GenM: Defining the workforce of tomorrow

A report from Jabra

contents

1. introducing genm: the mobility and

multi-tasking generation ........................................................ page 1

2. executive summary ................................................................. page 2

3. Defining genm ......................................................................... page 3

4. the workforce of tomorrow ................................................... page 7

5. empowering and enabling genm .......................................... page 9

6. conclusion .............................................................................page 11

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1. introDucing genm: the mobility AnD multi-tAsking generAtion

A new generation of employees is changing the way we communicate

and interact at work. This generation has grown up with Internet

access, faster broadband speeds, social networks, mobile phones

and now smart phones. And the ease with which it embraces

technological change presents both challenges and opportunities

for today’s employer.

much has already been written about the requirement for the it department to meet the needs of this “always-on”, digitally-connected workforce. but employers also need to understand and respond to changing attitudes to both work and the workplace in order to attract, retain and empower the best talent in an age where relentless competition dictates the need for constant innovation.

this new generation is difficult to pin down. it has been labelled both generation y and the millennials by a wide variety of commentators who have used birth dates ranging from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s or even later.

but while the age of the new workforce phenomenon that Jabra has termed ‘generation m’ might be the subject of controversy, it is generally agreed that it is characterised by an increased use and familiarity with digital communications, social networks and a 24/7 always-on connected lifestyle.

we wanted to find out just how much impact generation m is having on the workplace: whether it is changing the way people interact at work; and just how much impact it is having on the use of communications platforms and devices within the workplace.

to explore these issues Jabra commissioned an in-depth study of 1,000 workers from a diverse range of job functions and sectors - including sales, marketing, finance, customer service and Administration - to find out how they work, what tools they use, where they want to work and how they feel about work.

what we uncovered was a new attitude to work that transcends both demographics and job functions - a generation defined and united by its approach to work. while young people are certainly embracing new technologies and ways of working, we uncovered some important trends that are present in almost every demographic of the workplace.

this study presents the findings of our research and looks at how organisations and employers can support and encourage genm to get the most out of the workforce of today – and tomorrow.

Welcome to GenM. The mobility and multi-tasking generation.

the survey was conducted by onePoll from its panel of 100,000+ members that have agreed to take part in surveys. the total sample size was 1000 uk office workers. fieldwork was undertaken between 25th - 30th January 2012 and the survey was carried out online.

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2. executive summAry

We are entering an era where work will be defined by increasing

flexibility and mobility - with employees able to work however,

wherever and whenever they choose. Technology vendors have spent

the last few years extensively promoting the benefits of Unified

Communications (UC) and a whole host of supporting devices in

order to assist this transition.

however, as uc “crosses the chasm” from early adopters to the mainstream, our study confirms that widespread adoption of these technologies is being driven by bottom-up end-user adoption, rather than being driven from the top-down.

we discovered that there is a new generation of workers who are embracing the always on, multi-channel, multi-tasking communications tools available to them - where work is not defined by their office or their desk, but more by their ability to carry out their job, regardless of location, connected at all times by their mobile devices.

This is GenM: The mobility and multi-tasking generation, which is used to seamlessly switching between multiple locations, multiple communication devices and platforms.

this report describes a workforce that sees multi-tasking as a way of life whether at home or at work, regards work-life balance as a far bigger priority than job fulfillment and is willing to work beyond traditional office hours in order to achieve it. it also explains why employers need to understand five key trends that will define tomorrow’s workforce and shape the it strategies of the future.

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3. Defining genm

3.1 GenM: Working how and where they choose

mobility and flexible working has been talked about for many years and one of the key drivers for uc is being able to enable this more mobile working. our research confirms that an increasing number of employees are embracing, or want to embrace, flexible working. 83% of the people we surveyed spend some of their working life either working from home or from another location.

we found that 1 in 5 people work from home at least once a week, 1 in 5 people are working while travelling for work and 18% of employees are accessing work networks remotely at least once a week - with similar results across gender and age groups.

significantly 43% of those surveyed said that the key factor that would improve their productivity was being able to work from home more often or more easily, demonstrating how genm feels less tied to the office and the desk.

Which of the following do you agree with?

i work from home at least once a week 21.5%

i work out of the office/while travelling for work at least once a week 19.8%

it would be useful if i could work from home more often 31.8%

i access my work network remotely at least once a week 18%

i work mostly from a laptop 18.4%

i don’t really need my deskphone anymore 11.6%

interestingly for employers our research showed that when employees are working out of the office well over a third of people (38%) work beyond office hours. it seems that genm do not see working from home as the ‘soft option’, but instead as an increasingly viable alternative to the office, helping them to be more productive and bringing genuine benefits to their employer.

indeed, our study suggests that the option to work from home could empower workers performing some of the less glamorous job functions: just over one in 10 (11%) employees working in administration work from home at least once a week, but one in three (33%) said it would be useful if they could work from home more often

we also found that genm chooses to work after hours. while 19% of people said they are expected to take calls and respond to email outside of office hours, the majority, 53%, of workers are choosing to do so. 1 in 5 of those surveyed said they like to check email regularly outside of traditional office hours and 15% said that taking the odd call outside of office hours was beneficial as it helps them balance work and life.

