Most people would give the same answer if asked about the main hype in technology at the moment. That answer would be AI – artificial intelligence. Companies of all sizes and in most industries are looking for ways to transfer that hype into something that can work and deliver tangible benefits.
Here’s the thing, though – there is a corner of the technology sector that can deliver many of the same benefits and practical advantages of AI. And it can do so today, as the technology is tried and tested.
That technology is Digital Employee Self-Service.
The benefits and practical advantages of AI as it currently exists (if you can figure out a real-world use case) include reduced pressure on resources, less time spent on manual and repetitive tasks, reduced human error, and better user experiences.
Digital Employee Self Service delivers all these benefits and more.
So, is 2025 the year of Digital Employee Self-Service?
What is Digital Employee Self-Service?
Digital Employee Self Service is part of the End-User Computing (EUC) space. It is about improving and optimising the digital employee experience (DEX).
The technologies that facilitate Digital Employee Self-Service empower workers, giving them greater control over their time, the technology assets they use to complete their job, and many of the interactions they have with the corporation they work for.
In simple terms, Digital Employee Self Service technologies are a central repository of information that employees can access. An example is a situation where an employee encounters a technical issue. Instead of raising a support ticket, the employee can retrieve the solution from the central repository and implement the fix themselves.
Digital Employee Self-Service technologies are suitable for all employees who have access to an internet-connected device regardless of job title, location, or whether the employee is office-based or working remotely.
Benefits of Digital Employee Self-Service Technologies
- Reduces friction when the employee needs help or an answer as they can get the solution themselves without waiting for a response from someone else.
- Results in fewer IT support tickets and enquiries/requests to other departments.
- Reduces the strain on resources, particularly technology resources responsible for answering support tickets.
- Improves employee autonomy as they can get things done themselves.
- Enhances employee confidence, especially in the use of technology. Even in the modern workplace, there are many employees who are technology novices. If everything works as it did yesterday and the day before, they can get the job done. Any deviation or change, however, requires help. By self-servicing that requirement for help, the confidence of employees will improve.
- Reduces downtime as employees waiting for a response from someone else means they might not be getting on with the most value-adding tasks and processes.
- Increases productivity in multiple areas, including employees as well as staff in pressured departments. Using IT as an example, technical resources will have more time to spend on value-adding tasks rather than responding to what can often be repetitive support tickets.
- Improves remote working as it makes employees better connected to the company they work for. In companies where people work in offices, it is easy for employees to go down the hall to ask a question. If that employee is working from home, the process of getting the answer is more convoluted. With Digital Employee Self Service technologies, the answer can be right there in the central repository.
- Improves communication as the best Digital Employee Self Service technologies, including Access Symphony Portal, feature two-way communication tools.
- Reduces costs through efficiency savings and better use of resources.
- Delivers better employee engagement as workers have more ownership of the events and issues they encounter day to day.
- Enhances employee satisfaction which, after all, is one of the main objectives of DEX and EUC.
Examples of Self-Service Information Employees Can Access
IT
- Bug fixes and resolutions to common issues
- Training manuals
- Password reset information
- IT policies
- IT processes and procedures
HR
- HR policies
- Holiday requests and other forms
- Employee handbooks
- Training materials
- Contact information updates
- Employee FAQs
Finance
- Expense claims
- Payslips
- Purchasing and PO number requests
- Banking information updates
2025 – The Year of Digital Employee Self-Service
The question we asked at the start of this blog was: is this the year of Digital Employee Self Service? Given the fact the technologies are ready today, they have real-world applications, and they deliver tangible business benefits, the answer is yes – 2025 should be the year of Digital Employee Self Service.
