DEX business benefits: What to expect from the digital employee experience

We’ve been told that DEX can offer endless opportunities, but what effect does it have on a business? For those who are focusing on implementing a seamless employee experience into their digital workplace, what benefits should they be receiving?

Our working behaviors have changed dramatically in the past few decades. Long commutes, endless paper files, siloed departments, and rigid work hours have been replaced by something a lot more fluid. Working from home, digital tools, the ability to reach out to people on a global scale, and flexible working have made all our working lives a little bit easier. On the other hand, it also means we’re working harder and faster than ever before.

This is why our digital experience matters more than ever. It is this experience that allows us to keep abreast of the breakneck speed of workplace changes and enables accuracy, innovation, and new opportunities.

DEX benefit #1: Improves workforce productivity

Every business strives for higher levels of productivity, but many are failing to achieve it. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps the offices are difficult to get to, meaning a lengthy and time-consuming commute. Maybe the tools available to staff are not efficient, requiring employees to use workarounds and spend time fixing problems. In some situations, the workplace culture is such that staff morale is low, and the determination to work hard is non-existent. Unproductivity can come in a range of guises but boils down to the same thing: something is preventing your employees from giving it their all.

What the digital employee experience can do is identify where the weak areas of the business lie. 

Commuting: In theory, the commute no longer exists. Remote working has seen a massive increase over the past few years. This is primarily due to the digital workplace enabling access to work, whether you’re in the office, at home, or on the move. Workers can now set up their working environment in the home, allowing them unprecedented flexibility.

Tools: Repetitive and mundane tasks are still the scourge of the office worker. But in the 21st century, there is no need to have large parts of the working day taken up by mundane tasks like these. There are digital tools available to automate or speed up jobs, and even supply extra data to improve decision-making.

HR: When the workplace culture is negative, it is like an enormous emergency stop button has been pressed on the organization. Staff morale can be all-encompassing, leading to apathy and departures. The digital workplace, however, can provide pulse surveys, employ staff recognition schemes and information platforms to keep employees updated and informed.

DEX benefit #2: Greater employee retention

High employee turnover can have a drastic impact on a business, both culturally and financially. In fact, losing a highly-skilled member of staff has been calculated to cost a business around £30,000. Hiring costs, onboarding, training, and loss of productivity can make a huge dent on a company’s bottom line. Account disruptions, delays in processes, and the impact on colleagues can also be significant.

So, how can you reduce turnover and avoid the massive costs of recruitment and a negative effect on staff? The answer is complex, and while it’s impossible to keep every individual onboard, the digital experience of a business’s employees can play a significant role in keeping staff churn low. 

Reduced frustration: Taking a look at the average day of a member of staff may give senior-level some insight into what isn’t working. Outdated tech, inefficient tools, and toxic working environments can all be improved through DEX and the use of pulse surveys, anonymous feedback, and a review of the digital tools on offer.

Strengthened relationships: DEX creates a more open, transparent workplace, where colleagues all over the world can connect and work together. This globalized reach helps to solve problems quicker, encourage friendships, and creates a stronger community: when these things are enabled, it removes many of the obstacles that workers face day-to-day.

Training and development: Businesses with the lowest employee turnover are more than likely to implement training and education programs. Employees want to feel invested in, and this has never been easier to fulfill that with a digital workplace. With the right software, you can create online learning environments, track progress, and help employees develop.

DEX benefit #3: Securing talent

How does a business evolve? Getting the most talented workers through the doors certainly enables long term growth. With the current skills shortage, this has never been more prevalent. Organizations are battling with each other to secure the most talented workers available, and while employee perks and generous salaries are undoubtedly attractive, businesses need to think more long term.

Recruitment: The emergence of increasingly sophisticated digital tools has transformed modern recruitment. Machine learning is now well-used automation that cuts down the lengthy CV process. Prescriptive analytics should, in theory, mean that those hired are more suited, and more likely to stay long term.

Access: A globalized reach and the gig economy have both contributed to organizations having unmitigated access to talent. Now, if a project needs extra support, businesses can call upon the help of freelancers, contractors, and micro-businesses located anywhere in the world. This is an invaluable resource, particularly when time and budgets don’t extend to recruiting full-time staff.

Ease: To secure the best talent means that you have to provide a workplace that is suited to what they need. This means making sure your digital ecosystem works across all departments and has systems that enable effective communication, connections, and collaboration. A digital workplace that is open to introducing the best and latest tools is key in this instance.

DEX benefit #4: Better levels of innovation

Innovation is crucial to the long-term success of an organization. In order to survive the fast-moving sands of business in the 21st century, it needs to be able to adapt and transform itself alongside the market. This is a mean feat for the most advanced company, but the digital workplace has created a space where innovation can happen more efficiently than ever before. 

Innovation in business falls into two categories: solving existing problems and flashes of genius, which add value and change the way the company operates for the better. DEX enables innovation by providing a workplace that promotes clarity, trust, and communication. It’s important to remember that everyone can innovate, and the digital workplace has made it easier to do it.

Removing silos: Expertise can lie in the most unlikely areas of the business. You may have someone fluent in German who is in an admin role who can play a major part in project management. Traditionally, departments were siloed with little overlapping. The digital workplace allows individuals to connect to other colleagues regardless of department – allowing more knowledge sharing and problem-solving.

Collaboration: In a globalized market, businesses would miss out on major opportunities by being unable to work with colleagues on different continents. Now, with an always-on digital workplace, translation tools, and an array of communication platforms, collaboration – regardless of language, location, and time zone – is easier than ever before.

Communication: The digital workplace has given us an array of communication platforms. Want a quick chat with a colleague in another location? Get on Slack. An online discussion with your department? Microsoft Teams. Want to tell the whole organization about some news? Company intranet. This range of comms methods means ideas can be swapped and shared whenever inspiration strikes.

When it’s well managed, one of the benefits of an intranet for the digital workplace is that it encourages staff to reach out to colleagues regardless of location, and introduce a fluidity in their working that has never previously been able to exist. But of course, this all depends on building an affinity between your workforce and the digital tools it uses.

With DEX, management can focus on building a cohesive relationship between tech and the workforce. By meeting employee expectations, creating a human-centric working environment, and catering to the four generations currently in the workplace, businesses will be able to make sure every individual’s interactions with technology are designed to benefit the worker. And when the worker’s experience is enhanced, productivity is increased, the customer journey is improved, and business thrives.