For years, the way we worked seemed largely set in stone. Fixed office hours, a stationary physical workplace and, within many companies, limited opportunities to work from home. Although the call for the new way of working has long been heard in the offices and company buildings of this world, in many places it never got off the ground.
Until the corona pandemic rocked both civil society and business. Suddenly, working from home became the norm, everyone started using Teams and the number of external devices connected to corporate networks exploded. And as it turns out, it's not all bad. Many employees feel less pressured and more free, while executives and managers see that productivity is not suffering from the widespread implementation of hybrid and remote work.
The new way of working is therefore 'here to stay'. In fact, it is undergoing a rapid evolution that will take us towards the new way of working 2.0. What do we mean by this? And how do IT solutions contribute to facilitating the forms of work of the future? We share the answers to these intriguing questions.
What is the new way of working 2.0?
The new way of working 1.0 focused mainly on superficial work-related matters, such as office concepts (office garden, personal office spaces), working from home and ICT. The new way of working 2.0 also includes these concepts, but explores them in greater depth by looking beyond the facilities aspect.
The new way of working 2.0 also looks at the culture in which changing forms of work and organization take place. How does smarter and hybrid working contribute to strengthening the identity and core values of the organization? What do the changes in work organization demand from managers and employees? What does a good adoption strategy look like in practice? And how do you help people take control of their work? The new way of working 2.0 means that you need to think about making work more flexible in terms of time and place.
How do IT solutions contribute to the new way of working 2.0?
More knowledge sharing
Knowledge sharing is an important pillar of the new way of working 2.0. Advanced and integrated IT solutions make sharing knowledge easier than ever. Think, for example, of an employee portal where people can retrieve important information. Or workspaces for teams and departments in which employees can easily share information and documents.
Communicating better
The new way of working can only succeed if employees can communicate with each other in an efficient and accessible way, even if they are far away from each other. The right IT solutions make this possible, for example in the form of video calls and video conferencing.
Translating insights into optimal workplaces
Thanks to IT (analytics), you can gain insights from data that are necessary to perfect the new way of working 2.0 and to optimally attune workplaces and conditions to user needs. What do people miss at their home workstation or office? How much time do they spend on tasks that distract them from their core business? Which communication and collaboration tools do they like to use and which solutions do they avoid? With whom do they work together more or less often? And does this match their intended role?
By structurally collecting and analyzing information that answers these questions, it becomes easier to steer the new way of working 2.0 in a way that focuses on the user. You will have more tools at your disposal to optimally attune matters such as connectivity, security, the availability of bandwidth and resources, and the design of the home and office workplace to the wishes and needs of your employees.
Here's what you need to think about: the 4 most important checks
Do you want to make the new way of working 2.0 a resounding success? Then you should keep the following checks in mind.
1. Make sure the technology is in order
Smoothly functioning technology is a prerequisite for the success of the new way of working 2.0. A sound and flexible infrastructure, good connectivity, well-functioning links between applications and systems, sufficient bandwidth and proper security tools are the fundamental building blocks of an ecosystem that supports the new way of working.
2. Do not forget the user
Don't lose sight of the user either. Technology can be as advanced as it is: if it's not designed to be user-friendly, people won't like working with it. When introducing new solutions, make sure there is a good adoption process. Involve various people within the organization in the selection process and stimulate adoption by offering employees inspiring training and instruction videos.
3. Also look at the behavioral side
Technology is an essential requirement for the new way of working 2.0. But employee behavior is actually the most important starting point. Attention to individual needs and preferences is essential when designing the work environment and choosing the technology you use.
After all, people are not all the same. One employee may have no trouble whatsoever working from his well-equipped home office on his own five days a week, while another may need regular contact with colleagues. And where one employee prefers to work in a closed office, another has a strong preference for an open office. Taking individual preferences into account means that the new way of working 2.0 will be pleasant and effective for everyone.
4. Are my choices based on data?
Also remember that good strategic and practical choices about the new way of working 2.0 are based on hard data. Try to continuously measure things like user preferences, technical needs and adoption success by regularly opening the treasure chest of available data. The advantage is that technologies such as IoT and AI make data generation and analysis increasingly easy. The result? The new way of working 2.0 becomes a strategic asset through which the organization reinvents itself.
This is how Eurofiber helps
Eurofiber has the tools and expertise to help you make the new way of working 2.0 a success.
- A reliable and vital infrastructure that allows you to move data quickly through the network and integrate all your important applications and systems.
- An uptime of 99.9 percent, ensuring that important tools, applications and systems are available virtually anywhere, anytime.
- Lightning fast fiber-optic connections that provide optimal connectivity.
- A private cloud environment. This allows you to connect directly to the cloud without using the public internet.
- Expert advice on the solutions that best suit the wishes and needs of your organization and employees.
More information
The new way of working 2.0 is a complex interplay between technology and human factors. Only by taking both aspects into account will it be a success. Would you like to know more about the new way of working 2.0 and the solutions Eurofiber provides to facilitate this way of working of the future? Then feel free to contact us without obligation.
Back to the office: hybrid working is here to stay
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