20% of businesses are ready for workplace transformation
Tech Trends · Apr 15, 2019
In association with IDC, we surveyed more than 200 Canadian medium-sized businesses about their perspectives on and experiences with workplace transformation. We published our findings in the Workplace Transformation Study: Aligning People, Process and Technology in the Digital Era study.
Here’s some of what we discovered:
There are a lot of great opportunities that come with workplace transformation, but many medium-sized businesses aren’t prepared properly to capture them.
Medium-sized businesses that anticipated the change and embraced it proactively are seeing results, but those who did not act swiftly enough risk getting left behind.
If you’re looking to transform your workplace so you can move at the speed of customer demand, it’s important to know where you are, where you want to go and what needs to be done to get there.
The study provides an accurate pulse on the reality of workplace transformation within Canadian medium-sized businesses. Leveraging the statistics and analysis, you’ll be able to:
Identify whether you are a skeptic, beginner, implementer or leader and what opportunities, challenges and risks are associated with your stage of maturity
Get a better sense of your competition’s maturity and how you can keep pace or eclipse them
Progress your transformation based on expert advice and recommendations
Recognize yourself?
The Workplace Transformation Model (showcased in the study) breaks down medium-sized businesses into four categories based on the steps that they have already taken (preparation) and their planned intentions (action). It’s a great tool to help you identify your current level of maturity and what you need to do to advance.
Skeptics: lack awareness, are uncertain about or choose to ignore the change happening around them.
Beginners: plotting their transformations with foundational strategies and solutions.
Implementers: progressing through their transformations and now contemplating more sophisticated capabilities to complement a strong foundation.
Leaders: transformations are well underway, delivering tangible improvements to critical capabilities.
Areas of investment
Workplace transformation happens effectively when there is an equal emphasis of effort, attention and investment on three key pillars:
People: giving employees the tools to work where, when and how they are most effective.
Process: making sure that these new ways of working are consistent, efficient and automated as much as possible.
Technology: using collaboration, cloud, mobility and automation innovation (i.e. AI, 5G and IoT) to further advance the activity of work and the processes supporting it.
The revelations
What are you going to learn about workplace transformation that you didn’t know before?
People
There is a current skills shortage and significant demographic changes on the horizon. Businesses are making investments that focus on positioning employees most effectively to respond. Those businesses that have anticipated the trend and invested proactively (including upping their reliance on third party expertise) are best positioned to overcome any obstacles associated with the skills gap.
Process
When improving or adding a capability, it’s vital to invest in the process that supports it as well. Investments in IT, network and mobile infrastructure make medium-sized businesses feel more confident in their level of preparedness.
Technology
Technology investments that drive results motivate additional investments. Collaboration has been and continues to be a significant area of investment driving tangible results. Many medium-sized businesses recognize how important it is to support their transforming collaboration capabilities with a solid foundation spanning IT, network and security.
