Most companies are talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes to giving employees the tools and technology to thrive in today’s post-pandemic world.* 

While 83 percent of all companies in the post-pandemic era are confident they’ve found the right balance in terms of people-first work models like hybrid or remote working, the reality is different altogether – according to Avanade’s global research of 2,100 business leaders in 15 countries (250 of which are based in the UK). 

 Almost everyone (99 percent in the UK) said that their business was taking steps to improve their employees’ workplace experience. Furthermore, 87 percent in the UK also claimed their business had embraced (or piloted) hybrid or remote working. In reality, though, workers are being let down by a lack of technology, security and flexibility, according to the survey respondents:   

• 54 percent in the UK said they have not provided their employees with genuine choice about when or where they work 
• 64 percent in the UK said they were yet to enable employees to more easily access the tools and applications they need to work seamlessly from anywhere 
• 53 percent in the UK have not adopted cloud-based platforms for knowledge sharing 

• 52 percent in the UK do not have a security model that enables all employees to work securely wherever they’re based  

“The signal from our research is loud and clear,” said Veit Siegenheim, Avanade’s Modern Workplace lead. “Taking a holistic approach to the workplace experience is critical and benefits both businesses and their most important asset—their employees. The longer leaders delay taking action, the further they’ll fall behind and risk losing out, financially and in the war for talent.” 

Not delivering on their promises could be costing companies millions of dollars, according to the research, with respondents estimating an average 6.16 percent revenue growth in the UK from successfully implemented workplace experience programs (driven by a partnership between IT, HR and business leaders) over the last year. Based on the global participant company revenues, Avanade calculates the growth opportunity could range from $37 million and $6.5 billion USD. 

In addition to the financial rewards, Avanade’s research also showed that organisations embracing broader, more progressive workplace experience strategies in the last 12 months, have generated significant other benefits, both for their people and their business, including: 

• 6.44 percent average overall productivity improvement 
• 6.55 percent average increase in employee retention 
• 6.98 percent average increase in customer satisfaction scores 
• 6.37 percent average rise in stock market valuation 

• 6.01 percent average reduction in costs 

Over the long-term, 72 percent of the global workplace experience top-performers felt their organisations were prepared for the future of work, compared with only 33 percent of bottom performers. Similarly, 91 percent of top global performers are confident that their company has already achieved the right hybrid work approach, compared with just half of those trailing behind. 

*Reseach from Avanade