A hybrid workplace is a culmination of in-person and remote workplaces. Employees either report in-person as per a free-will model or a split-week model.
The business needs will determine when and how many employees will come to the office; and how many will collaborate from remote locations.
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Digital Workplace Solutions
A virtual form of the traditional, in-person workplace is its digital version; it includes everything tangible and intangible that is a workplace requirement.
Office gear like laptops, computers, networks, cloud computing, servers, and other applications used by employees; to perform their tasks are a part of digital workplace solutions.
Changing Dynamics of Digital Workplaces
The landscape of workplaces has changed consistently since the industrial revolution.
Innovative solutions advanced by internet-enabled digital products and internet of things (IoT) companies have spurred the advancements in digital workplace solutions.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are in the infancy stage.
The pace of change will force the workforce to reimagine their work, hopefully for the better.
Dependence of Hybrid Workplaces on Digital Solutions
A hybrid workplace relies on the efficacy of the digital tools and gear a company uses to complete its tasks.
For organizations to make their hybrid workplace model coherent and consistent in its application, they need to follow a few steps in establishing the right digital workplace solutions.
Let us examine some points that help in setting a reliable digital system :
- Secure interfaces
- Easy access to employees
- It consists of all the required digital applications and data tools
- Smooth integration of all the applications and tools to avoid duplications
- Checks for speed and accuracy
- Enhances both customer and employee experience
- Increases productivity
- Is cost-effective
A cloud-based application and data tool that lets companies engage their employees to create customer-centric solutions are preferred digital workplace for a hybrid model.
Employee Expectations From Digitization
Employees give importance to individual hacks that work for them if they are not content with a workplace solution.
For instance, if color printer access is provided only to a few key personnel, then employees will use the regular printer instead of seeking permission from authorized personnel only.
To overcome this, all the employees who need to represent any data in color format should get access to a color printer. However, they need the training to use it judiciously as color ink is expensive.
In a digital workplace, employees should be able to access all the tools they need to perform their tasks within time.
Workflow that requires collaboration, process, and project management updates are part of digital solutions.
A Digital Workplace Allows Employees to:
- Access reports, dashboards, content, and other tools in a project management system
- Diarise their calendar and schedule their work as per priority
- Collaborate with other team members from the organization
- Manage their tasks and re-assign tasks after completing their part
- Raise and resolve tickets about issues.
- Integrate third-party API for data confirmation and remove redundancy
- It automates the repetitive process and allows the employees to focus on capabilities like understanding customers’ requirements.
Digital Solutions for a Hybrid Workplace
Once we get used to technology, it is difficult to stop using it. We are now used to smartphones that auto-correct our messages as we type them.
For instance, if we go back to typing a short message using an old cell phone without any smartphone features or apps, then that task is tedious.
Likewise, any technology introduced in a workplace should make the existing work easy, and there should not be a need to stop using that technology for any reason.
Based on the ease, security, and scalability, these five digital workplace solutions can guide any company looking to transit to a hybrid model:
1. Scalable and Adaptable
Use digital workforce like robots, chatbots, and RPA to answer FAQs from external customers. The technology used for these services needs to be scalable and adaptable for future updates.
Changing the software after every few years is a capital-intensive project. Once it is in place, it should be able to serve its purpose for many years.
2. Integrated Workplace
An intelligent and integrated workplace that reduces the barriers to communication, and holds the data in a unified interface.
A solution is efficient only when there is no context swapping and all the collaborators are on the same page of understanding.
3. Safe and Secure Connections
Use a zero-trust architecture where nothing is trusted and everything is verified. Only employees or users confirmed as safe users should be enabled to access information.
The use of granular segmentation on a continued basis ensures data safety and protection from security lapses. Although security has to be strong, it should not hinder productivity.
4. Improve Employee Experience
Human capital will not be replaced with robots in the complete sense. Robots automate the process that is repetitive and cumbersome.
In this manner, skills like efficiency, speed, and accuracy are automated functions of a process.
Likewise, the time saved by automating parts of a process will leave enough time for employees to concentrate on pressing needs like client engagement.
Efficient use of digital workplace tools improves employee experience holistically.
5. Human Resource Solutions
An employee should have access to self-serve automated forms related to HR-related issues with quick solutions.
Learning and development tools should focus on evolving skills, and adaptive systems that use semantics to understand employees’ future needs must integrate into digital workplaces.
Conclusion:
Hybrid models with integrated digital solutions are the future of workplaces. Globally businesses are embracing the work-from-anywhere concept.
The barriers to this transition can be minimized by securing real threats of virtual life and prioritizing employee experience for seamless application of this model.
All the decisions involved in effective transition cannot be taken in one go. Organizations have to adapt to their business needs while focusing on their employee’s expectations.
A right balance will cater to the larger interests of all the stakeholders. Companies should concentrate on flexible and easy-to-integrate digital solutions that aid in coordinating with collaborators and teams seamlessly. Related costs and maintenance and upgrades have to be a simple process.
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