2023 Prediction: Employees at the heart of progress

Written by Eimear Gunn, UKI Digital Workplace Services (DWS) Practice Leader, Kyndryl

Businesses around the world are about to enter a period of rewiring quite unlike anything we’ve seen in recent decades. The suddenness and sweepingness of the priorities realignment that the pandemic triggered means that, going into what is likely to be a significant global recession, businesses sit at a decision-making crossroads around how they rebuild themselves into a stronger, more inclusive, more resilient form.

Major shifts certainly happened in the decades prior to the pandemic – not least the emergence of endemic information technology – but there was a sense that we could continuously build on our recently-laid foundations to find new growth. Now, amidst the macro pressures of geopolitics, supply chain shifts, and energy scarcity, alongside changing consumer behaviour and a deepening skills shortage, a more incisive change is called for.

As we make that leap, we will also need ways of measuring and demonstrating success which are fit for purpose. That’s why I think that the employee experience will come further into the spotlight this year as a marker of business success. As we create more efficient, flexible technology infrastructure, it is employees who will know first whether tools and platforms are succeeding.

As we upskill and reskill workforces, it is the workforce that will know first whether we are closing the gap on meeting customer needs. And, in a more connected, more aware, more ethically committed world, it is employees who will know first whether growth-seeking business initiatives are also delivering for workers, communities, and the planet.