#11 James Robertson: Focus on the digital employee experience

01/07/21 • 19 min

James Robertson (Sydney) is a keynote speaker, author of three best selling intranet books, and a global expert on intranet strategy and design. He is founder and director of Step Two Designs, a consultancy firm based in Sydney, Australia. In this role, James has helped organizations to develop intranet strategies, both within Australia and internationally.
"In this day and age, resilience is needed. Zoom fatigue exists and we miss the micro-interactions at the coffee machine and in the elevator. We do what it takes to be productive and tools can help. But they have to be purpose-driven and tailored to the needs of employees. The danger now is that we put technology back at the forefront, and we have to be vigilant about that."
"The digital environments we offer are often too complex. You notice by walking along with your employees for a few days. You'll soon get to know the users of your platform and identify a few things you can tackle right away. But beware: you can't solve everything. Start small, do the right small thing. Tackle something that really helps your employees and take it from there."
Open up Digitals is a Fellow Digitals production.

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#10 Jan Bommerez: When experience becomes a problem (Dutch)

Belgian Jan Bommerez (Santa Barbara), who has been a resident of California for the last 25 years, is a thought leader, trainer, writer, and a much sought-after expert and specialist in the field of transformation processes.
"We still look too much from the point of view of linear thinking – cause and effect. We have to think in terms of systems. A system under stress can go in two directions: breakthrough or breakdown. It is an illusion that we can steer this, I think the fear is still greater than the insight that it can be done differently. The breakthrough is in understanding the system, only then you can change."
"What you resist, persists. I am optimistic, because the people who are not afraid come up with the new ideas. The hope of the world is in creativity. The breakthrough often comes from young people who are not stuck in paradigms. Where experience used to increase your value, now it's often a problem because you're too much into old thinking. So bring experience and young people together and have a conversation. Then you have the best of both worlds."
Open up Digitals is a Fellow Digitals production.

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#12 Gonny Vink: Technology is important, behavioral change is crucial (Dutch)

Gonny Vink (Utrecht) is an expert on remote work. She advises organizations and teams in sustainable change at the intersection of people, organization, and technology. To be more flexible, faster, and agile. This always starts with people. Gonny is co-author of the book Never Waste a Good Crisis.
"Companies will look at how they can best set up their office, so that employees can work well together here. Also make good arrangements with your team, what does it take to be successful? Stay in discussion with each other about that."
"What you see is that many companies need to be able to communicate and hold meetings with each other remotely. But now you have to take the next step: how are we going to collaborate smartly, share knowledge, and develop remotely? Tools and technology can help you with this, behavioral change is crucial."
Open up Digitals is a Fellow Digitals production.