Digitalization soundbites: Episode 2 - Employment

Ask any senior business leader about their most important priorities and its likely that digitalization will be mentioned. Put simply, this means using new technology and data to cut costs, improve business processes or streamline customer experiences. The opportunities are great, with expectations that businesses will spend $10trillion+ in the next five years, but the risks are equally significant, and they need to be carefully managed to ensure that digitalization is a success. For companies focussing on the employment, labour and pensions related issues, our research showed 27% anticipate employee/skills shortages as a result of the organization’s use or provision of digital technologies. While 64% of businesses say that building trust with stakeholders - which includes employees - is a key focus for their digitalization strategy, only 45% of respondents carry out training to ensure that staff are implementing digital technologies responsibly. Our report concluded that action in relation to ethics and corporate digital responsibility is insufficient as only 33% of respondents have implemented governance frameworks, including rules, practices or processes, which direct and shape employee and vendor behaviour and ensure compliance with applicable laws and internal policies. Partner Hannah Wilkins and Principal Associate Jennifer Mann talk through some of the key Employment related findings and discuss key considerations which companies need to be aware of.