DIGITISE THE WORKPLACE – IT NOT ONLY MAKES SENSE BUT IS A MUST FOR THE FUTURE WORKFORCE.
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The last couple of years probably have seen the biggest changes in the way we work. Within weeks we were confined to work from home without forewarning or preparation. This phenomenon however did not change back to the old normal.
According to studies from Bloomberg and Morning Consult, more than a third of adults interviewed would quit their job if they were not given a remote work option. This percentage increased even more with younger workers – 49%.
Organizations therefore are forced to have a Digital-first strategy, enabling the remote workforce and remote consumers of services. This can be accomplished by implementing a Digital workplace.
A Digital workplace is a central, go-to place for employees to access information and get access to services – all in a self-help environment. Consumers of this self-help environments demand access using any device or platform.
The Digital workplace should expand beyond just IT Incidents and cover the entire service stack including HR, Legal, Facilities – A single go-to place to access a Catalogue of Services is required
According to studies from Bloomberg and Morning Consult, more than a third of adults interviewed would quit their job if they were not given a remote work option. This percentage increased even more with younger workers – 49%.
Organizations therefore are forced to have a Digital-first strategy, enabling the remote workforce and remote consumers of services. This can be accomplished by implementing a Digital workplace.
A Digital workplace is a central, go-to place for employees to access information and get access to services – all in a self-help environment. Consumers of this self-help environments demand access using any device or platform.
The Digital workplace should expand beyond just IT Incidents and cover the entire service stack including HR, Legal, Facilities – A single go-to place to access a Catalogue of Services is required.
Modern Digital workplace solutions provide self-service capabilities powered by Artificial Intelligence and even have the ability to understand intent when using Chatbot capabilities.
Implementing a Digital Workplace however is not just enabling access to end users or consumers. Careful consideration is required of the services to be published and how the organization will support the fulfilment of these services. The Digital workplace becomes the eyes(entry) into the heart(operations) of any organization. The fulfilment of the requests is as important as enabling the self-service capability.
According to Gartner 56% of employees prefer to solve IT related problems themselves. This number is increasing with the influx of millennials who demand the latest in technology to perform their functions from anywhere, at any time and on any device.
Benefits realised when implementing and transforming to a Digital Workplace:
- People first – Organisations becomes People centric
- More agile and engaged employees
- Better communication and collaboration
- Reduction in ServiceDesk engagements resulting in cost saving
- Improved accuracy for request made
- Quicker time to resolution
- Improved Job satisfaction
- Risk reduction
Implementing a Digital workforce requires executive sponsorship, a clearly defined project, knowledge, technology and a cross line-of-business approach.
A few considerations when enabling a Digital Workplace:
- Analyse current Service Desk Contacts and transform those to self-service via the Digital Workplace
- Start with Critical Services
- Create a Unified Enterprise Service Catalogue – not just IT related requests
- Create a consumer like feel – this will provide a familiar interface and minimize training requirements
- Defined Entitlements – not everybody should have access to all catalogue items
- Ensure Knowledge articles are published, maintained and accessible
- Digital Workplace should be tightly Integrated into organisational processes
- Encourage the use of Self-Service
- Only implement Chatbots when the Service Catalogue is functioning, has matured and used by the majority of employees
The way of work has changed, employees demand quicker and easier access to information and services. Enabling a Digital Workplace is not a nice to have – it is a necessity.
Please reach out to Marten van Heerden at New Island Technologies to explore the possibilities that can be unlocked by enabling a digital workplace.
