More enterprises in Australia are creating flexible, adaptable digital workplaces as part of large-scale digitization programs post COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new research report published recently by Information Services Group (ISG), a tech research & advisory firm.
What were the findings in the report?
The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work — Services and Solutions report for Aussie finds new digital workplaces are evolving to become experience-led, persona-based, & aligned to specific industry workstyles, yet always providing a secure env’t for employees to collaborate.
“Australian companies are reinventing the workplace for better employee experience and business results,” said Jason McAuliffe, workplace experience lead for ISG Asia Pacific. “The continuous evolution of work creates new roles, business processes and operating models.”
Australia is on the leading edge of the trend toward remote and hybrid work that is transforming workplace strategies worldwide, the report says. The rollout of the country’s national broadband network gives nearly all Australians access to fast Internet services, so many Australians have taken advantage of work-from-home policies introduced during the pandemic to move from apartments in cities to large homes in rural areas.
As a significant proportion of companies in Australia make hybrid work permanent, process automation is helping them improve the experience of remote employees, the report says. Support services based on analytics, cognitive technology and automation remove repetitive tasks and integrate workplace operations for seamless operations.
The evolution of work in Australia has broad implications, ISG says. Organizational change management (OCM), commonly used with digital transformations in Australia, is becoming increasingly important to employee experience in areas such as ensuring that employees understand and follow practices for security and compliance.
What does increased automation mean for employees?
“Digital workplace initiatives are no longer just IT projects,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader. “They affect human resources, facilities management and other functions.”
As automation reduces employment within some functions in Australia, such as customer service and sales, Australian firms aiming to enhance employee experience will need to invest in retraining for increasingly important skills including creativity, critical thinking and social intelligence, ISG says. The report also examines other work trend in Australia, including the growing value of videoconferencing and services that support digital service desks.
The 2022 ISG Provider Lens Future of Work — Services and Solutions report for Australia evaluates the capabilities of 30 providers across four quadrants: Workplace Strategy Transformation Services, Managed Workplace Services — End User Technology, Digital Service Desk and Workplace Support Services, and Managed Employee Experience Services.
The report names Datacom, DXC Technology, Fujitsu, Infosys, Kyndryl, TCS, Telstra Purple & Unisys as Leaders in all 4 quadrants. It names Wipro as a leader in 3 quadrants, Atos & HCL as Leaders in 2 quadrants each, & Accenture & Tech Mahindra as leaders in 1 quadrant each.
Plus, Accenture, Coforge , HCL & Kinetic IT are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” & “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.
