Editorial
Imagine if every new employee walked in on their first day and was handed a laptop perfectly suited for their new role and work environment, with all the software and hardware they need to be 100% productive right out of the gate. All without any extra applications that slow things down and waste your IT budget.
That’s just one of the goals of data-fueled persona planning, a strategic process that categorizes employees based on their job roles, responsibilities and corresponding tech needs — and leads to a better digital employee experience (DEX) experience all around.
What Is IT Persona Planning?
Most organizations have groups of people who have similar needs or job-related usage patterns regarding their devices. IT persona planning — also called persona mapping — lets you understand and address the nuanced needs of each group by creating personas.
A persona isn’t an actual person but rather a representation of a typical user that lets you dig deeper and understand what they really need. As a persona-planning expert from World Wide Technology (WWT) explains, “An organization's people — its end users — are at the center of every process and digital transformation and directly impact the customer experience (CX). So it's crucial they have the right tools for success. Yet we often find organizations leave end-user technology decisions to chance.”
Related Article: The Close Relationship Between IT and Digital Employee Experience
Factors to Consider for Employee Personas
Personas can drive the entire tech experience, allowing IT to provide tailored technology solutions that address each group’s unique pain points. But where do you start? Here are a few popular frameworks for generating personas.
- Department or role: Perhaps the most common structure, these personas group people based on their job function, which typically defines their behaviors, responsibilities and technology needs. For example, social media specialists will likely need a mobile device with a high-quality camera, whereas developers need the Lamborghinis of laptops with horsepower and speed. Human resources may require an extra layer of security on their laptops. These types of considerations let you create technology experiences that align with each persona’s workflow.
- Work environment: Salespeople who travel a lot will likely need smaller, lighter laptops. Traders, by contrast, need 100% reliability to avoid losing a deal. Front-line workers and field staff might be more productive with more rugged devices. Environment-based personas should address everything from remote work to devices used in manufacturing facilities, where every hour of downtime could cost millions.
- Proficiency with technology: In some cases, IT staff considers the user’s general experience, familiarity and comfort with using different types of devices. Don’t forget about your “silent sufferers,” who are much less likely to report their technology problems — and will benefit from more proactive hardware and software updates, and easy-to-access tech support.
- Rank and impact: Let’s face it: the C-suite might get top-of-the-line devices even if they don’t really need them. But understanding the impact of each group may be helpful when developing personas, especially when it comes to the IT help desk. "High-ranking executives and mission-critical employees like trauma center doctors may need prioritized IT support,” explained one tech leader. "Organizations often create a VIP persona for such roles."
Related Article: Employee Journey Mapping: How to Get Started
Tailoring IT Services Based on Personas
Once you have your personas established, think about how you’ll apply them. We typically consider three broad categories of tech services.
- Hardware: Match the equipment to the persona. A product manager who spends most of their time sending emails and checking spreadsheets will be just fine with a mid-level processor and RAM.
- Software: Reduce bloat (and costs) by giving each persona the programs and applications they’ll actually use, rather than giving employees every possible solution.
- IT Support: Do software engineers have a ticket system based on their most common issues? Do your third-shift supervisors have access to 24/7 support? Designing your help desk around personas can improve efficiency and reduce frustration for employees — and your IT team.
Related Article: From Personas to Journey Mapping and Beyond: Quantifying the Employee Experience
Clean Data: The Foundation for Effective Personas
The IT needs for each persona should be based on endpoint data from the devices your employees are already using. Collecting device performance and usage data on endpoints is “the best way to gain complete visibility of what is happening across the digital estate,” according to a tech leadership survey.
As you’re gathering this data, you should strive for what we call “clean data.” As I’ve previously written, clean data means the data is accurate, consistent and well-structured, which makes it more trustworthy and reliable as the basis for data insights needed for persona-planning (and other initiatives).
Of course, personas should also reflect qualitative data such as user interviews and surveys, which can highlight how employees feel about interacting with their hardware and software. These emotional experiences are critical factors, especially when you’re focused on retention and similar goals.
Related Show: Why IT Needs to Be Part of the Onboarding Experience
5 Benefits of Employee Persona Planning
Well-designed and thoughtful personas can offer a wealth of benefits for both IT professionals and employees.
Less Stress
Research has shown: “technology is creating employee stress.” Employees are stressed out about technology that makes it harder for them to do their jobs, and IT staff must support more and more technology (often with fewer and fewer resources). Personas identify stress points and lead to an improved employee-technology fit, which lowers stress levels for everyone.
Greater Productivity and Reduced Downtime
Employees claim low-quality digital experiences result in them only achieving 60% of their potential work output, according to our research. Persona use can improve employees’ hardware, software and IT support, and you’ll likely see gains in their productivity as you foster a more positive work environment.
Higher Job Satisfaction and Retention
A Compucom survey found that “half of employed Americans have been so frustrated with their workplace tech that they’ve switched jobs — or are actively applying.” Persona-driven IT experiences can help ensure a better workplace technology experience for people, which improves satisfaction and eliminates a common reason for leaving.
Better Onboarding
New hires don’t want to spend their first week downloading software and submitting requests to get the setup they really need. Personas help make day one a fantastic experience for IT, HR and every new employee — and will keep your newest employees excited and engaged.
Lower Costs
When you give employees the most appropriate devices from the start, they’re more efficient — and so is your budget. Personas help IT teams prioritize support and resources and avoid issues such as having to refresh underpowered machines every year or two. By understanding what tools employees are actually using, organizations can trim out software bloat and eliminate unnecessary hardware purchases.
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When you know what your people need based on their job roles and responsibilities, you can give them the right technology to do their jobs. Use the appropriate data to build and implement persona planning, and discover new opportunities for improving the employee experience, saving money, and boosting results throughout your organization.
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