Executive Summary: ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work - Services and Solutions - Switzerland 2022
To download the report for all quadrants, click the PDF on the right or the contact now button for access.
The individual quadrant reports are available at:
Clients in Switzerland adopt hybrid model to enhance productivity
With the return-to-office programs, most enterprises realize the need to revise or even rethink the future of their work and workplace environments.
When analyzing the state of the postpandemic work and workplace, it was observed that most employees perform part of their work remotely, especially from home. At present, companies are adopting a hybrid work model that enables employees to work from the home and office. A common practice is for two to three days at the office agreements, but some companies offer the flexibility to work remotely for four days in a week, and some offer a permanent work-fromhome option.
These measures have been taken, as part of pandemic preparedness planning, to remain flexible for the future societal changes and development. This has greatly improved in the last 12 to 18 months, with increasing workplace flexibility and the changing workforce. Technological advances help tackle the talent shortage. Rapid changes in technology also enable enterprises to offer flexible workplace offerings.
Clients continue to adapt to these hybrid work standards, and employees mainly choose to work from their office to improve personal interactions and social connections. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid work model. While hybrid working is a norm, it reduces face-to-face interactions. Studies have found that employees working from the location of their choice have increased comfort and productivity; however, employees face challenges while interacting with colleagues and partners. These challenges include behavioral change during hybrid interactions, for example keeping workers that are participating remotely actively engaged during meetings at a central facility. Otherwise this can impact the employee engagement and ultimately the overall employee experience.
Although advanced technologies such as 4G/5G networks, mobile devices and applications enabled work from anywhere years ago, the traditional office setup was the norm before the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
However, the way of working transitioned into the remote model during the pandemic and at present the hybrid working is gaining traction. With these changes, employees are facing challenges such as burnout and noticeable reduction in work-life balance.
To hire and retain talent, companies have started to provide flexible and collaborative work environments with a strong emphasis on employee well-being and experience.
A future of work strategy focuses on employee experience and staff wellbeing.
The demographic change in the workforce toward Generation Z (born in the late 1990s and early 2000s) is currently happening. These talents are either about to enter or have already entered the workforce. This group will grow even further and has different workplacerelated requirements. Generation Z people are already familiar with social media and the virtual world before even entering employment.
Working remotely is not a concern among most people in this generation. With its ability to socialize in general, this cohort has a different perception regarding the workplace environment. Benefits like “fruit basket in the office” or “flexible working hours and mobile working” listed in a job vacancy are no longer considered an additional advantage offered by some employers; these have become default factors in the current job market. This generation can work from anywhere seamlessly without any restrictions. Therefore, to attract people of this digital-native group, companies should focus on enhancing the workplace environment and offer benefits that are not available at any other location. The modern hybrid workplace shall provide employees with the flexibility to work from their desired location. Companies also need to ensure that they provide an office environment wherein the employees remain more productive than any other location. However, the current workplace should also address the demands and requirements of previous generations in terms of traditional office environments and offer the flexibility they have become accustomed to during the pandemic.
By evaluating these different parameters, along with employee demands, expectations and team needs, enterprises can establish clarity and can better address the requirements related to a hybrid work model. This may lead to significant behavioral change among different groups of the workforce, and it is certain that enterprises no longer can have a standardized workplace that follows the “one size fits all” approach.
The new workplace will need co-creation across multiple stakeholders, including the workforce. The requirements of users should be the key focus area when defining the workplace – essentially putting the user into the center of thinking An explorative mindset will help during the current transformation of the workplace, which is focused not only on providing a new stack of technology but also on impacting the overall organization. It is recommended to involve all parts of the organization when designing, experimenting and revising the behavior model. This can ensure that hybrid workplaces can be favorable for both employees and employers alike. This will remain a continuous process, which will also involve reimagining work and workspaces with people as the key focus area, wherein both physical and digital workplaces coexist.
Therefore, enterprise IT and workplace executives are currently at the forefront of transformation due to the growing emphasis on employee retention, a techsavvy workforce, sustainability, remote work and hybrid work. Corporate IT, which was traditionally recognized for being reactive and resolving issues, is expected to meet these requirements by playing a significant and crucial role in redefining the business and operating models of organizations across Switzerland.
Providers in the region must cope with this trend and offer services that meet the requirements.
Providers for:
• Workplace Strategy Transformation Services must help their client on their transformational journey, providing consulting to them on employee experience and guide them regarding the hybrid workplace.
• Managed Workplace Services - Enduser Technology need to create and provide a customized hybrid workplace environment and fulfil the demand and requirements of diverse workforce, providing them with the right tools and technologies required to achieve increased productivity.
• Digital Service Desk and Workplace Support Services need to provide support services to the diverse workforce. They should focus on offering different channels considering the experience of the employee, meeting the expectations of the workforce and increasing employee productivity.
The transformation has broadened the requirements of clients and, in turn, increased the scope of traditional digital workplace technologies. The interaction with business functions has also increased.
Therefore, ISG has noticed a decline in the market for transactions that are solely focused on technology or enduser computing, and enterprises are increasingly integrating hybrid workplace initiatives into the scope of their overall organization and digital transformation.
This does not imply that customers are no longer seeking traditional technology focused services. There is a need to integrate them with transformation initiatives, with a stronger emphasis on outcomes, including employee experience and retention.
With initiatives for the future of employment, some of the emerging trends are as follows:
• Enterprises request support to develop their plans for workplace change. Whether an employee works remotely or in an office, clients want to create an experience that fits their changing employee or user profile.
• To support the hybrid workforce, enterprise IT leaders and workplace leaders invest in strategic technologies. This helps in providing enhanced employee experience and to measure that experience while workers choose to work from any location of their choice. Enterprises emphasize using end-user technologies such mobile phones, PCs, meeting room equipment, digital signage, printers and other devices in the digital workspace, and on expanding the use of automationenabled support.
• Since the pandemic, employee wellbeing and empathy have become a top priority. In the hybrid working scenario, it is essential to actively deal with digital burnout and inadequate work-life balance.
• The work experience in an office setting needs to be modified when employees work from the office a few days per week. Smart workplaces that are technology enabled improve the experience based on specific purpose of the work and the individual employee needs.
• Technologies such as augmented and virtual realities (AR/VR) and the metaverse are now being explored by clients with an early adopter mindset. Initial use cases are training and onboarding.
These trends have increased the functionalities of traditional digital workplace technologies.
Access to the full report requires a subscription to ISG Research. Please contact us for subscription inquiries.