How to Build a Better Hybrid Workplace and Avoid Silent Productivity Killers

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted our world’s economy and the ways we work and socialize; it also accelerated the rate at which we develop and adopt new technologies. Though, perhaps one of the biggest tangential effects of the pandemic is around the future of the workplace.

If there is one good thing to come from the adjustments people have had to make over the past year and a half, it’s that many have realized they don’t need to be in an office to do their job. Now, as we emerge into a post-pandemic world, companies have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine what work looks like, yet many continue to get it wrong.

Even as the pandemic was at its peak, research and discussions continued around how businesses and their leaders should be formulating their digital workplace, whether it be a remote-only or hybrid model of remote and in-person. As a leader, you should already be well aware of the variety of factors that need to be taken into consideration when determining what the future of your company’s workplace will look like. However, if there’s one thing C-suite executives and decision makers need to understand, it’s this: There is no “future” of the workplace, the workplace is HERE and NOW, and how you leverage technology to collaborate throughout your organization can make or break the productivity of your workforce.

Too many tools can be counterproductive… 

There’s been an explosion of workplace management tools, all designed to aid organizations in the development and management of their digital workplace. However, the siloed nature of these applications, especially when stacked on top of one another, makes them silent productivity killers as remote workers are forced to over-communicate and under-collaborate. In fact, when polling a group of digital workers about their biggest productivity-killers, we found nearly 43% of respondents cited too many digital tools as the reason for decreased levels of productivity, with more than half saying that reducing the number of tools would increase productivity.

Think this is only your IT team’s problem? Think again: understanding how digital tools impact workers is even more important for those not steeped in their company’s IT or technology departments. According to a LinkedIn study, IT professionals are no longer the primary decision makers when it comes to B2B and workplace collaboration technology purchasing. More than half (56%) of those making tech decisions sit outside the IT department in roles such as HR, sales/marketing and finance. Which means, not only has the pandemic forcefully accelerated the rate of tech adoption by three to seven years (from customer interaction to processes and offerings), but the responsibility for deploying this accelerated adoption has fallen on critical departments with no historical technology background.

How technology is impacting your workplace culture…

Adding more fuel to the fire, a shocking 49% of the US workforce stated they would leave their job due to frustrations with technology despite the instability of the current job market. All of this combined demonstrates a clear, increased need for no-code technology that can be easily implemented by those who aren’t especially tech-savvy. No-code technology is usually a software that requires little to no coding in order to build applications and processes, which means it’s so simple anyone can deploy it.

Organization-wide collaboration is not only a technology problem as evident by the increase in the number of folks outside of the IT department making purchasing decisions. Instead organization-wide collaboration is fundamentally a culture problem rooted in the need for openness and transparency from the top-down. Business leaders might first want to ask themselves if they’re building an open culture before making any decisions about collaboration technology because the right technology won’t work in the wrong environment.

Formulating the digital workplace is not a one-person job…

Given the current landscape, C-suite executives (not tasked with purchasing) should be encouraging decision makers to include them and others within their organization in the B2B purchasing process. To more accurately gauge the capabilities and features your organization needs from collaboration technology, decision makers should be consulting with team managers and a select handful of employees from every department about what they perceive to be their own digital workplace technology needs. For instance, some employees may favor a software that allows real-time assignment feedback without the risk of version control or delayed response. The goal is for the decision maker to listen to the feedback of employees, identify the needs of your organization and develop a uniformed criterion which can be used to better pinpoint the right vendors and/or solutions.

HR also plays a critical role in deploying a new digital workplace platform, as many HR professionals find themselves in the decision-making role when it comes to B2B and workplace technology. Decision makers should be working in tandem with their company’s HR team on developing a digital culture development plan that includes a strategy to train employees on how to best leverage any new digital workplace solutions for increasing productivity. Education is an important factor in how much success your organization has in collaborating remotely.

Lastly, even though the decision makers of your organization may sit outside of an IT and/or operation role, they should still be consulting with these teams – or an outside professional with this background if your company doesn’t have an IT/operations department – before making any final decisions. It’s important for your decision makers to inform the person in charge of your information systems of the digital workplace solutions being considered and to understand from them all technology requirements as to avoid any confusion or frustrations during the onboarding process. Naturally, you want to ensure an ROI on your digital workplace platform and therefore decision makers should have a plan in place with your operations team for measuring any increase in productivity and employee feedback.

Deploying a digital workplace platform is an investment in your employees’ happiness and productivity, as well as your organization’s future. This kind of technology is not just a means to an end, and therefore shouldn’t be treated as such. Having an all-encompassing digital workplace platform offers employees the opportunity to reach and communicate with all levels of an organization, despite hierarchy, thereby increasing organizational transparency and allowing innovation to shine through. The result – a much more engaged and productive workforce!

Written by Suresh Sambandam.