Digital Workplace Deep Dive

The ROI of RTO: Next-gen strategies to optimize hybrid work (Ep. 46)

Weston Morris — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:30:00 GMT

Join host Weston Morris in this episode of Digital Workplace Deep Dive and Unisys’ leading enterprise communication and collaboration experts: Rich Owen, director of architecture for Seamless Collaboration, and Stacy Harder, solution manager for Seamless Collaboration.

Their discussion centers on — you guessed it — next-generation strategies for enhancing workplace communication, collaboration and overall productivity.

Owen and Harder don’t simply explore applying modern workplace technologies to improve the employee experience. Instead, they delve into the evolving return-to-office (RTO) landscape to uncover where enterprises are missing out on significant opportunities to achieve a stronger ROI of their office workspaces. By tuning in, you’ll learn how the following strategies can drive the ROI of RTO:

Creating a seamless end-to-end meeting room experience for all participants, regardless of location
Leveraging IoT sensors to strategically cut overhead expenses and reduce carbon footprint
Providing specialized technology to frontline workers for enhanced productivity
Exploring virtual and augmented reality for more effective training
Collecting digital workplace data to uncover actionable insights and drive employee satisfaction

From green eggs to SIAM-X: Service integration's new chapter (Ep. 45)

Weston Morris — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:30:00 GMT

EX, XMO, XLA, XGB. Regular listeners of Digital Workplace Deep Dive likely recognize these acronyms as components of employee experience (and if not, check out the breakdown here). In this episode, we’ll add another – perhaps less familiar – acronym: SIAM-X, which discusses the intersection of service integration and management (SIAM) and experience management (X).

Join host Weston Morris for a conversation with Tom Reilly, partner at Beaconfield Partners, and Dr. Tony Parsons, director of digital service management for Unisys within the Asia Pacific region. In addition to reviewing the latest digital workplace trends in Australia and New Zealand, they share how successful organizations can embrace an experience-centered approach to service integration and management to align with the modern workplace.

As enterprise technologies increase in complexity, so do the ways in which companies must manage them to realize value. Although many have adopted a multi-vendor environment, operating dozens of service-level agreements (SLAs) in silos can make it extremely difficult to gain an end-to-end view and holistically measure improvement.

Enter SIAM-X: the next evolution of the traditional SIAM framework with employee experience at the center. Listen now to learn how integrating SIAM-X into your digital workplace can drive business outcomes through enriched end-user experiences.

Editor’s note: While the podcast does not reference Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham, we couldn’t resist the playful title.

The secret to using frontline worker experience data to boost productivity (Ep. 44)

Weston Morris — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 18:30:00 GMT

Nearly 80% of the global workforce operates on the front lines, according to Microsoft research. This crucial group of workers requires different enterprise technologies and tools than their desk-bound colleagues. For example, they may not have regular access to traditional corporate communications channels and often share devices to communicate and collaborate.

But many companies take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to providing employees with workplace devices and technology tools. This leads to lost productivity, subpar frontline worker experiences and ultimately, missed opportunities for business growth.

Learn strategies for unleashing the potential of your frontline workforce in an enlightening conversation with Beth Schultz, vice president of research for Metrigy, and Unisys digital workplace experts Bobby Arbuthnot, Stacy Harder and Stephen Tong. This episode of Digital Workplace Deep Dive explores common frontline worker challenges and how successful enterprises use digital workplace data to deliver a better employee experience and enable productivity, including:

Providing seamless integration of communication and collaboration tools, like Microsoft Teams
Implementing workshops tailored to diverse worker personas
Applying AI-driven insights to measure and improve employee experience
Introducing organizational change management (OCM) for frontline worker experience programs

Ignite your organization's digital workplace by recognizing the unique needs of your frontline workers and transforming their employee experience. Listen now.

To access the full research from Metrigy, visit www.metrigy.com.

Explore how Unisys can help optimize your frontline workforce.

Learn more

From hype to reality: Generative AI in the digital workplace (Ep. 43)

Weston Morris — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 04:00:00 GMT

From Chat GPT to Google Bard, there’s no escaping it—everyone is talking about
AI tools. But the discourse is quickly shifting from traditional to generative AI technologies, raising questions about how the rapid evolution and availability of these tools will impact the future of work. How can enterprises use them to boost workplace productivity and enhance employee experience? What are the risks of introducing generative AI into your digital workplace?

This Digital Workplace Deep Dive episode welcomes Suzanne Taylor, Ph.D., vice president of innovation and emerging technology at Unisys, to define the critical differences between traditional and generative AI. She also discusses real-world applications and risk considerations, outlining how organizations can:

Adopt generative AI tools in the digital workplace while carefully considering ethical implications and potential biases.
Effectively communicate and collaborate with all stakeholders to develop responsible generative AI practices.
Continually monitor and evaluate guidelines for workplace use of generative AI tools to achieve a balance between innovation and responsibility.
Embrace a human-centered approach to integrating generative AI in your digital workplace to deliver positive employee experiences.

