Today’s workplace is in the middle of an undeclared intergenerational conflict over the role and usefulness of technology in the workplace.
A May 2017 Pew research report found just 41% of those aged 50–64 were very confident with technology compared to 74% of millennials and 60% of gen x’ers.
While younger employees are comfortable working on laptops and mobile devices, for a senior cohort the loss of desk sovereignty signals reduced prestige and may even lead to physical discomfort. And there may be legitimate concerns for workers who have accessibility constraints or need to engage in undistracted concentrated thinking and ideation for an extended time.
But as the hordes of workers slinging laptops and mobile devices in cafes around Australia attest, the trend towards working anywhere is inexorable. Indeed, a Regus study found half of employees surveyed worked outside a physical office at least half the week.
Increasing commuting times as high property prices force workers farther out of east coast Australian CBDs may also be a factor, with the same Regus study finding 27% of workers regarded the time it takes to travel between home and work a “waste”.
So the question for a technology leader implementing a future workplace is how to embed mobility, communications and collaboration solutions in an organisation that may be resistant to change or undergoing a wider cultural transformation?
It is especially acute because the ICT project leader may be divorced from the customer’s change management program (or only obliquely and opaquely aware of it) but it’s these strategic concerns that determine their relative success – or failure.
In this white paper, we shine a light on the wicked problem of delivering successful ICT solutions that solve genuine business problems while being empathetic to user concerns.
After reading this white paper, the technology executive in a reseller or partner will learn the following:
- The importance of empathy building to spur user adoption and consolidate benefits
- The role of co-design in benefits realisation and engagement
- How to operate and add value within a larger change management program
- Working in partnership with customers, users, outside service providers and suppliers to deliver success.
