IT in the changing world of work

The Digital Employee Experience (DEX) is becoming a critical issue. This is the result of a study on the transformation of the working world by Nexthink in Germany, France, England and the USA. A total of 1000 IT experts were surveyed. The results show: Around a quarter of their working time is currently focused on DEX-related requirements. One-third of their working time is of a strategic nature - which includes collaboration with HR - and 40 percent is spent on general IT operations.

Change in the world of work as a question of the IT experience

From the results of the survey conducted by the independent market research institute Vanson Bourne Nexthink study it becomes clear that it is important to create solutions that support employee collaboration and productivity - i.e., the IT experience or the digital employee experience as a whole is what counts. Merely providing IT equipment is no longer enough. This is a development that was already evident before the pandemic. In fact, all study participants believe that IT plays a critical or important role in ensuring "flow" in the workplace, i.e., a productive, disruption-free workflow.

The areas of responsibility are also shifting significantly, with IT and HR becoming more intertwined. According to the IT experts surveyed from Germany, before the pandemic, responsibility for jobs lay primarily with HR (40%), or HR and IT in combination (39%). In the meantime, IT has gained considerably in importance in this area. Today, only twelve percent see HR as having sole responsibility here. In five years, i.e. in 2027, this figure will drop to four percent. 43 percent assume that corporate IT will then assume the leading role in the design and provision of workplaces, while 53 percent expect IT and HR to act together. After all, 94 percent of respondents from Germany, whose work culture is probably closest to that in Switzerland, are convinced that a location-independent work environment is more efficient if it is essentially designed by IT.

IT as the key to employee retention

Even requirements that were previously assigned exclusively to HR, such as employee well-being and satisfaction, are now increasingly being addressed by IT: 20 percent see IT in the leading role here, 38 percent IT and HR together. In addition, according to 92 percent of respondents from Germany, IT has a key position in retaining qualified employees and counteracting the critical issue of "great resignation" or the "great wave of resignations". 98 percent say a comfortable remote work environment improves employee retention. Compared to other countries, the UK has the lowest level of support for this at 89 percent.

This means HR and IT will have to find ways to cooperate closely - also in communicating with employees. This collaboration has been developing on several levels for some time, and new areas of responsibility have come to IT in the past five years: 27 percent from Germany, for example, said that they had carried out HR-related projects as IT experts, while 44 percent support communication platforms for employees. There are definitely differences in the countries surveyed when it comes to this topic: In France, significantly more IT experts (33 percent) said they had carried out HR-related projects, while the USA and the UK were significantly lower at 18 percent.

Safe and trouble-free is the motto

IT also seems to be clear: pure office workplaces are largely a thing of the past. 48 percent said that in five years' time, workplaces will be predominantly virtual for location-independent working. Only eight percent still see workplaces purely on-site in the company in the future.

As expected, security still plays the most important role in remote working at 26 percent (France 29%, UK 23%), but the challenge of developing the necessary tools for location-independent working is almost equally important at 22 percent (USA and UK 17%, France 19%). One in five IT experts sees a particular challenge in guaranteeing employees a trouble-free working environment. This is because, according to the unanimous opinion of 83 percent, IT disruptions are perceived as more serious in remote working than in the office.

IT demands more support

The fact that, according to the study participants surveyed, the management of remote and hybrid working will play an increasingly important role in corporate IT today and in the future is not surprising. IT experts are becoming increasingly important for companies that offer flexible working environments. But - and this is surprising - this realization has not yet reached all companies. When asked what would help them as IT professionals with their challenges for flexible workplace environments, most (57 percent) mentioned this aspect: more recognition and awareness of their role and responsibilities. This is true for all countries surveyed. In second place (51%) was the desire for investment in additional tools and software, closely followed by better support from managers (49%), more time for these tasks (48%) and training (45%).

Conclusion: IT and HR must go hand in hand for the transformation of the working world

IT experts in companies are aware of their significantly expanded role for strategic HR requirements. They see themselves as proactive designers of the future of work, and thus one of their central areas of responsibility is to support and further develop employee satisfaction and loyalty with an optimal IT experience of the digital working environment. To do this, however, they need not only additional technical tools and time, but also the backing of management - which still seems to be lacking in many cases.

Source: Nexthink