Guest Post by Dr. Chesley Black, SVP of Global Workplace Experience Strategy & Innovation at SPS

Workplace technology continues to rapidly evolve. The flow of each workday has been forever altered by remote access, wireless connections and the ability to seamlessly move from one workspace to another – whether to another desk or another country. Companies are increasingly focused on technologies that enhance employee engagement, well-being, productivity and start-to-end workday flow. Workplace technology helps employees connect and engage with their workplace environment in ever-shifting ways, and engaged employees are productive employees, which is essential for business success.

Organizations are keen to integrate solutions that help facilitate the employee experience, and customizable apps and other technologies continue to be the catalysts that shape the future of work. From the relative simplicity of remote connection to the complexities of human capital management (HCM) software, there are tech solutions that have evolved to make it easy to hot desk, professionally intermingle and project manage, essentially with anyone or from anywhere in the world. Concepts that were bold, new and unexplored prior to the pandemic shifts of 2020, are now accepted as common if not best practices.

In this article, we’ll discuss how technology supports workplace experience and the ways in which SPS can help your business integrate technology to make workplace environments more hospitable, collaborative and productive. We will consider (1) the ways in which workplace technology impacts the modern office, (2) how workplace technology boosts productivity, and finally, (3) the local-global connection that has been made possible by new and emerging tech.

How Technology Has Affected the Modern Workplace

Technology itself has evolved significantly: from computers that filled entire rooms to smartphones that pack more computing power than the first space shuttle to the moon — and all in less than 100 years. As recently as the 1960s, the smallest computers were still the size of MINI Coopers. Fast-forward to the present day, and processes that were once a full-time position, such as data entry and collection, can be automated and taken out of human hands all together. According to Business News Daily, up to 80% of customer service interactions can be replaced with chatbots. Technology frees up human hands so that our minds can go to work, and that is also how productivity and efficiency has been vastly improved.

A workplace that ignores the seamless digital experience that integrates each employee’s individual and collective workday will fall behind fast. For the next generation of employees, the already faint lines between virtual and real-world experiences continue to blur. Not to mention, with the emergence of generative AI, gone are the days of the one-size-fits-all tech experience: our palm-sized mega-computers offer us infinite ways to customize each of our daily personal and workplace technology journeys.

Workplace Technology and Productivity

A thorough discussion about workplace technology would be amiss without mention of its impact on employees’ productivity. In the days of old, bosses saw technology as a distraction from work while at the physical office. The data does not support that perspective, and workplace technology has done a great deal to improve productivity.

Digital environments make it easy to get more done from anywhere: effective workplace technology will help automate tedious tasks directly related to work, and can set reminders about personal matters to support a sharper focus on work tasks. With certain repetitive tasks automated, employees will have more time to collaborate on projects, whether digitally or face-to-face. Workplace technology that fosters collaboration will show especially high returns related to productivity, as a study by Stanford University found that collaboration increases productivity by up to 50%. The same study concludes that employees are 64% more willing to stay with a difficult task when they are invited to collaborate.

When it comes to improving the workplace experience, surprise and delight initiatives and service design are just a few ways to support employees.  Additionally, the right tools to improve productivity and manage the culture of the organization from anywhere is imperative. In the office of the future, workplace technology is the only way to achieve those objectives in a fluidly virtual/physical work environment, and the future is now.

Workplace Technology Makes the Local-Global Connection for a Truly Diverse Workplace

Beyond the local workplace and each individual’s experience, the future of workplace technology affords us new ways to connect local workplaces to global communities and markets. Without borders, digital solutions and workplace location neutrality can afford companies the benefit of access to a global market from the convenience of any space. Geographical limitations no longer exist when it comes to project-based collaboration, and the decentralization of the workplace itself has been made possible by the limitless potential of workplace tech, from cutting edge software to the remote connection.

The development of a decentralized workforce is also increasingly supported by “third space” work places, which are neither the central office nor an employee’s home. According to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), flexible workplaces allow for in-person collaboration without forcing remote work out of the equation. A flexible and hospitable work environment doesn’t have to mean full removal of the physical office: but it might mean you have to bring the office to the talent. Today’s most trendy workplaces even experiment with how the occasional third place vacation spot can elevate your employees’ workplace experience to a new level.

The tectonic shifts in the way we perceive the possibilities of office life, plus the positive attitudes that the largest global companies have toward decentralization of the workforce offer new opportunities to those who have never had access to it before.

Workplace technology is democratizing economic opportunities more effectively than any previous effort to improve access to work globally since the birth of the internet. As the ability for talent from all over the world to discover new access points to opportunities becomes more and more commonplace, the workforce will naturally become more diverse. This diversity of perspectives will lead to innovations that will allow businesses to delight their customers in new ways and achieve better outcomes. If you are not sure where to start with workplace technology initiatives that will best serve your organization’s culture, be sure that HR has a seat at the table when you discuss how to best move forward.  

From training to onboarding, to daily interactions to after-work plans, full digital integration and hybrid virtual + real-world work experiences unlock The Power of Possibility for a new generation of talented individuals. Workplace technology makes possible what physical offices alone have never been able to offer untapped talent due to geographic location: the possibility to become a part of it.