Digital suites for the new normal and trends of the digital future
There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the way we do things. The first few months of the pandemic has literally pushed companies to send people home and let them do their work there.
Thanks to digital tools, remote working has been made possible. Cloud-based and collaborative applications are now used by people to work remotely. But even with these, the transition to a remote work setup is never easy.
So, how can a company transition from a traditional face-to-face work environment to a virtual one?
The main solution is to have a digital application suite that suit the needs of the company. In her speaking session at Guild Solutions, Inc.’s Thought Leaders, Nadine McMahon, Digital Workplace Manager shared how Guild Group transitioned to remote working and the considerations they had in choosing a digital suite.
How Guild chose their digital suite
In this digital age, tools are everywhere. There are a lot of options when it comes to choosing a digital software suite for an organisation. It also depends on the business functions of the company and the completeness of each of the suites. But the most important consideration are the users – your people. Ultimately you want them to be comfortable and confident with the tools they're using.
McMahon said Guild’s digital suite is equipped for almost everything done daily at work – collaboration, communication, presentation, document processing and even productivity and wellbeing tools. Some of the most important considerations in the company are functions like:
Being able to collaborate and connect from anywhere
Running effective online meetings
Smart ways to manage and progress projects and initiatives, as well as everyday work.
Access to the information people need to stay informed and get their work done
Having these tools on the same platform, integrate and work well together were key considerations in choosing the correct suite for the company said McMahon. And the uplift in digital skills, and the transferability of that skillset, was also an important consideration.
Moving Forward
Now that digital working has introduced and proven several capabilities, implications on the future of working have been manifesting. McMahon shared some trends for the future of working:
More Cloud based. Today, we're going cloud based as much as possible to enable work anywhere, anytime. Not only that, with cloud storage and processing, documents are safe from being wiped out entirely from a broken hardware. However, a major downside of cloud applications is security issues, so it's important to choose a provider that has a reputation for security.
Smarter Technologies. Technologies are becoming smarter. More smart technologies that not only suit the needs of the company but also work well together seamlessly will be adopted by businesses in the future.
Learning. There will also be more exploration of different ways of learning – such as self-learning or just-in-time learning. Now that digital tools are in place, flexible learning is also an opportunity to be exploited. With that, more learning tools and software that cater to the preferences and needs of the staff will be used.
Wellbeing. When it comes to wellbeing, there are existing applications that cater to the mental and physical needs of staff in the company. Some of these are integrated into the programs of the company. Along with the embracing of the hybrid or remote working setup, more wellbeing tools will be adopted to continue to support the wellbeing of staff members, as they balance work and life in the hybrid world.
Conclusion
The emergence of digital tools and technologies such as cloud based, and collaborative tools have powered a large-scale transition to remote working seen around the world during 2020. As we transition to a more hybrid way of work in the future, it is expected that these tools will develop further to enable a smarter, more seamless way of work, regardless of where that work is done from.
In the end, companies that are equipped with the proper digital tools, that suit their business needs, and provide a great employee experience will be best able to adapt to these changing work landscape.
This article is lifted from a full webinar session. Watch the full session here: https://bit.ly/38ThJmZ
