5 digital workplace trends for 2018

Happy New Year – will it be though?

The worlds of digital, work and everyday life are converging more and more – and the impact can been seen in ways we never imagined – for good and bad.

1 Digital Democratizes……

….fill in the blank. I have heard it said that digital democratizes entrepreneurship, creates more social justice, and it is behind some significant protest movements – including the rise of the female voice.

It does create a platform on which, to miss-quote Oprah “one can speak one’s truth” and be heard - probably by like-minded people - as the search engine algorithms skew page results to reflect opinions, thoughts and beliefs closely related to our own.

Nevertheless, like a new puppy barking innocently as it discovers its new ability and likes both the sound of it and the response to being heard, underrepresented minorities are using digital to claim their rightful share of voice. Business, employees and candidates all need to get wise to this, it’s impact is showing to be both far reaching and ground shifting.

GDPR will facilitate this transparency and ensure we all own and control our own information – get smart about it.

This new transparency, I hope will prove healthy for all, however, I suspect like the daughters of Lord Grantham, watching how we all behave and minding our reputations will become central to all decisions we make – in and out of work, for and on behalf of our organisations.

2 Stakeholders will flex their muscles to influence digital businesses for good.

In January 2018, Apple investors urged action on ‘smartphone addiction’; in 2017 advertisers pulled YouTube ads when they were found to be appearing next to videos promoting extremist views or hate speech; Research by the Children’s Commissioner for England found children were seeking validation from social media.

For me the remarkable speed in which Ridley Scott's new movie - All the Money in the World - just 9 days after the scandal with the old lead actor broke - it was was recast and shot again with Christopher Plummer taking the starring role.

Businesses will move quickly when stakeholders are not happy and voice that unhappiness.

3 Digital enables a more diverse and inclusive workplace

As employers continue to respond positively to the voices calling for change, digital will underpin this drive to make the workplace fairer and more inclusive place. Digital removes obstacles that were once barriers to inclusivity – it allows remote working, flexible working, a “gig” portfolio of work contracts, increasing accessibility through smart software tools like voice recognition software and, a personal favourite of mine, hardware such as Doro phones – which are hearing aid compatible. The pool of talent widens and employers can fill those open vacancies with a more agile and flexible approach to hiring and workplace cultures.

4 Learning and development

Continuous learning and development underpins the digital workplace and the employee has an ever increasing responsibility to themselves to continually upskill and develop.

The recent call for everyone to code went too far for many – for me it was too big a step to ask. With the growth of MOOCs….[Massive Open Online Courses] from providers like Udacity and Coursera, and even more educational content on YouTube, the opportunity to learn has never been greater – offering flexibility and “future proofing” you career.

As a head hunter in digital, let me assure you, demonstrating a commitment to learning has a very positive impact at interview.

5 Community

Digital can enhance that sense of belonging to a community and being part of a movement – just look at how effective it has been utilised by various minority movements in the UK and US around addressing equality, inclusivity, harassment and social change.

Digital can provide a wonderful platform for good – and not just by exploiting social media. The most effective social campaigns drive communities to meet up face to face.

For organisations / employers – the question is how to deploy this tactic effectively in the workplace.

Joanne Cumper is Digital and Data Lead for Penna Executive Search