GEC NEWS WIRENew global research coming out of The Experience of Work: The Role of Technology in Productivity and Engagement, research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) with sponsorship from Citrix Systems finds companies that use technology to support new models for work and provide employees with tools that make working more efficient and meaningful can deliver a superior experience. This can in turn not only attract the people they need, but keep them engaged and productive, improving their business results.
It used to be that competitive salaries, benefits and career development initiatives were enough to find and keep talent. Today, these things are table stakes. To compete and win in the raging battle for talent, companies need to up their game and give employees what they really want: a simple and flexible way to get work done. Technology is a key driver of the modern employee experience.
“People today want the freedom to work when, where and how they want. And they expect things to be as easy as they are in their personal lives,” said Tim Minahan, executive vice president of strategy and chief marketing officer, Citrix. “To attract and retain talent in today’s tight labor market, companies need to rethink what “workplace” means and create digital environments that accommodate traditional, remote and gig workers and deliver the tools, and information they need to do their best work in a simple, unified way.”
Across geographies and industry sectors, many companies are recognizing – and proving—that a better employee experience can lead directly to improved business results.
According to Arthur Mazor, principal partner and HR transformation global practice leader at Deloitte, “Many organizations now see the ultimate objective of enhancing workforce experience to be the creation of new value in the market, by improving the customer experience and creating new opportunities for growth.”
The results of The Experience of Work confirm this. Of the more than 1,100 senior executives across industry sectors who participated in the survey,
- 36 percent cited enhancing customer experience and satisfaction as the top reason for improving employee experience, just behind productivity and employee engagement (40 percent)
- 31 percent listed profitability, and
- 30 percent called out talent retention.
Among the key enablers of strong employee engagement identified by respondents to The Experience of Work:
- Ease of access to information required to get work done (47 percent)
- Applications that are simple to use (39 percent)
- A consumer-like user experience (33 percent)
- Ability to work from anywhere (43 percent)
- Choice of devices (32 percent)
They say it takes a village to raise a child. And when it comes to creating a world-class employee experience, the IT and HR executives polled as part of The Experience of Work share this sentiment, with nearly identical numbers of each (74 percent and 75 percent, respectively) indicating they feel personally responsible for improving it.
Technology is resetting the boundaries for both where and how work gets done, and traditional models won’t cut it for long. “The future of work is dynamic and decentralized,” Tim Minahan said. “Businesses that can seamlessly shift their people and digital resources across workflows and put the right insights and information at employees’ fingertips can redefine what work means and engage their employees – and ultimately, their customers – in new ways that enhance their success.”
To learn more about the role that technology can play in shaping the employee experience, click here and download a complimentary copy of The Experience of Work: The Role of Technology in Productivity and Engagement. For more information on how Citrix can help you power a better way to work, visit www.citrix.com
