By Karl Redenbach
We waste 1,500 hours a year working inefficiently, unable or ill-equipped to grasp the opportunities that can be unlocked in the digital workplace. Many businesses continue with practices such as document version control, isolating the exchange of information (a process more commonly known as emailing), bouncing between local hard drives and the cloud, and so on. All in all, according to Gartner Research, 61 per cent of our valuable time is spent “managing” work and 39 per cent doing the actual work itself. But it doesn’t have to be like this!
The proliferation of applications and piecemeal digital solutions, while well intended, end up fuelling the fragmented workplace and piling more stress onto harried employees. The current mindset in the modern workplace is a strong desire to deploy an intelligent workplace platform (basically an intranet supercharged with intelligence) that accelerates our shift towards a singular, seamless experience where employees have all they need to do their best work. Here is how we can achieve this.
Work smarter, not harder
Improved “intelligent” technology solutions underpinned by artificial intelligence will reduce the noise of the modern workplace and pave the way for the resurgence of vibrant online and offline communities, which give users everything they need to do their job.
Employees are paving the way for the creation of a personalised portfolio of applications, supplemented with role-based functionality. The new digital workforce wants to work smarter, not harder. The goal of this transformation is to deliver a unified digital, physical and human workplace experience that catalyses collaboration and productivity while delivering an incredible employee experience.
Collaboration. Productivity. Governance
Governance of sprawling digital infrastructure and the proliferation of solutions and platforms must be the new normal if we are to realise the potential the modern workplace holds for collaboration and productivity. To read each this promised land, one of the most important prerequisites will be to put in place systems that prevent the explosion of multiple channels, mute the noise of disconnected and distracting applications and set businesses up for success as they accelerate their digital workplace journeys.
Governance and compliance are bedfellows of effective collaboration and productivity. Businesses and their IT departments need to roll out processes and systems, governed by pre-determined rules of engagement, that mitigate the chaotic spread and duplication of channels. The good news is that smart governance systems exist and can be integrated into your existing or future operating systems.
Content as a collaboration engine
Intelligent intranets are content services platforms that ignite engines of collaboration and innovation across organisations. While the term “intranet” is still broadly understood by a diverse range of professionals and verticals, it understates the increasingly strategic value of intranets in the modern workplace – especially when we consider a workplace set to go through the biggest changes in content management in more than 20 years. Intelligent AI-enabled solutions can solve the business-critical need to ensure content is delivered, shared and measured through the optimum (and most secure) digital channels, further enhancing engagement and employee experience.
Be inclusive. Be people-focused
Digital transformation is essentially about change management, and change management is essentially about people. The issue of execution and adoption of digital workplace platforms is often the biggest challenge for our customers.
Understandably some employees can negatively perceive new technologies, or siloed teams might see collaboration as a threat. This can be mitigated by better understanding and addressing the ecosystem of employee workplace influences and touchpoints, and ensuring your people are involved and empowered from the earliest phases of planning.
This feedback from our customers has led us to introduce discovery sessions for our clients. During these sessions we delve into the specific challenges and requirements that an individual organisation may be faced with. This could be the need to slowly transition legacy systems, to prioritise front-line workers, or the obligation to put governance and compliance in place before rolling out digital platforms.
These sessions have become an extremely enriching part of our work. We are now better equipped to provide solutions precisely to our customers’ problems, taking into consideration where they are on their digital journey, where they see themselves going and their absorption capacity for change.
Over-hyping AI or digital solutions helps nobody, and the most effective digital transformation projects will include people from all levels and stages. It may take more time, but it will inevitably be more cost-effective, successful and sustainable.
Co-Founder and CEO
LiveTiles
