Put people first

The workplace has changed. It is now defined by various generations, different expectations and individual workstyles. In other words, organisations need to be adaptive if they are to embrace and benefit from the future of work.

In order to enable business transformation and boost productivity, it’s imperative to take a people-first approach to the various elements that make up the workplace – including technology, culture and space.

Finding out what people want and enabling them to work more effectively is vital, as is acknowledging the fact that there are five generations currently in the workplace, each of whom have their own needs and priorities.

In order to help them fulfil their responsibilities and enable them to thrive, business leaders need to understand and facilitate individual workstyles through practical processes, strategies and technologies.

Create a positive culture

Company culture is absolutely vital in terms of attracting, retaining and supporting talent. Increasingly, people are looking for employers that are passionate about ethics and societal issues, such as climate change and sustainability.

Moreover, organisations that encourage a healthy work-life balance and promote employee wellbeing are benefitting and growing more than those that do not. This can be achieved in simple ways, for example by making it acceptable for employees not to check work emails outside office hours, unless of course this is the way they like to work.

A positive, engaged and inclusive culture has therefore become as important as the salary and benefits you offer. But the business also benefits as a happier workforce is often more productive, which increases organisational output and performance.

Use technology wisely

Technology and data is moving at such a rapid pace that it has outgrown companies’ abilities to adapt. The key here is to provide technologies that support and empower your employees; not simply introduce the latest tools.

For example, if a third of your staff are working on the move, it’s crucial to have the infrastructure and systems that allow them to effectively and securely access information, work on files and collaborate with colleagues from wherever they are.

Companies that listen to the requirements of their workforce and instil trust in them to work how, where and when they want will survive to see and thrive within the future of work.

Be flexible with workstyles

With choice being key, the workplace needs to be fluid and leaders need to appreciate that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. The fact is that while some still want to work from a traditional office space, there has been a huge shift towards remote working.

In fact, for many organisations, the office will become an occasional destination and permanent employees based there will be the exception. However, this won’t change the fact that companies need to be agile for everyone.

With 84% of organisations struggling to adapt to the needs of the workforce, the time for change is now. In order to make an impact for your people and organisation, it’s important to be brave and show optimism. While it will take time to determine the best strategy for your company, the potential benefits can be transformative.

You can find the presentation from the Dublin Chamber event here. To get in touch with the Ricoh Ireland team to see how you can embrace the future of work, click here.

To download the slides from this event click here

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As we move into 2019 the mark of modernisation for every organisation will be operational alignment between culture, workspace, and technology.  Whilst such a task may seem daunting and complex, the root of the strategy remains simple. Begin with the people and the way they work.

In light of this, what organisational workplace trends can we expect in 2019?

AI and the rebirth of generalists

There has been much speculation that AI will bring the robots that finally take over the world – starting with our jobs. In reality it is not a question of whether automation and robotics are replacing here to steal our jobs, but rather how organisations are able to harness such technology and utilise human talent to continue an upward trajectory of innovation and growth.

We have been in a period of specialism, but the rapid advancement of technology and automation has meant people are starting to diversify. In the coming year, individuals will start looking for new learning opportunities to expand their role across different parts of the business.

Strong focus on mentorship culture

Rapid career advancement has become a key priority for younger workers. For this reason, employers are starting to focus on establishing more structured programsop and initiatives to support employees in their learning and career development. Not too long ago at Ricoh, we realised we could be working harder to support career progression within the organisation. We introduced a leadership program – a major focus of which was to create a softer, coaching style culture where everyone is empowered to learn from one another and feel comfortable asking for help.

Due to the positive impact and return on investment it generated, this mentorship initiative has now expanded into a four-tier programme, encompassing aspiring team leaders up to the most senior level of leaders. For Ricoh and organisations across all industries, 2019 will continue to see mentorship driving positive organisational culture.

C-Suite to lead digital transformation

Now more than ever, there is a clear desire from employees to see digital transformation driven from the top. Whilst we are seeing digital transformation initiatives implemented by IT and marketing departments, 2019 will likely be the year that the CEO will step up, making it more of a priority to hire for digital transformation and recognise the importance of building a culture of change and innovation not only to attract top talent, but to unlock the productivity potential of the organisation’s people.

Whilst 2019 is set to bring about even more technological advancement, businesses in general need to better understand their people and the way they work in order to implement new processes and technology strategies successfully. Technology by itself is no silver bullet for productivity, and organisations need to take a holistic approach if they are to reach optimal efficiency.

For more information on how you can better understand your people, download a copy of our Optimal Office report.

If you have any questions on anything discussed above, connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

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On one hand, productivity is about creating an environment where employees can access information, share knowledge and collaborate freely and easily. On the other hand, it is about an organisation’s ability to put in place policies and processes that encourage flexible working practices, including remote working and the ability to use their own equipment (commonly known as Bring Your Own Device or ‘BYOD’).

To empower the workforce to deliver greater productivity, they need the right tools and technology. But consistent growth in productivity has never been harder to deliver.

The pace of change in technology, the number of different systems, programmes and apps available and the varying speed of connectivity across the world presents a number of challenges for businesses.

We just want technology to work

When systems don’t talk to each other properly or it takes 5 minutes to upload a 2Mb document because of a slow hotspot connection, this dramatically decreases productivity and causes great frustration for employees.

We’re used to immediacy and our patience runs out much quicker than perhaps it used to. We know how quickly our own super-fast fibre optic broadband works at home and we expect that in the office or on the road.

