Digital Workplace Transformation
The digital workplace is not just about technology — it’s a combination of technology, business operations, and culture. It includes a set of tools, processes, and programs that enable employees to work effectively.
A digital workplace approach provides a single location where employees can collaborate across different teams and departments, ensuring everyone is on the same page and enabling them to communicate as efficiently as possible no matter where they are located.
Employees who are happier at work are more productive, and many of today’s digital tools are designed to improve efficiency and enable employees to be more productive. Technology can also improve employee engagement by increasing the number of ways employees can communicate with each other.
Key elements of a successful digital workplace
To be successful, a highly operational digital workplace must address three key dimensions: technology, business operations, and culture. Let’s take a look at each of these dimensions and how they intersect to help create the best experience possible for end-users:
- Technology includes the hardware, software, applications, and networks that empower employees to do their jobs effectively. Technology should be secure, intuitive, and customizable so that it works the way people work—not the other way around.
- Business operations include all of the policies and processes associated with running an organization. This includes all core internal functions such as HR, finance, legal, facilities management, and others. In today’s digital world, business operations must evolve to keep pace with technology needs in order to support innovation that drives revenue growth while protecting employee data privacy.
- Culture encompasses all of the expectations set forth by leaders across an organization – from its mission statement to its employee perks – which ultimately influence how people behave in day-to-day situations, both within a company and outside of it. A culture shift will be necessary for employees to adopt new technologies or processes in support of new ways of working.
Transforming the digital workplace
The most important thing to consider when transforming your digital workplace is the end goal. Transforming a digital workplace can seem like an overwhelming task, but if you keep that goal in mind it becomes less of a mountain and more of an approachable hill. Every organization wants its employees to be engaged and productive, so why not use your transformation as an opportunity to improve both?
Transforming your digital workplace is an undertaking and will take time to achieve success. Here are some steps for creating a roadmap for your transformation:
- Create a vision for the future that focuses on employee engagement and productivity
- Bring together key stakeholders, including business partners from all areas of the business as well as IT leadership
- Identify specific goals and objectives for each area of the business
As a general rule, it will take business organizations several years to begin realizing the full benefits of a successful digital transformation. However, depending on the size and complexity of your organization as well as whether you have multiple locations in different countries, this could be even longer. If done properly though – with careful planning and execution – the benefits are worth it.
These benefits include faster decision-making, more efficient processes, and better customer experience across the board. What’s more, there is usually a lower cost of doing business in terms of employees’ time, resource use, and technology procurement.
For guidance on creating a winning digital workplace development strategy, contact the team at Concannon for more information.
