What is a Digital Workplace?

A digital workplace is an environment where employees have rapid access to all the digital tools they need to perform effectively, and it is always linked. These resources consist of files, data, and apps that are accessible at any time, from any place, and on any device.
Employees just need one environment to operate in a digital workplace because everything is centrally situated, eliminating the need for them to switch between apps to complete a single activity.

“A digital workplace seeks to empower workers to carry out their responsibilities regardless of where they are located. A digital workplace can be advantageous to both fully in-office and hybrid or remote organisations.

However, a digital workspace goes beyond simply being the virtual counterpart of an actual office. The creator of the contextual data platform Octaadsmedia, Abdulla khan, says that a digital workplace is more than just a collection of tools. It is the foundation that determines a team’s efficiency and culture.

All things considered, converting to digital helps you to automate monotonous work, revamp business procedures, and boost productivity.

Digital workplace benefits

The following are some advantages of setting up a digital workplace.

Increased employee satisfaction

Employees feel more at ease working remotely when they have access to data, tools, and applications from anywhere at any time of day. The use of digital workplaces may result in increased employee satisfaction.

Furthermore, better work-life balance and flexible scheduling can boost employee retention and draw in new talent. If forced to work in an office full-time, 77% of Gen Z and 75% of millennials who presently have remote or hybrid jobs would think about quitting their current employer, according to Deloitte.

Increased productivity

Employees can locate the information they require far more quickly in a digital workplace than in a non-digital one. Increased productivity results in happier workers as a result. A 2023 Coveo workplace survey states that 88% of workers experience demoralisation when they are unable to locate the knowledge they need to carry out their responsibilities.

Reduced operational costs

Giving workers the freedom to work from any location also lowers operating costs. Investing in a cloud-based digital workplace will save you money on office space and furniture and remove the need for costly hardware and on-premises server setup and maintenance. This frees up money that you can use for other aspects of your company.

Improved communication and collaboration

Employees may cooperate and communicate more successfully in a digital workplace by using platforms like Slack, Asana, and Skype for videoconferencing, document sharing, and instant messaging, regardless of how far away they are in the office.

This improved inter-employee communication is particularly significant because, as per a Microsoft survey, 60% of participants believed that their organisation ought to prioritise culture and communication more.

Digital teams, however, run the risk of losing trust and empathy. Employers must take the initiative to adopt best practices in communication, such as using numerous digital channels and responding promptly, and foster a sense of belonging among team members.

Digital workplace best practices

There are a number of things to think about when developing an efficient and successful digital workplace plan.

1.Assess your current work environment

You must assess your current workspace before launching a successful digital workplace transition.

You can determine what has to be altered, find holes in your IT stack, and comprehend the difficulties employees are now facing by performing a complete analysis of the current state of affairs.

Consider the following inquiries when you evaluate your workplace:

• Which technologies are presently in use?
• Do these technologies increase the output of my staff members?
• Which technology is most frequently used?
• Are our systems integrated?
• What are the gaps between the tools that employees have access to and their needs?
• Which user personas do we have? What specific use cases do they each have?

2.Define your goals

Clearly defining your goals is the next step after finishing your assessment.

This step entails responding to inquiries such as “What motivates you to redesign your workspace?” as well as “What do you hope to achieve?”

For example, improving existing procedures and raising employee engagement may be your main objectives when building a digital workplace.

You must develop key performance indicators (KPIs) at this phase in order to quantify and monitor progress made towards a certain objective. Selecting the best KPIs for your company is essential since they will offer insightful information about how well your digital workplace is performing and assist in directing decision-making for enhancements and optimisations.

3. Provide employee training

How will end users utilise the new technology to work more cooperatively and productively if they are unfamiliar with it?

Prioritise user education regarding the advantages of the digital workplace. This can be accomplished in a number of methods, such as through online tutorials, courses, tests, and how-to manuals.

To gain employee buy-in, you can also establish a network of “change champions,” or staff advocates. These people are well-liked by their colleagues and hold sway within the company. They are supposed to train others and serve as internal specialists.

4. Choose the right technology

Check out case studies or demos, speak with people in your network, or look for a technological solution that fits your business needs and digital transformation objectives. You don’t want to expedite the procedure because the new technology will take up a significant amount of your budget.

When choosing the best digital workplace solution, take into account the various digital proficiency levels of your team members.

Another important factor to consider is scalability; as your company expands, the platform you select should be able to handle the increasing demands on it.

5. Measure success and improve

Track and evaluate the KPIs you previously set in order to determine the success of your digital workplace activities. These KPIs may consist of:

• Net promoter score for employees (eNPS): This measure allows you to see exactly how your employees feel about your business. It uses a single, straightforward question: How likely, on a scale of one to ten, are you to recommend working for this organisation to others?
• Return on investment (ROI): The technology or instrument you have selected should yield a profit greater than the amount you have invested in it.
• Application adoption: The number of users who interact with a certain tool or application is measured by this statistic.

Digital workplace examples

The employee is the primary end user on the best digital workplace systems. Some of the best tools available are listed here.

MangoApps was founded in 2008 and has won numerous accolades. It presents itself as a platform for employee apps and an integrated intranet.

All of the necessary office operations, including task management, staff communication, intranet access, and training, are centralised with MangoApps. Additionally, it integrates with a wide range of technologies, including G Suite, Microsoft 365, and Slack.

What We Like:

• AI-powered chatbot to quickly address employee inquiries
• Mobile responsive
• Real-time analytics dashboard to gain insight into employee engagement levels
• 99.9% guaranteed SLA

Pricing: Monthly plans for those with fewer than 100 employees start at $12.

Workgrid

Workgrid seeks to modernise your current intranet, remove digital friction, and simplify work for employees. It can be integrated with your company systems, such as Microsoft Teams, Jira, Oracle Cloud HCM, and IT, HR, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.

It also provides Workshop, a no-code app builder that makes it simple to create apps rapidly and affordably.

What We Like:

• Unified location for real-time system alerts and notifications
• A chatbot using natural language to automate processes and remove data silos
• Small programmes that facilitate workers in finding crucial information fast

Cost: Upon request, available.

Wrike

Over the course of ten years, Wrike has evolved into a cloud-based collaborative work management platform. Marketing, project management, IT, and engineering teams, among others, can use its collaboration tools.

What We Like:

• Apps for desktop and mobile devices that let workers work remotely
• Automation to do away with labor-intensive chores
• Dashboards for projects to evaluate team and project progress in real time
• Tools for resource management to effectively oversee projects
• Connectivity with more than 400 applications

Price: Free of Cost. For teams with two to 25 workers, paid options begin at $9.80 per user per month.

The adoption of a digital workplace can lead to increased employee job satisfaction, cost savings, and productivity increases.

To reap these benefits, you’ll need to think about best practices like offering employee training to guarantee a smooth transition and deciding which KPIs to create to help you make decisions about enhancing your workers’ digital workplace experience.