Improving employee experience in the hybrid workplace with Microsoft 365
Though
three-quarters
of
U.S.
employers
now
offer
hybrid
work,
some
banks
and
insurance
companies
have
been
slow
to
embrace
this
emerging
work
model.
Though
three-quarters
of
U.S.
employers
now
offer
hybrid
work,
some
banks
and
insurance
companies
have
been
slow
to
embrace
this
emerging
work
model.
We
spoke
with
Ashok
Krish,
Global
Head
of
Digital
Workplace
at
TCS,
about
how
hybrid
work
will
impact
employers
–
and
their
employees
–
in
the
financial
services
industry.
How
will
hybrid
work
change
the
employee
experience
in
the
financial
services
industry?
It
will
enable
employees
to
shift
from
work
processes
designed
for
the
last
century
to
a
fluid
environment
where
they
can
easily
share
information,
discover
a
wider
range
of
people
to
collaborate
with
outside
silos,
exchange
ideas,
and
create
new
products
and
services.
Banks
developed
the
traditional
office
model,
using
physical
inboxes,
outboxes,
and
carbon
copies
to
transmit
information.
Early
software
programs
simply
digitized
these
desk-based
procedures,
and
banks
still
use
them.
Modern
technology
vastly
broadens
communication
modes
and
enables
real-time
analytics
and
immersive
experiences.
In
a
hybrid
workplace,
you
need
to
give
everyone
access
to
these
capabilities,
whether
they
are
in
the
field,
at
home,
in
the
office,
or
in
transit.
Financial
services
organizations
that
succeed
with
the
hybrid
model
will
greatly
enhance
the
employee
experience.
They
will
attract
a
global
talent
pool,
building
a
highly
skilled,
diverse,
and
motivated
workforce,
which
is
critical
for
an
industry
whose
business
model
is
innately
digital
in
nature.
What
are
some
of
the
challenges
hybrid
work
poses
for
employers
in
the
financial
sector?
Banks
and
insurance
companies
carry
large
volumes
of
sensitive
personal
information
and
are
heavily
regulated.
As
a
result,
they
have
developed
an
information-security
mindset
that
focuses
on
prevention
rather
than
enablement.
Systems
and
departments
are
very
siloed,
making
it
difficult
for
employees
to
gain
access
to
the
tools
and
information
they
need.
To
succeed
with
hybrid
work,
financial
services
organizations
will
have
to
rethink
how
information
flows.
Decision-making
cannot
be
restricted
to
the
top—it
needs
to
happen
at
the
edge,
among
teams
and
individuals.
To
make
informed
decisions,
employees
must
be
provided
with
better
access
to
corporate
analytics,
reports,
and
tools.
Another
challenge
is
legacy
technology.
Financial
companies
often
have
multiple
types
of
hardware
and
20
or
30
versions
of
similar
software,
each
with
its
own
set
of
tools.
Their
rate
of
adopting
new
technologies
is
exceedingly
slow.
This
makes
it
challenging
to
innovate
and
provide
the
seamless,
integrated
experience
employees
expect.
Microsoft’s
Work
Trend
Index
found
that
48%
of
employees
and
53%
of
managers
say
they
are
burned
out
at
work.
What
can
employers
do
to
improve
employee
engagement
and
reduce
stress
in
the
hybrid
workplace?
Employers
need
to
fundamentally
rethink
the
rituals
of
work.
Financial
services
managers
spend
about
80%
of
their
time
in
meetings,
which
aren’t
necessarily
productive.
Every
minute
spent
being
muted
in
a
meeting
is
a
minute
wasted.
Employees
waste
time
finding
information,
finding
people,
setting
up
meetings,
and
cleaning
data.
Everyone
spends
more
time
looking
for
information
than
acting
on
information.
It’s
a
discouraging,
stressful
environment.
To
change
it,
managers
must
transform
their
processes
and
their
culture.
They
must
embrace
new
technology
stack
metaphors
(such
as
Microsoft
Teams
vs.
email)
to
become
more
efficient.
They
must
learn
to
become
effective
facilitators
of
digital
processes
and
distributed
teams.
