The role of digitalization in enhancing the employee experience

Much of the world seems to have adapted to all the disruptions caused by the pandemic. But when you look at the Australian workplace landscape, many companies are still in the adjustment phase, navigating what workflows, culture and collaboration should look like in a new hybrid environment. 

The pandemic has shifted the way people work forever; the hybrid, flexible model is likely here to stay. Now, the focus has shifted to what businesses need to do to set up a flexible work policy to create a better work experience for their employees.  

The war for talent in the digital workplace 

At a People Edge event in Sydney earlier this year, employee experience was top-of-mind for many HR leaders and experts, with the need to re-engage staff and adapt to their changing expectations seen as a top priority. Today’s digital worker wants to have the option to work from anywhere. For that to be a possibility, they need assurances that they’ll be equipped with the right tools and that their digital connection will be consistent and secure.  

Considering that the war for talent in Australia is at an all-time high, seamless digitalization can be the answer to providing a stellar user experience to secure and retain the right staff. Optimum working conditions are vital to keeping the workforce happy and engaged – and can only be achieved with an investment in digitalization.  

In a competitive market where employees have the upper hand, nailing the onboarding process is critical. Staff need to feel they have the right technology and support from their first day with the organization. This environment builds trust, creates confidence and ensures employees feel like they’re working for a company that provides the right tools and prioritizes digital training to set up employees for success. 

Employees also want to know they can access ongoing support while working off site. Meeting this expectation requires companies to consider the employee journey throughout the workday. From logging on to troubleshooting, technical support needs to mirror the changing workplace demands — including flexible working hours, since the traditional 9-5 is no longer the norm for everyone. Employees often jump online for an hour before their kids wake up, then juggle school drop-offs and activities before logging back on after their kids go to bed. The change in work patterns raises questions about how companies can offer their staff the proper support if they’re no longer working ‘regular’ office hours. The answer is that companies must adapt their tech support accordingly to ensure staff has coverage across the board. 

A proactive approach to employee experience  

At Unisys, we are seeing a trend among our clients, indicating that the most successful companies take a proactive approach to user experience management, combining real-time monitoring and analytics to ensure all workplace technology works effectively. The employee of today wants proactivity. They not only want you to be able to identify when they are having audio or video connection problems in a meeting, but they want you to contact them directly before they’ve even had a chance to flag those issues with an IT ticket. Most importantly, they want you to ensure the issue will be resolved quickly to keep downtime at a minimum. Companies need to find the right technologies to enable this proactive experience of understanding and resolving technical problems before they impact an employee’s productivity and satisfaction.  

And while investing in tools is critical, it’s also important to note that simply implementing new technology is not enough. Companies must look at how people work to ensure their habits and preferences align with changing technological capabilities. The two are intrinsic - there’s no point in equipping staff with cutting-edge, collaborative technology if they don’t understand how to leverage it to get the best results. Take meetings, for example. How do you ensure your workforce knows how to optimize the tools available to them – such as digital whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and more – to get the most value from remote and hybrid meetings?  

Adjusting the roadmap to elevate employee experience 

Post-pandemic, the very nature of work has changed. For many people, the day-to-day structure and workflow scarcely resemble pre-pandemic days. In this hybrid environment, organizations must also adapt and shift expectations, starting with their strategic roadmaps for implementing new technologies and tools and providing ongoing digital training. Digital workplace solutions are a crucial element of agile ways of working following the impacts of the pandemic, giving employers a competitive advantage in the talent search. 

Unisys supports organizations jumpstarting their digital workplace solutions to empower staff to do their jobs more effectively. It is more important than ever to consider the changing work landscape when working to enhance employee experience. The 2020 HR Sentiment Survey by Future Workplace uncovered that the top initiative for HR and business leaders in 2020 was employee experience, ranking first with 50% of respondents. 

That’s why beyond just providing the technology, Unisys takes a holistic approach to re-examining how people work and understanding the shift in the job paradigm. Unisys Digital Workplace Solutions are uniquely focused on employee experience, enabling innovative workspaces to create seamless digital experiences that combine the best of both worlds in personalization and security.  

Unisys is committed to accelerating the digitalization process for businesses and governments. Learn how Unisys can help your organization deliver an exceptional user experience through its Digital Workplace Solutions. 

This article first appeared in IT Brief.