The world has changed and so has the way we work. With this article, we call business owners to think of the said changes and what has driven them. The hybrid office is predicted to be the future, replacing the traditional model. We, therefore, invite you to examine and forecast how technology continues to change the workplace.
In light of the recent pandemic, companies had to change the way they operate. Namely, they were forced to adapt to fully remote working. Yet while it was essentially forced upon companies during the lockdown, many have realised its benefits. As a result, they are planning to ditch the traditional 9-to-5 setup for good. Over half of the employees surveyed on their lockdown experience said the way their team operates has ‘changed forever’. This implies that staff may now expect their working arrangements to change for good, even with the restrictions lifted.
This change was largely possible due to companies having to think outside the box and employing more software solutions than ever to carry out different jobs. From remote team meetings to improved workflows, the business world has learned new ways to keep itself going. And the new way is proving to be better. In this article, we will be summarising the changes technology has delivered already and ponder what is yet to come.
What are the Barriers to Flexible Working?
There are several hoops to jump to truly nail flexible working. Companies need to identify new and long-term ways to use technology. They also need to train managers to support communication, connect with staff, support well-being and manage productivity while they work remotely. While the benefits of remote and flexible working outstrip the challenges, it can be daunting.
It’s, however, forecasted that the majority of companies will find the change in the environment beneficial and productive. Though it does depend on the team. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to collaboration and exchanging ideas. The key to getting either a remote or hybrid setup up is to be diligent in planning and getting the right technology in place to facilitate idea-sharing remotely. To put it shortly, the 9-to-5 office culture is already a thing of the past. Remote and flexible working is the present and the future. And companies still need to do their due diligence to fully adapt to the new environment.
Workplace That Accommodates Employee Needs
In the past decade or so, workplaces started taking steps toward becoming friendlier to employees by offering more benefits and taking their mental well-being into consideration. However, the process was rather slow. One of the positive things that transpired from a series of lockdowns is that taking care of the staff became one of the top priorities for many businesses. The technology we now see is building the new way workplaces run. It is also playing a big role in ensuring the happiness of the workers.
Hybrid Office is the New Norm
As we are entering the third year of the pandemic, most restrictions are lifted. This includes the enforcement of remote working. However, companies that discovered a hybrid work approach during the period of the rules loosening up (e.g. only being allowed to have a limited number of workers on site) are not in a rush to abandon the newly found work structure. In fact, it became clear that hybrid working is more efficient than full-time office work. First of all, it helps employees save significant time that is often spent on commuting. Secondly, it can aid some in reaching needed levels of concentration when focusing on tasks.
Finally, some companies have expanded during the lockdown beyond their physical office capacity, and therefore simply couldn’t fit their entire team in. These are just a couple of factors, out of myriads that can be either general or only applicable to specific businesses. All, however, point to one conclusion - the hybrid working approach is here to stay. And the technology supporting it is also equipped to better both individual and company’s performance. Most solutions are tailored to be a communication link between remote and in-office teams.
Flexibility is a Must, not a Perk
The way companies have adjusted their operations to be carried out remotely has proven that flexibility is something every business can have. It has therefore opened the eyes of workers to the reality. Things such as flexible hours or hybrid working were treated as exclusive perks of top companies… When in reality they should have been available all along. And the fact most companies have already owned the software that could be utilised to support flexible working has only cemented that in.
Rightfully so, the staff now expects companies to provide them with flexible options as part of their contract and not as a job perk. This could also be interpreted as a call for companies to review and update their stack with new tools. Just so they are more accommodating to giving the staff what they deserve. From shift scheduling and holiday management to collaboration tools and centralised document storage - every business needs to buckle up and boost its flexibility.
The Rise of Efficiency
We’ve started this article by pointing out that despite its mandatory nature, adaptation to remote working bore some amazing results. Both companies and individual employees, after a small dip at the start, saw their performance steadily improving. While there are many reasons for it, one of the driving forces is the increased use of automation that surfaces from a bigger dependency on technology.
Automation of Repetitive Admin Tasks
Since many processes involving the physical involvement of on-site personnel became impossible, companies had to start thinking outside the box. For example, new starters would no longer be greeted with a paper copy of the contract on their desk upon arrival, nor would be giving physical copies of their documentation. While onboarding is just one example, most repetitive yet vital business procedures had to be reimagined into a digital realm. And it proved to work wonders in raising business efficiency.
Simply put, most companies have grown used to their processes, often oblivious to them becoming outdated. Being pushed out of their comfort zone and forced to look for new solutions, many have discovered how complacent they’ve been. The truth is many time-consuming core processes like reporting or payroll can easily be automated. They will then take mere minutes to be completed and be less likely to contain an error.
Easier Task Allocation Through Collaboration Tools
Even prior to the worldwide remote working period, the creation of smooth and efficient workstreams was a challenge to many companies. The key issue was difficulties in aligning teams. It would then lead to the repetition of tasks, data inconsistencies and worse business performance. Amplified use of technology and the creation of a digitalised workplace, however, contributed greatly to solving the issue. Most of the automation tools also fulfil the role of a collaboration platform, enabling companies to build quick and seamless workflows.
Implementation of process automation makes the handover of tasks easier and faster by removing the back and forth. Additionally, collaboration platforms allow users to work together on assignments in real time despite different access points. It also serves as a multi-format communication channel for information that can be shared via notes, tracked edits, shared document uploads and comments attached to each step of the process. In other words, modern technology has greatly contributed to aligning teams despite them not being within physical proximity.
Workplace Digitisation
Evidently, technology’s role in our day-to-day lives has grown and keeps on doing so. Its driving innovation force has allowed companies to discover new opportunities and methods to support their processes and staff better. However, we are still at the very beginning of the journey and it’s no time to rest. If you abandon your digitisation efforts at where you are now, your competitors will leave you in the dust as that’s a market that keeps expanding. You should therefore also strive to continue optimising your workplace with better, more effective and budget-friendly solutions.
Support Flexible Working with Timesheet Portal
If you’re a business that’s realised the benefits of flexible working, it’d be a mistake to underestimate the importance of having the right technology. It is a must to support the transition. While you may have already implemented tools that facilitate communication and collaboration among your team, how are you managing things like flexitime and working hours? With Timesheet Portal, you can easily oversee things like timesheets, time-off bookings, flexitime and online expenses all under one roof.
We carry a promise of our tool being the perfect solution whether you’re project-based, a recruiter that works with temps, or simply a company looking for an all-in-one solution to help to streamline your business and boost its efficiency. Equipped with a plethora of different functionality, we can support your business efforts on many levels. We offer a very competitive price and a constant stream of updates and improvements.
Summary
Business reliance on technology has been steadily increasing in the years leading to the pandemic. But the rushed adjustment to the entire business digitisation made it skyrocket. This has also shown both businesses and workers the benefits of being flexible. As well as how digital tools are suited for accommodating said flexibility. In other words, we can safely state that technology has already changed the workplace. But this is just the beginning.
The modern office is no longer a term we associate with a spacious new building in the centre of a big metropolitan city. Instead, it’s a working environment that’s not limited nor restricted by location or time zones. The modern workplace of today is one where employees can easily collaborate and brainstorm on their own terms, therefore eliminating bottlenecks that were obstructing progress before. It is more efficient, more goal-driven and more engaging - all thanks to technology that would take repetitive and time-consuming tasks off our hands, allowing us to turn focus to things that truly matter.
It’s time you embrace the future. Let’s work together.
