DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
organisations to make informed decisions around density and social distancing as lockdowns ease while retaining control if they ever need to revise occupancy levels to comply with any future restrictions . Overall , companies should look to design a flexible workplace that they can change as and when is needed .”
On he technology side of the equation , businesses will need to ensure that they have a range of options in place . In a successful hybrid working model , “ employees would communicate with each other as seamlessly as they would do if they were all in the same location ,” says Hallam . “ There would be no detrimental impact on company culture and team morale or the ability to introduce new joiners or graduates into the organisation . The technologies that will enable this , and which companies need to consider , are connectivity services and collaboration technologies . As hybrid working requires large volumes of data to be accessed quickly and remotely , businesses should consider investing in advanced connectivity technologies that are truly capable of giving them the flexibility and agility they need to deliver the right kind of employee experience .”
Naturally , the baseline of transforming to a hybrid model is a high standard of connectivity . “ As a first step , getting the connectivity right is so important because it is the underlying enabler of employee communication . [...] If these underlying networking technologies are in place , organisations are much better positioned to actually realise collaboration capabilities and empower their workers .” Technology is also vital to creating a good employee experience . “ Having the right tools in place for teams to work remotely is an essential first step ,” says Khan . “ Workplace analytics is a fundamental tool for improving employee experience , no matter where people are working . It is being applied frequently to highlight trends from data , including sentiment , community perspective and wellbeing . For analytics tools to be effective , however , organisations need to pair data-derived insights with proactive and empathetic decision-making . With this deeper understanding of employee needs , HR and IT teams can collaborate to adapt workplaces – whether they be remote , physical or hybrid – to accommodate new ways of working and shifting viewpoints .”
Though the shock of COVID-19 was perhaps necessary to awaken the world to the benefits of hybrid working , It is only through an effective change management strategy that its necessarily improvised adoption can be smoothly retained going forwards .
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