Another day, another system slowdown or network crash. In a survey of more than 300 IT professionals in the U.S. and U.K., IT automation specialist 1E found that 59% of respondents said their firms experience application or software-related IT disruptions either daily or multiple times per week.
Meanwhile, 75% of knowledge workers surveyed believe that IT issues must be resolved before they are obvious to the entire team, and 66% of IT decision-makers say that a complete overhaul is needed to enhance the “digital employee experience” or DEX.
What does this mean for HR leaders?
Employee experience has been a significant factor in retaining workers during the Great Resignation, while providing the flexibility of a hybrid workplace is now key to keeping talent, according to Mark Banfield, CEO of 1E. These two issues together shed light on the need to enhance workers’ DEX. (There will be at least six HR Tech Talk sessions dedicated to EX at the 2022 HR Tech Conference. Register here.)
“Failure to properly address IT issues and challenges in hybrid work cause a lack of cohesion across an organization that directly impacts employee productivity and satisfaction,” says Banfield. “On the other hand, those that adopt a proactive IT strategy centered around DEX should see greater retention, and ultimately, better business results.” 
When the work-from-home revolution began early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom and Teams were immediate, if imperfect, solutions for collaboration and communication, says Banfield. He suggests that corporate leaders today should consider investing in other solutions to eliminate areas of “digital friction” such as connection quality and app crashes, as well as monitor collaboration tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to ensure they’re operating efficiently regardless of employees’ physical location.
“In hybrid work, bad tech days are bad workdays,” says Banfield, adding that disruptions can affect employee retention and recruiting, operational efficiency and productivity.
“Forward-thinking HR leaders must reconsider how employee experience translates in a digital setting and better understand the benefits of investing in DEX as part of a broader business strategy,” he says. “The first step is for HR to closely and continuously partner with IT.”
To hear more about technology resiliency in a hybrid work environment, join Human Resource Executive at the 2022 HR Tech Conference, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas from Sept. 13-16. Register here.
