According to the Malakoff Médéric annual study published in April 2017, employee engagement continues to fall, with 19% of respondents believing they’re "just putting in time" at work, compared with 9% in 2009. The reason is a very strong expectation in terms of recognition, paired with a sense of lack of autonomy.
In this context, the digital transformation is a real opportunity … provided it combines both technological and cultural revolutions within the company! Telework is an emblematic example of this upheaval; representing both a true mark of confidence on the part of the company and meeting French workers’ desire for greater flexibility and freedom. So, it should be developed, especially since the recent evolution of the legislative framework in its favour (orders of 22 September 2017).
But there can be no teleworking without a digital workspace! In practical terms, processes that were previously manual have to be transformed into applications accessible from any device and any network. The key for employees is more simplicity and less administrative tasks. Companies also have to provide collaboration tools that everyone accepts, in order to share files and work collectively on documents easily, but also to limit the risk of isolation, which is perceived as the major disadvantage of teleworking (65% of French employees1). Chat applications, video conference solutions and business social networks are now a part of employees’ daily lives. When considering what employees want, we also need to consider the choice of terminals that are assigned to them. Uses and image are becoming essential criteria, as important – or even more important – than the cost and technical performance of the devices themselves. Any mobile fleet deployment project not taking this aspect into account is likely to be rejected by users, thus reducing the expected return on investment considerably.
So, these are the main hardware aspects of the digital workspace. On the cultural transformation side, managers have to learn to trust, and employees have to learn to manage their new freedom… a change that’s likely to take time!
1According to the same Malakoff Médéric study
