By Sharvari Alape
Technological advancements through digital innovations are driving companies to transform their workforce. According to a report by Research and Markets, the global market is set to reach USD 24 billion by 2023, proving a strong growth in workforce transformation.
Praj Calthorpe, Deputy General Manager, Condo Protego, told Communicate that the workforce transformation is a component within digital transformation. It’s importance lies in helping companies become efficient.
The Middle East, Calthorpe said, is driven toward having more digital services. Smart city initiatives of the Dubai government, as an example, helps in filtering down and leading the digital transformation in the market.
“Companies want to be at the forefront of enabling their customers and enabling their end users when it comes to digital and workforce transformation,” he added.
However, digital technology is constantly evolving, Calthorpe said. He added despite the eagerness to adopt the digital workforce there is still a long way to go. With new features, functionality, hardware and software springing up every single year, “it’s a matter of always staying up to date.”
“It’s not about replacing the human workforce with the machine,” added Savitha Bhaskar, COO, Condo Protego. Addressing the ease of connectivity through digital, Bhaskar gives an example that reporting through a connected tablet could automatically be translated into a business database which could help people make a business decision.
One of the main challenges in plunging towards digital transformation remains “cost,” they said.
The aim of investing in such transformation projects is to increase the productivity of the workforce, for which businesses allocating their funding is a prerequisite, added Bhaskar.
Companies that are ahead of the curve see more workforce transformation as a logical sequence in the digital transformation. This in comparison to those who are still following the digital transformation.
However, Bhaskar argues that it is the appetite for investment that is important. “There is a gestation period before they would see the benefit. So, it depends whether the company has the appetite to invest with more futuristic long term outcomes, or whether they are too busy on their day to day operation to focus resources on what is coming,” she adds.
