No Pain, No Gain:

Why Digitizing Your Workplace is

Worth the Effort
Introduction
The American workforce is going through great
changes, and employers must step up to the plate and
digitize if they wish to recruit and retain viable workers
in the coming years.
That’s the message from business analysts studying
the impending effects of the labor shortage and a
workforce that’s increasingly demanding remote and
flexible work opportunities. As baby boomers retire
and tech-savvy millennials ages 22 to 37 dominate
the workforce, they’re calling for better digital tools
that can help them get their work done effectively
and efficiently, regardless of their physical location. At
the same time, customers are expecting to similarly
benefit from the fast, efficient service and convenience
enabled by today’s digital tools.
These days a truly flexible and agile workplace
— one that helps your employees get their work
done efficiently, with minimal roadblocks — calls for
tools such as content management systems, digital
experience platforms, mobile enhancements, cloud
file-sharing, employee portals and enterprise social
networks. But studies show many companies are
falling behind in embracing such tools. A 2018 Gartner
survey1 found only 18 percent of U.S. organizations
have the digital dexterity necessary to “leverage and
manipulate media, information and technology in
unique and highly innovative ways.”
Companies not planning to optimize such valuable
tools should consider their continued development
a wake-up call for the formation of a comprehensive
new digital workplace strategy.
“The time is now,” advises one Deloitte study2. “The
digital workplace gives employees the tools they need
to improve their communication, collaboration and
connections with each other. Implemented effectively,
it also allows organizations to mitigate common risks,
adhere to their regulatory compliance mandates and
ultimately realize enhanced business value.”
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Viva la revolution: What’s
driving all this?
Many employers have reached a critical juncture
when it comes to finding and keeping the talent they
need to run their businesses, and that can be even
more challenging if they’re dragging their feet about
digitizing. Here are some of the factors involved in what
might be considered a “perfect storm” for workplace
retention.

Shifting demographics
As baby boomers retire en masse, millennials have
already established themselves as the largest
generation3 in today’s workforce. They already hold 20
percent of all leadership roles in the U.S., according
to a Deloitte survey4, and they’re using their collective
influence to get employers to align with their priorities
and preferences. Deloitte confirms that their wants and
needs include a healthy work-life balance, remote work
opportunities, strong mentorships and a sense of being

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valued at work — all of which can be improved
through strategic use of digital tools. At the same
time, millennials can be hard to retain; Deloitte
found in 2016 that two of three expected to leave
their jobs for something different by 2020.

Flexible workstyles
Employers are increasingly investing in the digital
systems that allow their teams to work off-site —
sometimes whenever they want — so they can
better balance their personal and professional
lives. Advocates say such arrangements decrease
employee stress levels and employer overhead
while boosting employee productivity. Already,
about half of all U.S. workers hold jobs that offer
at least part-time telework5. And in a 2018 Mercer
study6, 51 percent of employees worldwide
wanted more flexible work options, and 71 percent
of those who said they’re thriving at work were
already being offered such options. “The key is
to move from ad hoc models of flexibility, which
require asking permission from a manager or HR,
to more permanent arrangements,” notes Mercer.

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 “Achieving this takes exceptional plan design,
culture change, high levels of trust and enabling
technology.”

The need for employee

engagement
In this increasingly competitive labor market,
it’s more important than ever for employers to
do everything they can to keep their people
interested in and focused on helping to grow the
company so they’re not tempted to look for jobs
elsewhere. Because top-notch talent is at such
a premium, it’s in an employer’s best interest to
make significant investments of time, money and
effort into retaining their best people.

Ultimately, employees with higher engagement

levels are 20 to 25 percent more productive,
Employees with higher reports one McKinsey study7.

engagement levels
are 20 to 25 percent
more productive.
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Getting ‘em engaged
That can be a tall order. A Gallup survey8 shows only
32 percent of U.S. employees consider themselves
engaged in their work, while 51 percent say they’re
unengaged and a full 17 percent report being actively
disengaged. That lack of interest happens at all
levels of business hierarchy, and if left unchecked it
drives down revenues.