How
can
financial
organizations
use
technology
to
improve
communication,
collaboration,
and
productivity,
while
maintaining
security
and
preventing
fraud?
Financial
organizations
can
no
longer
expect
employees
to
attend
town
hall
meetings
and
read
company
newsletters.
Technology
can
help
them
target
the
right
messages
to
the
right
demographic
in
the
right
form
factors.
For
example,
you
can
ask
ChatGPT
to
reduce
a
900-word
report
to
a
50-word
summary
or
generate
a
video,
which
you
can
send
on
a
mobile
phone.
Tools
like
Microsoft
Teams
break
down
silos
and
enable
collaboration
across
the
organization.
Once
managers
set
access
controls,
the
platform
worries
about
security,
freeing
people
to
exchange
ideas
without
constraint.
But
at
the
same
time,
the
design
and
configuration
of
these
collaboration
systems
will
make
the
difference
between
creating
a
noisy,
unproductive
culture
of
collaboration
and
a
personable,
productive
one.
Automation,
AI,
and
the
cloud
can
save
employees
tremendous
amounts
of
time.
Instead
of
attending
two-week
training
sessions,
employees
can
receive
nudges
from
a
virtual
assistant
to
acquire
new
skills
as
they
work.
In
the
near
future,
knowledge
assistants
powered
by
large
language
models,
purpose-built
for
specific
industry
domains,
will
augment
every
employee’s
productivity
by
providing
contextual
knowledge
on
demand.
Robotic
process
automations
streamline
approval
processes
and
free
IT
workers
from
pushing
updates
and
patches.
These
capabilities
can
help
to
eliminate
workplace
pain
points,
greatly
improving
the
employee
experience.
Without
a
great
employee
experience,
you
cannot
create
a
great
customer
experience.
At
the
same
time,
companies
must
maintain
secure
environments
and
prevent
fraud.
Companies
must
invest
in
newer
tools
that
give
them
wider
and
deeper
visibility
into
their
threat
landscape
and
leverage
built
in
AI
and
machine
learning
to
proactively
manage
threats
and
reduce
alert
fatigue.
The
future
of
security
is
to
largely
automate
responses
to
standard
threats
while
investing
in
education
and
change
management
to
prevent
social
engineering
and
attacks
on
individuals.
How
does
TCS
help
organizations
reimagine
the
future
of
work
for
their
employees?
We
provide
a
comprehensive
solution
combining
infrastructure,
applications,
and
human
resources
expertise
into
a
single
package
that
helps
financial
organizations
deliver
an
outstanding
hybrid
work
experience.
My
group
includes
people
who
do
everything
from
designing
applications
to
mapping
workflows
to
managing
the
inner
workings
of
a
cloud
framework,
including
reinventing
productivity
and
the
future
of
work
with
AI
using
Microsoft
365
Copilot.
TCS
also
invests
in
behavioral
science
research
to
help
organizations
prepare
for
the
workplace
of
the
future.
How
can
financial
companies
accommodate
gig
work?
How
should
AI
collaborate
with
human
beings?
No
one
knows
the
answers
to
these
questions
yet,
just
as
no
one
knew
until
recently
how
to
manage
hybrid
work.
By
peering
into
cutting
edge
technology,
we
can
pass
along
insights
that
keep
our
clients
ahead
of
the
curve.
Discover
how
you
can
transform
meeting
culture,
help
managers
to
be
more
effective,
and
drive
employee
engagement.
Tata
Consultancy
Services
Ashok
Krish,
Global
Head
of
Digital
Workplace,
TCS
Ashok
Krish
is
the
Global
Head
of
the
Digital
Workplace
unit
at
TCS,
which
helps
customers
reimagine
the
future
of
work
for
their
employees.
His
team
works
at
the
intersection
of
design,
technology,
and
behavioral
science,
and
helps
conceptualize
and
implement
modern,
persuasive,
and
immersive
employee
experiences.
Outside
of
work,
he
is
a
columnist,
musician,
and
a
food
science
enthusiast.
About Author
