Written by Denis Dorval, Vice President International EMEA & APAC, at JumpCloud
Customer experience has long been crucial for companies. It is common for a business’ investments to be anchored around maximising customer satisfaction, in increasingly innovative ways. When customer experience is king, the time and effort devoted to optimising customer satisfaction is a no-brainer. However, the main question is why some organisations are slow to do the same for the satisfaction and experience of their employees.
According to PwC’s June 2023 report, one in four (26%) employees are considering changing jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year. The great resignation, it seems, looks set to continue.
Small to medium-sized (SME) staffing challenges and the great resignation
There are many reasons why employees might quit. The same PwC research reveals that 44% of those employees that are most likely to look for alternative employment, feel overworked, with 38% struggling to pay the bills.
Businesses are struggling too, with half of UK SMEs (47%) concerned about attracting and retaining talent in the next 12 months. The industry’s efforts to narrow the technology skills gap can appear, on the face of it, an unattainable goal.
Central to improving job satisfaction for existing employees, and in attracting top talent, is improving their overall experience. In the age of hybrid and remote working, SMEs must create a seamless working environment, regardless of where they are based and how they work, removing friction wherever possible. They must always feel like they are ‘in the office’, regardless of geographical location.
Strong HR and IT synergy crucial
Work-life balance, corporate culture, team morale, and career development opportunities are some of the main factors influencing the overall employee experience within a company. However, employee experience is also profoundly influenced by human resources and IT departments.
The synergy between these departments, also known as support functions, are at the heart of user lifecycle management for every employee, from the initial interview, hiring, and onboarding process, to performance, and efficiency within the company. HR and IT departments working closely is the foremost step in creating a positive employee experience, whilst reducing obstacles to productivity, through the use of tools and access management systems.
Misalignment between these departments, however, can cause issues with security, productivity, compliance, and user management.
Identity transformation key to a seamless and secure employee experience
With the urgent shift to remote working behind us, companies – particularly SMEs – therefore need a robust IT infrastructure to accommodate the work-from-anywhere approach. Indeed, most workers now indicate they want more flexibility regarding their working hours or where they work. And SMEs are taking notice; JumpCloud’s most recent SME IT Trends research indicates that 84% of respondents agree that employee experience is an important factor in making IT purchasing decisions.
In a world of hybrid working, employers need better communication, more cohesive processes, and integrated interdepartmental tools, to stay on top of employee wellbeing and experience. To achieve this, SMEs must modernise their infrastructure to simplify workflows and visibility.
The most straightforward way to do this is through IT consolidation, which is achieved by identifying one platform that will become the core of the IT stack, integrating it with existing systems, and removing irrelevant legacy tools.
To unify all processes, harmonise interdepartmental interconnections, and create a collaborative experience, a new user-centric approach is required for SMEs: identity transformation.
Support functions vital in to transparent and secure workflows
Identity transformation puts identity at the heart of IT management. Unique and specific to each individual, each person’s identity acts as an authority. Through a unified platform, each employee’s identity connects their device to the wider technology stack and guarantees transparent and secure access to physical and digital resources.
This approach enables employees to use tools, software, and applications that they are granted access to, on any operating system, at any time, and in complete security. With identity transformation, IT teams, in collaboration with HR, assign access to all necessary tools without logging on repeatedly.
Fewer authentication steps, automatic updates, security, and freedom: identity transformation makes things run more smoothly for support departments and the end-user, who gains peace of mind and unimpeded productivity.
Both HR and IT are vital to the philosophy of identity transformation becoming a success. Together, both departments must assess their processes regarding individual employees and embrace identity transformation as the key to a successful employee experience and a guaranteed quality of life at work.
