Digital workplace

In a nutshell: What is a digital workplace?

A digital workplace goes beyond the physical office in a company. By definition, the digital workplace is a construct of modern technologies, tools and cloud services that enable teams to work together completely independently of time and place.

 

The digital workplace is becoming increasingly important in the business world. This is due to the emergence of new working models such as New Work.

 

Digital workplace brings more efficiency and flexibility

The digital workplace is an integral part of New Work. New work refers to modern working models such as working from home or flexible working hours. Such working models are becoming increasingly important to the new generation of employees.

 

Without a digital workplace, where employees have access to the company's systems from home or on the move, the working methods of New Work cannot be implemented. Apart from its central role in New Work, the digital workplace is also beneficial for work in companies on site.

 

For example, important information can be made available to employees in real time via digital tools and systems that are linked to each other. This would not be possible in a non-digitalized company. Furthermore, in a digital working environment, documents and files can be jointly edited by those responsible in real time.

 

All in all, the digital workplace offers the following advantages:

• Location-independent and flexible working
• Possibility to implement modern working methods
• Increased efficiency due to faster availability of information and data
• Simplification of communication and collaboration between employees
• Shared editing of documents and files

 

These benefits usually result in higher employee satisfaction. Increasing satisfaction also increases employee loyalty. Digital workplaces are therefore even suitable for retaining the sought-after and scarce skilled workers that many companies are competing for.

In view of the expectations of the new generations of employees, who want more flexibility and also value simple, digitalized work processes, the digital workplace is increasingly becoming a must for companies.

 

From the application and onboarding process during the first few weeks at the company to the regular and permanent working day, the digitalization of the workplace has a positive impact on the entire employee experience.

 

Greater employee satisfaction and loyalty generally has a positive impact on productivity in companies, as employees are more willing to perform. The digitalization of the workplace also has a positive impact on overall work processes by speeding up the exchange of information and data. In addition, some tools support employees in their daily work tasks and thus relieve them of a certain burden.

 

Examples of applications in a digital workplace

There are numerous providers of software for digitizing the workplace. Of all the providers, Microsoft stands out with its range of digital solutions. M365 - formerly known as Microsoft Office - already provides a wealth of applications and services for designing a digital workplace:

 

• Microsoft Teams: Companies can communicate flexibly via Microsoft Teams and hold video conferences, for example. Accounts for new employees can be created in no time at all and the software can be used on a wide range of devices. Cross-company collaboration is also optimized by Microsoft Teams.

 

• Microsoft 365: The Office applications Word, Excel and PowerPoint can also be used via the cloud. This allows employees to work on different documents in the cloud at the same time. This real-time collaboration is completely location-independent. Some Microsoft business packages also include the Exchange app, which is an email program with functions for direct collaboration.

 

• SharePoint: This is a comprehensive intranet solution. This means that companies can create their own websites for teams and departments to share information in an attractive way. Companies can also communicate internal knowledge to employees more easily via SharePoint.

 

The functions of the basic applications from Microsoft alone enable companies to create a comprehensively digitalized working environment. But Microsoft offers much more - such as its Viva platform for managing the employee experience and its Power platform for consolidating data.

 

Viva platform for employee management

The Viva Connections component within the platform improves corporate communication, while the Viva Engage component even promotes the formation of communities between employees. Since comprehensive employee data can also be generated and analyzed via Viva Insights, the Viva platform provides the most important functions for strengthening employee satisfaction and loyalty.

 

Power platform for managing large volumes of data

An example of another advanced application from Microsoft is Microsoft Power BI. This is a collection of applications and cloud services that can be used to collect data from a variety of sources in a central storage location .

 

Further processing (including harmonization, categorization, modelling and visualization) of the data is possible in the central storage location of Power BI. With these features, Microsoft Power BI can play a key role in data engineering, which is particularly important for large companies.

 

Transformation comes with challenges

 

As many advantages and opportunities a digital workplace may offer companies, the challenges cannot be denied at the same time. Assuming that a company decides to integrate Microsoft applications into its existing working environment, the challenge is as follows:

 

• The software provider's applications must be adapted to the company's work processes.
• The company is probably already using software from other providers, which should continue to be used. Accordingly, interfaces to third-party software solutions must be created.
• Employees must be trained in the correct and efficient use of the new tools.
• In the long term, companies collect information on how intensively employees use their software licenses. Accurate, consolidated and optimized license management can reduce costs.

