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Technology is a fabulous enabler. We all know that. From work to our personal lives, we all rely on it in some way shape or form.
This was especially true in 2020, when the pandemic forced us all into our homes. As the weeks and months ticked along, technology was the only way to shop, socialise, work, stay connected and pass the time.
But that glut of virtual engagement has left us all a little burnt out and a lot overwhelmed. Particularly at work. For many, the shift to remote working involved a steep learning curve as businesses adopted new technologies at an alarming rate to facilitate productivity, communication, efficiency and collaboration. All of this while the lines between work and life became blurred and pressure built on employees to balance work and life almost simultaneously.
While life is starting to gradually turn to a new kind of normal now, some changes look set to stick. Businesses the world over are turning to hybrid working models (where employees split their time between working on site and at home depending on their function and preferences), which means the adoption of new technology looks set to continue rather than slow down.
Digital workplaces are one way businesses can help employees keep pace with new technology while keeping overwhelm at bay. How? Let’s take a look!
Everything In One Place
Recent research from Personia found that 37% of employees say there are too many different digital tools to use and that working across different tools disrupts their productive flow.
Does this mean that you should get rid of the work tools and systems your company has adopted to help employees be more organised, efficient and productive? Probably not!
The real issue is that disparate tools and systems can be hard to find, even more so if you’re working across departments. In the flow of work, these tools do everything they should, but finding them is difficult, frustrating, time-consuming and disruptive.
A digital workplace takes all of those disparate systems and puts them all in one place, putting everything employees need right at their fingertips. So, whether they’re starting their day or in the flow of work, finding what they need and moving between apps is frictionless.
Better Communication
It’s all good and well to invest in new technology, but if no one uses it (or even knows about it) then your investment is wasted. Digital burnout can be a big reason why employees resist new technology adoption, along with fear of the unknown, no clear benefits, lack of skills, poor communication or lack of trust in leadership.
Digital workplaces make the introduction of new technology easier for employees to handle in a number of ways. First of all, they make accessing new platforms and tools easier by putting them all in one place and streamlining the login process with the help of SSO. Secondly, they make communicating change easier.
Keep Tabs On Internal Trends
Digital workplace platforms can monitor and track which tools and content employees are engaging with. This makes sure you leave nothing to chance when deploying a new system or tool.
Being able to see what tools employees use the most, and the ones they completely ignore, can help to further shape your digital adoption strategy. It can also highlight where more education and information might be needed to increase uptake of new tech moving forwards.
Promote Work-Life Balance
Last but not least, the all-important work-life balance. One of the great things about digital workplaces is that they don’t have to be all about work!
As more people work from home, it’s becoming increasingly harder to keep work and personal life apart. Digital workplaces can exist in the space between, promoting switch off time where appropriate, serving up wellbeing content that supports self-care and providing a customisable space for employees to express their own personality and work on personal goals or interests.
Work Is Changing, Will You Keep Up?
The world of work is rapidly changing. Employees are demanding more flexibility of their employers, while organisations are demanding more commitment, innovation and productivity from their workforce.
Digital workplaces aim to provide the infrastructure in which all of these changes can be supported in a secure, online space that defies the notion that work is a place you go. Instead, they reaffirm that work can be a thing you do anywhere, as long as you are empowered with the autonomy, information, tools, and flexibility to get on with it.
HulerHub is a digital workplace platform designed to support forward thinking organisations looking to get the best out of their people. The cloud-based platform is accessible from anywhere, on any device, and is packed with a wide range of employee engagement and internal comms features HR teams, Managers and employees will love.
Want to learn more about the benefits of a digital workplace for your organisation? Check out the 17 benefits of a digital workplace for every business.
