harvard business review hyper-connected workforce report highlights

Why connected working matters to your business.Key findings from the August 2015 report,The Hyper-Connected Workforce, from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by Verizon.

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The Hyper-Connected Workforce


For the majority of companies, working from home, the road, or a nontraditional o�ce is now part of everyday life.

Source: “The Hyper-Connected Workforce”, a 2015 Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report, sponsored by Verizon.


48 of employees now use mobile and remote work technologies extensively.

41 use them moderately.

%

%


Cost-e�ective collaboration tools are now readily available.

That means any company, no matter what size, can now easily support connected working.



84% 79%use video.

use instant messaging.


But there are still barriers to connected working.



Top 5 barriers to a hyper-connected workforce:

41%say there’s a lack of skills.

38%

say they have insu�cient IT resources.

31%

say they need management guidance.

27%

say they lack the right tools.

25%

say the network doesn’t support the connected work experience they expect.


For many organizations, connected working requires significant cultural change — one of the hardest things any organization can undertake.


But there’s a cultural gap between “digital natives”, who grew up with technology, and everybody else.



Under 35s say they lack the right tools. <35s

>50s

Over 50s say they lack the skills to leverage the tools.


Millennials and Gen Z expect to be using consumer-like tools to communicate.



87% of respondents say the under 35s have the highest expectations of connected working.

87%



67 of respondents say that connected work that is not well managed leads to less collaboration, not more.

Connected work needs to be well managed.

%

Give lines of business more say.



say they have the final say.

27 say they are heavily involved in specifying what’s needed.

40say lines of business provide insight on the choice of devices and applications that enable connected work.

7

Bank

Store

%

%

%


If you can overcome the hurdles, connected working can be a game changer.



78%

68%

67%

say it increases business agility and responsiveness.

say it increases productivity.

say it improves internal collaboration.

64%say it improves geographic diversity.

53%say it improves external collaboration.

34%say it reduces operating costs.

31%say it reduces overheads.

30%say it increases revenue.


Fail to embrace connected working and you could also miss out on the best talent.



75 of respondents say their organization must support connected work to attract and retain the best talent.

%


Employees and managers recognize the value of connected working — and not just to their work-life balance — and are pushing for more.



36 of respondents say that the pressure to increase connected work is coming primarily from individual employees.

27 say it’s coming from business-unit or function leaders.

%

%



51 of respondents say it’s a high priority that their business increases mobile and remote working.

%



Just 15% of respondents say C-level executives are pushing for more connected work.

15%

Time for executives to get onboard?


We’re not close to realizing a hyper-connected workforce yet.

There’s still plenty you can do to stay ahead and stay connected.


To find out how you can realize a hyper-connected workforce, read the full report:

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A HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW ANALYTIC SERVICES REPORT

WORKFORCE

sponsored by

www.verizonenterprise.com/hbr-hyperconnected

harvard business review hyper-connected workforce report highlights

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