W HI T E PA P E R | M AY 2 0 2 2

The Great Tech Divide:

Why Employers and Employees
Are Split
 Executive Summary
Great technology helps us live better. It’s true in
medicine, commerce and potentially any part of
our daily routine. But when it comes to business,
just how effective we are with the right tech
depends on who you ask.
In one study, 4 in 5 employees say tech helps
them get more done faster.* And just as many
business executives agreed tech improves
efficiency in a follow-up survey.**
If everyone’s on the same page, enhancing
workplaces should be easy, right? Not quite.
Only 19% of leaders believe the tech they’ve
purchased is being used to the fullest. Likewise,
a staggering 77% of employees say they’re
frustrated with outdated tech at work.
Survey conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Paycom of 1,000 American office workers in December 2020.
*
Survey conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Paycom of 500 C-suite executives and HR professionals in January 2022.
**
From the pace of digital transformation to
the value of a better experience, employers
and their workforces aren’t seeing eye to
eye. And just introducing new tech without
understanding what employees really need
can lead to even more headaches. This tech
misstep can harm satisfaction, engagement
and even retention.
Given the roles of executives and their
employees are fundamentally different, it
makes sense their perspective on HR tech
would be, too. The right tools give leaders
powerful insight into their workforce and
help them make important decisions. And for
employees, HR tech is the foundation of their
work lives.
Leaders and their staff must reach common
ground; the success of their organizations depend
on it. Identifying these differences, as well as how
great consumer-grade tech catches on, helps
employers deliver the simplified experience their
workforces need. But they still need a bridge to
align them.
HR is uniquely positioned to help narrow the tech
divide. In fact, employers cite communication
between HR and employees as the top reason
preventing them from purchasing the right
tech for their business. But with frequent
communication and culture of feedback, HR helps
employees and leaders alike determine what’s
wrong. In turn, organizations have a chance to find
what’s right.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
04 CHAPTER 1
The (Almost) Universal Effect of Great Tech

08 CHAPTER 2
The Inside Story of the Tech Misalignment

12 CHAPTER 3
A Tale of Two Experiences

16 CHAPTER 4
Building the HR Bridge

18 CONCLUSION
Reaching Common Ground

19 SOURCES
Chapter 1: The
(Almost) Universal
Effect of Great Tech
By now, it’d be hard to find anyone who doesn’t benefit
from modern technology, even if they don’t realize it.

Life-saving medical and environmental data is more extensive

and is transferred and used faster than ever before. People living
with diabetes can check their blood sugar on their phones.
Electric cars are more viable and consume less resources;
some can even drive themselves.

That’s not even considering how tech has transformed our lives
in everyday scenarios. For instance, when was the last time you
needed to:
» wait in a long line to purchase a few basic items
» leave your home to watch a new movie
» watch the news to get the weather forecast
» visit a bank to deposit a check

THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 4

 Each year, more of us get increasingly comfortable with the
convenience of today’s digital reality. According to Pew Research
Center, 90% of Americans say the internet has been essential or
important to them. And since 2021, 40% claim they’ve used the
internet or digital tech in new or different ways.1

What we reap from exceptional tech isn’t slowing down.

What we reap from As we discover greater ways to use it, we learn to live better.
Work is no exception.

exceptional tech isn’t With the right tools at their disposal, employees accomplish big

slowing down. As we things. Processes once tedious, difficult and draining become
effortless. Regarding workplace HR tasks, innovative tech gives

discover greater ways us the means to quickly and easily:

» manage time

to use it, we learn to »

»
enroll in benefits
kick-start professional development

live better. Work is » verify and troubleshoot payroll

no exception. And this edge isn’t taken for granted. In the December 2020
OnePoll survey, 79% of employees say effective HR tech helps
them get more work done faster.2 With apps available anywhere,
anytime, they don’t have to wait around for the information that
affects them the most. After all, it’s their information.

THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 5

 79%
of employees say tech helps them get more work done faster.
Employees aren’t the only ones who benefit,
either. When their workforces aren’t
burdened by duplicate paper-based, manual
or otherwise outdated tasks, employers
are able to focus on initiatives that drive
organizations forward. And with more
accurate data bolstered by the involvement of
their employees, executives have the ability to
help ensure compliance and make important
business decisions.
In 2022, most employers don’t doubt the
effect of great tech. In a follow-up study from
OnePoll commissioned by Paycom of 500 U.S.
C-level and HR professionals, 81% agree
HR tech improves workflow and productivity.3
While employees enjoy a simplified, engaging
work life, employers benefit from more fluid,
informed operations.
If an entire organization — from the highest-
ranking executives to the newest hires — is on
the same page about how impactful the right
tech can be, continuing to enhance
the workplace should be a breeze, right?
Not quite.
While most employees and leaders agree
tech is helpful, just how far organizations
have come depends on whom you ask. Sixty-
four percent of leaders feel their business’s
digital transformation accelerated in recent
years, primarily due to the pandemic.3 But
67% of their staff don’t believe the company
prioritizes digital transformation.2
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54%
Just over half of executives believe their
staff gets frustrated by outdated tech
77%
But over three-fourths of workers
say they’re fed up with outdated tech
If both groups agree on HR tech’s importance, why are they so
divided on how it has — or hasn’t — evolved their organizations?
How do employers see upward
momentum, while their employees
find more headaches?
The source of this divide could lie in perspective. While just over
half (54%) of executives believe their staff gets frustrated by
outdated tech,3 the number rises significantly with employees:
Over three-fourths (77%) of workers say they’re fed up with it.2
Employers may have an idea of how their employees wrestle
with the wrong tech, but they aren’t experiencing it every day.
What spurs this disconnect, and is there a way to bring employees
and employers together? Reaching common ground takes
a deeper understanding of how the two groups differ, as well as
a third, crucial party with the power to join them.
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Chapter 2: The Inside
Story of the Tech
Misalignment
Outside Undercover Boss, the roles of leaders and their workforces
are fundamentally different. When executives guide the direction
of business toward an important goal, their employees ensure the
means to get there are consistent and progressive.

This doesn’t mean the two roles aren’t symbiotic, but it does
suggest that for most organizations, the ground between their
experiences is a bit wider.

Some employers know their organizational placement can keep

them from getting on their staff’s level. Though 50% of leaders
are aware of the software their employees use, 44% admit they’re
out of touch when it comes to identifying tech needs.3 And when
employers are disconnected from what truly speaks to their
workforce, pinning down the right tech to engage, inspire and
retain employees becomes a guessing game.

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50%
Only half of leadership believes
their workforce would take
a pay cut for twice-better tech
67%
But more than two-thirds
of employees claim they would
take that pay cut
At the same time, it may not be clear how valuable the right tech
is to their employees. Because while half of leadership believe
their workforce would take a pay cut for twice-better tech than
what they’re currently using,3 an overwhelming 67% of employees
claim they would.2 Though employers pick up on the importance
of effective HR tools secondhand, their people are often (and
painfully) reminded of it each time they step into the office.
Additionally, tech that might work well for one business could
be received entirely differently by another workforce. On top of
this, certain tools can prove useful by themselves. Still, if they’re
not effectively integrated into the environment employees have
grown accustomed to, those same tools could risk creating more
problems than advantages.
Think about it this way: There are thousands of phones
available for purchase. Some offer higher resolution cameras
and fingerprint scanners, while others deliver a friendlier user
interface and more impressive screen clarity. Certain options
offer a little bit of everything and more.
THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 9
 The best inventions catch on because they address a
need, even if that need isn’t explicitly stated, but derived
from blind spots throughout an experience.

When you’ve spent time carefully crafting your
own digital ecosystem, just stuffing new tech
into it and hoping for the best won’t help you
avoid frustration. In order for it to meaningfully
improve our lives, tech doesn’t just have to be
better, stronger and faster — it has to feel right,
or we likely won’t use it.
That’s not to suggest the gung-ho approach
hasn’t worked, especially with new consumer
tech. Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, famously
said, “People don’t know what they want until
you show it to them.”4
In isolation, Jobs’ comment speaks to the risk- Anticipating what users want is a gambit that
taking creativity that drives innovation. But rarely pays off. But that’s not really the point
many tech companies — and employers — don’t of innovative tech to begin with. The best
have the luxury of a blank-slate approach. inventions catch on because they address a
Harvard Business Review elaborated on need, even if that need isn’t explicitly stated,
this concept: but derived from blind spots throughout
an experience.
“Jobs believed that market research is a
useless endeavor. The reality, however, is very
few companies can strike lightning with this
approach. Even if they do create a product that’s
better or faster than the competition.”4

