Digital Workplace

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Today’s always-connected, instant-access working environment has questioned the need for office-based working. Like never before, staff are connecting and collaborating with their peers in real-time, from any location.

As more staff transition to a work-from-home scenario, digital workplace technology offers a vital agile setting for businesses.  Digital workplace technology can improve productivity, creative thinking, and team collaboration.

While some organizations have already embraced a digital workplace culture, others are being forced unexpectedly into managing staff remotely. The silver lining for the latter cohort is that if done right, remote working can facilitate a smarter, faster, better operation. Businesses stand to benefit from increased employee engagement and all-round improved business performance.

What is the Digital Workplace?

One of the most accepted definitions of the digital workplace is “the alignment of technology, employees and business processes to improve operational efficiency and meet organizational goals”.

Gartner describes it as a way of enabling new, more effective ways of working; raising employee engagement and agility; and exploiting consumer-oriented styles and technologies.

It’s been dubbed as the fourth industrial revolution, the digital transformation.

New digital workplace practices are being embedded into everyday life, across every size and type of business. Artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning technology are taking over manufacturing, service work, and many other essential business tasks. And while most companies acknowledge the benefits of digital working, many admit to lacking the technical knowledge to lead the way (source: McKinsey & Company).

Distributed Working: The New Normal

The way in which we spark ideas and get work done has changed forever. With more employers supporting the distributed workforce model – either through choice or an unexpected crisis – the practical side of completing tasks and communicating with colleagues now, more-often-than-not, takes place in a digital space. Indeed, many economists forecast the physical office will soon be a thing of the past, accelerated by the recent Covid-19 pandemic. 

A distributed workforce – also known as remote workers, digital nomads, telecommuters or home office workers – work from any location, across multiple devices. They value work/life balance, flexible hours – and critically, the need to feel connected. Digital workplace technology provides this essential connection – emphasizing the importance of friction-free, easy-to-use software. 

If the physical office is no longer a place we go to work, these digital touchpoints play a vital role in how employees stay motivated, informed and engaged in what they do.

The onus will be on the employer to optimize the digital workplace experience for employees. Security, fast access, as well as intuitive and compatible software are just some of the important considerations when transitioning into a digital world.

Key Benefits Of A Digital Workplace Strategy 

The advantages of adopting a digital workplace strategy spread wider than most businesses originally anticipate. Here are some of the expected and unexpected benefits:

Team Collaboration

Improved levels of problem-solving, interaction and knowledge-sharing – all-round improved collaboration

Flexible Remote Working

Allows employees to work from home, supporting more flexible working

Productivity Boost

Increased efficiency and employee productivity through improved communications

Innovation

Great ideas can come from anywhere – not just the boardroom – if staff have the right channels

Change Management

Clear, reliable communications minimizes confusion and garners internal support

Improved Transparency

Improved traceability and transparency amongst teams, reducing errors

Hidden Savings

Decreased employee commuting expenses and business real estate cost

Employee Experience

Improved personal experiences through greater inclusivity and integration of tasks

Retain Talent

Lower employer turnover rates due to improved work/life balance and engagement

The Digital Workplace Framework

Deloitte has developed a four-layer framework to help govern the design of a digital workplace. This is a useful guide for those businesses looking for workplace transformation. This framework comprises of:

1) Use – for staff to collaborate, communicate and connect

2) Technology – the digital tools to enable staff to do their job

3) Control – having the right governance structure and compliance controls in place to reduce risk

4) Business drivers – measuring the outcomes and actual business value.

It explains how to leverage your investment to support a new and better way of doing business that will enhance both the employee experience and the customer experience.

Deloitte Digital Workplace Graphic

Tips For Deploying A Digital Workplace 

Here are some practical tips to help you blend your existing applications with new technology to create the ultimate user experience and a high-performing work environment.

1. Involve the right people to steer the project. Senior ownership is vital, but including representatives who will drive the technology is also key.

2. Ensure alignment with business strategy. Keep your big picture always in mind i.e. ‘will this new tool and process-change enable us to achieve our goals?’

3. Consider internal culture. How amenable will staff be to new technology and digital experiences? Develop an internal communications program to explain the benefits of digital technology and how vital it is in today’s workplace. And most of all, make it easy for staff to do their job.

 

4. Deliver business value.  Avoid falling for the ‘shiny new thing’. Stay true to the original outcomes your business needs.

5. Research technologies. A good case study, a free trial, a call with a current user – these are all helpful ways to shortlist new technologies. There are multiple service providers playing in a very dynamic, competitive digital market.

6. Consider risk, compliance and legal consequences. There are important regulations surrounding data management and security that must be adhered.

Digital Workplace: Future Trends 

What are the anticipated trends at play when today’s graduates become tomorrow’s C-suite, artificial intelligence is mainstream, and the traditional office is no more?

Here’s our view of the future and the role of the digital workplace: 

Cloud-based Solutions

Effective, cloud services with unlimited access will be essential to support remote working

No Standing Still

Technology will continue to evolve, either organically or intentionally. Status quo is not an option

All-On Automation

Traditional ways of working will continue to be disrupted; automated processes will increase

Tech Choice Matters

Technology stack choices will become more important when attracting staff and tech compatibility

Staff Expectations

Young workers have a huge appetite for social tools and tech, increasing pressure for employers to invest  

Customer Self-Service

Customers will want to search and solve their own questions independently, without speaking with an agent

Overwhelming Options

Choice-explosion of SaaS products could be overwhelming; apps may fail to work together

Employee Experience

Employers will try harder to motivate, engage, inspire and involve staff to retain talent

Tech Maze

Employees become ‘trapped in the tech maze’ with many apps overlapping and staff feeling bamboozled

The Digital Workplace is a work in progress, an ongoing journey, with only 14% of companies believing they are at a ‘mature phase’.

Source: Digital Workplace Group 

Digital Workplace Software

Core to the successful adoption of a digital attitude is finding ways to support staff as they navigate through the tech maze of the modern digital workplace, along with adjusting to working from home. While there are countless business apps and platforms suited to their specific areas of business, a central hub – or gateway if you like – where staff can access everything they need to complete their job is vital.

MyHub intranet software provides that central digital space for staff to communicate, share and source company information, regardless of their location. Our cloud-hosted, single access point makes life easier for staff, helping them do their job better. 

From instant messaging to the seamless integration of business applications, workflow automation to access-controlled content libraries, MyHub brings together all this into a beautifully-sleek, easy-to-navigate digital workplace. All accessible with a single sign-on.

Digital Workplace Tools: The MyHub Difference

Unlike many of the enterprise-focused intranet solutions, MyHub’s cloud-based intranet is priced and purposefully designed for medium-sized companies looking to digitize their workplace. 

Considered the central hub of your digital workplace solution, MyHub is fully scalable, designed to support your company’s growth. And fully customizable, to meet your exact needs.

Designed with the non-technical buyer in mind, MyHub requires no coding skills or IT experience. It is simple to set-up – and fun to use! 

Using simple drag-and-drop functionality, you can create a professional digital workspace in minutes! Being cloud-hosted also means you’re future-proofing your investment: you get to benefit from our latest new features and enhancements as soon as they’re released.

Let our technology unleash a smarter and super-efficient digital workplace solution that your staff will love.

Managers have reduced the time spent on management activities by one to three hours due to system integration and collaboration tools

Source: Deloitte

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