Why The CTO And CHRO Must Go For A Drink
In July 2012, the United Nations proclaimed 20th March the International Day of Happiness recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world; and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives. This state of being, among others, has been the quest of leaders, thinkers and philosophers across the world for millennia. And increasingly so in the corporate world, where arguments that connect employee happiness and satisfaction to business results abound. For example, a recent study at the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12 percent spike in productivity, while unhappy workers were 10 percent less productive.
In recent times, technology, and the resulting disruption it causes, has created new challenges for the workplace. But technology is also an opportunity, to delight and to make employees happy. According to a recent APAC study by Adobe, workplace technology is rated above all other office amenities such as relaxation area, beautiful office design and access to food and beverages. According to the survey, 24x7 availability, ability to work across all devices, and collaboration were the top ways Indian respondents believed Technology would help them.
India is likely to have the world’s largest workforce by 2027; and is on track to becoming the world’s youngest country with a median age of 29 years by 2020. A large part of the Indian workforce will comprise of millennials! The tools and services to keep such a demographic happy will come from understanding their behaviour and preferences.
Millennials are natural collaborators, particularly when the group’s purpose and goals are understood. As a result, conventional collaborative technologies such as email, conference calls and digital whiteboards just don’t cut it anymore. There’s a need to adopt new solutions that enable businesses to build bridges between employees — location and work-style agnostic. Most organizations today are global in nature. Workplaces are becoming flexible. Professional networks include online peers from multiple countries. In such a dynamic working environment, traditional office amenities may no longer provide the convenience and productivity needed for the always-on-the-move, flexibility-seeking workforce of today. Flexibility that allows freedom and enables higher productivity. As per a recent Deloitte survey on workplaces of the future, nearly all millennials surveyed (92 percent) voted for flexibility as a top priority while choosing an employer.
For 50% of Indian respondents in the Adobe study, a ‘State of the Art Technology for my Workstation’ was the top factor for creating an ideal physical space at work.
Ever used an outdated, slow computer and loved it? Chances are close to never. Today’s employees feel the same way. Nobody likes using old, outdated and slow technology – it’s one of the reasons people flock to stores when gadget makers announce new devices on opening day. Besides, millennials have grown up in a world thriving on innovation and technological advancements. An employee spends majority of his/her time at work and it should not be spent anxious and aggravated at non-working technology. As per a recent global report, 53% of millennials surveyed said they would rather get rid of their sense of smell than their digital devices. Extreme, but that data shows the ‘need’ for technology among today’s workforce.
87 percent of millennials surveyed by Gallup recently said professional development was an important part of their job.
Last but not the least, in the age of Meta data, learning has become convenient. The extent of learning, however, also depends on the access to technology and is directly proportional to the availability of the latest learning and collaboration tools. Investing in new workplace tech gives employees new skills to learn, and new chances to become the next top-tier talent in an organization.
Tailpiece:
Building employee loyalty and driving retention is a shared C-suite agenda in today’s competitive environment. The CHRO and the rest of the boardroom simply have no choice but to wake up to the evolving needs of the new employee. Smart tools and data analytics have transformed the HR function into a ‘People Science’ – that predicts outcomes and advises corrective measures in employee engagement and retention. But the guidance from employees is clear - part of the job of the CHRO is to find ways to improve the technology investments within the organization. The writing is on the wall, in loud blinking binary.
