In our Rethinking Productivity blog series, we’re looking at the demands of a modern workforce and what organizations need to do to become more productive. The current gaps in productivity show us that the expectations of the digital workforce are not being met. Shockingly, overall productivity is actually being impeded, despite the massive advances in technology.

As the case tends to be, the midmarket finds itself in a unique position. 86% of CEOs consider “digital” to be their #1 priority, believing that technology will transform their business more than any other global trend. As businesses seek to be the disruptor, not the disrupted, a new model for growth must be developed.

The key to digital transformation starts and ends with your workforce - how your users get things done. The question is – where do you start? Based on our work with many customers and market research, we found two gaps:

• Lack of systematic approach: There are many elements that need to be considered in an organization’s digital strategy. To maximize the benefits of the investments you are making, you need to understand what those elements are and how those elements fit together to make the whole.
• Lack of focus on people: In IT, we are all guilty, at one point or another, of jumping to the next new shiny thing without careful consideration of its impact on users. It is ironic that many organizations try to implement “productivity” solutions without fully considering the enablement and adoption of those solutions by the users, and wonder why productivity has not improved.

The 4 Ps of Workforce Transformation

We developed a people-focused, systematic model to help midmarket organizations accelerate their digital transformation journey. Maximize the 4 Ps of Workforce Transformation to outpace digital disruption and position your organization for future growth in a rapidly changing business environment.

• Productivity
  Empower your users to get more done by focusing on communication, collaboration, automation, and analytics.
• Platform
  Where information lives and how it’s managed is paramount – taking devices, infrastructure, applications, and management into consideration.
• Protection
  The reliance on an abundance of data has created a playground for cyber-criminals. How you’ll protect your information and users is a key component of digital workforce transformation, with considerations around security, compliance, resilience, and assurance.
• People
  Finally, technology does not drive transformation – it’s how that technology is being adopted and leveraged by the people that define your success. This can’t be solved with a few basic emails and “How-To” instructions. Rather, user adoption and enablement must be incorporated into the way you manage modern IT moving forward.

At its most basic level, the goal of workforce transformation is to derive the most value for the least amount of time and effort. However, workforce transformation is a far-reaching topic, with complicated problems and comprehensive solutions. While there is no “magic bullet” or “one-size-fits-all” approach to workforce transformation, the 4 Ps gives your organization a framework for building resilience against the fast-moving digital future. Every “P” in the process is dependent on the other. To leave one out would be like trying to bake bread without butter, flour, milk, or eggs – you need all four to be successful.