Additional resources discussed in this episode can be found here:

3 tips for engaging your hybrid workforce in 2023 (Ep. 42)

Weston Morris — Thu, 04 May 2023 18:30:00 GMT

In this episode, we delve deeper into the research Unisys published in partnership with HFS Research. The report, From Surviving to Thriving in Hybrid Work, reveals strategies for organizations to create a winning hybrid workplace. Weston Morris welcomes HFS Research CEO Phil Fersht and Executive Research Leader and Head of Research Operations Melissa O'Brien to discuss key insights, including:

How to bridge the “hybrid work gap” between employers and employees to foster morale, boost productivity and increase workplace satisfaction
What the missing link is between employee engagement and productivity
Why employee experience programs are critical to sustain an effective hybrid workplace

Want to learn more?

Download the report

Improving digital employee experience (DEX) through modern device management (Ep. 41)

Weston Morris — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 05:00:00 GMT

What does modern device management mean for your digital workplace in 2023? Is adopting a platform like Microsoft Intune or Workspace ONE simply a cost-saving technique, or can this approach enable you to streamline operations and steer digital employee experience (DEX) strategy across your entire business?

Chad Arvay, chief architect of employee experience, shares real-world examples of how successful companies are using modern device management to:

Strengthen data and device security
Optimize device provisioning and replacement processes for hybrid work
Improve DEX
Reduce employee onboarding time and costs
Lower IT expenses and streamline operations

Arvay concludes by sharing tips and best practices for developing a modern device management strategy. Learn more about modern device management.

Mastering organizational change with a data-driven strategy (Ep. 40)

Weston Morris — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 18:30:00 GMT

In this episode of Digital Workplace Deep Dive, Kristine Krueger, Ph.D., director of global organizational change management (OCM) services and Dave Hamshaw, senior consultant for Unisys Digital Workplace Solutions, speak with Weston Morris to share their perspectives on why OCM is a critical component of any digital transformation. They walk through a real-world example of how one global enterprise used data-driven OCM techniques during a Microsoft Teams migration not only to guide the technology component of the platform’s rollout but also to foster a shift in corporate culture and collaboration.

This episode will answer questions such as:

Can a technology initiative catalyze a change in human behavior and company culture?
Which OCM techniques are best suited to drive end-user adoption and utilization?
How do you measure incremental progress and evaluate success at the project’s end?
How will OCM continue to evolve in the new world of hybrid and remote work?

Watch the full LinkedIn Live recording here.

Five 'Aha Moments' from HDI SupportWorld live 2022 (Ep. 39)

Weston Morris — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 18:30:00 GMT

What do industry practitioners actually think of experience-level agreements? At the 2022 HDI SupportWorld Live Conference, Unisys’ Weston Morris interviewed five conference goers about their XLA “aha moments” for the Digital Workplace Deep Dive podcast.

Top 3 tips for effective collaboration in the hybrid office (Ep. 38)

Weston Morris — Thu, 12 May 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Part 2 of a two-part series on effective communication and collaboration. Whereas part 1 focused on communication, this episode focuses on what makes collaboration difficult in a hybrid office. The panel of experts shares their best practices for improving collaboration – ranging from settings in Teams, to rituals and training that companies can use to get the most out of their productivity tool investment. Guests Kevin Peters and Rich Owen talk about the theory of great collaboration and Brandon Long shares real-world experiences and best practices. If you missed part 1, you can find it at this link.

What happens when your CIO and CHRO collaborate? (Ep. 37)

Weston Morris — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 18:30:00 GMT

The responsibility to understand and manage employee experience is no longer the sole purview of HR. With the rising use of XLAs, some IT organizations are now tracking how digital workplace technology is impacting employees’ work experience. In advanced cases, the CIO even is getting insights into how much work employees do after normal business hours, or how much interaction they have with colleagues and superiors. Historically, these types of employee well-being measurements would have only been considered by HR. But today, employee experience is increasingly becoming an important topic for the CIO as well.

In this episode, Matt Evans and Matt Burgon of Qualtrics share the science behind employee experience, how effectively some companies are using this experience data, some pitfalls to avoid when measuring experience, and some recommendations for how the CIO and the CHRO can more effectively work together in measuring and using employee experience data to improve engagement, productivity and worker happiness.

