Recommendations for organisations based on CResDA results

CResDA results can provide the basis for recommendations for changing the way digital change is implemented at the workplace. To keep these manageable, recommendations can focus on between two to five key areas for improvement that stem from the results and feedback. Such areas might include skill development, changing or enhancing the support offered at different levels of the organisation, involving different groups in the decision-making process, and nominating digital change champions.

Example recommendations based on varying patterns of digital attitudes and contextual resources are provided below. The specific set of recommendations stemming from the results of CResDA should only be considered as starting points for adapting the digital change process rather than definitive steps to ensuring the successful implementation of new technologies.

Workforce profiles based on CResDA results

Figure 2: Workplace profiles based on CResDA results

The figure above represents different workforce profiles that might be revealed through CResDA. For ease of interpretation, these are simplified profiles, which do not differentiate between different digital attitudes or different contextual resources. However, they illustrate the importance of alignment across the different attitudes and resources. To facilitate an environment where positive digital attitudes are fostered, it is advised to address the provision of contextual resources first. Recommendations for developing actions at different levels based on having a particular type of workforce profile are presented next:

Digitally Engaged workforce - holds positive digital attitudes and a positive perception of all contextual resources.

Organisation: Organisations with a workforce that falls predominantly within this profile have introduced appropriate training and support for new technologies. Organisations should ensure these good practices are continued and refreshed as necessary going forward.

Change Leadership team: The change leadership team has created opportunities for employees to contribute to shaping the digital change process. Change leaders should continue these practices for ongoing iterations of the digital change and new digital projects. .

Line Manager: Line managers in such organisations encourage employees to use new technologies in creative ways and create an environment where employees can freely discuss issues regarding these technologies. Line managers should be encouraged to continue and expand these actions as appropriate going forward.

Team: The teams in these organisations are a supportive space for collaborative learning about new technologies and likely to consist of employees motivated to try new technologies. This type of team environment should be encouraged going forward.

Providing such contextual resources is likely to contribute to maintaining positive digital attitudes within the workforce. Whilst this is the most positive position to be in, the organisation needs to ensure they maintain the support they have provided and examine any areas where there were lower scores to develop further interventions (e.g., if there were less positive perceptions of communications during digital change in some departments, the change leadership team can ensure that this is improved).

Digitally Precarious workforce - holds positive digital attitudes but has a generally negative perception of contextual resources.

A workforce with this type of profile is personally supportive and confident in relation to new technology but do not feel they have adequate support within the organisation to help them use or master new technologies, or deal with digital change. In the long term, this lack of support could erode the current positive attitudes towards the technology change project, and those who feel they have digital skills may move to another organisation that provides more contextual resources.

Organisation: To contribute to maintaining positive digital attitudes, it is recommended that the organisation invests in education and training for the workforce. Employees should also be made aware of the wider implications of the technology (such as how it fits with regulatory requirements or affects other organisations in the supply chain).

Change Leadership team: The change leadership team should introduce initiatives to align the wider organisational processes and digital change project by providing supportive communication, involving employees in the change process, and actioning project activities in a timely and effective manner.

Line Manager: Organisations should also ensure that line managers have training about their role in technology change. For instance, within the digital change project, line managers could be involved in explaining to employees why new technologies are being introduced and encouraging them to use these new technologies.

Team: Departments or teams that exhibit higher scores in positive digital attitudes could include members suitable for digital champion roles who could play a key role in the further implementation of new technologies and work processes across the entire organisation.

Digitally Uncertain workforce - has answered ‘Neither agree nor disagree’ on most CResDA statements.

In this situation, it might be that the workforce is not interested or is not informed enough about these issues to provide a definitive answer - i.e., they are uncertain about the digital change. Uncertainty in the context of digital change can be damaging for the success of the project, and can also cause increased stress amongst the workforce.

Organisation: It is recommended that organisations provide more information to employees about the purpose of the digital change and what opportunities will be available for enhancing workforce skills and creating new jobs.

Change Leadership team: To help reduce uncertainty amongst employees, the change leadership team should provide more clarity about the goals of the project and how the workforce can get involved and benefit from the opportunities available.

Line Manager: Line managers can be trained to provide support and guidance to employees who are uncertain about how digital change will impact the way they do their job.

Team: Teams can benefit from targeted learning opportunities which allow them to explore new technology as well as discover how it can be used to assist their current ways of working.

Digitally Tentative workforce - does not hold positive digital attitudes but has a positive perception of contextual resources.

Although there are high levels of support for using new technology within the organisation, employees may still have concerns about their ability to use these technologies and the value of new technologies for their own job. This type of profile might be most common at the start of a digital change journey.

Organisation and Change Leadership team: To ensure that positive digital attitudes are developed and new technologies are accepted and used, it is recommended that organisations and the change leadership team work together to improve the level of communication about why the change is taking place and what opportunities are available to upskill people for their jobs. Involving employees in the technology design and implementation process can help to allay fears about negative impact on jobs if their views can be considered in the design of technology, new ways of working and new roles that are developed. Involving the workforce in the digital change process can also help the organisation to understand what specific skills and competencies need to be developed, and this can help set up important training programmes and develop targeted learning opportunities for employees within different departments.

