The Economist Corporate Network (ECN) report Drive or Delegate? Digital workplace strategy, talent management and the role of the CEO in Asia, identified that 47 percent of CEOs claim to be actively driving digital workplace strategy, suggesting scope for more CEOs to take an active role.

The report, sponsored by Hays, is based on a survey of 500+ regional and country CEOs in Asia. The ECN defines digital workplace strategy to participating CEOs as ‘the collection of all the digital tools provided by an organisation to allow its employees to do their jobs, foster collaboration, innovation and flexible working.”

The ECN report also found that CEOs regard a digital workplace strategy as, most importantly, a means to transform the business from within and to increase productivity. Interestingly boosting employee engagement and managing talent more efficiently appear to be less important factors.

This could be a consequence of businesses prioritising the digitisation of customer-facing operations over the employee experience in the workplace.

“While business transformation is necessary, the employee experience should be a fundamental consideration when planning a digital strategy,” says Christine Wright, Managing Director of Hays in Asia. “Technology today enables greater flexibility for when and where your employees work, in real-time and across geographical locations. Employers must consider how staff engagement can be optimised with technology, to facilitate increased productivity in the workplace.”

“Employers focusing on attracting and retaining top talent should place emphasis on creating an attractive workplace; one which promotes innovation, information sharing and working collaboratively,” adds Christine. “Technology or the lack of it that hinders productivity can have an adverse effect on a workforce and company’s overall performance.”

The ECN report also found that while 50 percent of CEO’s utilise social media to engage with employees, the CEO focus groups also believe that face-to-face conversations, as well as events like town halls and internal corporate get-togethers should not be banished as outdated.

“Finding the right balance between the traditional and digital is essential for employers to foster a cohesive working environment between a connected mobile generation and those that bring a traditional skill set,” says Christine.

A recent article in issue 11 of the Hays Journal explores why it is important to remember the power of the human touch. The article includes an interview with Matthew Jeffery, VP and Head of Global Sourcing and Employment Branding at SAP, who discusses the transition taking place across SAP as they move to the Cloud.

He says, “We need people on the ground who are very personable and have all those traditional skills such as communication, presentation and trustworthiness. Those skills will never be lost; technology is the enabler, but people still need to be able to create it and help drive it.”

Here are 5 tips for organizations to create a successful digital workplace strategy:

1. Drive & communicate:Implementing a vision of a digital workplace strategy requires the CEO to be clear in their message. The ECN report showed that CEOs exuding strong confidence in articulating the digital workplace strategy appear to delegate less and drive more. Care should be taken to craft and communicate the message, that a digital workplace strategy is an enabling tool for employees working together towards a shared corporate vision.
2. Digitise, but don’t lose the balance: It is possible that too much can be done via digital platforms; however do not remove human interactions completely. Encourage managers of remote teams to speak on the phone regularly and maintain a pattern of face-to-face contact at various points of the year – particularly during appraisals. In addition, equip them with management training and tailored frameworks for managing remote workers in terms of conflict management, recognition and motivation.
3. Harness workforce data:Incorporating workforce data into your digital strategy adds an exciting dimension to your business. It will give you the ability to view your organisation’s talent pool from an analytical perspective. The benefit of mining such data for MNCs, in particular, can bring the business much closer to managing global talent pools. Analysing workers, tasks and projects could become an essential component of developing local talent and boosting productivity in emerging markets.
4. Manage expectations of a digital culture: Technology has blurred the lines between work and personal life and a 24/7 availability towards when and where work tasks are carried out can be a risk. On the plus side, it enables greater flexibility for a work-life balance but; while a device is never far from reach, it can be difficult for someone to refrain from responding to a late night email or an IM from a colleague in another time-zone. To avoid added stress and employee burnouts, ensure your culture is fair and encourages downtime.
5. Don’t ignore social media: The ECN report found 70% of CEOs think it’s important for them personally to be using social media. Social media is ubiquitous and increasingly the primary form of communication between people within and outside of the workplace. CEOs need to use social media to avoid getting out of touch and detached from their workforce. At Hays for example, CEO Alistair Cox is a member of the LinkedIn Influencer community and regularly shares blogs on LinkedIn, as do other members of senior management community around the world.

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