You can access the research that we discussed in this episode at these links:

2022 Employee Technology Trends

2022 Employee Experience Trends

Is effective communication in the hybrid office possible? (Ep. 36)

Weston Morris — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Is communication and collaboration easier or more difficult in the hybrid office? Who is at most risk of having a poor communication experience in 2022–someone in a home office or someone returning to a physical office? The answer may surprise you. Listen as two experts on unified communication and collaboration share over 40 years of experience in this space: Kevin Peters (Unisys Director, Solutions Management – Seamless Collaboration) and Glen Brumpton (Unisys Global Head of Consulting for Digital Workplace Solutions). This is a two-part podcast, with the first focusing on “communication” and the second episode diving deep into “collaboration.”

The ROI on DEX - Is it possible? (Ep. 35)

Weston Morris — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 18:30:00 GMT

More than half of my podcasts touch on employee experience in one form or another. However, none look at the ROI of experience management… until now. Mark Banfield, the CEO of 1E shares insights learned from the 14 million devices monitored by his company’s Digital Employee Experience (DEX) platform (Tachyon). Mark also shares four ways that enterprises are seeing their experience programs resulting in payback to the business. My favorite example is the connection between workplace technology that ‘just works’ and employee retention – an increasingly important point during the Great Resignation. However, technology is only part of the solution. Mark talks about the importance of changing work culture where the focus is on proactively improving employee experience instead of reactively fixing problems when and if they are reported. You can get Forrester’s Digital Experience Report which Mark mentions in this podcast.

Three letters that will transform your workplace (Ep. 34)

Weston Morris — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:30:00 GMT

As many as 50% of digital transformations are failing to meet their objectives. What is missing? Three letters: OCM. What exactly is Organizational Change Management? How is it being used to increase the success of transformations in large enterprises around the world? My guests, Mike Levine (Global Director of OCM) and Jillian Oakes (OCM Leader for the Americas) explain the difference between “change” and “transformation,” giving best practices from real world implementations. They also reveal what can cause OCM to fail and how to avoid those traps.

How security practices impact employee experience part 3: The future (Ep. 33)

Weston Morris — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 18:30:00 GMT

Episode 3 in our three-part series is here! In each episode, we’ve looked at how corporate security practices affect our workplace experience – especially the experience of remote workers. In part 1 of this series, Mark Pesce, the host of The Next Billion Seconds Podcast and Leon Sayers of Unisys revealed the gaps that exist between what enterprises expect vs. what remote workers are actually doing regarding securing their remote office. Then in part 2 Mark and Gergana Winzer looked at how we can bridge these security gaps through training. In this third and final episode, Mark Pesce interviews David Chadwick, the global Director for Identity and Biometrics at Unisys about what we can expect in the near future regarding the use of biometrics and their impact on privacy. You can read the global Unisys Security Index™ Report here: unisyssecurityindex.com. And check out Mark’s analysis of how our security concerns have evolved in Reflecting on 15 years of security insights – what does the future hold? A futurist’s view…

How security practices impact employee experience part 2: Education (Ep. 32)

Weston Morris — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 18:30:00 GMT

Part 2 of this 3-part series focuses on what enterprises can do to improve the security experience of their digital workplaces – whether employees are working remotely or in a hybrid office. Guest host, Mark Pesce, creator of The Next Billion Seconds podcast, interviews Gergana Winzer of Unisys to discover how education is essential to close the gap that exists between IT and workers relating to security practices.

Keep an eye out for part 3 of this series, where Mark takes a look at the future: What are some of the new security technologies, and how will they be used to enable the hybrid office? Please enjoy all three episodes. Read the global Unisys Security Index™ Report here: unisyssecurityindex.com. Also check out Mark’s analysis of how our security concerns have evolved in Reflecting on 15 years of security insights – what does the future hold? A futurist’s view…

How security practices impact employee experience part 1: The gap (Ep. 31)

Weston Morris — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 18:30:00 GMT

The 2021 Unisys Security Index™ reveals some interesting gaps between what enterprises think is happening and what end users are actually doing to keep their remote and hybrid offices secure. Workers are vocal about their dislike and fear of certain security and monitoring activities that enterprises are using to keep employees working securely and productively. This is the first of a 3-part series that examines the insights revealed by the Unisys Security Index. Guest host, Mark Pesce, creator of The Next Billion Seconds podcast, interviews Leon Sayers of Unisys to better understand the gap that exists between IT and workers relating to security practices.

Keep an eye out for parts 2 and 3 of this series, where Mark analyzes what enterprises can do to overcome these gaps and also takes a look at the future: What are some of the new security technologies, and how will they be used to enable the hybrid office? Please enjoy all three episodes. Read the global Unisys Security Index Report here: unisyssecurityindex.com. Also check out Mark’s analysis of how our security concerns have evolved in Reflecting on 15 years of security insights – what does the future hold? A futurist’s view…

The hidden data that will improve your online collaboration experience (Ep. 30)

Weston Morris — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 18:30:00 GMT

We spend more time in Zoom and Teams than eating or sleeping. Does that mean we know what it takes for everyone to have a great experience in the hybrid workplace using these tools? The answer can be a resounding “yes” if we know how to tap into the vast amounts of data being collected on all of our UC&C interactions. In this episode, Alan Shen, CTO of Unify Square shares his experience in scouring UC&C data repositories for the key bits of data that can give us insights into a more secure and more enjoyable experience in communicating and collaborating online. Learn more on utilizing UC&C operational data to improve security and end-user experience.

