CIOs and IT leaders are already juggling a range of challenging priorities. Foundry’s 2026 State of the CIO survey found them focused on AI, data security and strengthening collaboration, while maintaining their existing infrastructure and cloud investments. These are important duties, but they sometimes eclipse another key responsibility: the day-to-day digital experience of employees. Ignoring this can hamper not just workforce productivity, but the success of wider IT initiatives.
Users struggle with devices and apps that don’t share a consistent interface. They’re often trying to work and collaborate within disconnected ecosystems that mix hardware, software and services from different vendors. Cost-conscious IT leaders are under pressure to do more within limited budgets, but doing so in areas like meeting room audio or desktop peripherals can have a direct impact. What’s more, with the majority of knowledge workers having adopted hybrid working practices, it’s crucial those based outside the office don’t have a second-rate experience. From having different hardware in the home and in the office, to poor or inconsistent audio and video in online meetings, too many are held back by digital friction in their daily work.
This has an impact on work satisfaction and engagement. As HP’s VP and GM of Lifecycle Services, Adriana DalSoglio, put it in a recent article, “One of the primary areas of frustration reported by employees continues to be that they don’t feel their company provides the right equipment, technology or workspaces needed to thrive in a dynamic business reality.” HP’s 2025 Work Relationship Index found that only 20% of knowledge workers reported a healthy relationship with work, while just 20% that felt confident that their company had the right technology to support hybrid working. The report found direct correlations between this and employee attitudes towards work.
Reducing digital friction
IT can fix this by maintaining employee experience as a key priority, across the hybrid workforce. That means considering aspects that might seem small, but that contribute to digital friction. Business-grade displays, keyboards, mice, docks and headsets should be part of the baseline, delivering an effective digital workspace where the hardware and software is almost invisible, and users can focus on their work.
Teams can’t collaborate effectively – internally or externally – with laptop microphones that don’t always pick out voices clearly from background noise, or cameras that capture dull, grainy video. If they’re struggling to connect to a meeting or un-mute their microphone, they’re going to find it harder to take-in information or formulate the best response.
Switching to business-grade headsets and standardising might not seem like a big deal, but it can help ensure a consistent experience where every worker feels involved. Accessible volume and mute controls and noise-cancelling microphones aren’t bonus features, but essentials, while active noise cancelling can help workers retain focus, wherever they are. Selecting products from within one ecosystem makes them easier to use – and easier for IT teams to support.
IT leaders can also promote a good employee experience through software tools that provide visibility into how their digital tools are being used and, crucially, where they’re falling short. By combining this with user feedback, they can ensure that the technology supports work, rather than adding friction and frustration. HP and HP Poly have a full range of hardware and solutions that can improve and enhance the employee experience across both hybrid and office-based workers. To find out more, click here.