Stratascale Horizon Report #23 - Workplace Experience Management As digital transformation continues to evolve, IT leaders must build up technology, product, service, and experience management capabilities that... Stratascale Horizon Report Digital Experience & Automation (Vol. 6) Workplace Experience Management Executive Summary As digital transformation continues to evolve, IT leaders must build up technology, product, service, and experience management capabilities that support a work-from-anywhere business environment. Digitally agile businesses—and the talent they hope to attract—require efficient, flexible, consumer-quality workplace experiences. To attract top talent and remain competitive, organizations must go beyond traditional end-user computing to develop a digital employee experience strategy that supports both its employees and its business objectives. Background: Work-from-Anywhere Requires Strong Workplace Experience Management Modern end-user computing is core to delivering business-critical digital workplace experiences Exceptional Businesses Require Exceptional Workplace Experiences IT delivered quickly during the pandemic, but long-term challenges remain Many organizations view traditional end-user computing as a cost center, though reality tells a different story. Failing to prioritize end-user computing leads to long technology refresh periods and other decisions to reduce the spend on IT, despite research that shows skimping does not make business sense. The pandemic, and the global move to online activities and work, spurred organizations to think differently. Here’s a quick review: In the pandemic, IT rose to the moment IT teams successfully delivered technology to remote employees at the start of the pandemic. Despite the chaotic situation, IT adapted quickly through sheer force, long hours, and manual work. Your business continued to operate. Some things are working Many employees have embraced remote work. From the employer side, you may find that allowing staff to work from anywhere increases their productivity and agility while creating better employee experiences. Employees now have consumer-grade expectations. They want to choose their own devices, have access to all the applications and data they need, and get fast incident resolution when something goes awry. Take actions now for long-term success Your “quick and dirty” solutions must stand the test of time, or you risk something inferior coming in to replace them. The IT management piece inherently intersects with application delivery, services, business goals, and even corporate culture. A holistic workplace experience management program helps you efficiently manage your company’s technology to reduce business risk, enable productivity, and deliver remarkable digital employee experiences. Digital Employee Experience DEX helps frame technology management from the employee perspective Digital Employee Experience (DEX) is an interdisciplinary approach that helps IT leaders manage their organization’s employee experiences across technology, product, service, and experience layers. DEX has evolved significantly over recent years. As companies went digital during the pandemic, many realized that expensive, high-quality devices, computers, and infrastructure are not luxuries but rather the foundations of a modern enterprise. Whereas companies used to rely on face-to-face, built environment experiences (like offices with nice cafeterias and ping pong tables) to attract talent, digital experiences are the new draw for prospective candidates. When it comes to day-to-day happiness, the usability of employee tools leads directly to productivity and job satisfaction, while frustrating applications, outdated machines, and poorly designed infrastructure create needless friction and aggravation. Many companies are pursuing digital transformation efforts to build the culture needed for modern enterprises to operate in this new model of work. At the heart of this transformation: creating positive experiences between employees and the technology they use for hours on end. IT leaders at companies that have already invested in digital employee experiences recently shared some of their positive results: A creative agency improved communication both with clients and among remote employees. A healthcare organization developed a clear roadmap that streamlined technology decisions. A sports team ensured new technology was integrated with familiar tools, saving both time and money on training. Source: Creating a better digital employee experience: 5 lessons from 5 IT leaders, Dialpad Opportunity: The Importance of Workplace Experience Management The pandemic may have caused it, but digital acceleration continues Digital Acceleration Is Redefining the Future of Work We are not going back to "normal" Key takeaways from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services research (sponsored by Workday) on “How Digital Acceleration is Redefining the Future of Work” reveal that business leaders see an increased need for managing workplace experiences (emphasis added): The pandemic exposed the importance of never slowing down and staying on the competitive edge with technology. The overarching lesson from the pandemic regarding digital acceleration is success requires that culture, technology, and employee experience be viewed as interdependent and mutually supportive. The firms that were on the leading edge of digital maturity not only survived but thrived by creating a caring digitally-driven workplace. Business