Four in ten (40%) Brits confess to struggling with digital tools used in their workplace. This is according to new research from SD Worx, a leading European HR solutions provider.
To collect this research, SD Worx surveyed 16,000 businesses in sixteen countries across Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium.
The findings revealed that despite digitalisation being a clear business priority for nine in ten (89%) British companies, digital applications are not being successfully integrated into employees’ everyday tasks. Training for new digital applications is being overlooked by employers, as only a quarter (27%) of British employees feel able to confidently keep up with technology changes.
Brits are not alone when it comes to their lack of confidence when working with digital tools. In fact, this picture is similar across Europe with nearly half (48%) of German employees struggling to keep up with digital tools, followed closely by similar levels in Ireland (46%), Croatia (43%) and Switzerland (41%).
Despite teething problems with integrating technology, there is a growing demand from over half (54%) the Gen Z workforce for better digitalisation across HR processes.
Bridging the digital divide with education
Over half of European companies believe their digital HR systems to be significantly or fully integrated, however, with two-fifths (40%) of employees finding it hard to understand and use new digital approaches, employers have a vital role to play in education if they wish for their systems to be most beneficial to their staff.
To optimise employees’ digital experiences, many organisations are investing in tools such as on-site training, employee-oriented HR applications and integrations of all systems, to help grow employees’ confidence when working with digital applications, with more than a third of companies training employees in digital experiences.
Businesses in the UK and Switzerland are ahead of the curve in this race, leading in terms of their investments in HR digitalisation and training (68%), swiftly followed by the Spanish at 66%.
Rachel Clough, UK Country Lead at SD Worx, said: “Digitalisation is often motivated by aims to improve productivity and introduce vital automation in a business. However, it’s important to remember that, for the first time in history, companies may have more than five separate generations in their workplace.
“Not every employee is digitally native nor is everyone confident using technology. Digital Transformation is no overnight miracle – it is a long-term commitment that must include people first. Training and education is of paramount importance to ensure successful roll-outs and uptake, and organisations must come together to meet employee needs and ensure staff are properly onboarded from the get-go if they want to truly realise the benefits.”