Reshaping the World of Work

28 February 2022

Unprecedented, unpredictable and rapid change and disruption are here to stay. Organisations must be able to quickly sense and respond to stay relevant, compete and grow market share. In our reinventing world, organisations must embrace digital transformation to create new business models, new revenue streams and exceptional experiences for their customers. Organisations are using technology at scale to ignite innovation, automate processes and deliver insights that fuel growth. But the digital transformation journey is less about technology and more about people – in particular, the employees that power your business.

Advancements in technology have always influenced the way we work. From the steam engine to artificial intelligence, innovation has compelled organisations to adapt and change how work gets done. Now organisations must determine how to focus forward into a future-state workplace where a mix of office, remote and hybrid employees blurs the lines between physical and digital environments. How we work will never be the same; it’s just a question of how different it will be. Fuelled by technology platforms like cloud, mobile and AI, organisations can adapt and reimagine how works gets done and, most importantly, how that shift impacts employees.

For years, consumer brands have vied for our attention with promises of effortless customer experiences, a single click to buy, two clicks to return, alerts and ads personalised to our preferences, and the list goes on. Consumer experiences like these are raising employee expectations for the platforms and technologies they use at work. Fuelled by the increase in remote work, employees view work as something they do rather than a place they go. Employees expect employers to provide a seamless user experience where they can work from anywhere, on any device.

What is a digital workplace?

The digital workplace is a cloud-based work platform that allows a business to fully operate in a virtual environment. The platform contains the applications, data and tools employees need to do their jobs both today and – most importantly – in the future. Applications and tools in the digital workplace range from email, instant messaging and collaboration tools to core enterprise applications spanning HR and other business functions.

To get there, organisations must overcome several hurdles:

Complex ecosystems: The continuous convergence of IT processes, platforms and partnerships is difficult to navigate, and organisations often underestimate the complexity.

Rigid work environments: Silos and monolithic applications based on legacy platforms create barriers to transform into a flexible, digital employee experience.

Security, privacy and trust: Frictionless environments, where employees work from anywhere, on any device, greatly expand attack surfaces.

Resistance to change: Most companies have organisational change management (OCM) programmes focused on the technical aspects of change and transformation, but the people aspects and driving user adoption can be overlooked.

Parity of experience: Balancing the technical needs of a remote, hybrid and in-person workforce requires thoughtful investments in technology that will enable inclusive collaboration, regardless of work location.

Shifting market landscape: Technology’s increasingly vital role in delivering value to the business is transforming long-held buying behaviours, with decision-makers re-evaluating vendor relationships and the procurement of IT and business services.

Future-forward organisations are seizing the opportunity to transform the employee experience. Successful transformations create digital workplaces that increase worker productivity, business agility and employee satisfaction.