Orange Business Services and Sia Partners analyse new ways of working in the digital era

New ways of working to improve customer relationships
The digital phenomenon has an effect on the expectations of individuals today who want more connectivity, personalization and interaction in their relationships with companies. The research indicates that 83 percent of European companies acknowledge that better customer service is a driver of new ways of working. The position paper highlights the experience of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, which provided tablets to its increasingly mobile sales forces in Asia to manage the relationships with their customers.

Home working diversifies with the emergence of “third place working”
Flexible working is not only a means to improve quality of life of employees, but also a lever for productivity and real estate optimization for companies. The study reveals that flexible working is formalized by a legal framework in 54 percent of European companies, which have established a home working policy. In addition to home working and office working, distance work is taking on new forms in various locations – from public to enterprise-provided – to accommodate employees. These new spaces are known as “third places to work.”

Collaborative work: the enterprise opens its ecosystem
Through co-creation, co-working and co-innovation, collaboration is a real evolution in ways of working that is made possible thanks to the digital transformation. Companies extend their collaboration to an increasingly wide network of suppliers, clients and partners. “Corpoworking” is a new trend that consists of welcoming members of this ecosystem in a dedicated location. This is the case with SNCF, which has specific workspaces – and access to the company’s Wi-Fi – in their new headquarters to accommodate partners and clients. In addition to shared spaces, 74 percent of European companies consider collaboration with external partners a ‘must-have’ or ‘nice-to-have’ practice.

Security: a major requirement for companies
The introduction of new ways of working calls for a transformation of the company’s IT infrastructure and raises questions about security and the protection of resources. Sixty-five percent of companies in the study confirm that security will have an impact on their ways of working over the next three years. In 2013, 62 percent of European companies had set up a secure mobile solution, and 10 percent more planned to deploy one before the end of 2014.

IT projects increasingly influenced by business departments
While IT managers are still responsible for the choice of digital equipment and solutions in 97 percent of European companies today, the position paper shows the increasing influence of business owners (i.e., director or manager of business units, production, facilities, marketing or sales) in the decision-making process. Thirty-six percent of European companies believe that business owners’ level of involvement in decision making will increase in the next three years. Human Resources (HR) executives also play a major role. In 59 percent of companies, HR is involved in the decision-making process for the working environment.
In 2014, 44 percent of European companies plan to implement at least one new tool or service to develop new ways of working. For example, their priority projects cited for the short term involve deploying cloud services, tablets and applications. Orange Business Services and Sia Partners’ ambition is to accompany enterprises in their digital transformation.