ServiceNow puts forward a “work survey”: skeptical of remote work, but investment in innovation and technology gives hope

Frankfurt-ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW), a digital workflow company, announced the results of a German “job survey”. This research is one of the most comprehensive global surveys currently available on the market, looking at new ways of working that will continue after the Covid-19 pandemic, and how managers and employees look to the new future. Key result: German managers and employees agreed that, thanks to the use of technology, their company was able to transform work processes faster than expected. German companies hope to use the released funds mainly for digital transformation. Therefore, in comparison with Europe, Germany ranks first.

“The dramatic changes to the digital work world show what the future of work is like,” he explained. ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. “Digital workflow is a prerequisite for companies in the 21st century. There is no turning back. Digital transformation will continue to accelerate. New ways of working will become the norm. We are at the beginning of an unprecedented wave of workflow and workplace innovation.”

to Detlef Krause, Vice President and General Manager of ServiceNow Germany, And added: “Covid-19 has changed companies across Europe at an unprecedented speed. To be honest, many companies including Germany even think it is impossible. We are moving towards a world of work that will be shaped by a hybrid work model. Now decisive steps must be taken to this end.”

The main results of the study:

1. New work style: 90% of German executives said that the epidemic has caused their companies to reconsider. Global studies have also reached this conclusion. 82% of German employees believe that their company has created better working methods since the crisis broke out.
2. Quick conversion: 88% of managers and 85% of employees stated that their company has switched to a new way of working faster than they thought. This shows that both managers and employees are pleasantly surprised by the rapid changes in the company.
3. Digital transformation is a top priority: For 88% of German respondents, Covid-19 reduced operating costs. Executives believe that this should be invested specifically in digital transformation (70%). This puts Germany at the top of the country’s comparison, followed by France (54%) and the Netherlands (54%).
4. Change is difficult: More than half of employees (57%) want to keep the new working methods. This is not the case for managers: 45% said they want to resume normal work processes before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Digital disadvantages and lack of seamless systems
The company has quickly adapted to the new conditions, but still needs to do more to keep up. Almost half of managers (46%) and more than half of employees (54%) believe that the transition to the new normal will be more difficult than the temporary transition at the beginning of the lockdown. European research participants all agree with this view.

The fact that most companies are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers makes this challenge even more complicated. Almost all executives surveyed (96%) admitted that they still have offline workflows, such as document approval, security incident reports, and technical support requests. Progress has been made, but after working from home for several months, 66% of managers and 61% of employees said that their employers still do not have a fully integrated system to manage digital workflows.

Concerns about remote work
Almost all German research participants agree that remote work not only brings many benefits, but also brings some challenges. German executives (95%) and employees (76%) are concerned about how remote work will affect the company’s further development. According to the results of the research, the biggest concern is also the advantage of modern work forms, depending on where the work is done.

• Executives are most concerned about output delays in product or service delivery (56%), while employees are most concerned about input-lack of collaboration between business units (45%).
• German employees (59%) said they benefited most from the time saved by not commuting or commuting. On the other hand, executives (60%) believe that better use of technology to increase efficiency is the greatest benefit to their team.

“The challenge for German companies will be to reconcile the immediate need for business continuity with the individual needs of employees. It is important to ensure that both digitally “adapt” to the coming wave of change. The study shows that German executives have already Realizing that they can eliminate and reduce both parties’ worries about the “new normal”, especially by investing in seamless digital transformation. Now, wise investments in digitalization, seamless processes and work processes must be the top priority. Only in this way can the company survive the next business interruption and provide its employees with modern, attractive workplaces,” Detlef Krause.

Conclusion: Digital transformation is never a temporary task
The new system developed and implemented immediately due to lock-in creates new and better ways of working for most companies. However, most executives and employees believe that if key business functions (such as customer service, human resources, and finance) fail again, they will not be able to make adjustments within 30 days. This illustrates the necessity and opportunity of digital seamless workflow. Digital transformation is by no means a temporary task. Companies must make sustainable investments in flexible, flexible company structures and technologies for sustainable development. Only in this way can C-Suite regain the trust of employees and achieve safe and productive work in the Covid economy.

More information and results can be found in the “job survey” Here. (ServiceNow / mc / ps)

*investigation method
Wakefield Research conducted an online quantitative survey of 900 C-level executives and 8,100 office workers (employees) from companies with 500 or more employees from the following countries or regions between September 1 and 10, 2020 : United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, India, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Wakefield (Wakefield) conducted a survey of various industries, and the results showed that employees have significant differences in the following five key industries: financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications and the public sector.