HYBRID IT - CHURCHILL GROUP

Digital transformation and the new needs of the hybrid workplace

Truth be told, we are still yet to fully understand how the events of the past two years will shape the way we live and work for the longer term.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt. For instance, the volatile knock-on effects from long-lasting and damaging restrictions are still badly disrupting supply chains, while we are also seeing differing levels in consumer confidence regarding a return to ‘how things were’. Meanwhile, there is heightened awareness about public hygiene that is being incorporated into a broader spectrum of our lives. 

And the virus has not completely diminished either. New variants emerge which challenge existing immunity provided by vaccines and natural infection, with workforces in key industries such as healthcare, education and transport continuing to be disrupted by positive cases and subsequent isolation periods.

Businesses crave certainty, and unfortunately there is not a lot of it around at the moment. It makes for a challenging time, exacerbated by enormous spikes in fuel, energy and other essential business costs.

Digital transformation is being turbocharged 

However, while the picture is evolving all the time, some positive changes look set to be cemented into the so-called ‘new normal’ era.

One of the more obvious changes is the impact the pandemic has had on accelerating digital transformation strategies.

There are countless statistics and reports demonstrating this impact, perhaps none more striking than a McKinsey study from October 2020, the pandemic’s early stages, that found digitisation of business to customer interactions accelerated by several years in the space of six months. 

Furthermore, while more than half of companies are planning to cut or defer investments because of COVID-19, just 9% will make those cuts in digital transformation according to another report by PwC.

As well as boosting digital interactions with customers in response to changing consumer behaviour, it has also emerged that a key part of digital transformation investments now centres around making workplaces fit for the era of hybrid working.

There are several studies showing hybrid working as the top preference for people in 2022 for several reasons, including flexibility, improved work-life balance due to less time spent commuting, and reductions in burnout and stress, among others.

However, it is also clear that the office still has a critical role to play, and arguably a greater one than many may be led to believe.

Research conducted in the UK at the end of 2021 shows that, despite the Omicron surge occurring at the time, almost three quarters of workers would opt to work in the office most of the time. 

Opportunities and challenges lie ahead

Organisations are responding to this trend. They have little choice, especially those operating in industries that face labour shortages – here, companies are battling to remain competitive, with digital strategies aligned to attracting and retaining the talent they require.

The rewards of successfully shifting to hybrid models can be highly beneficial but doing so is by no means an easy feat.

Indeed, according to insight from Forrester, while six in 10 organisations will move to a hybrid working model at some point during 2022, up to a third will fail in their first attempt.

Again, multiple factors are at play, not least the fact that it is not enough to simply announce flexible working arrangements to employees and let it play out. Rather, organisations need to realign expectations around several areas, including meetings, job roles and promotion opportunities to ensure those in the office are not benefitting from subconscious bias. 

Forrester also warns that the three in 10 companies which are expecting to mandate fully in-office work will experience monthly employee churn rates as high as 2.5%.

Interestingly, Gartner analysts have predicted that by 2024, 30% of corporate teams will be without a boss due to the agile and hybrid nature of work, adding that managers lack the skills to manage employees in remote or hybrid situations – according to its findings, only 47% percent of employees believed their manager is capable of leading the team to future success.

The role of digital workplace management platforms

Technology has a critical role to play in the transition to hybrid working models and addressing some of these challenges associated with the change.

Here, digital workplace management platforms have the potential to enhance the workplace experience and ensure the office side of the hybrid working model holds up its side of the bargain.

Specifically, an effective platform will alleviate some of the aforementioned challenges around communication and expectations, as well as resolving practical issues by digitising workflows and other processes. Additional benefits include the elimination of miscommunication, bolstering of information security and data privacy, and freeing up of time for colleagues to focus on more value-added tasks.

Such systems also need to be flexible, ideally taking the form of a modular design which can be adapted quickly to cater to new trends and employee needs.

Indeed, by gathering real-time feedback and facilitating real-time communications between employees and employers, transparent corporate cultures can be established and maintained in the hybrid world, with data the key fuel powering the system.

This is critical. The more data that goes through a platform, the more business intelligence will be generated. Smart platforms will be able to take all kinds of data inputs and collectively understand what information is valuable to an organisation in improving its productivity and results. Further, those with machine learning capability can highlight when trends are emerging and proactively suggest improvements, while also alerting when something is out of the ordinary.

Businesses can therefore take a step beyond data collection and make genuinely smart, well-informed decisions – from cleaning processes to waste management, and employee engagement to task allocation. Regarding the former, we have seen tangible benefits from adopting responsive, real-time cleaning schedules based on room usage. With hygiene still a major concern for employees returning the workplace, ensuring the spaces they book and use are ready for them at the right time is crucial to creating a positive experience that will ultimately make hybrid working a success.

Underpinning the modern workplace

If executed properly, a smart digital workplace management system(s) has the power to improve engagement with remote workforces, enable assured governance, and improve the valuable insight that is used to make strategic business decisions.

We see this as the future, which is why we built our digital platform Mo:dus; not just for our line of work in facilities management, but for any companies looking for support with a digital journey.

Digital transformation is expected to add $100 trillion to the world economy by 2025, with platform-driven interactions expected to drive approximately two-thirds of that value. Now is the time to make the most out of workplace management platforms and build commercial spaces that are fit for the new era of hybrid working.