4 takeaways from Compucom’s CIO executive dinner series
We recently hosted a series of executive roundtable discussions, bringing tech leaders and IT execs to the table in several cities.
In a series of thoughtful conversations, we explored how emerging technologies and IT innovations can optimize the employee experience and drive transformational change. Here's what CIOs are talking about now:
It’s all about the experience:
While every enterprise has its own unique challenges to consider, our guests agreed that IT plays one of the most significant roles in today’s employee experience – especially true in remote and hybrid work environments.
Across all segments of the economy, organizations are exploring how technologies can assess, monitor, manage and enhance the employee experience. Our goal is to humanize the IT experience, using innovative technology to reduce friction and help people get more done – no matter where the work happens.
Emerging technologies can be harnessed to support teams:
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) present new opportunities to systematically gather data and insights across the enterprise. These emerging technologies can also play a helpful role in understanding patterns that detract from a positive employee experience.
A good place to start, according to Compucom Chief Marketing Officer Heather Lockhart: use data insights to find the aspects of the workplace that are annoying and disruptive. Then eliminate them.
For example, just as we know that customers abandon a process when it takes too long or requires too many steps, we can also use technology to identify similar areas of friction or bottlenecks internally.
A human touch is still important:
We can’t forget that people can’t be automated—and their needs are complex. As every touchpoint becomes digital, we must be intentional about employee engagement and cannot simply rely on service metrics being “green.”
Don't discount the impact of a simple check-in. Person to person.
During our discussions, one executive shared that "intuitive engagement and human interaction" between leaders and staff is more important than ever before. Our ability to connect and capture data, they said, must be “matched by the ability of leaders and managers to really know and understand their team members.”
Leaders need to adapt, too:
You can change all the technology you want, but if you still lead the same way as you did in 2019, it just won't work. Leaders must adapt to our new normal as well. That means being flexible, forward-thinking, and open to change.
“The expectations have to evolve too – understand that people will be productive sometimes at different times or in different places,” explains Troy Baldwin, Compucom’s Director of Offering Management. “What you see in the office is very different than when you’re at home. There are nuances that may ebb and flow and evolve.”
To help leaders take a more “people-powered” approach to IT, Baldwin recommends a four-part framework based on experience level indicators (XLIs):
- Center technology decisions around what employees want and need to work their best.
- Ensure that IT provides the right technology experience to the right people at the right time. (IT personas can help here!)
- Empower workplace flexibility to support seamless productivity anywhere, anytime, on any device.
- Empower self-sufficiency so that employees can get their work done with minimal friction and intuitively access the support they need.
We look forward to hosting more roundtable discussions this year, both virtually and in-person! Visit our Events page for upcoming conferences, webinars, networking receptions, and other industry events.
