New Study from Qualtrics and PwC Reveals How CIOs are Future-Proofing the Workforce Technology Experience

Research finds that 95% of IT ‘Leaders’ increased the frequency of employee listening since COVID-19 began, and over 65% of all respondents said they expect at least a quarter of their workforce will work from home permanently

SALT LAKE CITY and SEATTLE, December 3, 2020 — New research released today from Qualtrics, the leader in employee experience and creator of the experience management (XM) category, and PwC, reveals how IT executives and senior technology leaders are playing a critical role in helping their workforce navigate the global pandemic and driving employee engagement, enablement, and productivity.

Findings from the Qualtrics and PwC study of more than 200 U.S. IT executives provide a framework for how leaders have shifted their technology investments during COVID-19 as a result of employee feedback and insights, and how those priorities indicate a broader trend in enabling the workforce of the future.

Key takeaways:

• IT executives have accelerated digital transformations within their organization and are taking appropriate actions to meet the needs of employees. 95% of IT ‘Leaders’ said they increased the frequency of employee listening since COVID-19 began. 
• When it comes to remote work, over 65% of all IT executives said at least a quarter of their companies will continue to work remotely permanently. 
• To meet remote work needs, IT ‘Leaders’ invested in security and privacy (82%), cloud infrastructure (78%), and additional IT support staff (71%) among others during COVID-19. To inform these priorities, 76% of IT ‘Leaders’ gathered employee feedback to understand needs and requirements when considering new software or services and 73% knew which initiatives would make the most impact on the employee experience. With this shift, IT teams will need to continue to invest in new technologies and infrastructure to enable employees to find success. 

“Our data shows us that over 65% of IT leaders believe this new model is permanent, and the role of IT in improving the Employee Experience will only grow in importance,” said Jay Choi, EVP and GM of EmployeeXM, Qualtrics. “That’s why we believe technologies such as Qualtrics EmployeeXM for IT will be critical in supporting IT leaders and their teams rethink how they listen to the needs of their employees and act on their feedback to deliver world-class technology experiences.”

In addition to the study, Qualtrics and PwC have teamed up to combine experience management technology and advisory capabilities to help organizations deliver technology experiences that create and drive more enabled and productive workforces.

Built on the Qualtrics XM Platform™, EmployeeXM for IT includes a suite of listening, analysis, and actioning solutions to help leaders understand how internal technology, tools, and services can best support the workforce. PwC’s pre-configured solutions help organizations with communications, survey design and dashboards, and change management and culture expertise to realize maximum return on their IT investments and workforce transformations.

To learn more about EmployeeXM for IT and request a demo, please visit qualtrics.com/it-demo.

About the study

The study was fielded by Qualtrics in August and September 2020, with a panel of more than 200 CIOs, CTOs, and other IT executives, across various industries, in the United States. Respondents also varied by company size of at least 1,000 employees. 

About Qualtrics

Qualtrics, the leader in employee experience and creator of the Experience Management (XM) category, is changing the way organizations manage and improve the four core experiences of business––customer, employee, product, and brand. Over 12,000 organizations around the world are using Qualtrics to listen, understand, and take action on experience data (X-data™)––the beliefs, emotions, and intentions that tell you why things are happening, and what to do about it. The Qualtrics XM Platform™ is a system of action that helps businesses attract customers who stay longer and buy more, engage employees who build a positive culture, develop breakthrough products people love, and build a brand people are passionate about. To learn more, please visit qualtrics.com. 

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. PwC is a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 276,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

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