How to navigate the Risks of Digital Work: Transforming workplaces
Introduction to the digital working world
The digitalization of the workplace has been happening for a few years now. It has become a necessity for organizations to embrace this change. However, the pace at which technology is changing the workplace is rampant. With the hyperbolic growth of technology comes many risks that must be addressed.
The digital change at work is now termed as "New ways of working". NWOW was coined by Frithjof Bergmann, a German professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. He used this term to describe the change in work with globalization and digital evolution. New ways of working commonly refer to the changes in work related to these four aspects:
With the drastic growth of technology, organizations have felt the need to incorporate the latest technologies like AI into their work. However, it is the employees who must deal with the changes, causing employee disengagement and people risks.
Embracing change is unavoidable for any business that wants to see growth. When it comes to the digital shift in work culture, organizations often focus on technology-led changes and incorporate several digital tools to "digitalize" the workplace. Many companies fall short in this area because their employees are not digitally inclined.
Employees who enjoy experimenting with recent technology are 1.6 times more likely to say that they are thriving compared to digital laggards.
To employ a digital-first culture, employers must prioritize the needs and experience of their employees. Employers need to change the way they implement digital transformation in their organization. There needs to be a shift from technology-led changes to employee experience (EX) and appreciation.
Identifying digital risks and navigating them
New technologies disrupt the functioning of an organization in known and unknown ways. Identifying the risks that come with digital transformation and determining how the changes affect people can make an organization resilient.
Transformation led by technology rather than employee experience
With the surge of AI, organizations have rushed into digital transformation. They want to adopt recent changes in the work but do not want to renew the existing work infrastructure.
According to Mercer, 67% of organizations adopt new technology without transforming the way they work.
Technology focused change can create a lot of risks when employees aren't well-trained to use new tools. Listening to employees can promote a digital-first culture. In recent years, companies have realized the value of employee experience (EX).
In the past 3 years, 45% of organizations have adopted the use of employee listening tools. Encouraging employees to speak their minds and sharing their feedback is essential. It enhances the employee experience and helps organizations be more digitally empowered.
“Employee experience focused transformation makes employees digitally competent, creating high growth companies that thrive.”
Organizations with more digitally competent employees see high growth (41%) as compared to low growth (18%) organizations with less digitally competitive employees. Prioritizing employee experience over using new technology can digitally transform an organization from within and make it receptive to future changes as well.
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Insufficient deployment of technology
According to a study by Mercer, 51% of executives were worried about the insufficient deployment of technology in 2023. This is a growing concern among employers because organizations are investing in digital transformation for their organizations but are not seeing any promising ROIs.
As per KPMG’s report, 40% of large enterprises invest between $0-$9.9 million in innovation. Tech companies want to scale faster, which is why they expect better and quicker ROI. 44% of the investors expect significant ROI within the first six months. However, the diminishing ROIs can be disappointing for executives.
“Using MLPs to promote innovative technologies in the organization engages employees and creates a thoughtful work design.”
To tackle this, companies have started testing out MVPs before fully implementing the new tech. But MVPs (Minimum Viable Product) also have their limitations, and employees feel disengaged from the MVP. To rightly promote new technology in an organization, executives prefer the use of MLPs (Minimum Lovable Product). This version of the product not only has the bare features to function, but it also offers delight to the users. The employee experience is enhanced by MLPs.
Losing human touch after implementing digital tools
The digital transformation of work has made people alarmist about the future. With AI writing poems and stories, people are dreading what this means for the future. However, the new shape of work embraces the use of technology while also making room for people who use it. The technical revolution in the workplace does not necessarily translate to the loss of human touch.
Every organization can work towards creating a workplace that promotes the growth of technology while also appreciating the humans who work. Human Resources and IT can come together to deploy tech in an organization and increase productivity. This can be done when organizations listen to employees and value employee experience. When incorporating new tools, employers can host employee experience workshops and collect employee feedback.
“The focus is to humanize the use of digital technology and create a workspace that is welcoming to humans”
To add a more human touch, organizations are also changing the success metrics of employees. 63% of the executives believe that the advances in AI and automation are changing the profile of a successful HR professional.
In the newly evolved metrics, HRs in recruitment are not judged based on the cost or time to hire, but their productivity is measured based on "how they work" by "detecting skills" and "hiring the right talent", and "retaining the talent". Using broader, human-based success metrics to measure employee performance adds a human touch to the ever-changing digital workspace.
Final Thoughts
The rise of AI has caused irrational fear in people. Employees are confronted with alarmist headlines every day that AI will replace them. 1 in 4 employees deal with job uncertainty because of AI. Organizations can survive the perpetually transforming digital workplace by maintaining employee commitment. When organizations include employees in the transformative journey, they need to initially focus on "Why are we using the new technology?" rather than focusing on "How to use the new technology?". Organizations need to infuse technology into their work without losing sight of the people who are asked to change the way they work.