Technology is Wrecking the Employee Experience
Research shows solutions implemented to keep employees engaged and productive are frustrating and slowing them down
In response to the global pandemic, companies have given their workforce the tools they need to work remote. And research shows it has increased their engagement and productivity. But these gains are on the brink of being wiped out. A new set of studies reveals that employees feel they’ve been given too many tools and not enough efficient ways to execute. And it’s hindering their ability to get things done.
To remedy the problem, companies need to rethink the role of technology and how they apply it across their organizations so that employees, rather than being frustrated, are empowered to succeed. And they need to recognize a few things:
App Sprawl is Out of Control
When they were forced to send employees home, companies rolled out tools designed to keep them engaged and productive. And they initially worked. But these tools are beginning to have the opposite effect. People are working the same or more hours, but they’re accomplishing less because technology is getting in their way.
According to Work Your Way, a survey of 1,000 IT decision makers and 2,000 workers across the United States, the number of tools employees are required to use to do their jobs has significantly increased during the pandemic, as has the complexity they are creating in the workplace. As uncovered by Work Your Way,
· 64 percent of workers are using more communication and collaboration tools than they were prior to the pandemic, with 33 percent touching 10–20 per day, and
· 71 percent say these tools have made work more complex
A New Digital Divide is Emerging
Workstyles have fundamentally changed, and people are not going back to working the way they did. Work Your Way confirms this. Nearly 90 percent of respondents to the survey say they want the flexibility to continue to work at home and in the office post pandemic. And they will work differently in both locations.
· 46 percent of decision makers surveyed believe offices will become hubs for team collaboration, connection and innovation, while working from home will focus on individual activities, and
· 49 percent of employees agree
Regardless of their physical location, employees need to be empowered with tools that provide a consistent, secure and reliable experience and allow them to work the way they work best.
Shared Digital Workspaces are the Future of Work
Savvy organizations recognize this and see digital workspaces as a way to deliver it. With digital workspaces, companies can provide a common and transparent environment in which individuals and teams have consistent access to applications and information and can efficiently collaborate on projects to get work done, wherever it needs to get done.
Supported by policies that encourage collaborative and equitable working methods, such workspaces foster efficient work execution from anywhere through:
· Reliable access to the work resources employees require to collaborate and get work done anywhere — in the office, at home, or on the go
· Contextual security to ensure corporate and personal information remains safe across any device or location
· A shared environment to streamline execution, enhance collaboration and ensure equitable access and sharing of information for all teammates, regardless of where they are working
At the end of the day, technology is killing the employee experience. Employees just want a simpler way to work, powered by technology that eliminates the friction and noise from their days and adapts to their workstyles rather than forcing them to learn new ways of doing things. And if they want to see their business thrive, companies need to deliver it.
