As companies look to head back to the office following the pandemic, businesses are navigating a new world of work — one where employers prioritize worker wellbeing, collaboration, and performance rather than physical location.
A majority of executives said at least half of employees are expected to return to the office by July, according to PwC’s recent US Remote Work Survey.
It’s a transformative shift. With knowledge-based employees having experienced the benefits of working from home, many have balked at returning to the office full-time. In fact, a recent study from Accenture found that more than 83 percent of workers say a hybrid office is the optimal route forward. And in a bid to retain top talent and gear up for growth, it seems companies are following suit; the same study reported 63 percent of high-growth companies have already enabled “productivity anywhere” workforce models.
But even before the pandemic and operating business in the “new normal,” digital transformation in the workplace was on the rise, says Kalyn Hove, regional VP of Comcast Business.
“The business world was already transforming and reimagining the way they serve customers,” Hove said. “To meet the needs of the business, and to meet the needs of the employee who desires flexibility, companies need the ability to take the walls off the traditionally physical offices. Given all we have learned over the last 12 months, I don’t believe business will ever go back to the way it once was.”
According to McKinsey, organizations with remote working in place saw a rise in productivity, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion. While many organizations remain in the early stages of adopting a hybrid work environment and adjusting their in-person policies to facilitate a more permanent mix of in-house and remote talent, there are steps they can take to ensure they’re getting the most out of their technology investments and support their employees, effectively smoothing out the process.
“Whether employees are virtual or in-office, the primary things that are top of mind for business owners is ensuring their workforce can be productive no matter their physical location," said Hove.
Here are five ways companies can embrace the future of work.
Internet Connectivity
It’s no secret that many businesses survived the pandemic because of digital technology, including improved internet access. As the “oxygen that powers homes and businesses,” and fuels our digital lives, Hove says to ensure a productive — and inclusive — work environment, it’s important for companies to ensure that secure, reliable and scalable internet access is available to all employees to meet increasingly changing demands. A shaky internet connection or an outage, for example, could cause disruptions and negatively impact the flow of business.
A software defined networking (SDN) platform like the Comcast Business ActiveCore, is one way to monitor their networks across multiple locations off of one pane of glass remotely via an app on their phone.
Once reliable internet access is established, companies can leverage other technology solutions, such as software hosted on the Cloud, which effectively gives employees access to all the same information and tools they had when they worked in the office.
Phone Accessibility
It may seem like an outdated concept, but telephone communication is still very much relevant in business today. For someone who is looking to adopt a hybrid work schedule, having the ability to receive business calls and voicemails seamlessly whether they are working in the office or remotely is key.
For business owners, having a cloud-hosted voice service such as Comcast Business VoiceEdge, can give workers the ability to transfer calls to a colleague, hop on a conference call with clients, or set-up custom routing options to communicate out-of-office hours — even when they’re accessing the service through the desktop app.
Collaboration Tools
During lockdown, the word “zoom” took on a whole new meaning. As much as workers felt the constant barrage of video calls was cause for fatigue, the availability of email, presentation software, and audiovisual collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom eased the transition to remote work and made doing business possible. In fact, the adoption of communication and collaboration tools surged during the pandemic, with roughly 70 percent of companies with more than 100 employees relying on the tools, according to eMarketer.
“Collaboration tools give every employee flexibility; it doesn’t matter if you’re side by side, or if you’re at home in your personal office,” Hove said. “Leveraging these tools helps keep employees engaged and levels the playing field for all participants.”
Cybersecurity Protection
Of course, the evolving roster of tools, technology, and devices has brought fresh concerns about business cybersecurity back to the surface. High profile cases such as the recent attacks on the Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods have further put companies on edge, making security “all the more important,” said Hove.
“There are more opportunities for cybercriminals, whether you’re a small business or a large one,” she added. “A lot of businesses don’t think it can happen to them, but roughly 81 percent of businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the last 12 months. No one is above a cybercriminal potentially impacting their network.”
The good news, said Hove, is that there are increasingly sophisticated tools to protect businesses from malicious attacks. Solutions like SecurityEdge from Comcast can help businesses safeguard connected devices and stem the threats of malware, ransomware, phishing and other botnet infections.
Provider Relationships
If the pandemic has taught business owners anything, it’s that they can’t function in a vacuum. That’s why it’s important to establish strong relationships with not only employees, but also technology partners. Should another crisis arise, that partnership can be the difference between business continuity or lost business.
“The value we bring (as a provider) is creating space to clearly understand the business needs and creating custom solutions to support their business objectives,” Hove said. “As hard as this past year was, I am confident we can leverage lessons learned to come out even stronger as individuals, business owners and a community.”