Many businesses now employ a hybrid or remote workforce where employees have the flexibility to be present in the office or at remote location during the working hours.
It has been estimated that by 2028, 73% of departments will have remote workers. In anticipation of a more flexible workforce in the future, businesses are now taking steps to make sure that connectivity and engagement remains among its team and that productivity and performance are not compromised.
In this article, we’re going to explore what a connected workplace is, how to implement it and the benefits that you could have with an integrated, digital workplace.
Creating a connected workplace
A connected workplace is an integrated working system using tools that enable cross-team collaboration, secure communication, and productive work. For employees, a connected workplace also improves remote and in-office collaboration.
When a connected workplace is adequately implemented, it enables organisations to mitigate concerns over security, capacity, and compliance to achieve peak business value.
To achieve a successful workplace digital transformation, you can consider the following aspects.
How do you build a connected workplace?
There are many things to consider when building a connected workplace. Planning is key and you must ensure the tools and strategies you use are suited for your business and employees. In short, here are 5 steps to build a connected workspace:
1. Assess your current situation
2. Develop a connected workplace strategy
3. Select your tools and technologies
4. Execute the change
5. Measure the success.
Alternatively, we’re breaking down the process for you with example tools to facilitate the digital transformation.
1. Assess your current situation
Step back and assess how your current workplace structure. Take into account the efficiency of current processes and note down areas for improvement.
Get input from your staff and colleagues. They will be able to provide insights where you may otherwise miss. Learn what already works well or risk fixing something that is not broken that could cause employee dissatisfaction.
2. Develop a connected workplace strategy
When you know the areas to tackle for improvement, you can begin to plan what you want to achieve with your connected workplace and the means that will get you there. Identify the tools that will help reach the intended objective.
3. Select your tools and technologies
You will want to be selective about the tools you use to achieve a connected office and to improve efficiency.
There is a plethora of different tools available, ranging from project management tools, scheduling tools, communication tools and tools to help you track KPIs. You will want to consider the cost and usability, and ensure you are investing on something that is worthwhile.
Take the time to research the different tools and work out which would be the best for your workplace digital transformation.
Consider the following and ask if your business model would improve with it.
Tools to build a connected workplace
● Communication tools
Communication tools are particularly useful if parts of your workforce are remote. The keep communication intact and puts all colleague in the same place without being in the same location.
Some examples of popular communication tools include Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom which enables instant connectivity through messaging, video and voice calls.
● Productivity tools
When there are many things on your plate, it helps if your plate is well organised. Lots of companies use project management tools for teams to help with their productivity and performance. Project teams can benefit from managing and tracking their tasks accordingly while keeping everyone involved in touch with the workflow and progress. Among the useful project management and productivity tools include Monday, Trello, and Asana.
● Collaboration tools
Collaboration tools are essential for teamwork and cross-departmental projects. These will allow different people or different groups to keep track of a mutual project.
● Enterprise tools
These tools are designed specifically to allow large organizations or specific departments to digitize their workflow. Examples of these are:
i) CRM software
Customer relationship management software helps to navigate your entire relationship with a customer, from their first communication with your business until after the product or service has been provided. Zoho offers an effective CRM software that makes customer relationship management simple.
ii) HR software
Human resources software can help you manage a range of your human resources tasks, from payroll to attendance to employee rewards and compensation.
Different businesses will have different needs when it comes to digital tools. So it’s crucial that you identify which tools your business can benefit from. Bamboo HR offers a free trial of their HR software.
4. Execute the change
Now you’ve selected the best tools for your business, it’s time to roll out the changes. Invest in comprehensive training courses so that your employees know how to make of the new tools that you have supplied them.
Make sure that you are also open to receiving feedback. You might not get it right the first time and have to make some changes. While that may be frustrating, it’s a great chance for you to learn more about the inner workings of your business.
5. Measure the success
Make sure that you regularly check in to assess the successes or failures of the new processes so that you can step in to make any changes if necessary.
Establish performance metrics that are aligned with your business goals to ensure that you’re reaching targets.
You want to make sure that you strive for continuous improvement. Don’t ever settle for mediocrity, but keep looking for new ways to improve the processes of your business.
There are constantly new tools emerging that can benefit your business, so don’t stop researching and learning about those.
Benefits of a connected workplace
While it will take time and money to find and implement new tools are an integrated and connected workplace, you’ll notice the results almost instantly, such as:
1. Easier communication for hybrid working
With hybrid working getting more common, a digital workplace can benefit collaboration and performance.
Since it’s easier for colleagues to communicate and receive updates from other departments, having people working from home won’t interfere with processes or cause delays. We no longer have to have face-to-face communication or long meetings to provide updates and set goals.
With digital workplace tools, it’s easy to communicate with instant messaging or find out the progress of a project without having to be physically present in an office.
2. Cost-efficient
Another advantage of a connected workplace is cost-efficiency. Although you will have to pay for the tools, implementation and training, you can save money by making processes more streamlined. Decreasing manual tasks by making tasks more digital frees up your employees time.
Furthermore, since integrated workplaces make it easier for employees to work from home, you can save by not having to rent larger office spaces when you’re expanding.
3. Easier for employees to use
Digital tools can be much easier for employees to use compared to more manual processes. As things are becoming more digitized, there is less room for error. Errors can be easier to pick up on and are easier to fix.
Integrated workplaces also streamline processes. Since employees don’t need to switch between different tools to retrieve and use data, it can be much more efficient.
4. Easier to track performance
Digitising certain processes can make it much easier to track performance. It’s easier to see where the problems are and therefore you can remedy these quicker.
It’s easier to see the ‘big picture’ of the whole landscape of your workforce so that you can draw insights and make decisions to improve performance.
Transitioning to a Digital Workplace
Today’s businesses are taking the necessary steps to ensure the workplace matches and supports the evolving workforce.
Implementing a workplace digital transformation could benefit the change process in business and work models. It will have minimal impact during transition and keep things running as usual.
Therefore, it is best to select useful tools and tech that can help to streamline the day-to-day tasks for your workforce. It will be most beneficial to review these processes and assess the results from time to time.
Getting ready for a digitally-enabled workspace? At Compass Offices, we provide business-ready flexible office space in a digitally-charged environment to keep your team connected. Speak to us about building your preferred connected workspace. Learn more about our flexible office space, custom workspace solutions, and enterprise-grade IT infrastructure at www.compassoffices.cn.