Beyond the complexity of the world we call Digital Transformation, there is us, professionals now being given a workplace that has nothing to do with the old physical space occupied during office hours. Connectivity, collaboration, adaptability, these are our new instruments as the working environment migrates towards digital realms. Being connected is a must as the line between the office and the place where the work actually happens becomes blurred. Nowadays the workplace we know migrates towards digital realms, companies like yours start to adopt ways to break downtime, space and communication barriers.

The new digital workforce changes the way employees collaborate. Companies constantly update their tools and rely more on methods to ensure productivity and effective communication flow. One of the most advantageous shifts for companies is to establish a modern digital workplace.

What is “digital workplace”

Briefly put, the digital workplace is an entire desk area that fits in your laptop case. It is an online collaborative environment for workspace technologies. In this space, employees can work individually or in groups and are still connected to the company’s network, being able to communicate with other remote colleagues, access database files and keep everything updated, all in real-time. Technologies like Intranet, analytics, business applications and collaboration tools are part of the digital environment. These technologies and the upcoming future trends help organisations better communicate, collaborate, engage and interact with people and devices around them.

A good digital workplace can be tailored to what the people in your organisation need it to be, as positive user-experiences are key to making the on-line collaboration work. The digital workplace covers the tools, connectivity and business systems at any given point in time. By delivering user experiences that can match actual working practices and mimic employee behaviour, personal productivity is placed at the centre of the digital workplace.

So, if you want your employees to work in a user-friendly modern workplace, you should consider implementing the right tools and platforms that enable on-line work and productivity.

Digital workplace tools and platforms

The perfect package of on-line technologies is specific to each organisation’s structure, depending on the industry, the functions and the needs of the workforce. Based on your specific daily operational and administrative activities, you might need:

Mobility Tools like Mobile Business Solutions or Workplace IoT

Your digital toolbox should contain all tools and programs that support your employees in achieving high-performance and efficiency, wherever they are located.

Collaborative Tools like MS Teams or Trello

For real-time collaboration, instant communication and customisation, every company should use platforms that fill their requirements. Especially for bigger companies, where key people are in different locations, collaboration tools are crucial for the digital workplace.

Documentation platforms like Google Drive or SharePoint

Documentation management makes sure everyone has their digital papers in order. Say goodbye to physical folders and printed materials that get lost or ruined. These tools help you upload and share files, presentations, pictures associated with your project that are always available when you need them.

Internal network platforms like e-mail and Intranet

The internal network platforms of today give you access to work necessities such as e-mail communication, calendars, search function, integration functionality, productivity tools and more. Your intranet can link to the everyday business tools like HR systems, CRM, payroll systems and more, taking some of the pressure of adding separate digital tools to your workplace.

All tools and platforms that are part of the digital workplace should be designed to work together to deliver a great user experience and enhance personal productivity. Your digital toolbox is the key to creating a productive environment of interconnected technologies, people and processes. Therefore, selecting the right digital workplace tools is a task that needs dedication and planning

Selecting the right digital workplace tools

When searching for the right digital workplace tools, our recommendation is to not only consider the most complex tooling package you can find but rather select the package that fits what the people in your organisation specifically need. There are a lot of solutions out there, so the decision process should not be based on external factors such as the lowest price on the market or competitors choosing a specific solution.

Choosing the workplace solution should be a process that starts at the core of your organisational needs such as better collaboration, managing the complexity or optimising workflows. Before choosing your digital workplace tools, keep in mind the following checklist:

• What business challenges do you want to address?

• Which are your goals in terms of culture, user experience, and work efficiency?

• How can your employees benefit from the tooling?

• How many resources, like ownership or time to implement, can you invest?

• How will you measure success?

You can create a better workplace with higher efficiency by firstly defining your internal processes with the help of key employees and only then finding the right digital tools to enhance them. Highlight the most time-consuming tasks that over-complicate your workflow and search for automation tools or just solutions to simplify complex and demanding processes.

At the same time, don’t forget that the technology you are using impacts the user experience in your organisation. It can either over-complicate your operations or help them run smoothly. Think about user-friendly software and easy-to-use management systems when browsing the best tooling offer. The best workplace solutions should set the pace for a happy, engaged, and productive digital office.

You should aim to create consistency for your digital workplace. Implementing multiple and very different tools with single-use can be challenging and result in having the people confused with what platform to use and when. The effectiveness of having multiple working platforms is not easy to predict, but we recommend researching end-to-end solutions for each process you want to digitalise. It could save you needing new tools in the future.

Conclusion

In an era where every aspect of our working life can be assisted by a digital tool, supporting effective collaboration has become a major challenge for companies. With efficiency and consistent user-experiences in mind, companies can clarify their internal processes. Only after having mapped these details, can a company make the shift towards a certain ecosystem of digital solutions.

The digital workplace is a trend that became a necessity in times of remote working and constant availability. As the efficiency of your employees is a business goal and you consider upgrading your infrastructure by going digital, don’t forget to go for tailored solutions that best fit your user’s behaviour and business needs.