The drive for a more mobile and remote-based workforce, as well as the widespread adoption of cloud-based IT systems over recent years, is transforming how employees work, collaborate and share knowledge. The endless ways of working adds adds more complexity, cost and effort to deliver an IT infrastructure that supports a mobile and remote workforce.

A digital strategy to drive productivity

The traditional, analogue way of doing things is no longer a sustainable strategy. We’re still a long way off a complete paper-free office, but as more employees access information in a digital format, like meeting minutes and documents/reports, organisations need to be able to support this.

Business is global: with the ability to collaborate and share information anywhere in the world, in any time zone, you have to think differently.

Forward-thinking organisations have recognised that a strategy to support digital business transformation is essential for success.

Four steps to Workstyle Innovation

How can organisations create a working environment that enhances productivity and and inspires creativity? By developing a deep understanding of how an organisation operates and how its people work. Then you can design and build workstyle solutions that help to drive productivity and growth.

1. Empower your people

Transform the workplace into a digitally-optimised environment that supports collaboration and knowledge sharing to enhance productivity and innovation.

2. Optimise your business processes

Identify opportunities to introduce more efficient and effective ways to manage your organisation and embed information security and sustainability into your operations.

3. Achieve the right workplace

Analyse the workplace to discover ways to enhance key areas, such as desk spaces, meeting rooms and breakout areas, with the right technology.

4. Increase the value of your technology

Make technology work for your organisation by seamlessly mapping the way people work now and in the future, with the ability to adapt the technology as the business develops.

Empower your workforce to drive business change

Productivity forms one component of a digital strategy, but Workstyle Innovation places people at the centre of business change. When you invest in the tools, digital services and the technology infrastructure needed, it empowers the workforce to collaborate and share information and naturally enhances their productivity and engagement.

I think we all face enough pressure without feeling let down by the IT equipment. We get hit at high velocity with a huge amount of information on a daily basis and everyone deals with this differently. Some during the commute to work, some in the lift going to their next meeting. The challenge for organisations is to deliver this in a way that makes working life easier.

If you want to learn more, fill in the form to the right and watch our free on-demand webinar on ‘Generation Z and the workforce’.

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Flexible working wasn’t really a new concept; it’s been around since the early 2000s but there wasn’t any systematic approach to implementing it within organisations so some benefitted from it, while others didn’t.

We might have been right to think back then that working from our local coffee shop would be normal by now, emailing our colleagues from our tablet computers in between collecting our children from school or attending a doctor’s appointment.

But fast forward to 2018 and, on the whole, progress has been somewhat underwhelming.

A brewing culture of ‘presenteeism’

In fact, research we conducted with YouGov has found a culture of ‘presenteeism’ – whereby employees feel that working longer hours at their desk is the best way to secure positive endorsement from management – is alive and kicking in British business.

Traditionally presenteeism is a term that refers to those who choose to work while sick and unwell or overly fatigued and therefore not operating to their usual level of productivity.

But this definition has now widened to encompass a generation of young people who feel they must persistently work longer hours and take fewer holidays to either impress their boss or because they fear losing their job.

1.2 million 18-26 year-olds have admitted to faking their workloads by staying late at the office beyond their contracted hours. This figure represents over two thirds (67%) of young professionals in the UK, which I found staggering.

Slow uptake of flexible working impacts young professionals the most

Overhauling a culture of ‘presenteeism’ at work also showed that 39 per cent of young professionals believe working away from the office could damage their career progression, while nearly half (41 per cent) feel their bosses favour staff who work over their contracted hours in the office.

Given the way most tech-savvy young professionals are geared up to work, it’s not surprising that this slow adoption of flexible working initiatives is impacting 18-26 year olds the most.

The truth is, Britain cannot continue to allow these desk-bound, outdated working practices to triumph in the digital age. They are out of touch with modern environments and lifestyles. Instead, we must equip new generations of young professionals with the technologies they’re accustomed to and empower them with tech-enabled workplaces so they can bring new skills to businesses.

We are therefore calling for enterprises to work with wider government and digital experts to build a workplace culture that helps, not hinders, employees to reach their full potential.

Technology plays a vital role in harnessing innovation and productivity

We invest in a tech-enabled workstyle in which our employees can hot desk and work remotely to cut down on travel and time-consuming process. The UK, particularly cities like London, Bristol and Manchester, are seen as global leaders in digital innovation and driving technology. Yet we have evidence that reveals employees are not benefitting from these technological advances on a day-to-day basis. In fact, within an organisation, it would appear that working practices are somewhat archaic.

Young professionals do understand the importance of this relationship between digital skills and success – nearly half (47 per cent) are calling for the government to connect employers with technology experts and a third (31 per cent) are calling for it to grant funding for the provision of technology to enable a more flexible workforce.

But it’s not just technology that will help businesses adopt a more digital approach. A cultural change of mindset [LINK to Article 2 Empowering people] is key to ensuring it resonates throughout the entire organisation.

The government should be educating employers more about the benefits of flexible working and we should all be clear on our obligations to provide access to this style of work.

Don’t fail the next generation of leaders

We cannot risk letting the UK’s digital economy stall by failing to enable the next generation to embrace their own tech-enabled workstyles. Only by freeing the country’s future leaders from the shackles of a ‘presenteeist’ culture at work can we truly foster wider innovation and positive change and go some way to realising those dreams of truly flexible working that we had back in 2014.

The drivers of this negative trend include economic uncertainty, pressure for profit and high levels of youth unemployment. But we cannot continue to allow these external trends to damage moral and working standards in British businesses.

Want to learn more? Fill in the form to the right to download your copy of our report, Overhauling a culture of ‘presenteeism’ at work, designed to help you ensure your younger employees reach their full potential.

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