Away from the office - Does the tech work?

Do you have the right tools on your desk that allow you to work in a modern way? Or are you stuck with a traditional desktop that restricts your mobility, requires printing for every piece of work or meeting, therefore making remote or agile working near to impossible?

Remote desktop has been around for 20 years and it’s done a great job – but it’s not how people work anymore.

Giving your staff the tools they need to work anytime, anywhere, has become the norm. 60% of the workforce are now millennials, and by 2025, 75% will be. If you’re not already doing so, feeding millennials what they want is essential to empowering your business and achieving your goals. Modern workers expect smart phones, tablets, and flexible technology that means they can work from anywhere, at any time, without physical constraints. When at home, users in their personal lives have a very high-quality experience delivered via technology. This is not just in reference to Apple, Samsung, or Microsoft products, but also powerful applications like Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram etc.

So, what are you doing to incorporate these qualities into your workforce? Think about how frustrating it might be for a young person turning up at your office and being given old fashioned systems and technologies to work with. Not just in terms of the physical hardware, but also the systems they interact with and the flexibility delivered when not being in the office. As a reaction, they would feel frustrated, demotivated and even disappointed. Employees today really appreciate being given the easiest and right tools to do their jobs, but when they don’t have access to these, it leads to employee dissatisfaction.

To avoid these feelings and align your business accordingly, consider these 3 areas for improvement. Each can have a positive impact on your employees’ happiness, and productivity:

1. The hardware you use

Today, think about how a prospective client might feel if you turned up for a business meeting with a blank pad and pen. A little old-fashioned? Perhaps even unprepared?

With this in mind, why not deliver your entire client experience digitally? This will influence the client’s perception and opinion of how you might conduct business with them. There are lots of benefits to this. Giving someone the right piece of hardware will mean significant increase in productivity, faster progression of actions or meeting notes, and generally an improved client experience. No paper take-aways which get lost on in the pile on their desk, or left behind.

1. The systems you use

Consider your current systems – are you working on outdated systems? Do these restrict you in adopting new technologies? With people now being used to engaging with different platforms and applications, it seems unfair to force your employees to use old technology. Look and feel is very important to people of today, as well as intuitive software. Getting the right software that your people buy in to, will inevitably deliver your business outputs.

1. Remote access

There are many different technologies, both legacy and modern, to give employees remote access. Many of these do not deliver the full experience that people expect, and often limit their productivity, i.e. many organisations are still using Citrix and remote desktop. Whilst these still prove to be cost effective and reliable, they do not deliver on any front with regard to modern working practices like creating video content, or working on a collaboration tool such as Microsoft Teams. Essentially, remote desktop is a constraining factor in the agile and modern working world.

So, it’s time to move on. Some companies use legacy VPN technologies that do not cope well when people have constrained bandwidth. The trick here is to understand the business requirements and deliver something different, whilst simultaneously making it as easy as possible. Giving your people local applications and tools like Microsoft Teams and Power BI will do just this – people want and need high quality equipment and agile working. Remote desktop is no longer the solution to this.

When considering your business strategy, thinking about how people are going to work and the experience they are going to have, is crucial. Ask yourself: am I providing the right equipment and tools to meet the needs of an agile work force? Are my systems and processes suitable for my business? Is the tech that allows people to work, flexible and relevant? Ask yourself these questions and decide what’s best for your business. You’ll make the right decision.