Outside of traditional office hours, which of the following statements reflects your attitude to work?

i am expected to take calls and respond to email 18.8%

i need to stay in touch with colleagues and customers 15.8%

i like to check my email regularly 21.4%

i don’t mind taking the odd call as it helps me balance work and life 15.6%

none of the above 28.4%fig

ure 2

fig

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3.2 GenM: Choosing the devices that suit them

clearly for all employees a key part of working how they want is having the right tools and devices available to them; our study confirmed that genm is taking more control of the devices they use for work.

modern office workers are communicating using a much wider range of devices and communications platforms than ever before. our research showed that the communications tools of previous generations are being replaced by a plethora of mobile communications devices.

Which of the following devices/tools do you use to communicate with colleagues, suppliers or customers?

interestingly, while 75% of 55+ professionals use a deskphone, just half of 18-24 year olds said the same. in fact 12% of the respondents said that they don’t really need their deskphone anymore.

Almost half (46%) of office workers use a mobile or smartphone to communicate with colleagues, suppliers or customers, 35% of people use a laptop and 1 in 10 are using VoIP to communicate.

nearly a quarter of employees have communicated with colleagues and customers via text and perhaps more significantly 1 in 10 people have communicated via social networks.

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Deskphone 63.4%

email 60%

mobile/smartphone 46.4%

laptop 35.5%

text messaging 22.7%

headset 16.8%

instant messaging 16.4%

softphone/voiP 11.9%

social network 8.6%twitter 7.3%

tablet 7.1%

none of the above2.7%

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Choosing devices

however, in spite of the multiplicity of devices being used and the increased consumerisation of it, many employers are not allowing their employees to exercise choice over the it and communications tools they use at work.

Just over half (53%) of office workers are expected to use the it and communications tools given to them by their employer, 28% are able to choose their devices and a tiny minority (less than 5%) are given a personal it budget to purchase the devices they want.

Which of the following statements do you agree with?

my employer already provides all of the it/comms tools i need to work the way i want

51.4%

i do not currently have the it/comms tools available i need to work the way i want

20.6%

i use my personal devices for work because my work it/comms devices do not do what i need them to

15.5%

i use my personal devices for work because they enable me to work more flexibly

13%

marketing professionals are by far the most likely to have a say in the it devices they use, with 24% saying they put their device preferences forward to be approved by their it manager and 9% saying their employer gives them a personal budget to purchase the devices of their choice.

Despite this, 1 in 5 people still feel they do not have the tools and devices to be able to work the way they want. so it is no wonder that genm workers are taking matters into their own hands and joining the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend with 28% of those surveyed indicating that they use their own personal devices for work.

Multi-tasking

given the increasingly mobile and flexible way genm are working and the variety of devices being used to communicate, it is unsurprising that genm sees multi-tasking as a key priority for how they work. Nearly a third (30%) of people said that being able to work hands-free all of the time would enable them to be more productive at work.

And our study showed that multi-tasking is becoming a way of life for modern workers - helping to save time and increase productivity: 61% of office workers have taken a call while performing another task; 23% have initiated an instant messaging conversation while on the phone; and just over 1 in 5 have conducted a call on a headset so they could continue to perform another task.

Have you ever done any of the following at work?

taken a call while performing another task 60.9%

initiated an im conversation while on the phone 23%

conducted a call on a headset so that you can continue to perform other tasks

23.1%

cut a call short to perform another task 23.2%

missed an important call because you were away from your desk 24.3%

none of the above 10.4%

fig

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fig

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Deskphone 63.4%

email 60%

mobile/smartphone 46.4%

laptop 35.5%

text messaging 22.7%

headset 16.8%

instant messaging 16.4%

softphone/voiP 11.9%

social network 8.6%twitter 7.3%

tablet 7.1%

none of the above2.7%

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surprisingly we found that employers are not always providing genm with some basic tools for the job: just 26% of customer service employees use a headset to communicate at work, lagging behind their colleagues in sales (35%), who are much more likely to use their own devices if their employer falls short.

by providing employees with the right tools, employers can boost morale, improve the customer experience and also increase productivity. A Jabra study, “improving customer interaction and Productivity”, evaluated the impact of providing staff with headsets in the uc environment; the uc-optimised headsets reduced the overall time taken to handle customer calls, including wrap up, by 33% compared to handsets, resulting in time-savings of up to two hours a day for individual workers.

studies like this are highlighting the critical importance of providing the new generation of the workforce with the right tools to improve customer service and increase productivity. indeed 23% of those surveyed said they had to cut a call short to perform another task, while 24% have missed an important call because they were away from their desk.

