600 IT leaders across the world disclose post-COVID-19 priorities in
support of a flexible work environment
A new global business survey commissioned by Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) shows an estimated 82% of
the workforce in respondents’ organizations will have returned to the workplace
in 12-18 months’ time, on average. In preparation for a return, companies are
investing in new resources to support a hybrid remote / in-office workforce,
with 56% increasing technology budgets and 34% planning to speed their digital
transformation as a result of COVID-19.
The Xerox Future of Work Survey, conducted by the independent
research firm Vanson Bourne, polled 600 IT decision makers including senior
C-level professionals, whose organizations have at least 500 employees.
Respondents reported challenges caused by the sudden transition to remote work,
with 72% citing they were not fully prepared from a technology perspective. In
addition to technology (29%), the biggest pain points during the required work
from home period were communication breakdown across teams/employees (26%) and
maintaining focus (25%).
“While there is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way
we work, our research found that over time many companies plan to have most
employees back in an office environment. This could be for a variety of
reasons, including communication, speed of decision-making and talent
development,” said Steve Bandrowczak, Xerox president and chief operations
officer. “At the same time, the sudden shutdown and ongoing hybrid work
environment has exposed technology gaps that require new or additional
investment in the coming months.”
Key survey findings and Xerox takeaways include:
1.Businesses plan to return most employees to the office, though
expanded remote work policies are here to stay.
Prior to work from home
requirements being imposed, 33% of respondents said network/data security and
privacy was their biggest concern with a remote workforce; 24% cited employee
productivity followed by 16% citing technology infrastructure. These concerns,
coupled with the belief held by 95% of respondents that in-person communication
is important for personal development and assessing talent, indicate widespread
remote work will not replace more traditional workspaces.
However,
now that businesses are more comfortable with remote work, attitudes and
policies of C-suite leaders and IT decision makers are shifting. Furthermore,
58% plan to change their work from home policy within the next year,
highlighting the need for companies to support a hybrid workforce.
Our takeaway: Employees may not be going back
to the office all at once — or even in the same capacity as before — but the
need for organizations to support a hybrid workforce is here for the
foreseeable future.
The rapid transition to remote work was difficult for most
businesses, with only 28% saying they were fully prepared and 29% citing technology
as their biggest pain point. With regards to technology specifically,
respondents said their top challenges were remote IT support (35%), inadequate
workflow solutions (27%), lack of communications and collaboration tools (22%)
and lack of cloud-based solutions (10%). 85% of business leaders also missed
the accessibility and ease of use of their office printers.
Our takeaway: To mitigate against future
disruptions, such as the rapid transition to remote work resulting from
COVID-19, companies will look to invest in new technologies and seek added
capability from existing tools to accelerate their processes digital
transformation.
As a result of technology gaps uncovered
by having a mostly remote workforce, 70% of IT decision makers globally are
reevaluating their budget spend, with companies increasing investment in remote
technology resources (55%) or a hybrid of remote and in-office resources (40%).
The pandemic also has businesses prioritizing investments in cloud-based
software (65%), remote IT (63%) support and collaboration software (52%).
Our Takeaway: COVID-19 is feeding digital transformation plans and companies
are placing a renewed focus on meeting employees’ needs with both hardware and
software.
Methodology
The survey of 600 respondents located across the
world was conducted by independent research firm Vanson Bourne in May 2020.
Respondents included IT decision makers (including senior C-level
professionals), all from organizations with at least 500 employees across a
range of sectors, including business and professional services, retail, health
care, financial services, and travel and hospitality.