Businesses have accomplished so much throughout the chaos of the last couple years, ushering in an era of digital progress and innovation never before seen. But all this progress hasn’t come without a cost. The rapid pace has taken a toll on the workforce. Now’s the time for leaders to engage their people and equip them with the right technology to keep innovating.

The Pace of Progress

Years of advancement accomplished in a matter of months. 10-year roadmaps, coming to fruition in a two-year span. We’ve all heard incredible stories of companies accelerating their digital transformation efforts amidst the past two years of disruption. In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, executives reported the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has been accelerated by seven years. 

And no one seems to be slowing. Research from The Hackett Group shows enterprise digital transformation is the number-one business priority in 2022, with 61% of companies having a major initiative on the agenda (up from 53% last year).  

But what’s the impact on the human side of transformation? Are employees engaged? Or are they burning out? And if they are engaged, what will keep them engaged? Further, will they embrace all of these new tools, namely, Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies? 

Engagement is Slumping

While the implementation of digital technologies continues its rapid acceleration, employee engagement is in a slump. After trending upward in recent years, the latest figures from Gallup now show employee engagement in the U.S. is on the decline. In early 2022, 32% of employees report being engaged, which is down from 34% last year, and 36% in 2020. Gallup’s survey asks respondents about workplace elements like clarity around expectations, their perceived opportunities for development, and whether their opinions count at work. 

This waning engagement is juxtaposed against the progress most executives say they intend on making this year with their digital transformation projects.  How will leaders reconcile this? 

Are People Really the Problem?

While business leaders proclaim their people as their “greatest asset,” some telling research indicates many employers view them as a liability, not delivering on their potential. In the recently-released 2022 Breakthrough Study by Dell Technologies, 64% of respondents say the failure of their digital transformation programs is often due to their people.  

This was a hot topic at a recent GDS Group IT showcase, held in partnership with Dell Technologies, VMware, and NVIDIA. “There’s the executive thing of, ‘oh, look, the transformation didn’t work. It was probably the staff’s fault,’” remarked Paul Brook, Director of Data Centric Workloads at Dell Technologies. But, Brook added, there’s always another side to that narrative. “The staff’s saying, ‘but I wasn’t given the tools that I needed to do the job.’” 

Both explanations of why an initiative fails are right, according to Brook, and both are also wrong. “The only time this works – and the greatest successes – are when actually everyone works together,” Brook explained, “and they use tools that are effective.”  

New Tools Aren’t Enough

For a major transformation like adopting AI to be successful, it’s not simply a matter of new tools. Panelists at the showcase stressed how absolutely essential it is for employees to understand the impact AI will have on them and their results. If not, disengaged employees are a real risk, and a potential source of friction. 

Brook, who is also the author of a book entitled ‘Life of AI,’ believes the onus is on business leaders to ensure crystal clarity with employees, having specific conversations around, “this is what AI could do, how it could help you in your job.” 

Michael Luca, an economist and Harvard Business School professor, agrees. Luca gave the opening keynote at the IT showcase, speaking about how data and AI will drive innovation, but only when implemented within a culture of data-driven decision making, where employees use data to try and test different approaches and are comfortable with experimentation. 

“The key here is redefining what does it means to be successful as an organization,” said Luca. “Success doesn’t just mean having a high impact on everything you show. It’s trying things and figuring out what doesn’t work, and what does work.”  

Champions for Change

When employees have the proper understanding of the role of data, and an accurate view of the impact AI, automation, and other emerging technologies have within the business, transformation projects are far more likely to succeed. And even better, leaders will be fostering higher engagement amongst employees, inspiring their people to become a source of fuel, to be champions for change, not barriers to transformation, and truly, the company’s greatest asset. 

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