The seismic impact that the pandemic has had upon ways of working is a permanent one. Research from Microsoft has found that 63% of workers feel no pressure to return to offices full time, even when guidelines allow it, whilst Owl Labs found that 1 in 2 people don’t want to return to jobs if they don’t offer some form of flexible work.
This shift to flex working has forced businesses to adapt or fail. In order to succeed in the new hybrid world, organisations are having to prioritise a digital strategy and a remote first approach in order to maintain a competitive advantage. 27 per cent of global executives say digital transformation is now in fact a matter of survival.
The Hybrid Workspace is here to stay
It is essential that businesses become digitally agile, in order to support Hybrid Working and thus remain fully operational whilst navigating the instability of ever-changing Covid restrictions. This ability to adapt has become a necessity rather than a choice and looks likely to be this way indefinitely.
The pandemic has changed how we operate. Customers are engaged with and won remotely, and talent is being onboarded solely through digital means. This means that businesses need to be better connected than ever before, regardless of location. Whether workers are in the office, at home, or in shared working environments, the concept of work should be the same. Work is no longer somewhere you go, but instead something you do. It is an environment that you can bring with you, wherever you are.
A workspace should be a multi-channel platform where workers can intuitively and securely connect and interact with one another through multiple means, such as video calling, chats, digital whiteboards and content sharing. The better organisations become at making this environment consistent, regardless of location, the more empowered workers will feel to embrace these working environments, on their own terms.
This requires businesses to take the leap and evolve from on-site, legacy technology into cloud-based services, harnessing the agility to create a remote first operation. Offering the capability to effectively support a flexible workforce and catering for those who preference permanent office work, without alienating a growing remote cohort. Although a daunting prospect, the benefits of such a transformation are evident to see. Customizable cloud technology has allowed many companies to rapidly adapt to changing environments. A prioritization of digital technologies has allowed businesses to remain robust whilst championing customer and employee experiences and even enhancing them.
Planning a personal digital strategy
During the beginning of the pandemic, many UK based organisations rushed to implement what were perceived to be temporary solutions, in order to enable their workers to work flexibly under the government’s initial Work from Home directive, using any technology immediately at their disposal. However, now that flex working is a permanent fixture, leaders need to provide more of a long-term vision of how to tackle the future workspace going forward. This requires careful thought and planning.
Companies have been quick to adapt by investing in technology. 32% of organisations have introduced new tools for virtual meetings according to research from Gartner. But before rushing out and investing in the ‘latest and greatest’ digital technologies it’s important to evaluate what exactly you want out of your potential personal workspace platform. Every organization is different and as such your chosen solution needs to fit with your goals and be adaptable to meet your current and future objectives. It is worth asking yourself whether you are eager to ensure that your hybrid team is better connected, or perhaps your goal is to better serve your customers through a more sleek, interactive contact center – Enhancing an external reputation of professionalism and ingenuity.
One thing that is a certainty with almost all businesses is the need to connect authentically, with 20% of people citing collaboration and communication as one of the biggest struggles of working remotely in a recent study from Buffer. Without the functionality in place to bridge this gap, businesses risk collaborating ineffectively, diluting their company culture and an inability to innovate in their particular field – whether through ideas or through operational changes.
In order to avoid this, the correct technology is needed. The appropriate solution gives you the ability to access a multitude of useful tools, all in one place. This bespoke digital eco-system should serve to improve the shared creative process by allowing teams to draw, write and share in real-time, from different locations, using phones, whiteboards, immersive displays and more. This inspires the feeling that workers are limitless in their ability to collaborate effectively with one and other.
At Laduma, we make life easy for you, bringing together all of your favorite applications and tools in one secure, centralized platform. This allows you to intuitively work, meet and share smoothly, using only solutions that are helpful and relevant. Our digital workspaces are adaptable, meaning they will support your current objectives and evolve as your goals do.
To find our more about how our digital workspaces could benefit your organization, request a demo.