3.3 GenM: Work-life balance first

genm are not just linked by how they work, but also by their attitudes and approaches to work. most significantly our research has shown how genm’s priorities and needs are very different to previous generations of the workforce - and maintaining a work-life balance is far more important than career progression, job fulfilment and being paid well.

Which of the following are most important to you in your working life?

Percentage of rank 1 responses

career progression 20%

being able to work how i want and when i want 18.5%

maintaining a work-life balance 26.5%

being paid well for what i do 22.5%

Job fulfilment 10.6%

working with a team 1.6%

our study showed that, for genm work-life balance is twice as important as job fulfilment: 27% said that maintaining a work-life balance was the most important priority for their working life, as opposed to 11% saying job fulfilment; work-life balance was also ahead of career progression (20%) and being paid well for what they do (23%).

given that 76% of employees are either expected to, or choose to, work outside of office hours it is perhaps not surprising that genm is so focused on work-life balance. but this is a significant shift for employers, as it requires a different set of rewards and support to get the most out of genm.

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4. the workforce of tomorrow

While our study demonstrated conclusively that GenM cuts across

age groups, it also confirmed some clear trends amongst the younger

members of GenM, the 18-34 year olds who will provide the dynamic

leaders of tomorrow. Our study revealed five key trends that will be

instrumental in shaping the IT strategies of the future:

The consumerisation of IT will become ever more important

our study revealed that 25-34 year olds are much more likely than their older colleagues to use their personal devices at work: almost one in 10 use a tablet to communicate with colleagues; one in five work mostly from a laptop; and 14% use a softphone at work. significantly 19% of 25-34 year olds said being able to use their personal devices at work would enable them to be more productive.

The workforce of tomorrow will expect to have a say in the IT and communications devices they use at work

Perhaps not surprisingly given their propensity to use consumer devices to communicate with colleagues and customers, our study showed that the younger members of genm are much more likely to insist on using their own devices for communication at work.

A striking 18% of 18-24 year olds and 13% of 25-34 year olds put their device preferences forward to be approved by their it manager, compared to just 9% of 35-44 year olds. in addition 8% of 18-24 year olds say their employer gives them a personal it budget to purchase the devices they want, compared to just 5% across the workforce as a whole and just 3% of 45-54 year olds.

And frustration with current solutions provided by their it departments is markedly higher amongst younger workers: one in four (25%) say they do not currently have the it/comms tools available to work the way they want, compared to 20% across the workforce as a whole.

Tomorrow’s workforce will no longer rely on email and deskphone, but will favour more immediate, collaborative methods of communication

the traditional deskphone will decline even further in importance; just 19% of 18-24 year olds agree that the telephone is still the most effective form of communication, compared to 40% of 45-54 year olds. our study also revealed that instant messaging (im) is replacing email amongst the under 35’s with 15% agreeing that im is more useful than email when communicating with colleagues, customers and suppliers. furthermore 27% of 25-34 year olds have initiated an im conversation when on the phone; and almost one in four (24%) 25-34 year olds have conducted a call on a headset so that they can continue to perform other tasks. And the younger members of genm are spearheading the adoption of social networks for business communication (see below).

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Social networking will become widespread for business communication

the use of social networking to communicate and collaborate with colleagues will have a far-reaching impact on the workplace – and this trend will be driven by the younger members of genm; 25-34 year olds are twice as likely as their older colleagues to use twitter to communicate at work, with one in 10 opting to tweet at work and 11% using social networks such as linkedin or facebook.

Work will no longer be defined by the 9-5 office routine, but rather by connectivity to the business network

the younger members of genm have a much stronger desire than previous generations to stay in touch with the workplace outside of traditional office hours (22% of 18-24 year olds and 17% of 25-34 year olds). they are also much more likely to see it as important to be able to access all of the communications tools they have in the office (email, im, presence, conferencing) from their mobile; and 38% of 25-34 year olds felt that having access to all of their office communications tools when working out of the office would make them more productive.

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5. emPowering AnD enAbling genm

Our study has highlighted the many benefits available to those

employers who understand and respond to the needs of GenM; the

potential is there to win long-term loyalty from employees, but also

to increase motivation, maximise productivity and ultimately reduce

some of the operational costs involved in running a business.

in the not too distant future, successful businesses will be made up of highly motivated employees, who may be based in the office, but are just as likely to choose to work from home, or a number of locations, supported by a technological infrastructure that makes it easy for them to do this.

effective internal communication and close collaboration will be key to the effective running of these organisations. And the role of the it department will be to ensure the it infrastructure provides secure, always-on connectivity together with effective support for a wide range of communication devices.

