Companies that aren’t on the digital cutting edge — or at least moving toward it — shouldn’t expect employees to stick around too long, according to a July 2016 study by Sungard Availability Services.
Participants in the study included more than 700 IT decision-makers and 1,400 non-IT business employees across the U.S., U.K., France, Sweden and Ireland. According to research conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of the IT company, 36 percent of employees said they would leave their current company if offered a job at a more digitally progressive organization. Why? The report said 81 percent of employees consider access to digital tools as important. But nearly 44 percent of people don’t see their company driving digital transformation fast enough, and about as many don’t believe their organization is committed to making those advances to begin with.
The study defined digital transformation as involving innovations like cloud-based technologies, mobile websites and applications, social media and digital platforms. Some 51 percent of employees’ report they believe their ability to advance in their careers is better at digitally-led companies.
On top of that dismal assessment on the state of enterprise digital advancements, some 50 percent of employees don’t think their companies have the right technical skills. Further, 36 percent of people surveyed don’t think they’re getting the training to make the most of digital tools. If companies want to hang on to top talent, they need to be concerned about digital business transformation. Companies must be committed to providing employees with access to modern digital tools as well as the training needed to use them. Otherwise, they risk decreasing employee retention, engagement and productivity.
