can encourage key behaviors and make those moments more visible and measurable, while also keeping it personable across regions.
However, throughout my career, I’ve seen companies implement HR technology to widely varying degrees of success.
Just as we onboard or train new hires, we need to show employees how to embody organizational culture and nurture it over time, using the conditions of behavior change as our guide.
The most effective employee engagement technology and strategy care for these eight steps of a human-centered approach.
Related: Build a global employee recognition program that works across regions
1. Define your goals for company culture
Start with the business outcome, then identify the behaviors that will help drive it. This will help your team create a goal-driven employee experience program that’s measurable and focused.
Organizations survey or meet with key decision-makers before launch to keep everyone aligned on goals and targeted behaviors.
2. Create manager accountability
Leadership or employees can act as initial advocates, creating buy-in and influencing others. This core group can also set the standard for participation, offer new ideas and spread awareness.
Whether it's recognition or a new engagement initiative, advocates should understand why the initiative matters and understand best practices to support its success.
3. Communicate your plan with your teams
How you communicate your new strategy depends on your team. Work with leadership or employee advocates to create a communication campaign that reaches everyone to generate excitement and create momentum ahead of launch.
A corporate office with employees at their desk all day would reach employees better through multiple employee touchpoints, including:
- Leadership communications
- Employee channels
- Physical and digital experiences
A frontline team on a factory or sales floor would engage with more analog tools like signage or physical displays.
4. Host a launch experience
Make launch an experience, not just an announcement.
Use your communication campaign to build toward a launch date. Make it stand out with an event, such as a grab-and-go treat, incentives to download the technology or even live demonstrations with hands-on support.
Example: When we introduced our AI adoption initiative at ITA Group, we integrated hands-on experiences into our annual in-person gathering, giving employees opportunities to explore the technology, learn from peers and see its value firsthand.
5. Teach the behavior, not the tech
When teaching team members about the new technology, show how to use the features and explain why this behavior matters.
Share examples of actions tied to core values or how to craft a meaningful message on the platform.
The goal is to help employees identify and embody these actions, transforming these moments into sustainable habits.
6. Create rituals
Build recognition or employee-first engagement into regular events like meetings, milestones or performance reviews.
By integrating recognition into the broader employee experience, appreciation becomes part of how work gets done, not just something siloed in a technology.
At an all-hands meeting, revisit meaningful recognitions from your platform or repost those milestone shoutouts on your employee channels each month.
It keeps core values and appreciation top of mind while adding an extra dose of celebration.
7. Create memorable moments
Recognition platforms make it easier to track superstars on the team, those who surpass goals or are always there to step up and help.
It’s also a chance to do something unexpected, like offering a VIP experience such as employee incentive travel or event for additional recognition.
8. Evaluate and evolve the program
Your behavior change strategy should evolve over time, responding to different needs or goals as the year progresses.
Routinely set aside time to review platform analytics and incorporate ongoing listening strategies. Organizations gain new hires, develop employees and evolve their goals, so your employee behavior strategy should evolve, too.
By reviewing past programs, engagement metrics or feedback, you’ll find opportunities to change it up. It might even resonate more.
Make behavior change part of your HR technology strategy
Technology can support and scale the system, but lasting results come from understanding people and creating the conditions that help them take action consistently over time.
If you’re ready to meaningfully align your recognition initiative, download ITA Group’s "Ultimate guide to employee experience."