Companies are adopting a hybrid workplace model; a culmination of in-person and remote working models. Employees will work part of the week from a remote location and rest at a physical office. A hybrid model can be either a free-will model or a split-week model. The structure and dynamics of a hybrid model are largely dependent on the business requirement and employee participation. The managers decide and execute fine line balance that yields optimum results.

Digital Employee Experience

Remote and hybrid workplaces are largely dependent on the overall employee experience. An important feature of the employee experience is technology. In virtual setting reliance on digital tools to complete the work is crucial. Every employee needs access to digital tools, a data pool, communication intranets, calendar access to teams, and other technologically driven products that help them collaborate and finish their work.

The measure of effective use of digital workplace tools by the employees of a company is the foundation of digital employee experience (DEX). Technology at the workplace is purposeful only when it is innovative, productive, and efficient. The suitability of digital workplace tools banks on the technical prowess, used by an entity. For instance, security is paramount in digital operations; but if the time taken to clear security is cumbersome and time-consuming, employees tend to be annoyed. The managers have to adopt secure and accessible interfaces that allow employees to work expeditiously and accurately to ace their DEX.

There are a few factors that impact the digital experience of employees negatively. Few pointers that negate the DEX include:

• Outdated technology

The pace of technology is rapid; keeping up with it is a big challenge for companies. Nonetheless, expecting employees to deal with old technology is non-negotiable in a world where good employees prefer the right tools to stay productive.

Inadequate training

Employees who don’t get sufficient training to adjust to the new platforms and technical updates feel left out. Their productivity drops and spirals into other issues not warranted for healthy work culture.

• Time-consuming

Employees have deadlines for a few tasks and projects need to be submitted within time. During such deadline for delivery, if an employee faces downtime due to slow-loading or crash of an application, it leaves them with an unpleasant experience. Server and network issues can freeze the entire operations of an entity. This is also a business loss and creates work backlogs for employees.

A good digital experience attributes to positive checks to any organization. Some of the advantages of an efficient DEX consist following points:

1. Enhanced Employee Experience

Employee experience in any organization that depends on technology is affected by the efficiency of digital workplace tools. A good DEX improves the efficiency of the employee’s work and helps in workflow management. When a task is completed accurately in time, there is professional gratification, devoid of third-party appreciation. A person feels good when they work well.

2. Improves client servicing

Customers pay for the products and services they avail. They expect the best service for the amount they pay. Handling customer issues daily by hardworking employees needs motivation beyond cash or kind perks. An employee who eases through the workflow for a day will be happy to serve the clients and go the extra mile to resolve their issues. Customer-centric service is a key factor for growth and increased profitability.

3. Improves work culture

The ease of operating digital tools results in happy employees who can close more tickets, resolve client issues, collaborate and share best practices with teams and participate in healthy competition. DEX reduces employee frustration; if not checked it has an adverse impact and outweighs the positives in a working environment.

4. Improves communication

A DEX captures the activities and notifies other collaborators of the next call-to-action tasks. An auto email is generated as a gentle reminder to all the concerned key personnel. The redundant task of informing via email after every task is reduced, thereby keeping the flow of communication without increasing extra work. When communication improves, so do productivity and profitability.

5. Steady workforce

A company that holds prominence to the employee experience will witness a stable and strong workforce. As a result, attrition and turnover rates of employees reduces, and skilled talent looks forward to joining such companies.

After understanding the importance of DEX and the repercussion that arise from lack of same, let us look at 5 ways to design or improve DEX:

• Keep it simple

Technology should not complicate existing workflow but ease it for better turnaround time and efficiency in product and service delivery. It is a good step to assess the technical requirements and invests in easy to use framework. Companies need to determine the tools that boost their productivity and will be useful for the roles of their employees. New technology roll-out is a capital-intensive project and companies have to invest wisely in tools that suit their requirement.

• Automate processes

Tasks that are clerical and repetitive should be automated. When routine tasks are automated human errors are reduced or eliminated. As employees step away from mundane tasks they step up in their roles and give significant importance to client engagement.  

• Core functions

Identify the areas that require automation and AI-driven solutions. Engaging applications for every function can result in it long-term occupational futility for employees. It is also an expensive affair and only functions that require automation should be converted into one.

• Simple security

Managing passwords is still essential till biometric authentication replaces the old order. Till then password management should be a simple and not a tedious process.

• Capitalize existing tools

Improving existing tools for performance and operational efficiency is less time and cost-consuming than going for greenfield projects. A company needs to conduct a feasibility check on using existing software before overhauling it for a new one.

Conclusion:

A company that recognizes the importance of employee experience platforms and workable digital solutions gains traction over others that do not. A good DEX is relevant to a thoroughfare to optimum employee and client engagement that translates into growth and bolsters shareholders’ equity’s net worth.