According to a Microsoft’s Asia Workplace 2020 study, employees in Vietnam do not feel empowered to embrace the demands of the digital workplace and only 40% feel that their organization is committed at a leadership level to bridge employee digital skills gaps.
Some of the report’s findings:
70% feel empowered by their company’s culture to work together collaboratively
90% of respondents consider themselves to be mobile workers and they spend an average of 20% of their time working outside of their offices.
However, only 40% of respondents feel that their organizations are committed at a leadership level to bridge the digital skills gaps among employees in the digital age.
Microsoft’s study involved more than 4,000 professionals across 14 Asian business markets. The goal of the study is to understand the changes in employee attitudes and behavior and gaps in the workplace when it comes to life / work goals and balance, collaboration, flexi-work practices and productivity.
Vu Minh Tri, CEO of Microsoft Vietnam said “As Asia primes itself to become the most connected market with more than half of all mobile connections originating from the region by 2021, organizations need to rethink how they empower their workforce with the right culture, policy, infrastructure and tools to maximize their potential.”
“This means enabling collaboration from anywhere, on any device. However, it is also critical for business leaders to evaluate and implement changes to counter cultural and management challenges that are hindering employees to work seamlessly from wherever they are, which will in turn, hinder an organization’s growth and progress in the digital age.”
Microsoft conducted an earlier version of this study in 2015 and at that time it found 45 out of 100 respondents in Vietnam were ready for the New World of Work, which is defined as: “organizations had the right people, place and technology principles in place to enable a productive, collaborative and innovative workforce.” In this new study, 70 out of 100 respondents felt this way, indicating that organizations in the market are better potentially better prepared for the future.
New World of Work Principles:
- People
Employees in the New World of Work have the capabilities to work flexibly and productively in the digital modern work place. Leaders and co-workers support them and help them to succeed in this dynamic environment.
- Place
Employees can work flexibly, anywhere at any time. Their offices support a collaborative, dynamic design and their policies support a flexible work system that allow them to work at home, at their office, at customer locations or outside.
- Technology
Employees are empowered with technology that allows them to work collaboratively with customers, co-workers and leaders wherever they are.
A recent Microsoft Asia Digital Transformation study conducted in late 2016 found that that among Asia’s business leaders, their number one and two concerns are:
# 1 – Having a digitally skilled workplace
# 2 – Empowering employees
In summary, Microsoft Asia’s study defined four key pillars for Digital Transformation & Systems of Intelligence that it expects to see expanded in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
- Engage your customers
- Empower your employees
- Optimize your operations
- Transform your products
