A daring zero-based Digital Workplace

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It’s easy to say that today’s digital workplaces have become complicated environments that, logically, complicate work , and you’d have to be in bad faith not to agree. However, coming up with an answer is anything but easy, because what appears to be the best viable response is so radical that it is logically unpopular.

We’re not going to rehash the history of the digital workplace, but the trend over the last twenty years or so has been for more and more tools to do more and more things, and with this in mind, we can only be delighted to see our toolbox expanding.

The digital layered mess

The problem is that instead of re-evaluating the contents of this toolbox according to the use and functional scope of each tool, we’ve just piled them on top of each other, thinking that the worker will manage. Over time, there are only two possible outcomes: either it sediments and you get oil, or it creates a complicated mille-feuilles that disrupts work, which is of course the result.

Today, there’s no coherence in the way tools are used, we’re overloaded with information, and this information is increasingly dispersed and difficult to follow. Ultimately, all this has an impact on productivity and mental workload, not to mention the much-neglected problem of the impact of digital tools on the environment.

A few articles for those just discovering these subjects:

My credo has always been that, in most cases, it’s not the tools that are the problem, but the way they’re used, which brings us back to the subject of governance (Digital Workplace: time for a clean sweep). But since no one likes to make themselves unpopular by imposing rules which they know are beneficial (which is also true in other areas: CRM can save your business, but not the CRM you think!), we often prefer to settle the question of technology by technology, which more often than not leads to a dead end.

One day, we’ll have to think about why businesses like to over-process areas where a little flexibility would be welcome and, conversely, refuse to be too strict in areas where a little discipline is necessary.

But let’s get back to our subject: how to get out of the trap of a digital workplace by rationalizing usage, not through governance and training, but through application portfolio management.

The good news is that, as is so often the case, we have a good example at hand that works in other fields, and that all we need to do is apply to our problem. Except we don’t.

The zero-based budget

Anyone who’s ever had to draw up a budget knows how it’s usually done: you take the budget for year n-1 and make marginal adjustments based on the main guidelines for the coming year.

Advantage: it’s quick and produces something coherent.

On the other hand, there are a lot of things you don’t question, which end up accumulating, and after 10 years you realize that a mass of useless costs is eating away at the business’s profitability, so you decide to make massive blind cuts all over the place, with little rationality.

Counter-productive from A to Z.

Another solution is to apply the zero-based budgeting method which, as its name suggests, involves starting each year with a clean sheet.

Each budget item must be individually justified and validated according to current priorities and strategic objectives. A method that promotes more efficient use of resources, eliminates unnecessary costs and stimulates innovation.

Does it inspire you?

The benefits of zero-based digital workplace

The first advantage, which will appeal to a population more interested in numbers than in the subject of collaborative working, is cost optimization.

By evaluating each tool and process from a blank sheet of paper, it becomes possible to eliminate redundancies, under-utilized tools or those that no longer provide value. This reduces both direct costs (licenses, maintenance) and indirect costs (wasted time, training).

It’s also a question of alignment.

Each tool selected must answer a fundamental question: how does it serve the business’s objectives? This approach ensures that the digital workplace directly supports strategic priorities, such as improving collaboration, productivity or the employee experience.

A third impact concerns the employee experience.

Too many tools and processes create cognitive overload for employees. By streamlining the digital workplace, we simplify their day-to-day lives, improving tool adoption and engagement.

This in turn improves the adaptability and resilience of the working environment.

A digital workplace designed with a zero-based approach is more agile. It can evolve quickly in line with business needs or technological advances, without being burdened with a cumbersome past to manage.

Finally, it stimulates innovation.

Challenging existing solutions opens the door to innovative approaches. For example, exploring AI tools to automate certain tasks, or adopting more intuitive collaboration platforms. Starting from scratch is always an opportunity to ask whether there isn’t a better, simpler, more efficient, less costly way of doing things differently, and to question what we’ve taken for granted.

How do you build a zero-based digital workplace?

Building (or rather rebuilding) your digital workplace in this way is, in a way, a way of overhauling certain practices and, above all, adopting a form of hygiene.

The first step is to carry out a thorough audit of your company, so as to get a true picture of reality. Analyze all the tools, processes and practices in place. Which ones deliver real value? Which are redundant, under-used or obsolete?

Then you can ask yourselfwhat the strategic priorities are for your digital workplace. Identify business objectives and employee needs. For example, do you want to improve remote collaboration, reduce tool-related stress or speed up decision-making?

It’s essential to bring users back into the loop, to understand how they really work on a day-to-day basis and what their needs are. The earlier they are involved, the lighter the change management burden will be (Change and transformation need a new approach).

Beware of obstacles and resistance

But let’s face it: the zero-based digital workplace is an excellent way of getting things back on track, simplifying practices, compensating in part for poor governance, and saving money. But it’s not a magic wand that will solve all problems without effort or care.

Of course, there will be resistance to change: The digital workplace directly affects the daily lives of employees, so it’s a sensitive subject. Clearly communicate the benefits and involve them from the outset to reduce reluctance.

But as one CIO told me, you shouldn’t be afraid: “They’ll complain that we’ll have to take infinite precautions…but if we do nothing, they’ll complain about what already exists”.

Secondly, we must not underestimate the need for training, even if we like to think that rationalizing and simplifying technology will solve all adoption problems.

New solutions, even intuitive ones, require support to ensure optimum adoption.

Last but not least, they require a great deal of preparation and planning. Just because you’re starting from scratch doesn’t make things any easier – quite the contrary.

Starting from scratch is the quick and easy solution, but to do it this way is to rebuild everything, and therefore question everything.

Bottom line

Adopting a zero-based approach to the digital workplace is an opportunity to start afresh on a sound footing, aligned with the business’s current and future needs. It’s an initial investment that can transform working practices, reduce costs and improve the employee experience.

It’s very effective, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Photo by Stockphotos.com

Bertrand DUPERRIN
Bertrand DUPERRINhttps://www.duperrin.com/english
Head of People and Business Delivery @Emakina / Former consulting director / Crossroads of people, business and technology / Speaker / Compulsive traveler
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