Money is no longer the only, even the primary, motivator for many individuals. With companies still struggling to attract and retain talent, it is now essential to recognise a shift in employee values from remuneration to purpose, engagement and the flexibility enabled by a great digital workplace experience. As CHROs wrestle with changing employee motivations and CIOs face the challenge of delivering the high-quality, unique employee digital experiences that facilitate these new expectations. So how can businesses ensure a healthy and productive hybrid workforce supported by an optimal employee experience?

Digital Workplace
Three years ago, employees spent just 20% to 30% of time working digitally. Today, 60% to 90% of their time is digital. This is a colossal change; one that has not only unleashed new flexibility and inspired new work/life expectations for employees but also provided businesses globally with a greater recognition of the power of technology.

The implications of this digital shift are very significant. For any business, the availability of a high quality, reliable digital workplace is now as fundamental as the ability to make the payroll run each month. At a time of widespread employee choice, there is zero tolerance for an inadequate digital experience, especially when it constrains an employee’s broader ideas about purpose and engagement.

The shift to a digital workplace has played a key role in evolving employee expectations. Individuals are no longer motivated primarily by salary, bonus and career development opportunities. Instead, many employees now prioritise purpose over pay. The vast majority don’t want to be in the office five days a week – for any salary. Instead, people are seeking purpose, freedom, engagement and the flexibility enabled by a reliable, high quality digital environment. This is a profound change and one that will require a significant shift in approach, from both people leaders and IT leaders if a business is to deliver the new employee value proposition (EVP).

Common Language
The quality of digital experience now impacts every part of the EVP. Any investment in defining the purpose of providing employee well-being can become quickly worthless if employees are struggling with digital friction. This is not, however, just a technology issue. Nor is the change in employee expectations just an HR issue. Every employee’s digital workplace experience will be unique – and that means both people leaders and IT leaders must work together to understand not just ‘technology problems’ but what such issues mean to an individual at a subjective, human level.

Close collaboration between HR and IT teams is essential if businesses are to close the loop and deliver the optimal EVP. This is a once-in-a-generation change, and ensuring both IT and HR are committed to the same objective will require deep collaboration and a set of goals based on a common business-oriented language. It is no longer sufficient for IT to simply make infrastructure and applications available for use; instead IT needs to understand how the performance and usability of their entire digital ecosystem affects the well-being, equality, inclusion, diversity, productivity and flexibility of each individual employee.

There is a direct parallel with the Customer Experience (CX) evolution over the past decade. Initially an IT measure of web site responsiveness, the concept has become far more human, tangible and relevant since it has been co-opted by the Chief Marketing Officer. Now CX is a key measure of business success. That process took 10 years, however; in today’s hybrid world, where talent is scarce, CIOs and CHROs do not have 10 years, or even five years. The pressure is on to perfect the digital workplace now because, when there are so many opportunities available, employees can and will walk away from an employer that fails to meet their expectations for purpose and flexibility.

Conclusion
The use of digital technology will continue to provide freedom for employees. It goes without saying that the key to business innovation and success is happy, motivated, and engaged employees. However, we need to intentionally build purpose into the work we assign to employees in order to inspire them to perform at their best.

In an era where businesses are embracing a hybrid, digital existence and managing culture, employees and their care more effectively, it is increasingly important to close the loop between technology and people by proactively investing in both a digital workplace and employee management that is more deliberate than ever before.