What a difference two weeks make. On 12th March we were at EBM’s Digital Workplace Conference at the Park Plaza in central London. Now we are locked away. Physically isolated islands, yet still craving the human interactions, reassurance and collaboration that working as a team together gives us.

No one was aware at the time how significant the theme of the day was going to be. We were talking about a time far from now when the majority of us would be using technology to work remotely and flex our lives. That time is right now.

The long-term implications of Covid-19 on our workplaces are as yet unknown. So much is uncertain. I wonder if when it’s over, this enforced seismic shift has expedited a permanent change in our workplace BAU to a new agile, remote workforce, always on, always connected?

So, this report will of course feature core themes and insights from the expert speakers’ content from the day. I am also going to try to make it a useful guide for everyone who is adjusting to this new world, this new way, in these new, unparalleled times.

Treating employees like customers

Our first speaker of the day was Devyani Vaishampayan, Managing Partner of the HR TECH Partnership. She begun by making a brilliant yet often overlooked point about the exceptions of us as consumers vs our experience as employees and how workplaces need to adapt to this. As consumers, we demand a personalised experience with instant access to everything we need ‘anytime, anywhere’, right there at our fingertips. We don’t drop ourselves off at the workplace threshold when we come to work, we’re instinctively looking for this at work too.

Download below to gain access to the full report…