digital
Workplace
What is the digital workplace?
01
What are the benefits of the digital workplace?
02
Six steps to delivering the digital workplace
03
download whitepaper
04
What is the digital workplace?
01
02
What are the benefits of the digital workplace?
Six steps to delivering the digital workplace
03
Download Whitepaper
04
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Digital Workplace.
FROM HYPE TO REALITY.

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What is the digital workplace?

The digital workplace allows your employees to work remotely and securely, and to collaborate with colleagues, service providers, and national and international customers. Technologies such as mobile devices, innovative apps, and fast networks play a key role in this. But it is also about efficient and digital platforms and processes that create a user experience. With a digital workplace, you are creating a flexible, state-of-the-art working environment that provides employees with all the information and processes they need to make their work simple and successful. This ensures that you continue to have a motivated and highly skilled workforce at your side.
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74
%
According to the D21 Digital Index survey, 74 percent of those in employment are interested in a digital workplace
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70
%
70 percent of companies have reduced costs and improved efficiency thanks to the digital transformation
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Only
16
%
16 percent of all employees in Germany currently have access to a state-of-the-art mobile workplace

What are the benefits of the digital workplace?

Increased efficiency

Digital workplace solutions, virtual collaboration, and shared office space all help to increase your company’s productivity and innovative strength. For example, your employees can work while travelling or waiting around, which frees up time for other activities.
The digital workplace also helps to optimize business processes. All information and processes are provided in a central working environment. Approval processes or the placement of orders for consumables can be completed with just a few mouse clicks, relieving the burden on IT and procurement departments.

Cost savings and cost transparency

More efficient processes and the optimal adjustment of the working environment can result in savings in the double-digit percentage range. All costs associated with procuring and operating IT equipment for a workplace can be calculated and predicted precisely.

Greater employee satisfaction

Your employees take an active role in selecting the IT equipment for their digital workplace. This involvement increases their satisfaction with their tools, which in turn results in better work. Simpler, more intuitive processes and associated time savings also contribute to a better user experience. By getting your employees involved, you also benefit from their technical skills and knowledge of digital topics. According to the 2018/2019 D21 Digital Index survey, almost half of the German population has this type of expertise.

More attractive to applicants

Skilled young workers, in particular, value lean and efficient IT processes and a maximum of freedom when it comes to selecting the tools they use for their work. The current war for talent, which is set to intensify over the coming years, is a very good argument in favor of introducing a digital workplace.

Six steps to delivering the digital workplace

Follow these six steps to drive forward the digital workplace in your company.

1

Develop a vision
2

Get the IT and finance departments on board
3

Analyze the requirements
4

Implement in stages
5

Get your employees involved
6

Turn IT procurement into a shopping experience
1

Develop a vision

A solid strategy is key to the successful implementation of the digital workplace. You need to ask yourself what your IT environment should look like in three years’ time. What equipment is needed? How often does it need to be replaced? Are employees allowed to order their equipment themselves? To what extent should employees be free to choose their equipment? These and similar matters should be considered in the strategic plan and discussed with the various stakeholders in the company. A clearly defined vision is not only more efficient, it is also an important factor when it comes to getting the workforce excited about digitalization. It helps employees to understand the direction the company is taking, why certain changes are necessary, and what the benefits are for them, in particular.
2

Get the IT and finance departments on board

It can be difficult to reconcile the ideas and expectations of the CIO and CFO. The CIO will be keen to switch to the latest IT environment, review every process, and drive digitalization forward. The CFO will first and foremost look at the cost. Finance managers will also focus on return on investment: Will the restructuring increase output? How often will IT equipment need replacing to maximize efficiency? Your digital workplace strategy will need to be transparent and meet the expectations of the CIO and CFO if it is to be accepted within the company and become a long-term success. There are innovative, customized business concepts that allow you to spread payments for the technology and related services over the entire lifetime. This makes it easier to maintain an overview of and predict costs, and savings can be calculated with high accuracy.
3

Analyze the requirements

Not all employees have the same requirements in a digital workplace. Those who mainly work in the office will be best served with a desktop PC, whereas field staff will need to be able to work remotely with a high level of reliability. For designers and developers, on the other hand, the equipment’s performance will be a key factor.
That is why it is important to find out what your employees require and who the various stakeholders are. Getting your employees involved ensures that your digital workplace meets the requirements in the best possible way and maximizes efficiency gains. This will also increase acceptance and satisfaction among the workforce.
4

Implement in stages

Instead of spending weeks devising plans to replace all PCs in one huge rollout, you should implement the digital workplace in stages and stay flexible. After all, requirements and employee roles can change. Workplace concepts with flexible, shorter terms will facilitate this strategy. Equipment is made available to employees when it is required, rather than according to fixed depreciation cycles. Working with test groups is another recommended approach when rolling out new IT equipment. They allow you to test the implemented changes and make adjustments before everyone is affected. By making your employees part of the project, you increase acceptance of the project and increase their digital skills.
5

Get your employees involved

Create a roadmap for rolling out the digital workplace by speaking to the various stakeholders in your organization. What is required? What does the introduction of the digital workplace mean in practice? Document which milestones are to be rolled out when and which project stages are still pending. It is important to actively communicate project successes and the resulting benefits within the company to ensure that employees remain enthusiastic about digitalization. Publicizing test phase results and individual employee experiences helps to increase motivation, while the collaborative effort ensures an optimal outcome.
6

Turn IT procurement into a shopping experience

E-commerce portals such as Amazon have revolutionized the shopping experience. Your employees are familiar with and value the processes used by the major online merchants and expect a similar level of convenience from the IT department. In reality, they are faced with complex approval processes and long waits for the equipment they ordered. This is where innovative procurement solutions that rely on self-service portals come into their own. Here, employees can choose the digital equipment most suitable to their role from a selection pre-defined by you as the IT decision-maker. As with online shopping, delivery is usually made within a few days. Simple processes – going far beyond procurement – and personalized user interfaces allow you to create an optimal user experience.

Find out more about the digital workplace in our white papers.

Digital Workplace
How you can increase employee buy-in
Request Whitepaper
Procurement 2.0
Self-service makes it simple
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Digital Collaboration
How to make collaboration tools work
Request Whitepaper

Find out more about the Digital Workplace

A real-world example
THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE AT CHG-MERIDIAN
Mobile working is right on trend. But what do you need to do so that your employees can work remotely without any problems? Read on to find out how CHG-MERIDIAN implemented the digital workplace, and what elements were key to this.
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Remote working at CHG-MERIDIAN
Remote working made simple: The mindset factor
There is growing pressure to roll out digital workplace strategies. The technologies and processes deployed are often state-of-the-art, yet performance and employee productivity still lag behind. At this point, it becomes clear how important it is to get the employees on board with regard to a digital work culture. The following article highlights the key role that employees play in any digitalization strategy.
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Remote working at CHG-MERIDIAN
Remote working made simple: The platform factor
Data platforms allow us to organize and structure the flood of digital information in a sensible way when working remotely. They also enable us to work in virtual teams across borders. From anywhere. This type of flexibility is already the norm at CHG-MERIDIAN, and every day we learn something new. Find out here what data platforms are all about.
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Mobile working at CHG-MERIDIAN
Remote working made simple: The technology factor
The digital workplace is an integral element of any digitalization strategy, and CHG-MERIDIAN is no exception. In order to implement the digital workplace successfully and optimize it in the long term, we believe there are three factors on which remote working depends: the technology, the platform, and – last but not least – the employees’ digital mindset. Find out what the technology factor is all about in this article.
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