Embracing Technology in HR: Effects of Internal Social Media on Employee Engagement of Generation Z

Abstract

Engaging employees is of utmost importance in today’s world of high attrition rates in the IT sector. An engaged employee is fully absorbed in the work and takes pride in whatever work is assigned to him and works towards the welfare of the company too. Now there is an influx of a new generation of employees know as Generation Z or Gen Z who are rapidly joining companies and have a different set of aspirations and needs to cater to which is very important for the organisations to understand so as to design the job accordingly and engage them effectively. They are the first truly digital generation. Gen Z have a preference of how they communicate and how they work. To engage the Gen Z employees, a good way is through the use of technology in the workplace. It is seen that there are many social media platforms on which people actively socialise and communicate easily. Companies have seen the potential of these platforms and have developed “internal social media” applications to help employees connect, share ideas and information and build relationship within the organisation. Employees share their thoughts on these internal forums and feel connected to the organisation. This research paper will dive into understanding how using “internal social media” application influences the degree of engagement amongst the Gen Z employees in Information Technology sector. There will be examination of the factors affecting “employee engagement” of the Gen Z employees. Data will be collected from IT employees who fall in the bracket of Gen Z. Hypothesis will be formed and tested using correlation. A direct connection with the amount of usage of “internal social media” and “degree of engagement”, among Gen Z employees will be established.