How hybrid work and mobility are shaping the workplace

How many of your employees are now working remotely all or some of the time? If your organization is anything like most others worldwide, it is likely that you’ve had to adapt to a hybrid working model in the past two years.

Globally, nearly 6 in 10 employees are now working away from the office part- or full-time, according to NTT’s 2023 Global Employee Experience Trends Report – an in-depth study of the state of employee experience (EX) in 25 countries across five regions.

Our research shows that many organizations are still adjusting their operating models to balance remote, hybrid and on-premises working. Making sure their employees are productive and able to collaborate and communicate efficiently with their colleagues has therefore never been more important.

In fact, the report shows that EX is now a prime C-suite priority, with 94% of CEOs agreeing that improvements in EX will directly affect their bottom line.

• ALSO READ → Hybrid working is here to stay. Why isn’t your organization ready for it?

EX is all about the technology

So, what is the C-suite doing to improve EX in their organizations? The good news is that new technologies such as cloud and AI have had wide-ranging effects on EX as much as they have on other business areas. With a focus on collaboration and mobility, they can enable and empower employees, regardless of location.

However, only 48% of organizations strongly agree that their employees have access to the technology they need to perform optimally while working from home or remotely.

While employees greatly value the flexibility associated with a hybrid or remote role, they are likely to end up frustrated if they lack the tools to do their jobs.

This has led to 73% of organizations investing in mobility in the past two years, and 75% planning to continue investing in this area in the next two years.

Making mobility a priority

The ease with which employees can access all their data, the quality of their meeting interactions and the speed of connectivity – all underpinned by strict security – are critical factors that now affect EX in organizations.

Creating an environment where employees can work effectively anywhere is fundamental to ensuring productivity and employee satisfaction.

An effective mobility strategy should therefore keep technology, internal policies and security measures from hindering employees’ ability to work in mobile settings.

Our research shows that top-performing organizations (in terms of financial performance) are already three times more likely than underperformers to have significantly increased their investment in mobility – and these investments are focused on business-grade internet connections, application and software development, and mobile device management (MDM).

Organizations that have already made significant investments in mobility are nearly 50% more likely to report a significant increase in employee satisfaction than those that have made only some investment.

New demands in mobile device management

Mobility policies often include bring-your-own-device (BYOD) allowances, so employees can use their personal devices for work. But this also raises challenges in terms of security, data protection and access to corporate data and applications.

MDM refers to the administration and tracking of these devices within an organization, including software that enables IT teams to regulate some aspects of these devices remotely.

For example, devices need to connect to the organization’s applications in a controlled and secure manner, often with certain settings, configurations and security policies automatically enforced and updated over time.

Organizations must, however, balance all of these aspects of MDM with respecting their employees’ privacy.

Making the connection to the cloud and CX

Beyond hybrid work and mobility, our report also explores how cloud-based models and security are changing EX strategies.

Most collaboration and communication tools are now cloud-based, so any EX strategy must be aligned with an organization’s overall cloud strategy – with adequate security to protect sensitive employee and corporate data.

In our report, organizations have voted cloud technology as the top enabler of improved employee performance, and 95% of organizations say cloud solutions are vital for enabling outcomes related to EX.

The report also shows how organizations have realized the importance of EX in improving customer experience (CX) and therefore business growth

Satisfied and engaged employees are 66% more likely to deliver exceptional customer service than those who are not – but achieving this requires CX, EX and broader business and technology strategies to be aligned.

• ALSO READ → Make CX the key to success in your organization

Find an expert partner

In short, to reap the benefits of high levels of employee satisfaction, you need to motivate and enable your employees wherever they are while keeping them focused on tasks where humans deliver true value.

To achieve this, investing in collaborative technology, the cloud, AI and mobility is key – and your EX transformation is likely to proceed faster and more smoothly with the help of an expert partner like NTT that has extensive experience in bringing together all these technologies in support of your business outcomes.