organizations will need to keep up the pace of digital acceleration that the pandemic helped drive. The goal of continued acceleration is to provide a workplace prepared for the future of work, especially the types of user experiences that [meet] worker expectations. Creating this workplace will lead to higher productivity, efficiency and growth. Source: Digital Acceleration Redefines the Future of Work, HBR Digital Acceleration Continues Digital experience management creates business value Here’s how business executives have handled digital acceleration: Source: Digital Acceleration Redefines the Future of Work, HBR Companies with advanced interdisciplinary management of digital employee experiences report the following benefits over companies offering basic end-user computing: Source: Digital Employee Experience Maturity Enables the Future of Anywhere Work, Forrester Solution: Managing Technology in Context Your workplace experience management strategy spans technology, products, services, experiences, and change A Framework for Workplace Experience Management Computers, devices, and operating systems provide the technology layer that underlies all workplace experiences. IT has always managed end-user computing, but now the task requires extra measures to ensure you have the time and resources to address employee needs while also meeting business goals. These added complexities require a multi-layered management structure. Organizations must manage experiences across technology, products, and services. Product management ensures that application features are delivered on time and that organizations build (or buy) the right product in the first place. Services encompass software products along with the digital and face-to-face interactions and business processes that support them. In our fast-paced world of digital transformation, technology, product, service, and experience management all happen within the context of change management. Change managers provide the organizational change strategy and ensure that organizations adopt the right technology. This framework will help you execute your digital employee experience strategy. Framework for Managing Workplaces Technology Management End-user computing is at the core As employees work from a greater variety of places, they face a growing need for different types of devices for different purposes. The end-user computing manager’s job goes beyond ensuring the security of employees’ endpoint devices. Managers must also ensure that employees can access business applications and feel comfortable using the hardware. While IT manages the technical side of applications, business stakeholders manage the requirements. This demands strong collaboration since the users just want the layers of technology to work. Provisioning devices based on general business roles such as “office worker” and “sales traveler” might have been useful in the past, but those days are behind us. The future of end-user computing requires a more refined understanding of employees’ multifaceted needs. Product, Service, Experience, and Change Management It's all about the people and processes To succeed, IT managers must work with product, service, experience, and change managers. Let’s start with products. Consider the applications employees use to create business value. Managers can view these as products tied to business outcomes and manage them accordingly. Product managers ensure that features are delivered on time, but also ensure that their organization is building or buying the right product in the first place. More and more, managers are applying modern product management practices from the start-up and consumer worlds to the internal products that employees use every day. A service desk, for example, is just as important for IT to manage as the devices, although such supportive services are often underfunded and poorly managed. Think of services as a collection of products, and products as a collection of technology. Each layer requires its own individual management, but you must also manage everything holistically. Experience managers must constantly look “outside-in” from the employee’s point-of-view, resolving issues no matter what layer triggers them and filling gaps between the layers disrupting a user’s experiences. For an organization to remain competitive, it must constantly evolve. To create affordable, easy-to-use, and delightful technology, managers must first understand what makes people tick. Change management—as both a strategic objective and profession—must be part of the picture. Example: Employee Onboarding Mapping your management strategy with the framework Use this framework as a “canvas” to help map relationships and dependencies across all workplace elements. Say you want to improve end-user computers for new hires. On whom will you need to depend? With whom will you need to collaborate? Identify these people ahead of time. When all the pieces work together, new hires will say they had a “delightful” experience joining your organization. Many small details, like sending their computer, a company T-shirt, and a signed welcome letter from the CEO together in the same box, will go a long way toward employee satisfaction. Digital Employee Experience Strategy Questions to help you determine where you are and where you want to go It’s easy to say that IT leaders need a DEX strategy. But what exactly does this strategy entail? Our framework will help you answer DEX questions at a high level. Considerations: Understand Your Business Goals and Maturity