The New Digital Workplace - Overcoming the Limits of Time and Place
September 23 2020 - 8:30AM
The ongoing global pandemic has put employee welfare under the
microscope, as many businesses have had to embrace remote working
as business as unusual. Companies have had to quickly spin up new
digital workplaces where remote employees both have the right tools
to communicate and collaborate, but also feel supported in order to
maintain productivity.
A new report from Verizon Business, “Recreating Work as a Blend
of Virtual and Physical Experiences,” examines the impact of the
recent rise in remote working and discusses key areas business
leaders should focus on as they help their organization adapt to
new ways of working moving forward. The report, carried out in
conjunction with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, is
based on feedback from 1,080 global business leaders, and was
conducted in May 2020.
“The global pandemic accelerated this move to a digital working
environment and business leaders need to use the lessons of the
present to future-ready their organizations,” comments Sampath
Sowmyanarayan, President of Global Enterprise, Verizon Business.
“Seeing how their network, security and employee collaboration
systems have operated during the pandemic should provide the
blueprint for the road ahead. By acting now, they can capture the
needs of employees and customers and create alignment across the
organization as they pivot toward the new normal.”
Successful experiences for
future working
86 percent of the companies surveyed see the
digital workplace co-existing with the physical workspace in the
future, with 78 percent expecting to increase the amount of remote
work conducted. This increase doesn’t mean everyone will work from
home in the future. Rather, organizations will be able to pick and
choose which types of work and which people will require a physical
presence, and where the company can gain efficiencies and
productivity with virtual work.
This new insight has resulted from successful
experiences obtained during the initial period of the pandemic.
Sixty-one percent of business leaders reported that the quality of
remote work was on par as that conducted in the physical workplace.
The benefits of remote working also shone through, with 52 percent
experiencing improved collaboration; 57 percent seeing a boost in
business agility and nearly half witnessing an increase in
productivity (44 percent).
Many businesses benefited from the use of collaboration
technologies to maintain productivity with videoconferencing
topping the list (98 percent) with other tools such as file sharing
(97 percent), instant messaging/chat (95 percent), other
collaboration methods (e.g., Slack or Teams – 88 percent) and
cloud-based collaboration (85 percent) all also being referenced.
In addition, the use of online interactive training to keep
employees engaged in their own personal development was key (85
percent).
Using technology to enable a
difference
The report also highlights that businesses that
have a digital workplace strategy are consistently more likely to
see greater returns from their investments than those that don’t.
For instance, 52 percent saw increased productivity versus only 40
percent of those without such a strategy. In order to achieve these
results, businesses need to go beyond a mere work-at-home policy to
define the purpose and goals of the program, the approach the
organization will take, and how they will measure success. The use
of technology is a key differentiator in this strategy.
The potential of 5G technology was
seen as going beyond basic operational improvements to provide more
transformative changes, with one fifth (20 percent) of respondents
saying that it will enable them to do work they have never been
able to do before. Twenty-eight percent believe it will enable new
business models to be explored, adding more value to their business
proposition. Forty-one percent of those surveyed expected 5G to
become a reality for their own organization within two years,
opening the door to applications that employ
higher-quality/lower-latency video and augmented or virtual reality
(AR/VR).
Not surprisingly, security was flagged as a
potential barrier which may slow digital work momentum (35
percent). However, 86 percent of respondents stated the importance
of addressing data security to get the most value from their
digital investments in the future.
Three key focus areas for successful
digital work
The report focuses on three key focus areas for
maximizing digital work strategies in the future:
- Working smarter: COVID-19 has forced
widespread use of video and web conferencing. Smart organizations
are increasing efficiency by integrating these with collaboration
tools such as document sharing, white boarding, and annotation to
let employees collaborate remotely in real-time, spend less time in
meetings, and turn discussions into assignments.
- Prioritizing simplicity and integration: To
ensure a cohesive, productive digital work environment, tools
should be easy to use and integrate seamlessly with other workplace
productivity and collaboration tools. This provides employees with
a single, app-like experience across the tools they use every
day.
- Keep security top of mind: Potential security
gaps exist on employee PCs, devices, home networks, and apps,
representing a growing threat with the shift to remote work.
Enterprise-grade security enables businesses to identify and
protect against fraud, and ensure that private calls and meetings
remain private. Companies should also consider implementing
end-user security awareness training, acceptable use policies that
mitigate user exposure to threats, and new security policies for
remote working such as two-factor authentication.
More insight available online
A replay of a recent webcast hosted by Abbie
Lundberg, contributing editor to Harvard Business Review Analytic
Services with Sampath Sowmyanarayan, President of Verizon Global
Enterprise at Verizon Business and Melanie Frank, Vice President of
PowerUp Technology at Capital One is available. The complete
report, “Recreating Work as a Blend of Virtual and Physical
Experiences”, and an executive summary may also be found online and
contain valuable insights from leading companies such as
CapitalOne, IBM GBS and Korn Ferry.
More information on how Verizon Business can help
organizations expand their digital workplace tools and capabilities
can be located here.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on
June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the
world’s leading providers of technology, communications,
information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered
in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon
generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019. The company offers
data, video and voice services and solutions on its award winning
networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for
mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.
VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media
contacts and other resources are available at
https://www.verizon.com/about/media-center. News releases are also
available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit
www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
Media contact: Clare
Wardclare.ward@uk.verizon.com+44 (0) 118 905 3501
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024