While the term "Digital Workplace" doesn't have a hard and fast definition, I think most of us know what the term means. At least we think we do...the Digital Workplace is a set of tools that help us work better, faster, collaborate better, and at the end of the day deliver stellar ROI.
But guess what? The top three biggest challenges to digital workplace initiatives are data silos, competing departments, and budget constraints. All of these are problems stem from digital solutions and platforms that don't play nicely with each other.
Being Human Is What Counts
I think that part of the problem comes from focusing too much on the word "digital." Yes software can help us do things in ways that we never dreamed of before. But at the end of the day it is the human component that counts.
When the Digital Workplace is working it is because we are able to connect deeply and robustly even when we are separated by distance or time. The connection is what matters.
Connection Creates ROI
Let me give you an example of one way that we've seen a focus on personal connection deliver real value. Many companies struggle 
with their recognition efforts - this may not be the biggest problem they face but it is a real issue and it takes a significant investment of time on the part of star performers.
Time and time again we see organizations heading down the same path. They will form an awards committee and put out a call for nominations. The first year things are great, tons of nominations pour in, the committee meets several times and comes up with an admirable list of awards recipients.
But in the following years the committee struggles to keep up its membership, people nominate the same employees over and over again, the number of meetings required to reach a decision goes up.
TemboSocial's Awards and Nominations module takes the pain out of the process by helping nominators, short-listers and decision makers all collaborate effortlessly. Because much of the decision making is done within the module the number of face-to-face meetings is cut dramatically, saving the organization time and effort.
By connecting people around a common purpose TemboSocial is able to deliver real productivity. And by using tools that integrate with existing platforms we help eliminate the problem of incompatible systems.
Culture is Key
In CMSWire's annual Digital Workplace Survey the focus on human connection seems to be gaining traction among business leaders. The most recent studies show human factors getting more attention. Topping the list are employee experience along with culture and change.
I've often encouraged business leaders to think about cultivating a culture of conversation and connection within their organization. When we get employees talking with each other we find that we can tap into resources for innovation, collaboration and efficacy that we didn't know we had.
