As the coronavirus has swept through society and forced us to adapt to new ways of working, the trajectory of the workplace has shifted – and our business grwoth strategies must shift with it.

Experts are now predicting that the future of work will be domincated by hybrid work places – a combination of remote work and office/factory-centric work. With such a seismic shift in how we work, it will not be enough to simply adapt existing workplace models and strategies. Employers will need to challenge everything, from their business needs to current ways of working.

There are three strategies to help you establish an effective hybrid workplace that will enable business growth and agility into the future.

1. Define your hybrid working model

Many workplaces were forced to shift to remote working without a work from home policy in place to define processes, expectations, tools and KPIs. Now, however, businesses have an opportunity to prepare and plan for the “new normal”, and the first place to start is with new work processes and policies.

While it might seem easier to take what you already have and make amendments, you risk ending up with a confusing mixture of processes that don’t truly allow your business to benefit from hybrid working. Start afresh and challenge all of your current ways of working. Prioritise solutions that are flexible, agile and scalable as this will allow for easy business growth in the future.

Consulting with staff is absolutley key to establishing an effective hybrid working model. Understanding what is helpful for employees, what concerns they have, their preferred working styles and their lifestyle considerations, is critical.

Combine this information with your business needs (eg. do you get a lot of walk-in clients and need to maintain an office front?) and the hybrid working model that will be most beneficial for your organisation, as well as the technology and resources you need to achieve it, will emerge. Some examples include:

• Employees having complete freedom to choose where they work
• Employees booking spaces in the office as they would in a co-working space
• Rotating teams between the office and remote working
• Set days for remotr working across the company
• Office space reserved for meetings, social events and in person collaboration
• Limits placed on number of people in the office
• Different solutions for different employees based on their job function

As you define your policies and processes, some aspects that you will need to consider are:

• If you will allow your employees flexible work hours, eg. to catch public transport to the office off-peak or manage school drop-off and pick-up
• What communication channels will you use and what rules you will establish for their use, eg. have your video on for online meetings
• Do employees need to inform their manager or team of whether they’re working in the office or remotely each day or week?
• How will you encourage a positive team culture across multiple locations?
• What work set-up will you require employees to have at home or other locations, eg. you may have to provide employees with equipment for their home office, such as a home office friendly printer.
• How will you manage work health and safety considerations across multiple work environments?
• What expenses will you pay for remote workers? Eg. Internet, phone etc.

2. Reimagine your office space

There’s no point hanging onto office space that you’re not using. Once you’ve established your new processes and policies, it will become clear what your new physical space needs are. You may want to downsize as less people will be working from the central office, or a new fit-out may be necessary to increase the number of meeting spaces available for teams. It might also be time to think about co-working spaces rather tha continuing to manage your office independently.

Whatever your new office space looks like, there’s a good chance that you’ll find opportunities to save money through reduced square meterage or lower running costs. While some of these savings may initially go towards enabling your new hybrid working environment, over the long term you have the opportunity to put this money towards new business growth opportunities.

3. Use the right technology

Some of the key areas your technology platforms will need to enable for your hybrid workplace are communication, collaboration, file sharing and project management. The right technology is the difference between a hybrid workplace that is productive, efficient, collaborative and scalable, and one that isn’t/ For that reason, prioritise sophisticated tech solutions that can operate as a single source, rather than numerous cheaper platforms that don’t work well together. Working with companies that offer good ICT services and support is also important for remote workers who run into trouble.

With the medical industry working overtime right now, any time saved with better infrastructure can make health professionals’ lives easier. Find out how this health provider saved both time and money with Kyocera’s help.

BACKGROUND:

Formed in 1997, the South West Alliance of Rural Health (SWARH) is an alliance that focuses on the IT needs of acute public hospitals in the South West of Victoria, covering an aera of approximately 60,000 square kilometres.

THE CHALLENGE:

At the end of 2007, SWARH went through the tender process to select a supplier for all their printing and multifunction device (MFD) needs.

Among SWARH’s key criteria was lowered costs and reduced environmental impact. There was also the added challenge of delivering services to their remote network. “The tyranny of distance was a big factor! We have a lot of smaller, more remote places that we want to provide the same service to. Suppliers can say they will support these areas and then not deliver,” said contract manager Dennis O’Malley.

The shortlist was narrowed down to just three suppliers. In the end, however, Kyoceras’s experience and reputation helped to close the deal. “Kyocera’s experience with the Victorian Department of Education gave us the confidence they knew how to deliver across Victoria.” said O’Malley.

Kyocera’s monitoring services also gave O’Malley the added confidence that SWARH would have the resources needed to fully support their remote facilities. “Other firms competing for our business has an online monitoring service but Kyocera’s was the best we’d seen,” said O’Malley. The additional benefits Kyocera offered just couldn’t be ignored; it was an easy choice for us.”

THE SOLUTION:

Kyocera were signed on for a four year contract that involved replacing 250 of SWARH’s devices in a staggered roll out across Victoria. Right from the get go, Kyocera succeeded in exceeding expectations.

“It wasn’t part of the contract, but straight off the mark, Kyocera conducted an audit of all our major sites. This was really above and beyond what they had to do, and enormously helpful, because it told us not only what equipment was there, but what would be a more preferable configuration for us.” said O’Malley.

“It was a good exercise in making people aware that they can make significant savings by adopting the right strategy for their equipment. Even if you are looking at 10 to 20 machines, over four years, this can quickly add up to real cost savings.”

Kyocera recommended printers with the company’s unique ECOSYS technology, which dramatically reduces the total cost of ownership of its printer by up to 60 per cent.

“A big advantage of the Kyocera machines is the drums, which have a greater lifespan that other vendors, and that’s what leads to the cost savings. All your costs and potential savings are in the consumables. People may think they are getting a bargain on a $100 printer until they have to buy the consumables,” says O’Malley.

By using less materials and thereby diverting waste from landfil, SWARH can also dramatically reduce their environmental impact, fulfilling another of their key criteria.