To see Alan Shen speak on the relationship between experience management and UC&C monitoring, please visit https://xla.tv/the-climb/

Happy workers = Happy customers? 4 expert tips to make it happen (Ep. 29)

Weston Morris — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 18:30:00 GMT

It is almost too easy to find studies showing that a great Employee Experience (EX) leads to a great Customer Experience (CX). It is much harder to, first, deliver a great work experience to your employees, and secondly, deliver a consistently great experience to your customers. In this episode, the author of 4 books on customer experience and host of The Agile World podcast, Greg Kihlström, shares practical tips from the 180 experts whom he’s interviewed in his podcast. For our interview, Greg has narrowed down that list of 180 experts to the four best stories that can help us quickly refine our customer experience strategy today:

Gartner’s Augie Ray reveals a top-notch method he learned at USAA to train new employees so that they are personally motivated to help customers.
Marriott’s CHRO, David Rodriguez has created a central customer experience program that cleverly enables each region to customize the customer experience per regional needs.
Renowned author, Shep Hyken shows us the undeniable connection between the best companies to do business with and the highest rated companies to work for.
Medallia’s Dushyant Mitra shares the details that we are all looking for – how to actually measure experience and make the connections between what our employees experience inside the office and what our customers experience externally.

Once you’ve listened to the podcast, you will no doubt want to find out more about improving your customer’s experience. You can find Greg’s books and full podcast episodes at theagile.world. You may find it helpful spending a few minutes perusing www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace to see the latest innovations in the use of AI, automation and merged reality. I assure you; it is time well spent.

"Pick your Nick" and other secrets to fab collab in the hybrid office (Ep. 28)

Weston Morris — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 18:30:00 GMT

The hybrid office is not new. It existed long before the pandemic, but we’ve forgotten how poor the experience was for remote participants. We now have a chance to reinvent meetings so that all participants – both remote and in-person – are 100% engaged and productive. How? In this episode, I interview Jim Kalbach, author, TED talk speaker, Chief evangelist, and employee #5 at Mural – a company that enables visual collaboration for the hybrid workplace. Jim shares some innovative techniques that he is using in his meetings such as “Pick your Nick” and “Ping-Ponging” which are having great success. Listen to the interview to learn more. And when you are done, feel free to check out:

Jim’s blog on hybrid work: 5 principles for making hybrid collaboration work
Jim’s book on productivity: The Jobs To Be Done Playbook: Align Your Markets, Organization, and Strategy Around Customer Needs

The top 5 stories from the digital workplace (Ep. 27)

Weston Morris — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Neil Miller is the creator of two podcasts that focus on what makes the modern workplace tick: The Digital Workplace and Work Minus. In my interview with Neil, you will hear five stories that he has hand-picked from his library of 200 fascinating guests:

Nancy Duarte (author of slide:ology) You will learn two ways that our presentation skills must evolve to effectively communicate in a hybrid workforce.
Dr. Gloria Mark (Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine) You will learn about internal vs. external interruptions – and identify which types of interruptions can actually be helpful to productivity.
David Heinemeier Hansson (Cofounder and CTO of Basecamp). You will find out what makes a great productivity app. Hint: it is not stickiness.
Jonathan and Melissa Nightingale (Founders of the Raw Signal Group) You will discover the connection between mind reading and great leadership in a distributed workforce.
Leron L. Barton (Author and TED Talk Speaker – “The Power of Sharing Your Story”) You will hear 2 things that automatically drive diversity and inclusion at the grass roots level.

I highly recommend checking out Neil’s site www.thedigitalworkplace.com/ where he shares additional nuggets that he has learned from his guests that can help organizations advance five of your systems through ‘5 Levels of a Digital Workplace’. In my work at Unisys, I focus on three of those systems: Technology, Productivity, and Collaboration. These are, of course, connected to the two other systems: Leadership and Culture. You may find it helpful spending a few minutes perusing www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace to see the latest innovations in the use of AI, automation and merged reality. I assure you; it is time well spent.

Ouch! avoid these 4 XLA mistakes. Please! (Ep. 26)

Weston Morris — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 18:30:00 GMT

Part 2 of our series on XLAs reveals 4 mistakes that enterprises make in rolling out an experience management program. Neil Keating, co-founder, and Chief Experience Officer of Bright Horse gives real-world examples of these 4 mistakes – and how to avoid them. Do you see any of these mistakes in your organization?

