digital workplace culture - ess conference - beth kelley

Deloitte Digital Copyright © 2016 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

DIGITAL WORKPLACE AND CULTUREHow digital technologies are changing the workforce

PresentationEastern Sociological Society ConferenceMarch 18, 2016

Beth KelleyResearch ManagerDeloitte [email protected]

Deloitte Digital Copyright © 2016 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. 2

Digital Workplace & Culture

Definition

Technology as Enabler

Putting A Face on the Digital Workforce

Logistics & Security & Robots

Opportunities

Sum Up & Questions

OVERVIEW

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WHAT IS A “DIGITAL WORKPLACE”?


THE DEFINITION OF “DIGITAL WORKPLACE & CULTURE” IS MURKY• “The digital workplace is meant to be a virtual equivalent to

the physical workplace” (CMSWire, 2014)• “'Digital workplace' is the concept that there is a virtual

equivalent to the physical workplace, and that this needs to be planned and managed coherently because it is fundamental to people's productivity, engagement and working health.” (Clearbox, 2015)


METHODOLOGY

• Performed a literary review of studies analyzing how digital technologies are impacting workplace culture, in-office and on-the-road policies, hiring practices, employees’ and employer’s perceptions of new realities of a “digital” workplace.• This included our own primary research on companies’ policies

and employees’ behavior around using personal devices for work.• Organized findings into:

• How tech is being used. • The people involved.• The “behind the scenes” logistics of using digital on an enterprise

scale.• Best-in-class solutions for a successful digital workplace and

culture.


WHAT WE SAW

• Technology as Enabler:• Growth in computing speed and storage is making virtual and

global collaboration possible, creating a true “network.”• The Face of the Digital Workforce is morphing, more mobile:

• Employees become more comfortable with working in disparate locations.

• With more flexibility comes more expectations.• Also creates work-life balance issues.

• Logistics & Security & Robots:• Employees are more agile, innovative with adopting new tech.• Headache for companies, especially in regulated or more

traditional industries.

A quiet revolution


TECHNOLOGY AS ENABLER


LOCATION FLEXIBLE

• Teams across time zones and countries can work remotely while staying connected to their teams virtually via video chat, VoIP, email, and cloud-stored files.

• Companies no longer need to send workers on an expensive airplane ride to visit clients or collaborate with other teams.

• Today’s workforces are freer to go where they want to work instead of staying where work originates.

• Easier access to skill development resources is making vertical moves easier, too, for both people and organizations.

Technical and social mobility decouples people and organizations from physical geography and defined markets


CONTINGENT WORKFORCES

• Companies are able to create digitally integrated “on-demand” teams, tapping into extensive networks of innovators, technical experts, and seasoned professionals from all over the world that can collaborate together.

• 30 – 40 percent of all US workers today are contingent.

On-Demand mobile teams offer flexibility, fluidity

Source: Josh Bersin, Dimple Agarwal, Bill Pelster & Jeff Schwartz, Introduction: Leading in the new world of work, Deloitte University Press, February 27, 2015.


PUTTING A FACE ON THE DIGITAL WORKFORCE


APPROACH TO HANDLING HUMAN “RESOURCES” IS MORE TRANSPARENT

• It is changing the way work is distributed and sourced.• Companies must now manage and mine large pools of

employee and business data, with new data being added constantly.

• Increasing number of freelance and open source talent, product, and idea marketplaces.

• This constant fluxing, shifting of data and resources is arguably putting more of a human face on the workforce.

The increase in communications and virtual connectedness has introduced new ways of acquiring, developing, and managing talent and work


WORKERS ARE MORE NIMBLE

• HR, talent, and business executives have traditionally thought of talent and employee processes as a supply chain with an on ramp for new employees and an off ramp for retirees.

• New nimbleness of workers has challenged them to review how they view workers.

• Employees do not see work as an on/off-ramp.• Employees are more willing to move laterally across

companies, or to an entirely new company, or even a new field.

Work is more mobile in many ways


PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER

• The ability to work from anywhere and stay connected through smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices has enabled employees to: • Stay connected and collaborate with peers.• Stay on top of digital trends more readily than the organizations

they work for.• Not need to stay put.

Power balance has changed in the employer-employee relationship more towards the employee


PEOPLE WANT MORE OUT OF A JOB• Today’s workers have a new focus on purpose, mission, and

work-life integration. They stay connected to friends and family digitally, and are comfortable working in the same way, often blending the two.

• More workers of all ages are demanding more of a work-life balance that can accommodate more time caring for family, living further away from city centers, or just avoiding peak commute times. For them, this balancing act includes utilizing digital technologies to enable themselves and their broader goals.

See digital as a tool to enable more flexibility, work/life balance


NEXT GEN EXPECTATIONS

• Millennials are the truly first “digital native” generation, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2030 millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce.

• As millennials grow into managerial roles, their priorities and leadership styles will have a huge impact on all organizations in the coming years. • Millennials want to work for “more than just a paycheck.”

• Value family, outside hobbies, less focused on hitting the traditional “milestones” of adulthood.

• Millennials have witnessed instability in the workplace, with two economic downturns during their careers, companies suddenly folding or going bankrupt, and their parents’ jobs being downsized after decades of loyal service.