Line Manager: Support at the line manager and team levels can be enhanced by providing training for line managers on providing encouragement to employees for using new technologies. It is important that line managers demonstrate continued commitment to developing the skills and abilities of the workforce, as this can foster positive digital attitudes in the workforce.

Team: To encourage knowledge and expertise sharing related to new technologies, rewards and recognition can be put in place for teams that have demonstrated exchange of knowledge. To enhance employees’ positive digital attitudes, it is important that such mechanisms for team support are put in place as these can demonstrate that personal and team development is valued in the organisation.

Digitally Disengaged workforce - holds negative digital attitudes and has a negative perception of contextual resources.

Organisation: It is recommended that organisations with this type of workforce improve their communication about digital change, why it is happening and what opportunities this creates for the organisation and employee jobs. A programme of education and training in digital skills should also be developed so that employees see that their skills are being expanded and invested in.

Change Leadership team: It is also recommended that the change leadership team actively engages the workforce in the digital change project (e.g., through workshops, surveys and representation on the steering group). It is important that the perspectives of the workforce are taken into consideration when designing new work systems and roles that involve technology. This involvement can help to build understanding and buy-in so that employee and organisational goals are aligned. Additionally, navigating the digital change process in a timely and effective manner can reassure employees that the change leadership team has a clear understanding of how new technologies will be used to improve their jobs.

Line Manager: Line managers in such workforces may also need to understand how and why new technologies are being introduced. Having this understanding is crucial for them to be able to encourage employees to use new technologies and to facilitate an environment where discussing any technology-related issues is the norm.

Team: Teams are likely to need time to embed new technologies into their work practices and can benefit from understanding how these technologies should be implemented to support their own working practices. To facilitate commitment to the digital change process, teams can also be made aware of the wider impacts of the technology (such as how the outputs of those technologies may be used by other members of the organisation or supply chain).

Although the above profiles represent the most likely scenarios, it is possible that a workforce can have a more nuanced view of the contextual resources within the organisation or hold positive and negative digital attitudes simultaneously. Because of this, recommendations for developing actions to address specific contextual resources are presented next:

To improve perceptions of team support

The organisation can focus more on explaining to employees how digital change can enhance new forms of collaborative work.
Employee training on using the new technologies can also focus on how to use technologies in a collaborative manner
Where possible, the new technology can be designed to necessitate working as a team whilst building on individual strengths and complementarities.
Employees can be rewarded for sharing knowledge and information about digital skills within their team.

It can be important to build such forms of team support prior to the implementation of the new technologies as the presence of this form of support can help with the integration of new members within the workforce and foster positive digital attitudes in the team.

To improve perceptions of line manager support

Line managers may need more training in how using and understanding new technologies is aligned to the needs of the business.
Line managers can share this innovation-driven mindset with their employees through team meetings and other information-sharing forums, to encourage employees to expand their current skillset and take advantage of opportunities provided by new technology in their work.

This helps to create an environment which promotes new technology use by explaining to employees why those technologies are being used and by encouraging them to provide feedback about any technology-related issues.

To improve perceptions of change management support

More efforts may be required to explain to employees how the digital change will impact their specific work activities in a meaningful way.
This can be achieved through involving relevant employees in the digital change process and considering their views on how new technologies should be implemented.
It may be important that the practices and normative behaviours in different work units are taken into account when designing digital change, so that the implementation of new technologies or work practices augment these traditions and maintain employees’ sense of belonging to their work unit and the entire organisation.
The change leadership team should also ensure that effective two-way communication channels about the digital change process are put in place, which will enable employees to understand why new technologies are being introduced and to report any issues with technology use or job redesign.

Effective communication can also help employees see that the change leadership team is undertaking important actions in a timely and effective manner, which in turn helps to foster employee commitment to the digital change process.

To improve perceptions of organisational support

It is important that a programme of education and training activities is put in place so that employees can upskill and work with new technologies effectively.
It is also important that employees see that any new technologies are designed or used for the needs of the organisation and other relevant stakeholders and are in line with regulations.

These changes can help employees to understand how new technologies fit existing organisational processes and how they will use them in their work.

If negative digital attitudes persist

It is important to understand why and to design actions to mitigate any adverse impact these attitudes may have on the digital change process. This can be achieved by consulting representative employees and designing actions aimed to tackle negative digital attitudes based on employee feedback. Such actions may include:

Having employees test the new technology and associated ways of working prior to implementation.
Discussing how existing ways of working that are valued by employees can be preserved after technology implementation.
Offering upskilling opportunities to employees through training and learning activities.
Discussing the design of any new jobs that may be necessitated by the change process.

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Interpretation, Feedback and Reporting

Using CResDA at the Evaluation Stage