KPIs that have nothing to do with experience.
Mismatched expectations about what an experience management tool can/cannot do.
Using surveys the wrong way.
Not making the right organizational changes and/or not having the right level of senior leadership involved.

To find out more about how to have a successful rollout of an experience management program that may include XLAs, please see Neil’s additional suggestions and tips at https://www.brighthorse.co.uk. For more information on how digital workplace transformation is having a real impact on enterprises of all types around the world, please visit www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace.

If you missed the first episode in this series on XLAs, click here.

Do you want great XLAS? Avoid these 6 anti-patterns (Ep. 25)

Weston Morris — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 18:30:00 GMT

Are you considering rolling out an experience management program that uses XLAs to measure the happiness and productivity of your workers as they return to work? Wouldn’t it be great to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid their headaches? In this podcast, Neil Keating, co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Bright Horse, shares six ‘anti-patterns’ that have delayed successful rollouts of XLAs. Better yet, he reveals how to avoid these pitfalls. As you listen to Neil, ask yourself if you recognize any of these in your organization?

Knee-Jerk Reaction
Squeaky Wheel Syndrome
Reinventing the Square Wheel
Golden Hammer
Scope Creep
Management by Committee

To learn more about the successful rollout of a successful experience management program that may include XLAs, please check out more of Neil’s suggestions at https://www.brighthorse.co.uk

For more information on digital workplace transformation, visit www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace

Expand workplace diversity while ending digital poverty - Is that really possible? (Ep. 24)

Weston Morris — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Is it really possible to increase the level of diversity in your company’s workplace while helping to end digital poverty? What do we mean by ‘Digital Poverty’? Who is affected by it? In this episode of the Digital Workplace Deep Dive, we hear from four like-minded individuals from seemingly unrelated organizations about how they are collaborating in clever ways to end Digital Poverty. Dan Brown, the founder of The Positive Transformation Group explains how all of this is much more than handing someone a laptop and walking away. Harry Messenger shares his latest research on the extent of the problem. Annette Brown reveals the top three groups of individuals who will benefit the most from digital assistance. Davoud Pourhossein explains how service providers like Unisys can provide the one missing ingredient that can make all the difference to someone looking to improve their life. If, after listening to this episode, you’d like to find out more about how your organization can both get involved and benefit from this program, I’ve included links to The Positive Transformation Group and Dan Brown’s email address.

https://www.positivetransformation.org/

Dan Brown – Founder of The Positive Transformation Group: dan.brown@positivetransformation.org

Three surprises that blockchain brings to worker experience (Ep. 23)

Weston Morris — Tue, 11 May 2021 04:00:00 GMT

We normally equate blockchain with cryptocurrency. However, smart people around the world are devising new ways to use blockchain in increasingly clever ways. We discuss three of those applications in this podcast. Chris Blask, Global Director of Applied Innovation at Unisys has invented a Digital Bill of Materials based on blockchain as a way to capture ‘claims’ about a product or service. Chris and I brainstorm 3 surprising ways that this Digital Bill of Materials (DBOM) can be used to improve worker experience in the enterprise.

Asset Management on Steroids that not only tells you the model and serial number of your laptop, but what chips are embedded in the device and what firmware is running on it – something that IT needs to know if a security threat is discovered with those chips or firmware.
Digital Online Resume that tracks all of the significant work that you do. It follows you around and is instantly verifiable as you present yourself for work at a new company.
XLA Presentation – with the ability to present a composite XLA made up of multiple vendors, with immutable proof of how each vendor’s service contributes to the experience enjoyed by an enterprise’s employees.

This is a brave new world and I think you will enjoy learning about how bleeding edge technologies are being adapted to solve today’s problems in the workplace.

What HR can learn from the gig economy about a great work experience (Ep. 22)

Weston Morris — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:30:00 GMT

Why do gig workers have access to services that most HR organizations don’t provide? Discover three innovations that K2 Partnering Solutions has developed for its 500,000 gig workers that HR can emulate to provide a better workplace experience for their full-time employees. These services have enabled the growing gig economy and can also empower enterprises to attract and retain top talent for their full-time employees. In this episode, I interview Antonio Gulino, CEO of K2 Partnering Solutions, who has pioneered the use of gamification, a water-cooler-like environment for collaboration, the increasingly popular “Share and Earn” program, and other innovations to simplify and automate mind-numbing tasks. While mobility and flexibility continue to be important in the future of work, maintaining a sense of purpose and engagement is what employees, both gig and full-time workers, really want.

For additional information on Unisys Digital Workplace Solutions click here.

For additional information on K2 Partnering Solutions click here.