Level Digital employee experience capabilities need to grow over time Digital Transformation Goals Drive Experience Management Approaches Business goals, in addition to IT needs, should drive a Workplace Experience Management program. Consider the changes that your business leaders find important. To the right you’ll find some of the top changes from a Harvard Business Review survey. Security and new technology partners may be high on IT’s list, but you may need to invest more in culture change and technology integration. Top Changes Needed, According to Business Leaders Source: Digital Acceleration Redefines the Future of Work, HBR Basic and Advanced Practices Consider where you are and where you want to go next At the basic level, IT excels at end-user computing, managing technology, automating operations, and freeing up time for employees to tackle more advanced business challenges. Advanced digital employee experience practices go beyond these basics to help ensure positive business outcomes. DEX Practice Area Basic Advanced Monitoring Track telemetry data across the IT stack (devices, applications, and user identities). Track digital experience scores (based on employee behavior) and link to business outcomes. Security and compliance Enforce device compliance. Understand end-user behavior that drives poor endpoint hygiene, inhibits patching, and makes it harder to deal with threats. Remediation and automation Support self-service for incident resolution. Design innovative self-service solutions such as chatbots to encourage employees to manage their own devices efficiently. Operating model and integration Establish activity-based metrics based on service-level agreements (SLAs), such as the time it takes to deploy a new device. Develop outcome-based metrics based on experience-level agreements (XLAs), such as employee productivity with the new device. Source: Digital Employee Experience Maturity Enables the Future of Anywhere Work, Forrester Recommendations: Technology + People and Process Manage your technology first, then expand with business integration Recommendations for Technology Management Develop an end-user computing program focused on digital experiences Appoint and empower a workplace experience manager Large organizations should have a dedicated workplace experience manager, not just a side position for the end-user computing staff. Modern IT departments integrate with the business in this way. Incorporate user research into your strategy When determining device requirements, consider users beyond the simple org-chart buckets like “office worker,” “road warrior,” and “VIP.” Perform deep user research to understand how different employees use technology, such as what applications they require and how they work virtually. This will generate a more nuanced view of end-user needs, allowing you to deliver more customized solutions. For instance, a “data diver” needs bigger screens while a “meeting maven” needs a high-quality camera and microphone. Do a trial with a high-value end-to-end experience A lot of companies use employee onboarding as their first attempt to holistically manage workplace experiences. This focus lets you try new things on a smaller scale while still providing immediate business value. Report on the value gained: Did you shorten the onboarding process or increase new employee engagement? Focus on value, not cost Continuously ask questions about cost to determine the optimal investments. For some departments, increased productivity will outweigh the cost of faster infrastructure, larger devices, or easier-to-use applications. Explore capital expense vs. operational expense options. Show business value for each technology decision. Recommendations for Business Integration Manage IT assets through a people, process, and technology lens Capability People Process Technology Products Train teams in product management and the basics of user experience. Adopt modern product management best practices to operationalize a focus on delivering value. Integrate tools that incorporate user feedback directly into the product management lifecycle. Services Collaborate with user experience teams and service designers. Design services across all touchpoints. Implement an algorithm to find service tickets with straight-forward and low-risk solutions and then automate the fixes. Experiences Build up a community of practice that shares stories from users and builds empathy. Pick a specific step in your employees’ journey, such as onboarding, and partner with HR to pilot new ideas. Automate data collection on technology tool usage so you can personalize experiences and improve adoption. Change Develop a training program to align with technology rollouts and ensure users have the necessary skills. Measure progress along change management goals, such as end user adoption, and alter plans accordingly. Build a dashboard that combines endpoint device status with adoption goals. Summary and Conclusion Summary and Conclusion High-performing organizations realize that defining, designing, and delivering exceptional workplace experiences can create a competitive advantage. Top talent expects top-notch work experiences, and satisfied employees work better. Productivity increases. Innovation and creativity flourish. Profits increase, and overall costs go down. Organizations can only achieve this by focusing on creating overall value, instead of optimizing for isolated cost-savings. IT managers can do this by establishing a digital employee experience strategy that integrates