Beyond the mass shift to remote working last year, technological advancements will continue to play an important role in how companies bring their employees back into the workplace. Regardless if an organization is opting for a hybrid work arrangement or a hub-and-spoke model, technology will continue to be a necessity moving forward.
With this need, technology will also need to evolve to better accommodate the new future of work.
We have certainly become well-adjusted to video conferencing tools like Zoom and communication resources like Slack, but there is more to be desired to fully engage employees moving forward.
For instance, health and safety in the workplace has quickly taken a front seat in workplace discussions. According to NTT’s 2020 Intelligent Workplace Report, 75% of employees prefer to work in an office as opposed to their homes, which means companies will need to make big moves to create a safe workplace.
Using health and safety apps to keep occupancy levels low, complete health checks before coming into the space and receive employee feedback is a great way to ease the concerns some workers may have about returning to the office.
Employee engagement has been one of the biggest struggles business leaders faced last year, and it will continue to be a challenge in 2021 as well.
By using employee experience (EX) technology, companies can make accessing work-related tools easier and more seamless.
For instance, EX technology can include enterprise social networks, one-to-one video chatting and well-being portals all in one place to help employees stay connected and help them be more efficient.