Does Your 5-9 Employee Experience Look Like Your 9-5?

Remote work has shifted to an organizational mandate within the modern enterprise

Remote work is becoming an integral component of the modern workplace. The U.S. Census’ most recent data found that 5.2 percent of U.S. workers – roughly 8 million people – regularly work from home. And why shouldn’t they? It’s a win-win proposition as, according to a survey from Flexjobs, 65 percent of workers believe they are more productive working from home and 76 percent said they would be more loyal to their employers if they had flexible work options. The key question for businesses is no longer whether they are going to empower people to work remotely – they will sooner or later – but rather whether their digital workplace will enable them to do so easily and securely, without impacting employee engagement and satisfaction.  
 

The days of splashy workplaces filled with slides, ping pong tables, beer fridges, and more are less important to employees. Features designed to make work “fun” are missing the point, as they actually just serve to keep workers in the office for long hours. As the tech backlash movement evolves, we’re seeing employees demand that businesses make investments that support work-life balance. Most workers’ primary desire is to perform their jobs well and then get home to their family and friends. Enterprises must adjust their digital workplace strategies towards this shift or face the threat of widespread employee turnover.

Sophisticated consumer technology experiences have raised employee expectations and forced enterprise software vendors to keep up. This is a good thing as many of us likely remember the days of off-white interfaces and inefficient processes. The digital workplace is a perpetually evolving concept that should adapt to the shifts within employee workflows; not the other way around. Employees working remotely must be provided with a consistent experience if they are to maintain their productivity levels. This is particularly important in attracting and retaining Millennials, who grew up with user-friendly software and are better equipped to integrate technology into their everyday lives. 

The core tenet to building a successful always-on digital workplace is information access. Data must be accessible securely through on-premise and mobile devices at any time, which is why many businesses are adopting cloud platforms. Popular cloud platforms’ inherent security eliminates the need for employees to use VPN services and also have built-in mobile accessibility. Standard business hours are becoming more fluid as technology improves, so these two capabilities are essential. 

Globalization is also a key driver in the always-on digital workplace. The accessibility concerns are obvious as geographically-dispersed teams collaborate across time zones; however, businesses should consider language barriers as major obstacles to overcome as well. Enterprises should consider tools and policies aimed at breaking down informational siloes to facilitate true collaboration between teams.

The Epictetus Digital Workplace Implementation Strategy

A popular quote from the philosopher Epictetus says, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” This concept should be applied to digital workplace strategies. 

Too often, enterprises implement new digital workplace technology solutions or policies aimed at improving employee experience, engagement, or productivity without actually speaking to their employees. Many of these initiatives fail to gain significant buy-in because they aren’t rooted in a true need that is defined by the workforce. Millions of dollars have been wasted because of managements’ assumptions or ambitions. The best way to ensure that digital workplace initiatives find their mark is the simplest: ask the people the tools are aimed to help.

The most successful focus groups typically utilize a broad survey that goes out to the entire workforce and then smaller focus groups from individual departments to discuss and confirm the trends that emerged from the survey. Employees will provide valuable insights into how the current tech can be used and repurposed, and where the employee experience can be improved.  

Remote work has shifted to an organizational mandate within the modern enterprise. The key to updating the accompanying digital workplace initiatives is to understand that it is a constantly iterative process. Feedback should be continually aggregated and acted upon to ensure a business has aligned its digital toolset with its workers’ needs.

Author Bio

David Maffei is a successful technology veteran with deep ties to Web Content Management, Business Continuity, Enterprise ECommerce and Award-Winning Professional Services teams. At Akumina, and previously at Carbonite (NASDAQ: CARB), Bridgeline (NASDAQ: BLIN) and Ektron (now EpiServer), Maffei is directly responsible for the company’s global revenue as well as the plans and strategies for developing business and achieving the company’s sales goals. Connect David Maffei Visit www.akumina.com  Follow @AkuminaInc