with product, service, experience, and change management initiatives. Did you find this report helpful? Yes No Related Research Related Research Horizon Report Cloud Ascension (Vol. 6) Virtual Desktops, DaaS, and the Future of Work 6 Ways User Experience Should Lead Your Digital Transformation Horizon Report Cybersecurity (Vol. 2) Zero Trust Series (Device Assurance) About Stratascale About Stratascale Stratascale is an SHI Company, one of the world’s most successful technology resellers and solutions providers. Stratascale brings a consultancy-first approach to helping Fortune 1000 organizations embrace the cloud, adopt automation, improve cybersecurity, implement digital experiences, and leverage data intelligence. The Horizon Report The Horizon Report is a periodic publication providing practical advice to business and technology leaders. Stratascale's Innovation Labs team publishes reports around the key capabilities required for organizations to achieve Digital Agility: Cybersecurity, Data Intelligence, Digital Experience & Automation, and Hybrid Cloud. Innovation Labs Innovation Labs is the R&D and advisory division of Stratascale. Learn more about Innovation Labs. Horizon Briefings Innovation Labs Research and Technical Advisory teams provide leaders with actionable insights and practical advice to make strategic technology investments. Learn more about Horizon Briefings. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email HorizonReport@Stratascale.com Contributors and References KEITH INSTONE Keith has 25 years of experience as a user experience consultant, information architect, and usability specialist. As the Digital Experience Lead Research Analyst at Stratascale, he studies technology trends to help people envision new experiences and understand the processes, tools, and systems required to deliver innovative user experiences. Follow Keith on LinkedIn DEREK SHANK Derek is head of research at Stratascale's Innovation Labs. Throughout his career—from academia to personal finance to IT research—he has focused on uncovering insights and helping people put those insights to good use. Follow Derek on LinkedIn Works Cited: Experience Management “Digital Employee Experience Maturity Enables the Future of Anywhere Work.” Forrester. Sep. 2021. Download at www.1e.com/resources/report/the-digital-employee-experience-dex-report/ “How Digital Acceleration is Redefining the Future of Work.” Harvard Business Review. Dec. 22, 2021. Webinar. hbr.org/sponsored/2021/12/how-digital-acceleration-is-redefining-the-future-of-work-webinar “How Digital Acceleration is Redefining the Future of Work.” Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. Dec. 15, 2021. Webinar summary. hbr.org/resources/pdfs/webinars/HBRAS_20211215_Workday_HowDigitalAccelerationIsRedefiningtheFutureOfWork.pdf Lau, Grace. “Creating a better digital employee experience: 5 lessons from 5 IT leaders.” Dialpad. Oct. 22, 2021. www.dialpad.com/blog/digital-employee-experience/ Lenane, Hannah. “What is Digital Employee Experience (DEX)?” 1E. Oct. 5, 2021. www.1e.com/news-insights/blogs/what-is-digital-employee-experience-dex/ Works Cited: Experience Management Poisson, Lindsey. “Digital Employee Experience: What You Need to Know about DEX.” Lakeside Software. June 12, 2020. www.lakesidesoftware.com/blog/digital-employee-experience-what-you-need-know-about-dex “Study Shows CIOs Near Top, CHROs at Bottom of Digital Champion List.” Workday. Aug. 27, 2021. blog.workday.com/en-us/2021/study-shows-cios-near-top-chros-bottom-of-digital-champion-list.html “The Digital Employee Experience: The Complete Guide.” Digital Adoption. Nov. 18, 2019. www.digital-adoption.com/digital-employee-experience/ “The State of Digital Employee Experience.” Nextthink. www.nexthink.com/state-of-digital-employee-experience/ “Virtual Employees: An Employee Experience (EX) Case Study.” Ultimate Software. Download at www.ultimatesoftware.com/Contact/virtual-employees-hcm-case-study Young, Jane. “The Role of a Workplace Experience Manager: Defined.” Smartway2. Aug. 24, 2021. smartway2.com/blog/workplace-experience-manager/ Works Cited: IT Management Barber, Victoria. “Taking a human-centric approach to hybrid work and return-to-office.” SHI. Nov. 12, 2021. blog.shi.com/something-for-the-weekend/return-to-office-remote-or-hybrid-work-human-centric/ “Build an End-User Computing Strategy.” Info-Tech Research Group. www.infotech.com/research/ss/build-an-end-user-computing-strategy Dyer, Lauren. “4 steps to delivering a modern end-user experience.” SHI. Aug. 19, 2021. blog.shi.com/business-of-it/4-steps-to-delivering-a-modern-end-user-experience/ “Gearing your ITAM program for a world of hybrid everything.” SHI. Sep. 16, 2021. blog.shi.com/business-of-it/gearing-your-itam-program-for-a-world-of-hybrid-everything/ Levy, Carmi. “ICYMI: Did you miss SHI’s Fall Executive Forum? We’ve got video!” SHI. Nov. 18. 2021. blog.shi.com/cybersecurity/icymi-did-you-miss-shis-fall-executive-forum-weve-got-video/ Price, Hannah. “What Exactly Are XLAs and How Do You Use Them?” ITSM.tools. June 19, 2018. itsm.tools/what-exactly-are-xlas-and-how-do-you-use-them/ “SHI’s Guide to Adoption & Change Management.” SHI. Aug. 17, 2021. blog.shi.com/digital-workplace/shis-guide-to-adoption-change-management/ “Standardize the Service Desk.” Info-Tech Research Group. www.infotech.com/research/ss/standardize-the-service-desk “Ten questions to ask about IT Assets and new hire onboarding.” Oomnitza. www.oomnitza.com/2020/06/19/10-questions-to-ask-about-it-assets-and-new-hire-onboarding/
