How to Prepare for the Challenges of the Digital Age in the Workplace?

Demographic changes as well as the speed of technological innovations will radically change the workplaces we know today. Embracing these trends will be crucial for attracting and engaging talented employees, as well as for staying ahead of the competition.

HR leaders around the world need to prepare for turbulent times. There are several key trends that will turn workplaces upside down sooner than you think. The drama is happening in two areas – demographic and technological.

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The bar has been raised high. Most importantly, the workforce is changing with the entry of an increasing number of millennials into the labor market. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2030, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce in the U.S. With the increasing application of smart solutions, user and employee behavior is rapidly changing, and an improved user experience is expected in all areas of life. The workplace is no exception.

Millennials have raised the bar even higher as they take convenience, accessibility, and smarter ways of doing things for granted. To encourage their engagement in the workplace, it is essential to apply the approach used for designing consumer technology to the greatest extent possible. According to a Gallup study, only 29% of this exceptionally tech-savvy generation is truly engaged, and to change this for the better, companies must implement smart solutions that include artificial intelligence, cloud computing, mobility, and social collaboration.

Analytics is important. In addition to the changed dynamics of the workforce, the culprit for workplace disruption is also – new technologies in many ways. However, the good news is that they have the potential to increase productivity by between 20 and 50%, as stated in a McKinsey report. On the other hand, in the digital economy, real-time analytics are gaining importance, as they dramatically help reduce business cycles, enabling significantly faster action. Companies that use advanced analytics are five times more likely to make decisions faster and three times more likely to implement plans than companies that do not use it, according to statistics from Bain & Company. For example, an AI-based digital meeting room will save valuable time for decision-makers and provide them with perfect insights in an instant.

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On the importance of collaboration. The new generation of products promises to take collaboration to a new level. Research from the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) Enterprise Architecture Leadership Council has shown that 50% of business productivity is linked to effective collaboration. Especially in difficult times of product withdrawals or supply chain disruptions, it can create or destroy corporate reputation depending on how isolated work processes are and how seamless the exchange of information is between different functional teams.

Employees could also benefit from consumer-oriented technology as it allows them to make the best decision every time, regardless of where they are. Relying on intelligent analytics to drive simulations, workers can be offered recommendations and real-time solutions. It is also possible to provide them with relevant information thanks to voice-controlled tools and smart wearable devices designed to enhance the work experience and consequently engagement.

The AI revolution is knocking at the door. Finally, automation will enable the elimination of tedious and repetitive processes and manual tasks on a broader scale. This phenomenon will encourage companies to shift resources from sales space and shared services to functions that will enable better customer experience and provide additional value. According to a study by the McKinsey analytics firm, over time, cost performance can improve by as much as 90%; in fact, 45% of work activities could be automated using already demonstrated technologies. Therefore, all this should delight employees as tedious jobs gradually disappear, allowing them to work on more strategic tasks.

I believe that the new wave of technology will lead to such an increase in productivity that we have not seen since the introduction of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and productivity tools in the early 1990s. This opportunity is too significant for any executives and directors to ignore.

Author: Ani Koteva, HR Director for SAP, for the Southeast Europe region