“You’ve no doubt walked into a business where it was

clear the people who worked there would rather be
anywhere but at their job,” notes Sonia Thompson
on Inc.com9. “Employee engagement is strongly
connected to business outcomes essential to an
organization’s financial success, such as productivity,
profitability and customer engagement. Bottom line:
You can’t afford to have people who aren’t engaged
Only 32% of U.S.
in your business.” employees consider
So what do engaged workers look like? According themselves engaged
to Gallup, they’re empowered each day to do what
they do best on behalf of their employers. They in their work.

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have a supportive team at work (or at least one
key supporter) that encourages their professional
development, listens to their opinions and
confirms that their opinions count within the
organization. And they actively contribute to and
support their employers’ strategies for innovation
and growth.

Fortunately, the right digital tools can help

significantly when it comes to employee
engagement. Instead of struggling with outdated
tools that get in the way of their productivity,
teams well-equipped with the best new
technology can hit the ground running with
solutions that keep them better-organized, better-
informed, better equipped to collaborate and
better enabled to master the tasks associated with
their specific jobs. Often digital tools are also great
vehicles for learning, since they can be accessed
at any time and continually updated to present
new information and conform to new strategies.

In the best-case scenarios, such solutions can be

used whenever and wherever employees need

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them, allowing them to work off-site as needed
so they can focus on their workloads at the
places and times most convenient to them.

“Newer technologies, hot spots and Wi-Fi make

work easier to access,” notes Michelle Kiss on
HRTechnologist.com10. “In more recent times,
employees find themselves working during
leisure time, and often without extra pay. This is
not because they are forced to, but employees
that are genuinely interested in their jobs, or
more engaged, tend to work extra in their free
time.”

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Other key digital improvements?
While a huge range of technology tools are available for improving various aspects of your
business, the following should be at the top of the list for most businesses seeking digital
dexterity for their employees in the next few years.

Motivate for more mobile

One crucial element will be mobile dexterity, and we don’t mean just formatting your
website for easy viewing. Mobile trends for 2019 will involve greater use of technologies
such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, cloud apps and blockchain for app security,
according to a recent Smart Insights report11. Those advancements are helping employees
across industries work off-site while easily accessing, adjusting and sharing the detailed info
they need to do their jobs.

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De-mystify the DXP
The emerging enterprise software category
known as the digital experience platform (DXP) is
all about organizing, analyzing and responding to
customer information so your employees need
not do that manually. Configured as one product
or a suite of products, DXPs enable companies
to digitize their business operations, synthesize
customer information and apply the resulting
insights into personalized customer-facing
interactions. Not only does that personalization
better attract and keep clients, but it also means
less busywork for staffers who can instead apply
their brainpower for other purposes that will
further your company.

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See the most from your
CMS
If you’re not already utilizing a content
management system, you’re missing out on a
valuable solution allowing you to quickly and
efficiently add, edit or delete website content
without technical training in design or coding. An
efficient CMS keeps your employees from being
burdened with lengthy, complex IT projects that
get in the way every time they need to change
marketing strategies or adjust online content.
Given the popularity of content marketing, that
flexibility is increasingly important; 39 percent12
of all B2B marketers in North America were using
a documented content marketing strategy as of
last year, and half expect their content marketing
budgets to grow further in 2019.

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Common challenges to a digital overhaul
Ready to start thinking about embracing more digital tools for your company?
While making that investment should be well worth your while, you should be
aware of some obstacles you might face during that process.

IT and organizational issues

Your team must have the knowledge and skills needed to install, explain, integrate
and maintain the infrastructure needed to enable your new solutions, ensuring
they do their job to make your organization work more smoothly. While many of
today’s tools are intuitive, a comprehensive switch to digital can be complex and
confusing if your IT people aren’t capable and/or prepared enough.

Lack of thought leadership

Someone inside or outside of your staff will need to take the helm in explaining to
your employees how the new tools will function and pay off in the short term and
long term.

