KPI's: How to measure your digital workplace success?

What are the metrics you need to measure to get insights in the success of your digital work environment?

August 3, 2018 - by Peter Viellefont

To measure is to know. Otherwise you are just driving in the dark. This is no different when talking about the digital workplace. We even advice to measure and report the results to your end users! It’s often said, change isn’t easy for employees. Giving them positive figures on the digital workplace will drive them to make an even greater success of your digital workplace.. So, in terms of user adoption, it is also important to report.

Most CIO’s have no idea about the impact on their business when they evolve into a digital workplace. They just don’t know how to start. KPI’s are KPI’s, but how do you define what you want to measure in your digital workplace? According Paul Proctor, analyst at Gartner, it has to do with lack of a clear defined digital ambition or strategy. It’s just not possible to measure if you don’t know what to measure…

Choosing the right KPI's

If you implement a digital workplace, we always advice a user adoption program and a governance program. In both cases digital KPI’s are important because they inform the end user at one side but they also inform the governance steering committee about the actual status, supporting them when a corrective action plan is needed.

In general I would advise to define the following digital KPI’s:

• Usage of the collaboration tools
• Usage of file transfer via for example OneDrive or other collaboration tools
• The number of project sites that are used and created/deleted
• The number of calls or video conferences
• Use of mobile apps

But don’t forget to measure the use of old environments during phase out. Let’s hope that the usage is decreasing. If not, we know that the new work environment has some issues.

Ofcourse the mentioned KPI’s focus on the usage and the growth of the adoption within the company. Another set of KPI’s is measuring the impact of the digital workplace on the business. What has changed in the sales or services? How does the digital workplace impacts revenue or customer support? These KPI’s are also very important to measure and report.

Some examples of business KPI’s impacted by using the digital workplace can be:

• Impact on revenue per product line
• Impact on customer service
• Impact on support tickets
• Customer interaction via portal
• ...

How to report the results

KPI’s should always be reported in real time. It is complete useless to report in an excel sheet, word document or on a static page in your digital workplace. The digital KPI’s should also be available on mobile devices too, so everybody has a real-time view, wherever they are.

Using centralized dashboards can provide value for your organisation by for example:

• Providing insights in difficult processes;
• Centralizing multiple data sources in one view;
• Encouraging users, partners and customers to use the new environment;
• Providing insights in time spent on support tickets and impact on customer satisfaction.

Some points to think about when measuring

• A clear framework should be defined as well as a clear goal and a clear baseline;
• It is essential to track against the organizational KPI’s. Digital KPI’s should be part of the enterprise score card;
• Metrics should be discussed with the power users and should not be imposed by management;
• Work with success stories, this informs the inside and outside world about the success you book with your digital workplace;
• Implement a governance plan because the digital workplace is an ongoing project;
• KPI’s evolve because of the endless life of your digital workplace so make sure that you question the definition of your KPI’s at least once a year.

Need some more guidance? Contact us and we're happy to have a chat.