There’s no doubt about it – there are many benefits to implementing a digital workplace, from improved workflows to stronger communication channels. It can be difficult, however, to measure exactly how successful a digital workplace is, particularly if you have just completed a digital transformation for career growth.
Measuring the value of a business is a complicated task, and while endless reports of click-through rates and social media likes can be produced, these often do not provide a full picture on the success of a digital workplace.
We’ve put together a list of 7 effective ways to measure the success of your digital workplace for professional success:
1. Define your workplace goals
Before you can analyse how successful your digital workplace is, you must establish the goals and objectives of your workplace. For example, you may establish that innovation, productivity, employee engagement, and adapting to new technology are the core goals of your workplace success. Once you have established these goals, you can consider how well your digital workplace is supporting them.
2. Gather quantitative data
Those digital workplace goals you defined? Collect quantitative data related to each goal to measure how far you’ve met them. For example, if improving productivity was your aim, collect information about time frames and turnaround time on projects.
Similarly, if employee engagement was a business goal, include key performance indicators about them. This will allow you to compare statistics and facts about your digital workplace against your workplace performance.
3. Collect qualitative data
To gain true insight into whether your digital workplace is successful, you must collect qualitative data alongside quantitative. There are numerous ways you can do this, such as sending out intranet surveys on specific tasks or interviewing employees one-on-one.
Qualitative data will illuminate the statistics you gathered to measure your workplace success and give you first-person perspectives into how successful your digital workplace is.
Your team members may also be able to offer their own opinions about how your digital workplace could be improved, which will further benefit your business and team building.
4. Look for improvements
With the data you’ve collected, you can effectively determine new strategies and initiatives that will help your digital workplace achieve more success.
If, for example, your digital communication channels are not being used effectively because employees are unsure how to use them, you can schedule training sessions for career development, to ensure they can adapt to new digital processes quickly and efficiently.
It is essential that digital tools and practices are helping your employees work and not hindering them.
5. Set benchmarks to Measure Success in the Workplace
Once you have collected data about how successful your digital workplace is, define success and set a benchmark before you begin to make any changes.
To set a benchmark, choose how you will continue to measure the success of your digital workplace. This could be through performance reviews or customer feedback, for example, and then select how often you will analyse these metrics, e.g. monthly or quarterly. This will allow you to easily and effectively monitor the success of your digital workplace as you move forward.
6. Think across departments
The success of your digital workplace can differ from department to department, or employee to employee. For example, an HR employee who sits all day at a desktop may have a completely different digital experience to an employee who works on the go from their tablet and phone.
When analysing the success of your digital workplace, consider these elements and analyse the different components of your digital network on a project management basis.
7. Identify connections
With a clear benchmark of success defined, it’s much easier for business owners to identify areas of their organisation that are better performing than others. For example, workplace data may reveal that millennial employees are better at adapting to a digital workplace, or that employees who work remotely struggle with certain digital workplace practices. This information will allow an employer to adjust their digital workplace and fine-tune it for greater success.