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Compliance
You’ll need to conduct due diligence to ensure
your new systems meet policies, terms and
governance requirements for all parties involved.

Employee resistance to
change
It’s human nature to want to stay in our comfort
zones and work with tried-and-true equipment
and procedures. You may have to invest time
explaining the benefits of the new technology to
your teams, then schedule mandatory workshops
and/or online sessions through which they learn it
and become familiar with its use.

Buy-in from other parts of

the business
Employees in all departments must understand
the advantages of the new technology if you
expect them to learn its functions and work with it
accordingly.

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Lack of clear ROI
Assigning a dollar amount to the benefits of
the new equipment may — at least initially
— be difficult, which may incite skepticism
among your financial staffers. Since improved
employee engagement can be difficult to
measure, you may have to simply focus on the
less tangible advantages of your investment.

Security issues
The more apps you accrue and the more
sharing that takes place, the greater the scope
that must be protected.

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What areas of your business
are due for digitization?
Every business will be different when it comes to the functions
that will benefit most. In general, however, you might start
by improving process areas such as customer service and
operations, since those changes will serve the dual purpose of
making both clients and employees happier. Many of the most
valuable tools work to make communication, collaboration
and everyday business functions easier and more efficient for
everyone involved.

Fortunately, your company’s digitization becomes much more

seamless when you choose platforms flexible enough to be
tailored to the needs of each department or organization.

The biggest key to your transition to business digitization may be

selecting solutions that can easily incorporate new technologies
as they become available.

Transitioning to the cloud and its managed services will be crucial

to making that happen, as will engaging with a trusted partner
that can walk you through the process every step of the way.

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Business digitization won’t be an option in the
coming years. It will be a necessity.

“Disruption will continue to be an increasingly

common occurrence in the next few years, and
companies unable or unprepared for those
changes will quickly fall to the bottom of the
pack,” predicts Daniel Newman in Forbes13. “The
companies that succeed and survive … will be the
ones that learn to go with the flow.”

Get Started Today

Learn more about how Rivet Logic can empower
your company for full digital transformation, using
industry leading technologies including Liferay
Digital Experience Platform, Alfresco Digital
Business Platform, Box Platform, Crafter CMS,
MongoDB and AWS.

rivetlogic.com
sales@rivetlogic.com
703.955.3480

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Sources
1 Gartner, “Gartner says too few organizations have the digital dexterity to
adopt new ways of work solutions”, June 2018
2 Deloitte, “The digital workplace: Think, share, do”
8 Gallup, “Employee engagement in U.S. stagnant in 2015”, January 2016
9 Inc., “68 percent of employees are disengaged, but there is a scientifically
proven way to boost engagement”, September 2017

3 Pew Research Center, “Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. 10 HR Technologist, ““How the digital age has transformed employee
labor force,” April 2018 engagement”, May 2018

4 Deloitte, “The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey: Winning over the next 11 Smart Insights, “Mobile Marketing Trends 2019”, November 2018
generation of leaders”
12 Content Marketing Institute, ““B2B content marketing 2019: Benchmarks,
5 Global Workplace Analytics, “Telecommuting Trend Data”, July 2018 Budgets, and Trends - North America”

6 Mercer, “2018 Global Talent Trends Study: Unlocking Growth in the 13 Forbes, “Top 10 trends for digital transformation in 2018”, September 2017
Human Age”

7 McKinsey, “The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through

social technologies”, July 2012

About Rivet Logic

Rivet Logic is an award-winning consulting, design and systems integration firm that helps leading organizations build riveting digital
experiences, and the solutions to manage and optimize them. Digital experiences that engage all types of users – customers, employees,
all stakeholders. Digital experiences driven by content, and optimized with data. Most regarded for its deep technical expertise, Rivet Logic
enables organizations to fully leverage the power of industry-leading open source and cloud software such as Alfresco, Liferay, Box, Crafter
CMS, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, AWS and more. With offices throughout the USA, Rivet Logic serves clients across a wide range of industries.

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