Is a bad tech experience causing your employees to quit? (Ep. 21)

Weston Morris — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Are your employees looking for work elsewhere because of a poor technology experience? How can you really know what your workers feel about their work experience? Sami Kallio, CEO and founder of Happy Signals may have the answer – a clever, painless way to measure employee experience that results in happier, more productive workers. He can back this up with data. For the last five years, he has produced the Happiness Score Report – a quarterly study of almost 1 million employee survey responses from 130 countries. In this episode of the podcast, Sami shares what he’s learned by answering these three questions:

How do I measure experience?
What all is included in a worker’s experience?
How do I translate a great experience to real value?

Enjoy the podcast, and then read “The Practical Guide to XLAs” on the Happy Signals website.

Then, discover the innovations that Unisys is bringing to digital worker experience at our Digital Workplace microsite.

Two amazing things happen when you measure experience! (Ep. 20)

Weston Morris — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 18:30:00 GMT

What happens when you measure the experience of your employees and your customers? This is the 3rd in the series of episodes dedicated to understanding end user experience. In this podcast, Alan Nance (CEO and co-founder of CitrusCollab) shares some powerful examples from enterprises who have benefited from measuring experience – going beyond SLAs to true XLAs that enable powerful engagement.

For more information on CitrusCollab’s recommendations for measuring experience, go to XLA Collab

For more information on Unisys approach to Digital Workplace Services, please visit this interactive site: https://www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace

Can the digital workplace give you what you want... And what you need? (Ep. 19)

Weston Morris — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMT

What popular trend in IT works against a great work experience? Standardization. In its effort to create efficiency, it is also creating a bad work experience. How do we balance the IT cost savings that standardization brings with the desire to give employees a great work experience that lets them bring real value to the company? Traditional Managed Services contracts are focused on cost reduction. But the money saved in IT is irrelevant when looking at the success of the enterprise as a whole. It is also a mistake to think of personas as IT roles. Instead, we need to understand the real personas that participate in the delivery of the service and make sure each person has what they need to participate in that service. This enables IT to open the door for new revenue and new services. This is part 2 of a 3 part series on End User Experience. In part 3 we will look at how to measure ‘experience’ in a way that brings real results.

For more information in Unisys approach to Digital Workplace Services, please visit this interactive site: https://www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace

How much more money does my company make when I am happy? (Ep. 18)

Weston Morris — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:30:00 GMT

What is the connection between employee experience and company profitability and growth? How do we get the benefits of standardization and diversity at the same time? The growing interest in ‘experience’ (both for employees and customers) is driving some interesting changes in how we deliver IT services. We’ve come a long way in standardizing and measuring IT services. How do we continue to get the benefits of that while also providing great experiences at work? Alan Nance, CEO of CitrusCollab and member of the team that created ITIL 1.0, shares his thoughts on the importance of End User Experience, choosing to replace the term "End User" with a more forward thinking term, "Prosumer". He reveals what we’ve learned about End User Experience during the pandemic – and in so doing, redefines what we must include as part of the Digital Workplace.

The CEO of Unisys, Peter Altabef, shares his view of EUX and how it is an integral part of the future of work in this blog.

Did the pandemic change public sector for the better? (Ep. 17)

Weston Morris — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Will public sector soon become an attractive place for millenials to work? What did the public sector IT do really well during the pandemic? What will change forever in public sector as a result of the pandemic? What challenges does public sector face with 30% of their employees being eligible to retire? To answer these questions, Shawn Kingsberry draws on his experience in providing IT services for several state governments and his time as CIO of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board for the US Federal Government. I think that you’ll find his insights both interesting and useful. Together, Shawn and I look at what makes the public sector different from commercial enterprises, how many state governments made rapid changes during the pandemic, and what changes are yet to come in public sector as a reaction to the pandemic.

Links to additional content relating to public sector:
https://www.unisys.com/industries/government/public-sector
https://www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace

Five 2019 workplace initiatives that got us through the pandemic (Ep. 16)

Weston Morris — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 18:30:00 GMT

In 2019, ISG’s Director of Digital Solutions and Strategy, Iain Fisher, shared with me 6 important workplace initiatives. That was before the Pandemic seemed to change everything. Looking back, which of those initiatives are even more important today as we continue to deal with the pandemic? Which have dropped in priority? Which will be important as we move into the post-pandemic world?

From hire to retire - automating the digital worker (Ep. 15)

Weston Morris — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Did you have everything you needed the moment you stepped into the office? Onboarding is hard. Automating it is even harder. What about automating the offboarding process? Now, pick 20-30 tasks you do regularly and think about automating those. In this episode, Paer Johansson shares the insightful best practices that he has collected while using design thinking to automate business and IT processes for scores of enterprises. He also gives some guidance on what makes a process a good candidate for automation, when you should not automate something, and lastly, he shares his vision on the next wave of innovation in automation. I hope you enjoy listening to Paer as much as I did in recording this session with him.

