Digital Workplace where do we start
Since we heard about the concept of an intranet or employee portal a few years ago, what we know today as Digital Workplace has evolved a lot, both technologically and in terms of functionality. Since then, we have seen simple web pages with links to documentation, portals that presented transactional processes that were carried out in the ERP in a friendly way, shared folders ... until we reached the current hyper-componentized and super-collaborative platforms, which facilitate the collaborative work and provide the organization with the solution it needs out-of-the-box .
The challenge is precisely this, be clear about what the
company needs, rather the employees, and prioritize initiatives that, although
they will be useful, should not be the focus of improvement at this time and
therefore it is not the time to invest. It may seem like a simple task, but
especially in companies organized in siloes, such as a group of companies or
independent business areas, this can become an obstacle that blocks the
initiative or leads to failure.
To successfully implement a Digital Workplace , at Enzyme we use co-creation dynamics with companies, Design Thinking , accompanying the joint definition of the consensus solution and generating an implementation roadmap that allows prioritizing based on measurable impact of each one of its phases. These projects have a broader scope of responsibility than the implementation of tools. That is why it must be led by the areas of communication and employee relations , with the participation of the rest of the departments, such as IT.
Digital Workplace: 4 areas of action
Experience is showing us that the needs of companies for
which the Digital Workplace can respond focus on 4 main areas :
• Communication : fluid communication is
sought between the company and the employee, sharing updated and useful
information, and transmitting an image of transparency.
• Operation : the aim is to improve
day-to-day efficiency by digitizing key processes, freeing the employee from
repetitive tasks of little value and making the digital tools they need to
carry out their work at their disposal at a single point.
• Collaboration : when the objective is
to promote work in offshored organized teams, sharing a common digital space.
• Training : we want to make training
materials available to employees that allow them to self-train and train for
the current position and their professional evolution.
It is important to be clear that focusing on one of these
areas does not exclude the rest and is simply about prioritizing what the
company considers in the short term, so the initial implementation must already
take into account its evolution in accordance with the roadmap raised. It is
possible, and even desirable, to make functionality available to employees in
all four contexts.
With the priority challenge clear, it is time to implement
it in the IT ecosystem of the organization. This is also a key factor in the
decision. For example, a company that has already implemented Office 365 will
have a more natural landing on solutions in that environment (Teams,
Sharepoint, One Drive, etc.), while another could consider alternatives to meet
the same objectives.
If we enter into how to respond to the challenge according
to the priority area, those companies that prioritize communication , one-way
or two-way, should start by implementing a CMS as a platform for publishing
content to employees (news, events, documents, etc.), a tool that should be
easy to use to allow communication managers to keep information up to date so
that the employee feels informed and involved.
In the case of organizations that prioritize operation , the
start-up strategy may be the implementation of a launchpad- type solution that
makes a catalog of tools and applications available to the employee according
to their position. It is a good user experience solution to allow employees to
create their own set of applications from the general catalog, in order to have
the tools they need at hand on a day-to-day basis.
If the priority is the growth of collaborative work , there
are multiple solutions on the market that offer the main functionalities
out-of-the-box . Thus, Microsoft Teams, Google Workplace, Notion or Slack,
allow defining sites / channels for team collaboration, sharing documents,
calendars, instant messaging, videoconferencing, etc. that substantially reduce
the gap for remote collaboration. Its success in facilitating teleworking
during the pandemic has demonstrated its versatility and utility beyond the
crisis.
Finally, those organizations that prioritize training and
preparation for the job of their employees should consider the possibility of
implementing an LMS solution, or use a CMS as a library of knowledge and
documentation conveniently indexed, accessible to the employee, and where This
can follow a plan guided by the organization, or be trained according to their
motivation and growth objectives.