Written by Niall Mackey, Commercial Director of Topsec

Not exactly breaking news, but employees make the business. No business can exist without its people, be it a mom-‘n’-pop shop, or a multinational organisation. While this seems to be stating the obvious, sometimes companies’ top brass forget this, particularly in light of rapid growth. These companies’ failure to acknowledge the role of their people is, over time, reflected in poor customer satisfaction levels and eventually onto the bottom line. They disappear into oblivion as their viability slowly peters out.

Staff is the lifeblood.

When a business is running well, it’s easy to neglect the heart of the business, the people. Organisational growth and expansion can drive focus away from staff, with so much else going on and seemingly more urgent priorities. Projects are started and implemented without proper communication and consensus, and executives then wonder why they fail. According to a McKinsey report from 2021, 70% of digital transformation projects fail, with “lack of engagement within the organisation” cited as one of the main reasons.

In other research, only 16% of respondents said that their organisations’ digital transformation projects have really improved performance sustainably, and 7% said performance had improved, but not for the long term.

The happiness of employees is crucial to a successful business. Gartner says in research done in 2023, that businesses that focus on employee experience during digital transformation outperform their peers by 10% in customer satisfaction metrics. And customer satisfaction? Well, that’s your bottom line, your profit, your reason for existence.

Change is hard

Digital transformation, while its aim is to increase employees’ experience overall and streamline the business, can be daunting for employees. Blockchain, the Internet of Things, AI, big data, have all catalysed change within business processes and models, and competitive strategy. While transformation is exciting, and for the right reasons, change is hard for human beings. It may mean learning new skills, increased flexibility, being redeployed elsewhere in the business as automation takes hold of simple tasks, and it may even require changes in behaviour. This can be overwhelming, stressful, and unsettling for employees. In addition, security concerns increase – or should – along with technology changes, which again adds stress not just to the cybersecurity team, but to each and every staff member accessing the internet. Technologies like AI introduces new risks and accelerates security threats, as the invention of deepfake and impersonation technologies are added to social engineering techniques by cybercriminals.

Technostress can really get to people.

The 2024 State of Digital Workplace and Modern Intranet Report by Akumina says that 54.8% of survey respondents have considered, or are considering, leaving their jobs for a company that cares more about their mental health and overall wellbeing.

Cybersecurity threats are on the rise, and their most successful entry into an organisation is through people. Email remains the number one attack vector for cybercriminals.

Staff’s needs must be prioritised during the process of digital and business transformation. Employee engagement forms an integral part of successful change management, while their needs and wants should be prioritised during digital transformation. At the same time, organisations can be more vulnerable in times of transition and must adhere to the highest standards of data security and privacy.

The two-way street of conversation.

Communication should form the bedrock of change.

Understanding their needs means you can align the organisation’s strategic direction with what employees need – the tools for the job, and want – employee satisfaction and engagement. Instilling a people-first culture requires listening to the people that make the business run, and it allows them to feel valued and supported in their roles as they engage with business strategies. People want to contribute positively and they want to be heard.

Clearly defined and detailed communication around leaders’ roles and responsibilities is crucial. Everyone in the organisation should understand who is in the driving seat, who could field queries about the changes, and how their own role fits into the developing picture.

With cybersecurity being the golden thread running through all business operations, its training and awareness should be imparted at every level. If ignorance breeds fear, then training breeds a sense of empowerment, engagement, and responsibility.

This engagement is key in business transformation. Research house, McKinsey says that in successful digital transformations, employees in every role tend to be more involved overall. Hence, a clear digital transformation strategy that directly involves every single part of the business should be incorporated.

Those who engage, stay.

Teams who are engaged tend to have staying power, according to a study by Gallup. They found engagement led to a 59% reduction in employee turnover. In the case of hybrid workers, they were the most engaged, according to data from Quantum Workplace with 81% of hybrid employees feel engaged with their work.

Hybrid working conditions are an incentive for hiring and retaining talent. But of course remote working increases the cybersecurity risk, which means training is even more critical. The fact that employees will be working on devices that aren’t on the company network, or through a public wifi, means these workers truly need to understand and take cognizance of the risks. Mitigation through the roll out of cybersecurity awareness training is a must.

Academic journal Nature, puts it succinctly that “work engagement is a positive, work-related state of happiness or fulfilment that is associated with positive outcomes, such as improvement in performance, customer satisfaction, and organisational advantage.”

Digital transformation and business transformation can end up becoming chaotic and somewhat haphazard. The choice of software partners is vital for ensuring changes are as seamless as possible. At this time in particular, it’s essential to have a trusted cybersecurity vendor who can independently manage matters like staff training, simulation, and an excellent product. Augmenting cybersecurity teams with a trustworthy and knowledgeable team during the change process may help in protecting and mitigating against threats.

Change within a business creates a certain vulnerability, and it’s the people who are most vulnerable. A good change management strategy will look at people, process, and technology, and it’s the backing of the people that will make or break a change project.

About the author

Niall Mackey is the  Commercial Director of Topsec. His team excels in enhancing email security for firms, safeguarding sensitive data against cyber threats.