In the past two years, we have witnessed staggering disruptions to work, the workforce, and the workplace. The relationship between the employer and employee is fast-changing along with the advent of technology renewing how workplaces function. During the pandemic, existing trends like remote work, e-commerce, and automation accelerated.
In our efforts to make sense of the pandemic aftermath, it becomes increasingly evident that technology is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives, including how, when, and where we work. Here are five technology trends you should be aware of as you try to support an increasingly digital workplace while improving productivity.
• The rise of hybrid working
Centralized workplaces are set to become a thing of the past. Research shows that remote work drives employee productivity to new heights. A recent study from Gartner shows that 48% of employees prefer to work remotely at least part of the time, compared to the 30% before the pandemic.
This shift in the workplace comes with its own set of pros and cons. Some activities like negotiations, brainstorming sessions, and providing sensitive feedback may lose effectiveness when done remotely. While other tasks like providing IT and HR support often thrive under remote conditions. This calls for a new category of technology with the ability to engage and connect employees regardless of their location. With conversational and AI-driven tools like HappyFox Assist AI, employees can be empowered with self-service, and autonomy, while reducing the load from your HR, IT, and Operations support teams.
• Greater adoption of AI and automation
Accelerated by the pandemic, workplaces have noticed a pronounced rise in the effective use of artificial intelligence in the past few years. In the era of remote work, these technologies have helped to improve internal functions and boost employee engagement. As per IDC, by 2022, 45% of repetitive tasks and communication networks in enterprise-level companies will be automated through AI, robotics, and smart process automation.
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To maintain relevancy and provide your workforce with the best technology and help them achieve the best possible levels of productivity, it is important that you are quick to adopt and adapt to AI-powered conversational support solutions. Automating the resolution of repetitive questions posed to your HR, IT, and Operations teams will give them time to engage in valuable activities and build more human relationships with other employees. This automation of managerial and support tasks will help you build a more productive and engaged workforce.
• Focus on constant upskilling and promoting digital competency
The demand for digital skills has grown by 60% over the past few years. Developing your employee’s ability to navigate the influx of tools, technologies, and platforms is of utmost importance to adapt to the digital revolution of the everyday workspace.
In a workplace that is defined by technology, it is vital that the shared digital workplace is usable for everyone. This would entail the usage of compatible systems amongst teams, access to knowledge about IT best practices, and a thorough onboarding process for your employees for commonly used technologies within your organization. Better trained staff will result in a more seamless resolution of tech and other issues, without the involvement of the IT teams.
• Leverage data to transform internal support
A growing number of companies use technology to manage virtual clocking in and out, employee wellness, and engagement in an attempt to understand and improve the employee experience.
The use of knowledge base is to answer questions and provide scope for 24×7 issue resolution, which comes in handy when work is no longer restricted to a single address or standard hours. Investing in tools such as Assist AI, which provides employees with round-the-clock access to knowledge, will lead to happier, more informed, and more productive employees.
• Adopt multi use case solutions
To provide better experience and productivity, we need to look beyond addressing queries and loopholes within just one use case. Service requests, especially for a hybrid workforce, arise from multiple teams and departments like HR, IT, and finance amongst others. With this in mind, we foresee a rise in investment in technological solutions that cater to internal issue resolution. This is especially important because of the steep increase in employees submitting tickets on Slack and Microsoft Teams, leading to a loss of accountability. Hence, we are likely to see a rise in the adoption of streamlined solutions designed to automate responses and handle a huge influx of requests.
We need to align our workplaces with technological advancements and employee needs
Creating an effective digital workplace and future-proofing your organization can be achieved through the prudent adoption of workplace technology. Take your first step towards a better workplace culture by booking a one-on-one demo with our Assist AI specialists.
