Workplace Tech needs support across IT, Real Estate and HR swim lanes to improve employee experience

All C-Suite Leaders need to integrate across their swim lanes and focus on tech enablement and user experience to enhance the impact on employees.

The data tells us it’s not all about the tech, but rather how workplace tech is rolled out and enabled throughout the organization on an ongoing basis. See below table to understand our user input. 

So why is this bigger than just an “IT issue”? It’s bigger because it has to be supported by and supportive of both the real estate and human resources functional work-streams and policies within your organization.

Corporate Real Estate (CRE) is responsible for the “place” in workplace. Quite often CRE is responsible for a corporate relocation or renovation. These projects are almost always looked at as “catalyst events” which often spark the conversation around workplace strategy. So how does IT integrate with the early steps of such a project and incorporate workplace technology into the strategy? Is CRE responsible for getting IT involved? Is IT sending infrastructure-oriented representatives to these strategic meetings or is it the CIO or someone that represents his/her strategic views on evolving the workplace technology in lock step with CRE and this project?

Human Resources (HR) should also be a part of the early steps that build the strategy around a workplace transformation. How do we align the new office with concepts and principles that are in concert with recruiting the employees that fit the future of the organization? How does the approach to the design of the office impact where and how employees will work? Will there be employees that work from home full-time? Will others have flexibility to work from home on a semi-regular basis? If so, do we have HR policies that integrate business and employee roles and responsibilities for these ways of working? In general, as technology is being consumed in the corporate setting like it is in our personal lives, we should be creating policies and job descriptions that make it clear to employees what tools and solutions they are provided with AND the expectations and accountability that come along with it. 

Let’s face it, corporations are spending huge amounts of dollars on workplace technology investments and maintenance. And users have preferences that are shaping these investments. To create partnerships between the business and the employees we must align policies that are clear and create skin in the game for everyone involved. It’s the best mode of creating mutual benefits.

Workplace technology enablement is more than just an IT issue; but IT execs have an opportunity to show leadership by integrating the initiatives across the HR and CRE functions, as a minimum. In future blog entries I’ll delve deeper into the respective partnerships between IT and CRE as well as IT and HR.