APAC CIO Outlook magazine featured a byline article from Datin Rowena Florece on the workplace becoming more diverse in this digital age. This was featured in the latest special edition on HR Technology of the magazine. Read the print version here
By Datin Rowena Florece, HR Director at Microsoft Malaysia
As I power up my Microsoft Surface in the cozy corner of Starbucks facing the park, I am scrolling through my inbox, typing rapid responses before my next appointment in an hour. Welcome to the new digital workplace, working anytime, anywhere, at your convenience. Work has been redefined- how, where and what – transcends and blurs between physical and digital, this is the new normal of work. Communication at work has had a significant shift in the last 25 years. From voluminous files to virtual files – employees navigate the virtual hallways seamlessly between email, texting, Skype, and live chats. The advent of technology has taken the world by storm and the traditional workplace evolved to keep up with both the technology and workforce that came through the digital transformation. Office in the backpack has become the norm for many young executives and in fact becoming a central feature in the mobile-first global workforce.
Digital workplace builds on the fundamentals of productive collaboration, a strategy that organizations adapt to drive agility and impact. As the modern workplace is premised on the mobile-first, cloud-first world, the workforce has become untethered from a physical space to be available on demand around the globe. In the process, the workforce has become more diverse and inclusive as technology allows people with disability to be readily accepted in the mainstream workforce.
Just like the digital workplace, human resources is looking at a tectonic shift in workforce management. From a lumbering record keeping department to providing innovative talent solutions, human resources department plays a central role as a business partner to deliver greater impact while employees can consume HR services on demand.
Digital workplace is pivotal to us in Microsoft as it enables us to capitalize on the diversity of our people and the inclusion of ideas and solutions to meet the needs of our increasingly global and diverse customer base.
We embrace activity based working while building an agile, engaged workforce with enterprise social with Yammer and Teams. A digital workforce strategy is not just about one organization or large enterprises, it drives national agenda For Malaysia, the Government has a policy to have 1% of the civil service comprising of people with disability (PWD), and a digital workforce will help the Government achieve its goal, in turn bringing PWD into mainstream economy. Similarly, women who drop out of workforce to take care of young families or elderly parents would be able contribute to household income with a digital workplace strategy.
I have just wrapped up my interview with my candidate, a young mother who is looking to get back to the workforce after 2 years, she is excited about the opportunity but most importantly she is looking for the flexibility to be able to work from home when needed. She is ready to take on big challenges, she is full of passion, strives for excellence, wants to work in an open and respectful environment while she believes being accountable is very important. I think, I just found my perfect candidate!
I look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn and learning about your digital transformation journey too.