Digital Workplace Strategy

The Digital Workplace has recently been hailed as a solution to many of the problems that plague traditional workplaces, such as lack of collaboration, low engagement, & inefficient processes. This is in part because our ways of working have changed dramatically since 2020, & digital adoption has moved forwards much faster than we could have hoped or planned for.

• There are numerous?business benefits you can achieve with an efficient digital workplace

As technology makes it easier to Work From Anywhere (WFA), rather than being shackled to the confines of a specific location. But to make work from anywhere & hybrid working models successful, companies now need to implement a solid strategy that will allow their employees to work flexibly & make the most of the technology they already have while boosting productivity & engagement.

• (WFA) is a flexible approach to working, where a company or organization empowers its employees to work productively & autonomously from anywhere while remaining aligned & connected with company culture & goals.

• This could be at home, in an office, from a coffee shop, on a train, in a co-working space, at a hotel…you get the idea. Rather than focus on the literal definition of working from anywhere though, perhaps it’s more productive to focus on WFA as a?concept. Having the ability to work from anywhere means having the tools, resources, technology, & flexibility at your disposal to set up your workspace & be productive at a location that is right for the task at hand. This is a notable departure from the working traditions of old where it was believed that employees could only be productive in an office space. WFA pushes back on the notion that work is a?place you go?& instead implies that it is a thing you do. The beauty of this is when work isn’t tethered to a single location, organizations can harness the power of environments geared towards productivity, collaboration, & innovation – rather than waste precious time reinforcing arbitrary rules which can be limiting to growth.

What is a Digital Workplace strategy?

A Digital Workplace strategy is a plan designed to create an effective digital working environment for employees, whether they are based remotely or otherwise. These strategies focus on the use of technology, including appropriate hardware & software, to improve the efficiency of an organization’s business processes & boost?employee engagement. A digital workplace strategy is where digital transformation & employee engagement intersect to ensure your people aren’t alienated or overwhelmed by complex, disparate systems that don’t play nicely together. Instead, they are empowered to work efficiently, creatively & productively with the help of the technology at their fingertips.

Why is a digital workplace strategy important?

A digital workplace strategy is important because it helps businesses to create the best possible work environment for employees & the best experience for customers. In fact, it has been proven that companies who have embraced digital workplaces & transformation are?more competitive, grow quicker & have higher productivity rates?than those who have not. Setting your digital workplace strategy helps you in:

1. Refine & streamline business operations
2. Boost employee engagement
3. Improve communication
4. Increase agility
5. Prioritize security
6. Enable flexible working
7. Improve the customer experience
8. Encourage collaboration

How do you create an effective digital workplace strategy?

The key to creating an effective digital workplace strategy is to ensure that your workplace is designed to meet the needs of all employees and your business goals. This not only includes what workers need to do their jobs well but also what they want and need in order to be productive and feel engaged. Encouraging employees to make the best use of a new tool can mean a change in long-established patterns of behavior. But, change doesn’t need to be as difficult as it sounds. Once people experience the simplicity of the tool and understand how transformative the new technology can be, new ways of working will soon develop. Our ten key essential elements of a digital workplace strategy are based on practical experience within global organizations.?

01. Involve key stakeholders from the get go

• Involve key business stakeholders and their senior teams from the start

The most important relationship to get right is the one between you and your key stakeholders.

If you don’t have stakeholder buy-in when you start your project, it won’t be successful. To get there, you need to do two things:

• Get specific about who your key stakeholders are, then talk to them. Once you’ve identified your stakeholders, consult them throughout the platform design process.
• Ask about the look and feel of your digital workplace, the organization of key content, and the governance and integration of existing digital tools.

You don’t have to adopt every idea you hear during this process. But including your stakeholders from the start, and listening to their input, creates buy-in, builds trust, and maximizes ROI. When your design process is inclusive, the stakeholders you expect to challenge you can become your biggest supporters.

02. Create a vision with clear objectives

• It’s important to have a vision for your digital workplace strategy &?the technology you’ll use to implement it.

Create a business case for how that tech will look, work, &?help you reach your business goals.

First, think about what you want your employees to know, feel, & do using your technology. Then, connect that to your digital workplace strategy, which should align with your wider internal communications strategy.

03. Launch your platform in a compelling way

• The key to a successful launch is to make your content interesting & immediately useful.

Building momentum within your organization prior to launching your Digital Workplace can help to create a buzz, encouraging people to use it from the start.

Prior to launch, simple ‘teasers’ can be effective, including e-postcards, videos, screenshots, and a countdown clock?

Holding a naming competition for your digital workplace can also be a fun way to involve all employees in creating the tool.

Tailoring your launch day to play up your organization’s unique culture, brand and energy will help to make it a success. The tone you set at launch will also set up your organization for long-term engagement.?Best practice on the day of launch includes creating, leadership blogs, no-meeting days,?and live demonstrations (online and in-person).

In an environment where many employees are under pressure, creating a tool to help them to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively will ensure long-term adoption and business value.

04. Recruit & provide ongoing support to Change Champions

• Creating and nurturing a network of enthusiastic employee advocates to act as local champions and experts is a great way to actively promote a digital workplace and help everyone get used to their new platform.

Working closely with an internal communications team, Change Champions typically encourage people to use their new tool, resolve any challenges and act as local role models. They can also provide feedback about what is and is not working.

In return, they have an opportunity to help shape the communications approach, become early adopters of exciting new technologies, and improve their visibility among peers and leaders.?Involving Change Champions in ongoing digital workplace developments and enhancements can be a good way to keep them motivated and passionate about success.

