Findings from PwC’s Global Tech at Work 2018 study indicate that leaders and staff are not on the same page with respect to technology at work. While leaders are under the impression that they are choosing technology with their workforce in mind, results indicate that this is not always the case.

In fact, although 90 per cent of C-suite (top senior) executives say that they consider people’s requirements when choosing to implement new technology, only 53 per cent of staff agree.

The survey took place among 12,287 full-time employed adults from across different countries. The results were collected from all generations, ranging from C-suite titles to administrative roles, and from a wide spread of industries, including consumer markets, health industries, financial services, manufacturing, and technology and media.

Responses from employees who participated in the study indicate that current tools in the workplace limit their progress. In fact, 73 per cent of people surveyed say they are aware of systems that would aid them in producing work of higher quality. This result contrasts with the 92 per cent of C-suite executives who say they are satisfied with the technology experience their company offers.

Changing work environments is also increasing people’s ex­pectations of technology, with only 60 per cent of employees saying they were satisfied with the mobile options offered at their workplace.

Other re­sults also highlight that employees want to be given the opportunity to provide more input into the decisions leaders make on technology.

Furthermore, today’s workforce is keen to learn about technology and ready to invest time in training to improve their digital skills. However, results indicate that despite employees’ eagerness to learn, only 50 per cent of staff are satisfied with the learning re­sources available, and only 46 per cent say technological skills are valued at their workplace. This highlights an area for po­tential growth and improvement among leaders of organisations.

Despite the fast-paced deve­lopments in automation and artificial intelligence (AI), respondents are not willing to allow machines to replace human relationships in the workplace. Forty to 45 per cent of employees still prefer face-to-face interactions in activities such as performance reviews and other HR activities.

However, the same percentage of respondents prefer these same tasks to be digitalised. This indicates that although 56 per cent fear that technology is replacing human interaction in the workplace, digitalising certain tasks could make processes more efficient and enhance people’s experience at work.

Putting people at the centre of technology decisions ensures smooth transitions to more productive, efficient and effective ways of working

The survey shows that respondents are motivated by two distinct incentives when analysing their willingness to adopt new technologies: improved efficiency and rewards that improve their status. This distinction was found to be true across all gene­rations and functions within companies. This shatters common assumptions that younger generations are the most willing to adopt digital processes.

The study depicts three segments among workers. The first segment, making up 34 per cent of respondents, is motivated to use technology to improve their efficiency at work. This segment is found to be most likely to accept digitalised processes and invest more time for training.

The second segment (37 per cent) includes employees who are more willing to adopt new technology if it will result in advances in their career. This group is more likely to be hesitant about how technological advancements can help them progress in their career.

Employees within this segment need to feel that technological skills are valued in the company in order to be motivated to invest time into deve­loping their digital skills.

The remaining segment, making up 29 per cent of respondents, is comfortable with its daily routines and may require more effort to be motivated to improve on digital skills as respondents are reluctant to embrace technological changes.

In order to motivate this segment, employees must understand how technology can differentiate them from other colleagues and understand how their role contributes to the company’s overall purpose.

“An individual’s work experience is today highly influenced by technology and it has therefore become hard to see these two aspects separately without any overlap. A collaborative environment in which humans and technology can work cohesively can be achieved by understanding what motivates employees to adopt new technology in their work. Understanding such attitudes and behaviours towards technology will result in more effective communication and processes,” the report says.

Although today’s workforce is found to take a positive stance towards technological advancements, there is an evident distinction between the attitudes of leaders and employees.

Survey results highlight that while 88 per cent of C-suite executives agreed that AI is making the world a better place, only 48 per cent of staff agreed. Understanding this gap is the first step leaders can take to minimise worries staff have on technology advancements.

Claudine Attard, Senior Manager, People and Organisation Advisory, PwC Malta, said: “Our PwC people-centric change approach is focused on the need to put people at the centre of any change within an organisation. The results of this survey further emphasise how this also applies with technology transformations.

“Understanding your people’s pain points and views on how technology can support them to be more productive and en­hance their employee experience is key. Putting people at the centre of technology decisions ensures smooth transitions to more productive, efficient and effective ways of working. This will not only impact the em­ployee experience, but can have a ripple on delivering a superior customer experience.”

Michel Ganado, Consulting Part­ner, PwC Malta, added: “As a result of digital disruption, or­ganisations are finding themselves constrained to continue investing in technological ad­vance­ments to remain competitive. Leaders need to ensure that they are making the desired re­turn on the technology investments they are making, and achieve the required adoption levels. This is why it is essential that they understand their people’s needs and involve them more in the process. It is also important to look at the impact on their people and on how they can support them better through upskilling initiatives.”