by Charles Sybert –
Today’s workforce is more mobile and adaptive than ever. Businesses need the tools not only to keep their employees productive and engaged no matter when and where they work, but also to keep data and assets secure.
Organizations are increasingly turning toward the power of business process automation, AI, and machine learning to amplify the impact of their operations. And just as companies need to meet the customer where they are, successful companies enable their employees where and when they are working, too.
Employees are demanding remote options to work wherever, whenever with the ability to move at a moment’s notice. A workforce enablement strategy can ensure your organization is making the necessary investments to keep your business at the cutting edge.
What is workforce enablement, and what are some of the top ways organizations are investing in evolving their business operations? Let’s dig in.
How the Nature of Work Is Changing
No matter your industry or the scale of your organization, operations are defined by processes, workflows, and engagement tools.
Workforce enablement is about identifying the digital solutions your organization needs to streamline those process steps, speed up decisions and action points, and enable communication and collaboration between your employees. Workforce enablement also means having digital solutions capable of putting the right data and analysis in front of the employee at the right point in time, securely and efficiently.
These tools can include not only job-specific applications but also tools for learning and talent development, knowledge management, policies and governance, and employee communications.
Investing the time to understand and optimize your business processes with workforce enablement tools can:
Reduce ramp-up time for new employees as the processes are defined and free from the weight of legacy systems requirements.
Allow employees to focus efforts on higher-value initiatives instead of manual or paper-driven processes.
Leverage automation for repeatable tasks to save time and resources.
Improve visibility about process status and task completion with integrated tools.
Reduce business risk by using a consistent method to complete specific tasks.
Enhance collaboration and communication across teams, regardless of work location.
Even better, these investments have been shown to pay off on organizations’ bottom lines. Organizations with the “best workforce experiences” have recognized 12 percent1 greater customer satisfaction than other organizations, which has also led to a three-year revenue growth rate over two times greater than the average.
5 Ways Your Organization Can Maximize Workforce Productivity
Although every organization’s workforce enablement needs and journey will be different, the following are some of the most common and impactful investments yours can make.
1. Cloud-Based Virtual Workspaces
Employees need the ability to securely access their virtual work spaces and applications from anywhere via any endpoint device. Whether delivered through a robust cloud workspace or through virtualized desktops managed from a centrally located data center, organizations can easily deliver collaborative solutions for a digital workforce while also reducing infrastructure and data management support, maintenance, and upgrade costs.
2. Mobile Device Management
Help your organization find the right balance between security and productivity with a mobile device management solution that provides standardization and consistency across all your end-user devices, no matter where they work. Mobile device management solutions enable your organization to define and enforce:
- Applications that can be installed
- Update and patching schedules
- Security and compliance controls
- Internet, malware, and data protection standards
- Acceptable use and other organizational policies
3. VPN Access
Set up virtual private network (VPN) access for remote-based end-user devices to keep data access seamless and secured when it comes to your enterprise databases, applications, and servers.
4. Map the Employee Journey
Similar to a customer experience journey, an employee journey reviews the interactions, needs, and challenges employees have in completing their job remotely and in the office. These can include:
- Insufficient bandwidth that slows application and data processing needs
- Out-of-date procedures and policies that do not reflect current operating environments, requirements, or technology improvements
- Inconsistent or underutilized cloud-based services (e.g., failing to enable the full suite of Microsoft productivity and collaboration tools, from Azure and Office 365 to Teams)
- Legacy infrastructure and data management hardware
5. Business Process Automation
Business processes shape how your employees move your business forward, add value to your work products, and serve your customers. As such, your business processes may need to be re-evaluated to represent a new digital environment. For example, a payment provider can use modern tools to automate the payment entry and reconciliation process to enhance visibility from end to end while eliminating an offshore team.
Accelerate Your Workforce Enablement Impact
Focusing on workforce enablement can make a powerful difference in your employees’ productivity and, in turn, amplify the value and impact they can deliver for your customers.
However, workforce enablement isn’t a destination. It’s a continuous journey that must evolve and mature with your organization, your customers’ expectations, and the digital tools and processes that are available to enable your operations.
If you and your business want to learn more about how to bring workflow optimization to your organization and increase the collaboration and productivity of your staff, then take a moment to download our ebook, Focused on Growth? Accelerate Your Workforce Digital Acceleration
Works Cited
1. Deloitte Insights (2019, July 29) "The digital workforce experience" Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/digital-transformation/improving-digital-employee-experience.html