23 Mar Remote working and ‘BYOD’: how to drive productivity in the modern workplace

Employee productivity has always been a top priority for senior management teams: how can you get the most out of your employees when they’re remote working?

On one hand, productivity is about creating an environment where employees can access information, share knowledge and collaborate freely and easily. On the other hand, it is about an organisation’s ability to put in place policies and processes that encourage flexible working practices, including remote working and the ability to use their own equipment (commonly known as Bring Your Own Device or ‘BYOD’).

To empower the workforce to deliver greater productivity, they need the right tools and technology. But consistent growth in productivity has never been harder to deliver.

The pace of change in technology, the number of different systems, programmes and apps available and the varying speed of connectivity across the world presents a number of challenges for businesses.

We just want technology to work

When systems don’t talk to each other properly or it takes 5 minutes to upload a 2Mb document because of a slow hotspot connection, this dramatically decreases productivity and causes great frustration for employees.

We’re used to immediacy and our patience runs out much quicker than perhaps it used to. We know how quickly our own super-fast fibre-optic broadband works at home and we expect that in the office or on the road.

The drive for a more mobile and remote-based workforce, as well as the widespread adoption of cloud-based IT systems over recent years, is transforming how employees work, collaborate and share knowledge. The endless ways of working add more complexity, cost and effort to deliver an IT infrastructure that supports a mobile and remote workforce.

A digital strategy to drive productivity

The traditional, analogue way of doing things is no longer a sustainable strategy. We’re still a long way off a completely paper-free office, but as more employees access information in a digital format, like meeting minutes and documents/reports, organisations need to be able to support this.

Business is global: with the ability to collaborate and share information anywhere in the world, in any time zone, you have to think differently.

Forward-thinking organisations have recognised that a strategy to support digital business transformation is essential for success.

Four steps to Workstyle Innovation

How can organisations create a working environment that enhances productivity and inspires creativity? By developing a deep understanding of how an organisation operates and how its people work. Then you can design and build workstyle solutions that help to drive productivity and growth.

1. Empower your people

Transform the workplace into a digitally-optimised environment that supports collaboration and knowledge sharing to enhance productivity and innovation.

2. Optimise your business processes

Identify opportunities to introduce more efficient and effective ways to manage your organisation. Embed information security and sustainability into your operations.

3. Achieve the right workplace

Analyse the workplace to discover ways to enhance key areas. These include desk spaces, meeting rooms and breakout areas.

4. Increase the value of your technology

Make technology work for your organisation by seamlessly mapping the way people work now and in the future. Give them the ability to adapt the technology as the business develops.

Empower your workforce to drive business change

Productivity forms one component of a digital strategy, but Workstyle Innovation places people at the centre of business change. When you invest in the tools, digital services and the technology infrastructure needed, it empowers the workforce. They can collaborate and share information and naturally enhances their productivity and engagement.

I think we all face enough pressure without feeling let down by the IT equipment. We get hit at high velocity with a huge amount of information on a daily basis. Everyone deals with this differently. Some during the commute to work, some in the lift going to their next meeting. The challenge for organisations is to deliver this in a way that makes working life easier.

If you want to learn more, fill in the form to the right and watch our free on-demand webinar on ‘Generation Z and the workforce’.