Remote workers comprise nearly two-thirds (60%) of the workforce, and yet fewer than half of the organizations they work for have company-wide remote work policies in place and only 14% are considered digitally mature within their industry, according to a new report from Accenture.

The report, titled “Honing Your Digital Edge,” includes a survey of 5,400 workers aligned with the sentiment from more than a dozen chief information officers spanning nine industries and 12 countries. Companies identified as digitally fluent in the report are 5.4x more likely to be projecting high revenue growth in the next three years; considered a great place to work by the majority of their workers (69%); and lead their peers in customer satisfaction (68%).

“When the pandemic hit, everyone had to pivot quickly and accelerate their digital transformations, however, few companies were digitally mature enough to move at the scale and speed necessary to transition and unlock new value,” said Eva Sage-Gavin, Accenture’s Global Talent & Organization / Human Potential practice lead. “Success in today’s environment requires organizations to hone their digital skills by supporting their workers to thrive through skill-building opportunities that will unlock their full potential and ingenuity.”

“Although digital transformation has been a major business priority for the past few years, there’s still a nagging gap between a company’s existing technology foundation and the digital skills or tools workers need to unleash creativity and new ways of working,” said Emma McGuigan, Intelligent Platform Services lead at Accenture.

“Fostering a digitally fluent workforce means closing that gap across your company, often starting at the top. The CIO is central to get this done, transforming their role from merely equipping workers with a digital infrastructure to harnessing their enthusiasm to drive innovation at scale.”