Meeting the challenge of hybrid working and digital inclusion

The Covid-19 crisis has indeed changed our relationship with work.

It has accelerated the digital transformation of companies by around 7 years(McKinsey). As a result of this acceleration, the gaps in digital usage have widened: there are those who have exploited the change in context to explore and progress (41%), those who have retained existing practices (27%) or those who have undergone changes generating negative effects (28%).(Lecko, state of the art 2021).

At the same time, the phenomenon of the "big resignation" is taking shape: 55% of people in employment in August 2021 intend to look for a new job in the next 12 months (Bankrate). A trend that seems to be spreading worldwide. To counter this wave, organizations need to focus more than ever on cultivating the engagement of all employees.

With Bastien Le Lann, Associate Director of Lecko, an internal digital transformation consultancy, we share our vision for countering this wave of disengagement in the world of work.

• What are the major changes taking place in companies today?
• What are the issues and risks involved in these fundamental changes to the way we work?
• What are the available levers for an inclusive and engaging digital transformation?

🎬 Discover the answers in video thanks to the replay of our intervention with Lecko at Chemins de l'innovation 2021 or by reading the article just below:

The most widely used communication tools must evolve

E-mail is still the most widely used collaboration tool in companies. Office staff are locked into e-mail and videoconferencing, while field staff mostly use cell phones to communicate. Digital Workplace is only at the bottom of the list of tools used in companies, with only 29% of respondents using it. 

Yet companies have increasingly important strategic digitalization objectives to engage all their employees in the face of the rise in telecommuting and hybrid working.

1 in 2 companies are in the process of scaling up or optimizing their digital transformation. They were less than 20% in 2017.

Gartner 2021

What are the issues and risks involved in fundamental changes to the way we work?

Moving away from the"all e-mail" approach means implementing digital collaboration tools. However, it's not enough to introduce new tools without accompanying the change. You can't"modernize without transforming", according to Bastien Le Lann, to avoid the digital divide and the disengagement of the least connected employees. 

Digital Workplaces and collaboration tools have proliferated in recent years, without necessarily integrating into employees' workflows: for a successful digital transformation, it's essential to understand the needs of your company's different employee profiles, in order to offer them the most appropriate solutions. We need to reconcile employees with their digital work environment, by integrating directly where they are, without multiplying tools.

The deskless workers and frontline managers need to be taken into account by the company's communications via tools already integrated into their daily lives. It's important to engage them as much as office staff, since they are the local relay for the company and its image.

What are the available levers for an inclusive and engaging digital transformation?

The first essential lever is a clear understanding of your employees' background: there are different degrees of digital maturity depending on their position and function within the company. The communication channel must therefore be adapted to each employee.

At SNCF TER Grand Est, non-connected field agents represent 50% of the total workforce, and only 40% of them felt well-informed. For this population, the communication screen is a local relay anchored in their daily lives, enabling them not to miss out on important information from head office.

For employees who work on a hybrid basis (a mix of telecommuting and face-to-face work), the challenge is to reach and engage them without necessarily knowing whether they're at home or in the office. To achieve this, Cenareo offers a multi-channel internal communications solution that pushes engaging messages onto physical screens AND onto the Digital Workplace already in place within the company (Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Slack...). 

"This is THE scenario for articulation with the existing work base environment. The data must then make it possible to monitor and measure the implementation of its tools to accelerate digitalization."

Bastien Le Lann, Lecko.

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