Tips to Improve Workplace Readiness in the Digital Age

The strongest businesses adapt to changes quickly and seamlessly, particularly in today’s fast-moving digital landscape. Now more than ever, digital intelligence is critical for the success of any organization. However, businesses are finding it harder to attract, hire, develop, and retain top talent, especially in roles related to digital development and intelligence. 

Given the climate of business in the ever-evolving technological world, digital transformation is now a top priority for organizations. The key to achieving success in this digital age lies in the digital intelligence of employees. Let’s explore the top ways businesses can develop and sustain an agile workforce with the relevant digital skills needed to propel organizational growth and development.

Employ the Right Talent

As more and more businesses embrace digital transformations, digital awareness can prove challenging and daunting for many employees. From the anxiety of not keeping up with the latest innovative developments and trends to the fear of losing jobs as a result of automation, many employees are apprehensive when it comes to embracing digital disruption.

At the heart of collaboration and the digital workplace lie your employees. In order to succeed, you need to hire the right people with the right talent. In particular, employees should have a positive attitude and an open mind when it comes to embracing digital solutions. Additionally, employees in a digital workplace must possess the collaborative abilities needed to seamlessly work across teams. 

Employee Development

As the digital world becomes more complex with user experience, employees need to possess a broad range of skills to deal with the growing demands of an advancing digital world. According to the Pew Research Center, over 50% of adults surveyed believe it’s “essential to develop new skills throughout their work life to keep up with changes in the workplace.” However, 35% feel they lack the required training and education needed to get ahead.

Employers need to invest in their employees so they feel valued and have the necessary skills to thrive in a digital landscape. Today’s workforce has developed an appetite for development. Both current and future employees are looking to develop opportunities in their current organizational role. The most successful companies integrate learning into their employees’ workflow. 

Empower Leaders

As the old saying goes, “lead by example”; when it comes to approaching the need for digital skills, it’s essential to start at the top. Organizational leaders must understand and interact with digital technologies to see how they will impact both organizational operations and the experience of employees and customers.

When leaders embrace and understand digital technologies and innovations, employees are more likely to embrace digital changes. The most successful leaders understand the technologies available and they leverage these technologies to keep their finger on the industry pulse.

Regardless of department or skill level, when leaders lead by example, they are more likely to motivate employees to learn and embrace the changes digital innovations can bring to an organization. While training programs are an effective way to upskill employees, learning initiatives are far more successful when leaders understand the fundamentals of digital services and how those services can enhance a business.

Encourage Knowledge Collaboration and Social Learning

We all learn in different ways. Learning doesn’t need to be related strictly to formal course material. In fact, research shows that 80% of employees learn from their colleagues in the workplace. Peer-to-peer learning allows employees with common backgrounds to gain knowledge by sharing their experiences with each other.  

Organizations can provide additional learning opportunities through discussion forums, communities, chat, micro-blogging, etc. With the coming in of mobile learning, employees have the option to learn from any of their smart devices. These informal settings provide a great way for employees to adopt a continuous learning strategy to advance their careers through self-learning.

Developing digital readiness is more important than ever for the success of an organization. Not only will development initiatives work to fulfill skill gaps within the workplace, but they also help to drive performance and productivity.