As we identified earlier, we are rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the consumerisation of it has created a new generation of employees united by their desire to work how and where they want. how can employers prepare for and reap the benefits of this trend?

Allow employees to work on their own terms

firstly, it is vital to remember that attracting and retaining talent is no longer primarily about salary or promotion, but really about understanding that enabling people to work on their own terms and maintain a work life balance is paramount.offering flexible working as a viable option for office-based employees is a vital first step here. this might sound simple, but it can involve a cultural change at every level in the organisation, from board level, to the it department, to hr and of course the employees themselves.

fig

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being able to take calls handsfree all of the time

having access to all of my office communications tools when working out of the office

being able to work from home more easily/more often

being able to use all of my personal it and communications devices for work

other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

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As part of this, it is important to ensure that employees benefit from the same access to the business network and communications tools that they enjoy in the office. whether an employee is making calls from their home office, using the laptop to join a conference call from a wi-fi hotspot, or using their personal mobile for business calls, a high-quality headset will ensure maximum voice quality, as well as providing the hands-free multi-tasking benefits that can improve efficiency in a variety of environments.

for it departments, a key challenge will be evolving the it infrastructure to embrace uc, making it easy and intuitive for the workforce to use their own devices (or at least have a say in the devices they use at work) and to access the business network so they can work where and when they choose to.

Offer individual, personalised solutions

‘one size fits all’ will simply not work when providing the workforce of the future with the tools they need to work optimally. it departments need to support those employees who choose to use their own devices for work: but also to provide a wider choice of devices when provisioning communications tools; providing the right tools for multi-tasking, mobile employees will be critical to secure their buy-in, but also to ensure their productivity, wherever they work.

the new generation of multi-use headsets really come into their own here, enabling individuals to transition with ease between mobile or smart phone, laptop and landline, wherever they happen to be located; and as tablet use in the workplace continues to grow in the future, a professional quality headset will enable users to make hands-free calls via their device of choice.

it is also important to remember that the choice of device should extend to headsets too; many employees are familiar with the benefits of hands-free communication and are used to using headsets with their mobile phone. they will value the option to select a headset that most closely meets their personal taste and usage requirements.

Enable real-time collaboration

one striking feature of our study was that genm is abandoning email in favour of more immediate, real-time communication such as instant messaging, or social networks such as twitter, linkedin and even facebook. the voice call remains important, but is as likely to be initiated via a mobile, laptop or softphone as the traditional deskphone; so providing a professional headset is vital to ensure call quality as well as to allow employees to work hands-free to enable multi-tasking – and collaboration with colleagues - during calls.

As previously referenced, the Jabra study of headset use in a uc environment, “improving customer interaction and Productivity”, found that providing headsets makes employees much more likely to use the collaboration features of uc, such as initiating an im conversation with a colleague to resolve a customer enquiry or to transition from email to voice in a single interaction.

hands-free communication is an essential feature of real-time collaboration that involves voice, making voice calls more productive, but also bringing a personal flavour to communication that is often begun via another channel.

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6. conclusion A new generation of mobile, multi-tasking office workers is changing the way we work forever. the workplace of the future will no longer necessarily be symbolised by the office, but rather by the devices that connect workers with the information and communications platforms they need to perform their job and stay in touch with colleagues.

rather than making this new generation fit the old ways of working, organisations need to adapt to give this new generation the rewards and support they want. mobility, flexibility, personalised approaches and keeping pace with rapid technological change are the key touch points now for employers and their it departments to get the most out of genm.

employers who embrace this trend and empower this new generation of workers are likely to reap the benefits in terms of increased productivity, improved innovation and higher employee motivation - a dynamic, engaged and capable new force for their business. those who ignore the needs of genm will fail to win the long-term loyalty of the next generation of business leaders.

About Jabra

Jabra is the brand of gn netcom, a subsidiary of gn store nord A/s (gn) - listed on nAsDAQ omx. Jabra employs approximately 850 people worldwide and in 2011 produced an annual revenue which amounted to Dkk 2,106 million. Jabra is a world leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of a broad range of hands-free communications solutions. with a reputation for innovation, reliability and ease of use that goes back more than two decades, Jabra’s consumer and business divisions produce corded and wireless headsets, plus mobile and in-office speakerphones that empower individuals and businesses through increased freedom of movement, comfort, and functionality.

for further information, please visit www.jabra.com

JABRA® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF GN NETCOM A/SWWW.JABRA.CO.UK

Jabra (UK) Limited

Tamesis, The Glanty, Egham TW20 9AW

www.jabra.co.uk

Email:info@jabra.co.uk

Tel: 01784 220140