Is your workforce in danger of Zooming out?

In the last edition of my #hrtechtalk mini-series, "New Year. New era", I shared my reflections on the year that was 2020 and provided some #hrtechnology focused recommendations for HR & Business leaders to keep front of mind heading into 2021.

With the new year now well underway, HR & People teams across the globe are under continuing pressure to transform systems, processes, and operating structures to service the needs of an altogether changed workforce.

A workforce that is increasingly reliant on technology to connect, collaborate and get work done.

But are employees in danger of "Zooming Out?"

In this edition, we take a closer look at how the technology we use at work is impacting our perception of the Employee Experience (EX).

Enjoy!

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Take a moment to cast your mind back to early last year...Almost seems like a decade ago now, right?

How did you get to the office? What did your day look like when you got there?

One thing I can say without a doubt is that back then, you spent a lot less time in video meetings and using collaborative working platforms than you do right now.

As we spend more and more of our work time using technology to get things done, the systems and applications we use are beginning to have a much greater impact on how we perceive our experience of work. Something that was evidenced throughout 2020 by the rise in "zoom fatigue". A now well-known form of digital burnout.

It doesn't stop there either, as the ongoing reality of being visible in 2021 also inevitably involves spending more time in front of screens and devices. The pitfalls of being "Always on" are beginning to permeate the workforce.

But it's not all doom and gloom. According to a recent study conducted by Gartner, nearly half of CHRO's cited Employee Experience as a top priority this year. So things could be about to change?

Zooming in and adding value where it matters most.

When I first started out my career in HR over a decade ago, Employee Engagement was the hot topic. But EX goes beyond engagement extending its reach across all aspects of an employee's relationship with work. It encourages bottom-up energy to shape a better normal for everyone.

For the HR community, EX is a wide-angle lens that allows us to see what really matters to our people as they go through their employee journey and then switch our filter as we zoom in to focus our attention on improving the things that matter the most. From examining where and how work happens to the tools, technology, and devices that allow it all to come together.

Survive or thrive?

As this pandemic continues to unfold around us, I can't help but think that it will be the combination of technology choices and EX strategies that HR deploy now that will define which companies survive and which companies thrive in the years ahead.