Paer Johansson

Paer is Director of IT Management Platforms in EMEA. He is responsible for innovation, operation, and integration of ITSM solutions in EMEA for Unisys Digital Workplace Services.

Link to Digital Workplace Home Page https://www.unisys.com/digitalworkplace

Link to Paer’s list of 3 service management automation pitfalls https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/servicenow-implementations-3-common-pitfalls-paer-johansson-mba/

Does the high tech industry use technology better than the rest of us? (Ep. 14)

Weston Morris — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 18:30:00 GMT

What makes the High Tech Industry different from Finance, Health Care, Transportation, or Manufacturing? Are High Tech companies better at using technology than other industries? As a result of the pandemic, what is changing/must change within High Tech companies in order for them to remain relevant? Barb Stinnett, CEO and founder of Timmaron Group, shares her vast experience in working for and with many of the major IT companies that have shaped the 21st century.

Links to the resources mentioned in the podcast:

VirtuWerk home page: Technologies and services to help companies plan, prepare and implement a resilient and engaged workplace.
https://timmarongroup.com/virtuwerk/

VirtuWerk webinar registration page: A series of briefings and resources focused on learning how to adapt and thrive in the “new norm”.
https://timmarongroup.com/virtuwerk/virtuwerk-webinar-briefing-series/#register

Fear, learning and growth during the pandemic (Ep. 13)

Weston Morris — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Most enterprises see themselves going through distinct phases as the deal with the pandemic. The first phase for many was enabling employees to work from home. The second phase that quickly followed has been focusing on the health and productivity of employees working from home. There is an expectation that Phase 3 will be the ‘new normal’. But is there a 4th phase? And is it possible to learn and grow from our collective experience in dealing with all of the phases of this pandemic? This episode looks at the importance of getting past fear and into learning. Only when that is accomplished can we grow. Lynn Herbert, the Chief Customer Officer at Timmaron Group, draws from her experience in consulting for scores of enterprises in multiple industries on this very subject.

Links to the resources mentioned in the podcast:

VirtuWerk home page: Technologies and services to help companies plan, prepare and implement a resilient and engaged workplace. https://timmarongroup.com/virtuwerk/

VirtuWerk webinar registration page: A series of briefings and resources focused on learning how to adapt and thrive in the “new norm”. https://timmarongroup.com/virtuwerk/virtuwerk-webinar-briefing-series/#register

VirtuWerk – The Future of Work webinar: Early successes in creating a resilient and engaged workplace. How to redefine what work needs to be done, where, when and how it can be done. A look at real world examples of problems faced, problems solved and early successes in response to the pandemic. (webinar password is “bluejay” with no quotes). https://timmarongroup.com/?p=954&ppt=2326404d1a301764c3ff67391f71c022

What makes natural language processing so difficult (and one shortcut to make it easy) (Ep. 12)

Weston Morris — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Why is Natural Language Processing so difficult to get right? Are there any shortcuts? And what are the tradeoffs between supervised and unsupervised learning? Yes, this episode of the podcast is a bit more technical than some of the earlier episodes. But if NLP is your thing, you’ll enjoy hearing part 2 of my series on this subject with Brian Evarts, who leads the development of Natural Language Processing at Unisys.

Three ways to use natural language processing in a help desk (Ep. 11)

Weston Morris — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Natural Language Processing (NLP) promises to provide a friendly, alternative way for humans to interact with IT and business systems. Brian Evarts, who leads the development of Natural Language Processing at Unisys, explains the three ways that NLP improves the end user experience when getting help from the Service Desk. In doing so, he reveals the steps he takes to train AI to recognize the intent of a human utterance. He also looks into the future of NLP, predicting which combination of technologies will be required to provide the next level of human-like conversational ability. This episode is the first in a two part series on NLP.

What can IT learn from OT about IOT? (Ep. 10)

Weston Morris — Fri, 29 May 2020 18:30:00 GMT

IoT promises to make new services possible, to automate more aspects of business, and to improve worker and factory efficiency. What lessons can Operational Technology share with Information Technology in securely deploying IoT? Chris Blask draws from his 25+ years of experience in manufacturing, combines that with his security expertise, and makes some interesting recommendations about how to securely deploy IoT. He explains how the standards developed by Operational Technology (OT) in factories and utility companies can play an important role in helping IT organizations in banks, hospitals and governments can successfully (and securely) deploy IoT devices within the enterprise. Chris shares war stories from Guyana, an oil rig in the North Atlantic, and a modern sports stadium to make his case.

How AI makes working from home easier (Ep. 09)

Weston Morris — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Working from home for the first time can be a scary experience. How do I get connected? Where do I get help? In the very first Digital Workplace Deep Dive *video* podcast, Kevin Turner shows us how Artificial Intelligence can help serve as a trusted advisor to make working from home more enjoyable and productive. AI can be there from the very beginning of the work-from-home experience guiding an anxious employee through apps, security, access and even training.