05. Give employees the info they need to succeed

• Even the most intuitive enterprise collaboration software can be intimidating for employees who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy.

Confidence levels and individual needs will vary across departments. But you can maximize the ROI for your digital workplace by providing a range of education options to help your employees understand its many benefits.

Online training is a great way to help your employees learn to navigate your IntraNet successfully – but remember, one size does not fit all. Tech-savvy employees won’t need the same level of training as those with less experience with digital tools. And everyone learns differently, regardless of skill or experience level.

Here are a few suggestions for enhancing your training for your digital workplace tool:

• Create a simple email survey with Google Forms to get a baseline assessment of your staff’s skill level with digital tools
• Provide your training materials in several formats: written materials, audio materials, virtual demonstrations
• Record short, engaging videos your staff can watch with their training, and refer back to as needed
• Solicit questions and comments about the digital workspace on an ongoing basis
• Engage your change champions to work with employees in small groups or individually
• Include training on your digital workplace in your new employee orientation programs
• Send short awareness tips via email

06. Leaders must lead the way

• Visible online leadership is a critical part of a digital workplace strategy.

Digital workplaces make it easier for leaders to authentically connect with people.

With features like blogs, comments, ways to show recognition, and the ability to ‘like’ articles, leaders are able to immediately collaborate and listen to employees, wherever they ‘sit’ within an organization.

But it’s not just about creating a connection with employees. Leaders who are role models for new ways of working, sometimes known as ‘walking the talk’ drive behavior change among employees. Most organizations enable more effective change when leaders are involved, especially if they also proactively support and encourage employees through the journey.?

Creating highly visible on-line leadership is a critical part of a digital workplace strategy.

07. Migrate activity from ‘push’ channels

• Nearly half of employees say that getting less email would make them happier at work.

Emails, videos, webinars, newsletters:

The communication channels at our fingertips are extensive, and often confusing. A barrage of information coming from all directions can easily overwhelm your staff. The result? Employees are burnt out and disengaged, leaders are frustrated, and key messages are lost in the noise.

Your digital workplace is designed to be a one-stop shop for your organization’s internal communications – not just because it’s convenient, but also to drive adoption. If employees know that important messages will show up on the IntraNet and in their email inboxes, they are less likely to access them in your digital workplace. The result is Lost opportunities for engagement and roadblocks to behavior change.

Your internal communication and digital workplace strategies should include a plan to migrate communications to this tool. When you do, be brave enough to switch off, or at least significantly reduce, the use of your other communication channels.

08. Choose transparency for your governance

• Creating a governance model provides clarity and rules.

It doesn’t matter if a building is beautiful if the foundation is weak – it won’t stay standing.

In the same way, your Digital Workplace ’s sustainability & success depend on the strength of a clearly defined ownership & management structure. A governance model provides clarity and rules around the roles and responsibilities of its editors, managers, stakeholders, and contributors.

While governance can include a range of activities, simple, well-designed guidelines can make or break the success of your governance model. Typically, governance consists of three elements:

• Policy: what all employees must or must not do
• Guidelines: what employees should do
• Standards: practices established for everyone to adhere to that create consistency in brand, look and feel, user experience, etc.

Your new staff will likely pay particular attention to your guidelines, which often aren’t intuitive and cover day-to-day activities like posting, commenting, status updates, and tagging and taxonomy. But your governance model is useful for all employees when it includes a variety of materials. Consider these additions:

• Style guide
• Content guide
• Confidentiality guide
• FAQs
• Terms of Use, with agreement required to access the Digital Workplace for the first time

09. Measure (and share!) your success

• Aligning your Digital Workplace metrics with your business goals will ensure that your employees support your organization’s priorities

Defining quantifiable goals for your digital workplace and determining exactly what you want to accomplish is one of the most important steps in your strategy. Aligning your Digital Workplace metrics with your business goals will ensure that all your employees support the most critical priorities in the company.

For example, if your business needs to improve the customer experience, your metrics should reflect how effective your Digital Workplace is in helping customer-facing employees quickly find the information they need. If your organization is undertaking global expansion, your metrics need to test how your Digital Workplace is supporting employees through collaboration across time zones, use of translation features, and mobile access.

While it’s usually easy to track metrics such as the number of ‘views’ and ‘likes’ associated with key pages or content on your Digital Workplace platform itself, this alone may not provide the quality or level of information you are looking for.?

We’ve all heard the expression “What gets measured, gets done.” Regular measurement and reporting keep you focused — because you use that information to take action to improve your results and business success.

10. Look at the bigger picture

You’ve developed a solid strategy for your Digital Workplace – now make sure that fits into the broader strategy for your organization. A Digital Workplace solution is valuable for your remote employees, but not only for them. In fact, the most effective Digital Workplace is one that is used by all of your employees, regardless of where they are while they’re working.

One of the key advantages of a Digital Workplace is that it is integrated with the other software you use to run your business. Unify your digital and physical workplace and build on the success of your Digital Workplace strategy by ensuring smart, effective integration with other applications.

Your secret to SUCCESS!

Your Digital Workplace is a long-term investment with tangible business benefits.

With a well-thought-out Digital Workplace strategy, developed with key stakeholders and aligned with organizational goals, that tool will achieve a solid ROI and accelerate your business success.

___

Thanks for reaching out

Please stay tuned for more about Digital Workplace in the coming editions

Don't forget to subscribe to?Digital Workplace ?Newsletter