The Disjointed Digital Workplace – Is AI About to Call You Out?

SharePoint . . . ServiceNow . . . Salesforce . . . Workday . . . pretty much every company in the world uses one or more of these enterprise software platforms. In fact, the average knowledge worker uses more than 11 different applications every day, and 40% use even more. With so many tools in play, it’s worth asking: how good is this “employee experience”?

Ask any and you’ll probably get a mixture of responses ranging from good to bad to ugly.  Employees are no longer quietly enduring this. 43% of employees say finding information across different systems is challenging.  A separate survey found that nearly 70% of employees spend as much as 20 hours a week chasing information across disparate systems, instead of focusing on meaningful work.

This is more than a usability gripe. It’s a breakdown in what I call employee experience—the operating system of work (the “EEOS of Work”). Without a coherent experience layer, every login, every duplicate policy, every dead link chips away at productivity and trust.

The complexity of what exists today is the result of decades of technological innovation, complicated by uncoordinated decision making.  Through no one’s fault, shiny new objects have been developed over extended periods of time and the big picture of what the digital workplace consists of has been lost.

Until recently, companies could muddle through and get away with this. But the arrival of enterprise artificial intelligence changes the calculus. Large language models will index every repository and expose every inconsistency that exists in the currently installed behemoth systems—outdated policies, conflicting data, duplicate content. What feels like minor internal friction today will become glaring, public inefficiency tomorrow.

With AI evolving at an exponential pace, now is the time to consider an “experience layer” to the EEOS of work.

The Digital Workplace Paradox

The challenge that exists in the enterprise today is that tools like SharePoint, ServiceNow, Workday, etc. all consist of content repositories and knowledge bases.  For many, SharePoint has become the default corporate intranet just because an organization is a Microsoft shop.  For others, ServiceNow, Salesforce and Workday have become contrived intranets in an attempt to maximize cost efficiency by using these systems beyond their core purpose (i.e. HR/IT automation, CRM and HCM).

The resulting problem? A lack of content oversight and governance . . . duplicate and inconsistent content on disparate, unconnected sites . . . a search nightmare where multiple and outdated versions of content surface when employees are looking for what they need to do their work.  The end result . . . frustration and a dysfunctional EEOS of Work.

AI:  The Great Exposé

Artificial intelligence is about to shine a bright light on the cracks that exist in today’s digital workplace. Large language models and AI-driven tools are already crawling enterprise systems, indexing content across the various knowledge bases. The timing couldn’t be more critical: Salesforce reports that 81% of IT leaders say data silos are hindering digital transformation, and 75% of organizations struggle to integrate insights into seamless user experiences.

But first things first.  Based on the reality of what exists today and the challenges employees face in getting to what they need to do their work, leaders must first acknowledge that the current digital workplace was built in silos, often over decades, with little thought for a unified employee journey in the future (which is now here).

But a solution does exist.  There is a light once the much needed “intervention” takes place.  The EEOS of Work needs to evolve and this requires the addition of an “employee experience layer” – a unified, employee-centric interface that integrates disparate systems and delivers a seamless EEOS of Work.

Adding an Experience Layer to Today’s Digital Workplace

As I’ve argued in previous writings, the C-Suite should own and ensure cross-functional governance when it comes to the various solutions that exist across the enterprise, that are owned by different departments (e.g. HR, IT, sales, etc.), and are the source of the challenges that exist today. Only 13% of employees are fully satisfied with their digital workplace experience, and 85% say they lose time dealing with version control and finding the right documents, further underscoring how a unified digital experience is at the core of employee productivity and satisfaction.  I’ve also proposed that AI can supercharge this system with content governance, intelligent communication, and predictive insights. The experience layer is the next in the evolution of the process of cleaning up the disarray that exists, unifying the various “intranet-like” platforms in place, and greatly improving an employee’s work experience.  It is designed to unify the digital workplace before AI exposes its flaws.

Creating an experience layer over an organization’s current digital workplace doesn’t have to be a daunting or time intensive undertaking.

Here are four actionable steps to build it:

1. Conduct an EX Audit: Map out all digital touchpoints—HR systems, intranets, communication platforms, operational tools—to identify gaps, duplicates, and pain points. Use employee feedback (e.g., pulse surveys) to pinpoint frustrations, such as time spent searching or accessing tools.
2. Establish Cross-Functional Governance: Form an EX Council with leaders from HR, IT, Communications, and Operations. Charge them with defining standards for system integration, content accuracy, and user experience metrics (e.g., time-to-information, task completion rates).
3. Leverage AI for Content Cleanup: While the technology is still evolving, deploy AI where possible to scan repositories for outdated, duplicate, or inconsistent content. Tools like Microsoft Copilot can tag and archive obsolete documents, ensuring employees access only current, trustworthy information.
4. Measure and Iterate: Set EX metrics—such as time-to-awareness for critical updates, search success rates, or employee satisfaction scores—and track them via AI-driven analytics. Report these annually to the C-suite, alongside other important metrics like finance and ESG, to ensure accountability.

At this stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence in the workplace, much is still theoretical and in development.  However, it won’t be for long.  Organizations have an unprecedented opportunity to redefine their digital workplaces.  The experience layer provides the concept for a user-focused interface that integrates fragmented systems, unifies search, streamlines access to information, and personalizes the employee journey.

It’s not a new platform and doesn’t require ripping out SharePoint, ServiceNow or other solutions in use.  It’s a manpowered strategic layer that sits on top of existing tools, and addresses a disjointed digital workplace by aligning systems, content, and communications under a single, employee-centric framework.  It takes the theoretical to a practical implementation that eventually will deliver tangible results for the enterprise.