What big changes can we expect in the service desk? (Ep. 08)

Weston Morris — Mon, 11 May 2020 18:30:00 GMT

In 2018, Tom Adams, the Unisys Director of Digital Workplace Services saw a major problem with how most Service Desks operate. Based on that, he created InteliServe™, which brings AI, analytics and automation to the service desk. But, Tom’s vision for InteliServe goes far beyond the service desk, with plans in 2020 to make it the engine for all aspects of the Digital Workplace, including Field Services! Tom also shares the one thing that Enterprises should do if they want to be successful in building out a Digital Workplace that really meets end user needs.

Two consumer trends coming to your enterprise (Ep. 07)

Weston Morris — Mon, 04 May 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Friendly cat bots and foldable devices are likely to influence how your most productive employees get work done in the near future. Consumerization of technology first began to take hold in 2007 with the launch of the Apple iPhone. Executives came to work demanding that IT find a way to let them use their iPhones in the corporate environment. This trend in consumerization has not slowed down. For that reason, Sandy Dahri, Chief Technologist at Unisys, takes a look at two technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that he believes will soon have an important impact on how digital workers conduct business in the months and years to come.

The human side of working from home (Ep. 06)

Weston Morris — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Enterprises in every part of the world are figuring out the technology required to enable employees to work from home. But have we overlooked the human side of working from home? In focusing our energy in getting our technology secure, have we overlooked the need to help the human to be secure? In part 3 of this series on remote work, Mat Newfield shares with Weston Morris five human factors that are important to consider when enabling a work from home program. Mat shares insights regarding

Which two organizations should be part of any work from home planning
Security training for home workers
How to create an easy to remember, yet complex password
A great way to train users to recognize phishing attacks
Thoughts on working from home while your kids are being home schooled and while other members of your family are also working from home

As a bonus, Mat explains how he uses the ‘Olympic Method’ to help the CISO move from being the ‘office of no’ to the ‘office of enablement’.

How to get 20,000 employees working from home in 48 hours (Ep. 05)

Weston Morris — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMT

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, 15% of Unisys employees were working from home. Within a week, 95% were able to work from home. In the months leading up to the pandemic, the CIO of Unisys, Upinder Phanda, made several changes to the digital workplace, cloud, and security services that made this massive work from home mobilization possible. In this podcast, Upinder shares which of those changes had the biggest impact. He also talks about the importance of working with the CISO to avoid security risks while making such massive changes.

Working from home during COVID-19 - securely! (Ep. 04)

Weston Morris — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 18:30:00 GMT

As part of its COVID-19 response, Unisys mobilized thousands of employees to work from home in just 48 hours. How was it possible to do this while maintaining high security standards? Unisys CISO, Mat Newfield, reveals several details about how it is possible to enable employees to work from home in various geographies without the need for a VPN. He also talks about how the CISO can move from being the ‘Office of No’ to an office of enablement, collaborating with instead of fighting against the CIO and heads of IT. Get your pen and paper out and be ready to make note of the tips that Mat reveals in this informative podcast episode.

Stop repeating yourself - with the cloud contact center (Ep. 03)

Weston Morris — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 18:30:00 GMT

One of the most annoying things about interacting with the help desk is when you have to repeat answers to the same questions over and over again as you move from chat to a live agent to an escalation. Catalina Villegas, Global Lead for Service Desk Automation, explains how a Cloud Contact Center can eliminate this annoying problem. She also explains how using this technology correctly can also improve performance and quality of the service desk behind the scenes.

Analytics engines inside your help desk (Ep. 02)

Weston Morris — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 18:30:00 GMT

The help desk sometimes gets a bad rap. At its worst, some have named it the ‘helpless desk’. At its best, your problems are anticipated and resolved quickly and pleasantly, with minimal effort on your part. Analytics plays a big role in Unisys InteliServe™ platform. Danielle Reinhart, Director-Analytics Services at Unisys, explains how analytics engines such as the First Call Fix Flag, the Triage Bot and Causation Correlation work behind the scenes to make your next call the help desk more…. helpful.

How to successfully select your next digital technology (Ep. 01)

Weston Morris — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 18:30:00 GMT

Mergers and acquisitions often bring competing technologies to the enterprise. How do you successfully select the right technology? How can you use data to win out over emotion? What is one of the biggest pitfalls in selecting a new technology? Once you make a selection, how do you get everyone on board? Steve Palmucci, who has served as CIO at TiVo, CTO for Chubb Insurance and CIO for SunGuard, shares some insights into these questions. After a merger at TiVo, Steve had to decide which collaboration toolsets to use, knowing that whatever technology he selected, it was going to disappoint someone.