 

The costs, the effort involved and the necessary adaptation to the company are the main challenges when digitizing the workplace. If the working environment has not yet been digitized or has hardly been digitized at all, some employees may be sceptical about the transformation.

 

Older employees, in particular, who are less familiar with digital applications, may resist digitalization internally. This would make the successful implementation and use of digital technologies in the workplace more difficult. It may therefore be necessary to change the corporate culture to some extent in connection with the digitalization of the workplace.

 

Changing the corporate culture is a process. It requires open communication with employees and a gradual introduction to the concept of a digital workplace. It is essential to consider the needs and doubts of employees.

 

Employees who are open to a digital workplace can be introduced to the changes more quickly than employees who are sceptical about digitalization.

 

Offers and tips for implementing a digital workplace

We at innobit are a professional service provider that supports companies with customized concepts and their implementation in the digital transformation. We have a suitable offer for setting up a digital workplace: our digital workplace solutions.

 

Individual digital workplace solutions, made by innobit

Let us provide you with individual support and set up an accurate digital working environment for your requirements!

As should be customary, we provide individual advice and conduct experience workshops in companies. They serve to identify needs and show the optimization potential that can be achieved through a digital workplace.

 

We use Microsoft 365 in combination with SharePoint to suit your needs and are also happy to enable extended solutions through intranet partners such as Wizdom and Powell 365. Step by step, we enable the transition from a static intranet to the digital workplace of the future.

 

5 tips for digital working in companies

In addition to our digital workplace solutions, we also provide some tips for implementing them yourself.

 

Tip #1: High-quality equipment in the digital workplace

The right equipment is important for the digital workplace. If necessary, employees are provided with high-performance end devices for remote work . This depends, among other things, on the company's financial resources.

 

A fast WLAN and powerful PCs should definitely be available in the office. State-of-the-art technology is important for holding video conferences, training courses and meetings so that audio and video are of high quality and employees can follow the content well.

 

Tip #2: Employee training

In order for employees to be able to use the digital solutions, they should be trained accordingly if necessary. This includes training on the hardware and how to use the software. Even experienced employees can still pick up details in training courses that enable them to exploit the full potential of digital tools and increase productivity.

 

Tip #3: Don't exploit employees, but give them freedom

Employees are still human beings. Accordingly, all employees should be given their freedom despite being easily accessible. The constant availability via digital tools sometimes tempts bosses and managers to exploit employees or make greater use of them.

 

However, it is important for long-term productivity and also for mental health that employees can distance themselves from their tasks and maintain their work-life balance. Therefore, for example, access to email accounts should be frozen for all employees from a certain time and at weekends so that they have no opportunity to work during this period.

 

Tip #4: Follow special cloud security methods

Cloud security is relevant because the digital workplace in most companies consists of many cloud applications and cloud services. Security in the cloud differs somewhat from general IT security. This is because the many interfaces between the individual users mean that there are several potential points of attack for cyber attacks.

 

One focus of cloud security should be on securing individual access points . If employees are informed about how to secure their access to the cloud as effectively as possible and access is also encrypted, a lot has already been done for cloud security.

 

Tip #5: Think collaboration modern

The digital workplace is not the only innovation that has been gaining in importance for around a decade. When companies provide a digital workplace, employees expect a generally modern company. It is therefore advisable to carry out further transformations in parallel with the introduction of a digital working environment.

 

Large and comfortably furnished rooms with plenty of space for brainstorming and other creative working methods characterize the modern office of the new millennium. Collaboration is strengthened by lots of communication in large rooms equipped with the latest technology. Ideally, the break rooms offer enough space for social gatherings and perhaps even relaxation methods such as yoga or similar activities.

 

Conclusion: Digital workplace for more productivity and satisfaction in everyday working life

The digital workplace makes it possible to work from anywhere. Thanks to the tools and technologies, it simplifies communication and data exchange in all areas of the company. A digital workplace that is specially adapted to the company's requirements enriches everyday working life in many different ways.

 

Among other things, productivity is improved thanks to the tools' functions and employee satisfaction is increased through easier collaboration and optimized communication.