How IT can involve business stakeholders in shaping the digital workplace

To overcome this hurdle, it’s crucial for CIOs to engage key business stakeholders early in the process. By aligning digital workplace investments with broader business initiatives—such as sustainability, digital employee experience (DEX), employee well-being, productivity, operational efficiency, and revenue growth—they can drive a compelling business case. In doing so, they can secure buy-in from both business leaders and management, emphasizing that the success of these strategic initiatives depends on a strong technical foundation.  

In this article, we explain the importance of closing the gap and offer CIO’s and IT managers a clear, step-by-step guide on how to effectively engage business stakeholders in shaping the future of the digital workplace, ensuring strong alignment between IT initiatives and overarching business goals. 

The importance of closing the gap between business & IT  

While both business and IT-teams ultimately work toward the organization’s success, their priorities often differ. IT-teams focus on security, scalability, and efficiency, ensuring a stable infrastructure that supports operations. Meanwhile, business leaders prioritize revenue growth, customer experience, and innovation, seeking ways to drive competitive advantage. These differing perspectives can create friction, leading to misalignment in digital workplace investments.

A major factor contributing to this divide is the lack of a shared language. IT and business leaders often approach challenges from different angles—technical versus strategic—making it difficult to translate needs and expectations effectively. Additionally, budget ownership plays a key role in the disconnect. IT-budgets are frequently seen as a cost center, with investments closely evaluated for immediate ROI, whereas business teams focus on growth opportunities and revenue-generating initiatives. This dynamic can make it challenging for CIOs and IT-managers to secure funding for critical digital workplace projects. 

When IT and business strategies are not aligned, organizations face significant risks. Misaligned investments can lead to underutilized technology, resulting in wasted resources and inefficiencies. In their 2024 report, Strategic Roadmap: What Is the Digital Workplace of 2027 and How Do I Get There?, Gartner outlines that through 2027, multidisciplinary digital workplace teams that blend business and technology roles will be 50% more likely to deliver positive outcomes than those formed by IT alone. This highlights the importance of aligning business and IT strategies to shape a digital workplace that effectively supports business objectives. 

A step-by-step approach 

Step 1: Identify key stakeholders 

Engaging the right stakeholders from the start is essential for securing buy-in and maintaining alignment throughout the process. Key stakeholders typically include executive leaders (C-level), business and operations managers, finance and procurement managers, as well as HR and compliance professionals.

Step 2: Define shared goals & KPIs 

Once stakeholders are identified, the next step is to establish shared business and IT goals, along with clear key performance indicators (KPIs), to ensure alignment on desired outcomes. Common objectives often include revenue growth, market expansion, ESG initiatives, employee experience, productivity, and operational efficiency. 

Step 3: Assess your digital workplace maturity level 

Before defining use cases or building a roadmap, it’s crucial to assess the current state of your digital workplace. This evaluation helps identify gaps and areas for improvement, ensuring a strong foundation for future initiatives. 

Step 4: Prioritize high-impact use cases 

With a clear understanding of your current situation and shared goals, it’s crucial to keep business stakeholders engaged as you identify the most impactful use cases that align with your business objectives. Their input ensures that the chosen use cases drive tangible value for the organization. 

Step 5: Create a roadmap 

Once the use cases are prioritized develop a roadmap that outlines the sequence and timelines for implementing digital workplace initiatives. Once again keep stakeholders involved to ensure that the roadmap remains aligned with business priorities and is executed successfully. 

Step 6: Implement the digital workplace 

Once the plan is in place, begin execution and ensure regular updates are shared with all stakeholders. This fosters transparency and keeps everyone aligned. Involve business stakeholders at key stages to validate decisions and ensure the implementation meets expectations and business needs. 

Step 7: Track & optimize progress 

Provide dashboards and regular reports to stakeholders and management to monitor results. These tools highlight trends and areas for improvement. Feedback loops are crucial for continuous optimization, ensuring the digital workplace evolves and stays aligned with organizational goals and KPIs. 

Conclusion 

By aligning digital workplace investments with broader business goals like sustainability, employee well-being, and revenue growth, CIOs and IT managers can secure the necessary sponsorship and budget for these transformative projects. As a trusted partner with years of experience in modernizing digital workplaces, Cegeka understands the challenges involved. We can guide your organization every step of the way—from inspiring your team, to organizing workshops with business stakeholders, to implementing solutions and providing KPI dashboards. Want to learn how to prioritize investments in your technical foundation? Read our blog article, "Prioritizing Investments in 2025: Building the Foundation of a Modern Workplace", to discover key strategies for success. Feel free to contact us to support you in every step of the way.