Avanade’s global research finds that 87 percent of UK companies have embraced or piloted hybrid or remote working and nearly all (99%) believe they have taken steps to boost employees’ experience.
However, while companies claim to be committed to employees’ well-being and are people-first, the data reveals staff are let down when it comes to technology, security, and flexibility.
Also, 54 percent in the UK said they have not provided their employees with genuine choice about when or where they work.
Additionally, 64 percent in the UK said they were yet to enable employees to more easily access the tools and applications they need to work seamlessly from anywhere.
Also, 53 percent in the UK have not adopted cloud-based platforms for knowledge sharing, and 52 percent do not have a security model that enables all employees to work securely wherever they are based.
Over the long-term, 72 percent of the global workplace experience top-performers felt their organizations were prepared for the future of work, compared with only 33 percent of bottom performers. Similarly, 91 percent of top global performers are confident that their company has already achieved the right hybrid work approach, compared with just half of those trailing behind.
Financial rewards
Not delivering on their promises could be costing companies millions of dollars, according to the research, with respondents estimating an average 6.16 percent revenue growth in the UK from successfully implemented workplace experience programs (driven by a partnership between IT, HR and business leaders) over the last year.
Based on the global participant company revenues, Avanade calculates the growth opportunity could range from $37 million and $6.5 billion USD.
Other benefits
In addition to the financial rewards, Avanade’s research also showed that organizations embracing broader, more progressive workplace experience strategies in the last 12 months, have generated significant other benefits, both for their people and their business, including
- 6.44 percent average overall productivity improvement
- 6.55 percent average increase in employee retention
- 6.98 percent average increase in customer satisfaction scores
- 6.37 percent average rise in stock market valuation
- 6.01 percent average reduction in costs
“The signal from our research is loud and clear,” said Veit Siegenheim, Avanade’s Modern Workplace lead. “Taking a holistic approach to the workplace experience is critical and benefits both businesses and their most important asset—their employees. The longer leaders delay taking action, the further they’ll fall behind and risk losing out, financially and in the war for talent.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
