Org Chart Software Makes Office Culture Fun. No, Really.

What Attracts and Retains Talent?

An interesting article from the Association for Talent Development detailed why company culture is becoming the most important job benefit. Company culture frequently trumps even high salaries and exceptional benefits packages. Since U.S. adults average 47 hours per week working, it’s no wonder they want a pleasant work environment. Whether attracting new hires or retaining talent you already have, it’s clear employees want a positive company culture.

So what makes up the desired company culture? According to this article, it is:

• Providing opportunities for continued learning

• Creating a flexible work environment to attract highly-motivated employees

• Finding opportunities to make work fun

For the purposes of this blog, I’d like to focus on the last bullet – finding opportunities to make work fun. For any of us who lived through the dot com era, “fun” was once considered an air hockey table and a free-flowing keg in the breakroom. Companies back in those days and (even some now) offered chair massages, happy hour margarita machines, Nerf gun battles, jam rooms and napping areas to boost employee engagement and satisfaction. These are all awesome perks, but most of these ideas wear off with time. There are just so many margaritas one can have (or are there?).

The best ideas for bumping up the job enjoyment factor may not need to have so much ostentatious fanfare and can last a lot longer. In fact, any solution that brings people together, helps them get to know each other outside of the boring job description, and shows them they have more in common than a cubicle wall is going to give you the most bang for your buck. After all, the ROI on a foosball table is arguably a bit lower on the scale than, say, org chart software. Don’t believe me?

Org Chart Software Is Better Than Foosball

When you think of org chart software, I’m willing to bet you’re imagining lines and boxes, names and titles. And you’d be right, especially if you’re still living in the previously mentioned dot com era, circa 1998. Put down your Nerf gun and hear me out.

Today’s org chart software is infinitely more capable than the org chart software used even less than a decade ago. We, as a culture, have become more interactive and the org chart has, too. Modern org charts are less likely to be printed on a piece of paper and more apt to be pulled up on a mobile app. It’s easily accessible, easily edited, and easily shared. Can you say that about your org chart?

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You see, Millennials have forced us all to relook how we communicate and interact. Since one-third of American workers are considered Millennials (ages 18 to 34), there’s a large pool of talent that’s expecting the companies they work for will foster a collaborative working environment with technology as its foundation. They will do more with less fuss, relying on technology to automate the manual processes of the past and connect them with people and information at lightning speed. Employee engagement is more than a game of ping pong but an ongoing culture of collaboration.

How can org chart software attract this talent and keep the good ones from looking elsewhere? If this article is correct, it’s going to take a culture shift. From siloed cubicles to open work spaces. From the departmental to the collaborative. It’s not about foosball, it’s about giving teams the resources they need to succeed in every area of their job.

How do you give this to your employees without turning your office into a mini-Vegas? Use org chart software that does more than just diagram names and job titles.

The Intelligent Org Chart

It only makes sense that bringing the org chart to life, from 2D to 4D, allow those names and titles pop off of the paper and really mean something. Something as simple as enabling employees to upload a photo to their profile and add personal details can do wonders to company culture. Instead of waiting until a planned event or gathering of employees to get to know one another, org chart software is available via an app on any device that gives personal information on every person in a company.

Here’s how it works. A prospective new hire is back for their second interview. It’s between your company and your top competitor. Your company really want this woman. She’s incredibly talented and can fill a critical resource gap. She sees your company offers a mobile app where every person in the company has a profile they can access any time. The profile includes a picture, plus business-specific details such as contact information, location, job description, specialized training, current projects and past experience. What new hire wouldn’t appreciate this treasure box full of every professional detail he or she may need to succeed?

Org chart software enables companies to customize profile fields so employees can add personal traits that not only help others find who they need, but give coworkers a glimpse into who theyreally are so they can build friendships faster. Preferred sports and pastimes, beloved pets, favorite foods and restaurants, or virtually anything the company can imagine can be included. It actually becomes fun to search for and find coworkers. Every search reveals something new that was likely unknown before, and that is fun.

Define “Fun”

There’s that word again. “Fun.” Finding people within your company with whom you share common interests or background generates positive feelings. We like working with people we like, just as there’s a good chance we’ll ditch the job for a better one if we dislike those we spend so many hours with every day. It doesn’t take a keg to get to know one another, although a keg has its merits. Simply giving employees a way to find each other, connect with each other, and humanize each other goes further and doesn’t give you a hangover.

Even if you still love the idea of games at work, org chart software can help you find that special person with whom you can play ping pong. By searching “ping pong” in the app, every employee who listed ping pong as an interest will be displayed, along with their contact information with a link for immediate connection, their location and even if they are in the office that day.

Whether a new hire or a founding partner, knowing where to go to find who you need for what you need may not be considered “fun,” but it doesn’t suck, either. It saves countless hours, reduces frustration and stress and improves productivity. The fun comes in when employees can access the app and in a couple of finger taps, find a new best friend. It’s fun when employees can upload their own pic and add profile details that show a little personality.

If you’re looking to inject a little fun into your company culture, org chart software can provide an engaging, interactive experience every employee will love. The bonus? Improved efficiencies or productivity that can be felt across the company and hit the bottom line.