Over the past three years, the workplace has transformed so dramatically that knowledge workers now expect, and sometimes even demand, remote work flexibility as a standard benefit. So common is this new workplace trend that The Economist dubbed “hybrid work” its “word of the year” for 2022. 

Given the relevance of hybrid work models as a mainstay for businesses, it’s now mission-critical for organizations to orchestrate systems and processes that enable dispersed teams to collaborate successfully. During a recent Grammarly-hosted webinar, guest speaker Marci Maddox, the research vice president of digital experience strategies at IDC, joined Amit Sivan, the head of product at Grammarly Business, to discuss a recent IDC study that underscores the importance of communication in a hybrid workplace to drive productivity and profitability. 

Written communication is essential in the digital workplace 

IDC has kept a finger on the pulse of digital transformation in the workplace for years. Prior to 2020, IDC tracked the emergence of the “digital-first enterprise,” which leveraged technology to add new value to operations, customer experience, and overall workplace productivity. Now, amid a massive shift to hybrid and remote work, IDC is tracking the emergence of the “conversational enterprise,” which leverages communication technology to support remote and hybrid collaboration in wholly new ways. 

IDC’s recent study on workplace experience (commissioned by Grammarly) found that 73% of respondents identified written communication as a top business priority. Changes in the workplace experience have also dramatically impacted customer communications. Maddox said close to half of the respondents surveyed reported that their organizations had substantially increased the amount of digital communication sent to customers. 

As organizations communicate in a digital format more frequently, Maddox said, businesses are looking at tools that support remote collaboration and improve the end-user experience by “putting better communication between teams and other groups as a top consideration.”

Get the full IDC InfoBrief
To learn about the current state, trends, and challenges of the hybrid workplace

Effective communication drives productivity 

IDC research found that 72% of executives placed a high value on professional tones in their written communications. Business leaders are acknowledging that how something is communicated is just as important as what is being communicated. When communication quality is high, misunderstandings and the ripple effects of those misunderstandings are minimized to drive tighter operations and higher productivity. 

“There’s a need for higher quality in communications to avoid any type of misunderstanding and to strengthen interactions between teams and external audiences,” Maddox said. “Rather than taking 1,000 words to describe an idea, what if you were able to succinctly say it within 50 words and have a better result?” 

Written communication is essential for customer satisfaction

In a separate study, IDC found that 85% of organizations reported a direct correlation between a positive work environment and customer satisfaction. Maddox emphasized the importance of building a “culture of trust” to cultivate a positive work environment. A culture of trust is characterized by a synergy between technology, people, and processes to drive employee loyalty and confidence—and ultimately, positive workplace experiences.

Maddox added that a culture of trust begins with how the organization communicates. “If we look at the core foundation [of trust], communication is at the very center,” she said. When teams communicate with professionalism and accuracy to convey information in a way that’s on-brand, reliable, and persuasive, then teams are also able to collaborate successfully. Over time, effective collaboration creates greater employee confidence and loyalty, which is then reflected outward with customer interactions to drive positive customer experiences, which then translates to higher revenue. 

Businesses are leveraging AI to scale effective communication

In the current macro environment, organizations have limited resources and face talent shortages; meanwhile, the need for digital communication skills has exploded with the growing volume of communication happening. “We can’t keep up with the velocity that’s facing us, so we must turn to the assistance of AI,” Maddox said.

Communication assistance AI such as Grammarly Business enables individuals to adjust in the moment to improve their communication so they can maintain speed without sacrificing quality or accuracy. AI tools such as Grammarly Business “amplify the work performance of every employee in the organization so they feel like they’re still providing their own individualized point of view,” Maddox explained. “It doesn’t feel robotic, but it’s actually helping me be me even more.” 

Real-time communication assistance also enables employees to keep up with the speed of change. “If your brand tone changes because of a big event, that needs to be rippled down to the employees to ensure consistency,” Maddox said. Grammarly Business offers a style guide feature that alerts employees when they are not communicating within the parameters of updated guidelines so that communications are consistent and on-brand across the organization.

Considerations moving forward

Maddox doesn’t expect the shift toward the “conversational enterprise” to be short-lived. IDC’s research found that executive staff placed communication technology almost first in their level of priorities when recession-proofing their organization. “Communication is going to be forever valued in both written and spoken form,” Maddox said. “Having the best communication and collaboration tools behind you is going to take you into whatever [happens next].” 

She offered three points of advice for leaders to transform their organizations into conversational enterprises. 

  1. Put into place communication technology that will augment your existing productivity tools to enhance message delivery at every touch point.
  2. Invest in AI that augments employee capabilities so that they can more effectively communicate their own unique points of view and your business can capture the creativity and innovation your employees have to offer.  
  3. Look at technology as a mechanism to drive new skill sets across the organization. Tools should support continuous learning opportunities that will be worth the investment not only today but also in the future as you build confidence in your employees.

To learn more about the “conversational enterprise,” click here to watch the recording of the webinar. Plus, stay tuned for more research from Grammarly and The Harris Poll on the value of written communication in the workplace. 

 

Get hands-on with Grammarly Business
To empower your team with effective and efficient communication

 

IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Grammarly, Workplace Experiences of the Digital-First Enterprise, IDC Doc. #US49892622, December 2022

 

Ready to see Grammarly
Business in action?