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Similarly, when new tech is everything but
timely, it risks alienating potential buyers.
For employers, introducing the wrong tech
risks disengagement, rampant frustration and
even turnover.
Just because employees haven’t harshly
rejected the workplace tech purchased for
them doesn’t mean it’s right. In fact, only 1 in
5 leaders believe the tech their company uses
is being used fully. With so few employers
3
voicing confidence about the tools they
provide, it’s hard to imagine why they bother
introducing new tech at all.
Yet they continue to do so, because there’s no
real reason employers wouldn’t want something
better for their workforce. At the very least,
they’d want some assurance that the decisions
they make — like purchasing new tech — have a
positive impact on their employees.
Ending the guessing game may take zooming
out and identifying where leaders and their staff
stand currently so they can then step toward
common ground together.
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Chapter 3: A Tale
of Two Experiences
Given leadership and staff roles are fundamentally different, it may come
as no surprise that their ideas around tech differ. But knowing this in
itself doesn’t shed light on why they’re so far apart or how each group’s
perceptions of digital transformation are practically inverted.

There is, to some extent, mutual understanding. Again, just over half
of leaders get how painful cumbersome and disjointed software is.3
But they don’t have the entire picture, especially when we recall the more
than 3 in 4 employees who are frustrated with their tech.2

For example, almost every employee will inevitably enroll in benefits,

and many employers use them as a competitive advantage. Yet leaders
find, on average, employees miss a deadline for incredibly important
things — such as adding a dependent or enrolling in benefits — an average
of 3.4 times a month.3 In tandem with this, only 18% of employees say they
signed up for benefits using HR software.2

In order to understand how these and many more scenarios unravel,

consider these two personas:

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LAURA LEADER
» C-level executive
» effective and respected
» concerned with her staff members’
well-being
Lauren’s looking to raise the quality of her
business for every employee. It’s recently come
to her attention that the business’s current HR
software is spurring rampant complaints from
her workforce.
ERIN EMPLOYEE
» seasoned professional
» high-performing, driven
» loves her company, but dreads its
HR solution
Erin readily approaches challenges and is viewed
as a model employee by her supervisors. Erin
loves consumer tech and regularly uses curbside
pickup and self-checkouts. Unfortunately, her
workplace’s HR tech isn’t nearly as convenient.
Luckily, she heard her organization is preparing
for an overhaul.
Laura consults her IT department and senior
leadership. She receives details on several
different options, from a popular, desktop-only
system to several tools that each have their own
mobile app.
After getting additional buy-in from her fellow
executives, she decides to move forward with
the multitool approach. After finalizing the
rollout schedule, she takes a few deep breaths,
confident her choice was right for her generally
tech-savvy staff.
However, her optimism quickly shifts to doubt
as she discovers her new tools — which include
every piece of her HR life cycle — are divided
across several different apps with with their
own logins and passwords.
As she begins the long, arduous process of
completing her registration, she wonders why
she was never asked about her HR tech needs.
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LEADERSHIP� S GOOD INTENTIONS
Laura knows the right tech helps the business
overall. She knows when her people are able to
better focus on their jobs, it leads to smoother
operations. Likewise, Laura wants the HR
tech she purchases to actually be used, and
delivering the experience her employees enjoy
as consumers could make it happen.
EMPLOYEES � LACKLUSTER EXPERIENCE
Erin believes the work her company does
changes lives, and she wants it to keep
succeeding. But when disjointed tools keep her
from effectively managing her own HR data,
it’s hard for her to stay optimistic.
Plus, Laura takes pride in helping her staff. And
she knows if they find value in their experience,
they’re more likely to stay. Like many leaders,
Laura believes a user-friendly experience is the
most important aspect of HR tech.3
The satisfaction of Erin and her co-workers
defines Laura’s success as a leader.
But when their day-to-day routine is hampered
by the wrong HR tech, it has the potential
to negatively affect every other initiative
the executives deploy.
Laura was trying to help, and while she’s no
stranger to the consumer experience herself,
she has some trouble seeing how it translates to
employees. Unfortunately, she didn’t exactly go out
of her way to identify what they actually needed.
Given that 57% of leaders hear their employees
voice confusion about office software,3 it’s not
as if Erin’s dilemma is an isolated case.
THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 14
 This doesn’t mean employers and their employees
are doomed to never get on the same page.
Lauren and Erin both want the same result However, for Erin, HR tech is the foundation This doesn’t mean employers and their
— a better workplace — but the pieces of of her work life. employees are doomed to never get on the same
the equation that get there aren’t the same. page. But it does mean they could benefit from
Laura’s considering factors like streamlined It’s as if both of their needs orbit one another, help. Luckily, there’s one crucial department
operations, improved ROI and more accurate but the space between their perspectives lends with the power to gather and assess what
workforce data. itself to disconnects spurred by an idea of employees need and convert it into insight
what’s right rather than mutual understanding. employers can then use to make a better-
informed decision.

THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 15

Chapter 4: Building
the HR Bridge
While executives may be able to capture an impression of what
their employees are feeling, they need a medium to help them get
a grasp of the subtle details. For example, leaders are able
to pinpoint the top reasons HR tech misses the mark, which are:
» outdated tools
» faulty or slow processes
» hard-to-use software
» too many different logins and disjointed systems3

These issues may encapsulate what’s wrong with an organization’s

current solution, but spotting the problematic parts isn’t enough
to deliver the cure. Leaders also need help to identify what’s
missing and what functions can be enhanced.

With ears close to the ground, HR is uniquely positioned to identify

the needs of employees. And a majority of employers are well
aware of how useful HR’s placement could be. In fact, leaders cite
a lack of stronger communication between HR and employees as
the top reason preventing them from addressing the needs of
their workforce.3

THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 16

Leaders, especially at the enterprise level, have few opportunities
to speak with a wide array of employees. But by its very nature,
HR can. Open forums, one-on-one discussions and anonymous
surveys are just a few of the options at its disposal.

In doing so, this also brings up an important facet of not just HR

software, but tech as a whole: What’s convenient and intuitive
today may not be the same tomorrow. It’s not as if the functions
we now consider inherent — like the ability to remove harmful blue
light from phone screens and monitors — will become unnecessary.

Expectations will continue to evolve, and an unending game

of catch-up can only, at best, deliver an experience that’s short
of ideal.

Frequent and consistent communication through HR, on the other

hand, gives employers insight into what’s both currently and
potentially relevant to their employees. After all, would the term
HR tech even be appropriate without involving HR?

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Conclusion: Reaching
Common Ground
Employers and employees may be divided on how important and
valuable the right HR tech is, but they’re not doomed to be misaligned.
In fact, both groups have a solid grasp of what makes an experience
wrong, which means there’s opportunity to land on what’s right.

But to do so, they need HR to help bring them together.

HOW THE RIGHT TECH HELPS

The right tech brings employees and employers together through one
easy-to-use app for HR and payroll tasks.
It provides everything employees need to manage their work lives
through just one login. And with a seamless flow of data across
each self-service tool, onboarding, time and attendance, payroll,
professional development and more are right where they belong:
in employees’ hands!
Insightful analytics and reports grant leaders the perspective they need
to make impactful decisions. They can even identify where tech use
is rampant — as well as where it’s lacking — to help maximize ROI and
overall efficiency.
And to help bridge the gap between employers and employees, the right
tech empowers HR with the tools it needs to thoroughly, efficiently and
securely gather crucial feedback from its people.

THE GREAT TECH DIVIDE 18

Learn how Paycom is the right HR
tech for employees and employers
at paycom.com/frustrations.

Sources
1. McClain, Colleen; Vogels, Emily A.; Perrin, Andrew; Sechopoulos, Stella;
and Rainie, Lee, “The Internet and the Pandemic,” Pew Research Center,
pewresearch.org, Sept. 1, 2021.
2. Paycom, “Survey: Employees Are Ready to Leave Outdated Tech Behind,”
paycom.com, Feb. 26, 2021.
3. Paycom, “Tech Frustrations Survey with OnePoll 2022,” paycom.com,
January 2022.
4. Korst, Jeremy and Whitler, Kimberly A., “Why the Best Tech Firms Keep
Customers Front-of-Mind,” Harvard Business Review, hbr.org, Jan. 10, 2020.
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