• All of this impacts how they strategize around work, also while in a competitive marketplace.

Younger workforces are driving digital use in the workplace for very human reasons


WORKING HOURS ARE ALL THE TIME• The way we communicate at work and with coworkers has

changed dramatically. • The lines between work and life are increasingly ill-defined,

work-life balance can be hard to achieve.• A big divide from workers’ preferences to their workplace

reality.

Shift to a more mobile and always available workplace has adjusted the corporate mindset to a similar 24/7 approach


AN OVERWHELMED WORKFORCE• Humans across the globe report being overwhelmed by the

digital capabilities they now possess, and find it difficult to put limits or control how much technology they consume or how it infiltrates their lives.

• Employees today work more hours and are nearly continuously connected to their jobs by pervasive mobile technologies. They may feel unable to fully disengage from work, or possibly feel tracked by their company.

• Workers are also often thrown onto demanding cross-functional teams that bring new people together at a rapid rate, which can make it hard to create truly cohesive and collaborative teams.

• All of this connectivity can also create digital etiquette problems for both clients and staff.

Digital provides flexibility but also little chance for people to unplug



BURNOUT

• A growing problem of burnout and being constantly “tethered” to work by mobile devices, email, or other digital formats. • Workers who primarily email for work and who spend more hours

working remotely outside of normal working hours are more likely to experience a substantial amount of stress overall compared to workers who do not.

• A large volume of workers mentioned regret in taking work home with them, being available during personal hours, and even working while on vacation. People did not like taking work on vacation with them, but some felt it was acceptable, or even the norm.

• 2/3 of workers are not engaged in their jobs and close to 1 in 5 are actively disengaged.

Burnout, disengagement, and high turnover plague companies with heavy digital integration



LOGISTICS & SECURITY & ROBOTS (OH MY!)


LOGISTICS

• The growth of the digital workplace raises concerns about data security, regulatory compliance, compensation for device usage, and internal governance.

• Enterprise knowledge is created by all people in the organization and can be shared and used by others just as easily.

• Often few documented assets explaining how all of this is integrated (e.g., plans, inventories, contracts, sales contacts, publications and brochures), nor the ability to leverage the tacit knowledge of individuals and making it explicit to those who need it, when they need it.

• Corporate bureaucracies, policies, regulations, and approval processes

• Digital systems differ by industry, company, don’t always align

Lots of kinks to work out when scaling technology integration


SECURITY

• Confidentiality and security must be considered, especially in medical fields or other sensitive PII.• IRB, HIPAA• Patients & doctors are changing how they want to receive &

share their information• “Bring-Your-Own-Device” trend is cheaper, but causes more

headache for companies.• Every new device must meet enterprise-level security standards

or the company faces severe potential security breeches.• Also blurs “ownership” & copyright of products developed.

• New tech can also provide more encryption and security levels, safely connect data adding life-saving values.

From HIPAA to BYOD


ROBOTS

• Cognitive technologies both create and allow the analysis of datasets that were unheard of only a few years ago.

• Cognitive technologies are creating new jobs – i.e. mine.• Also can process work faster than any human, often more

accurately, which make many worry they will lose their jobs to a machine.

Automated systems, cognitive technologies, and other fast processing tools can aid jobs but also makes others redundant


SUCCESSFUL SOLUTIONS


BUILD A CULTURE TO SUPPORT DIGITAL• Develop the kind of culture they want to see, including how to

embrace digital. • A focus on culture can be used to understand knowledge

management needs and personas of staff, and make the undocumented explicit and accessible.

• Informed decision making and strategic planning are crucial for successful implementation of a strong digital workplace policy and coordinating a digital culture that works for everyone.

• Work to re-integrate the human into the digital workflow.• In 2015, organizations that created a strong culture that included

how to handle technology integration were outperforming their peers and were more likely to beat their competition in attracting top talent.

Source: Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends, 2015


TREAT EMPLOYEES LIKE CUSTOMERS• Remove the on/off ramp mentality.• Make room for people to grow and feel like they are part of the

team.• A supportive digital culture allows team members to feel

connected and included even if they are spread out across the globe.

• Break the “always on” habit - have a work culture that supports designated “off” times both physically and virtually.


BE OPEN TO INNOVATION

• Corporations should offer some flexibility to how employees get work done.

• Employees working in the trenches often find the most efficient solutions, and it is an effective move for managers to follow their lead.• Use social tools.• "20% time” policy.

• Give employees the opportunity to venture out of their standard career paths and customize their jobs to align with their personal and evolving skillsets, interests, and career goals.


SUM UP

• Organizations and enterprises are still structured based on the post-Industrial Revolution era style of work, while trying to overlay digital capabilities.

• By 2030, in 15 years, 75% of employees will have grown-up post-Digital Revolution, and are trying to overlay work on top of their digital lifestyles.

• This disconnect is causing a headache for enterprises, and burnout for employees.

• People have the power to choose, enterprise leaders have the power to proactively create alignment between employee and enterprise needs, openness to innovation, and actively cater and curate technologies for employees, and focus on making it more human-centered.


QUESTIONS?


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digital workplace culture - ess conference - beth kelley

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