How Technology Is Enabling The Creation Of Workplaces That Fit The Future
In an era where technology is leading the operation of various ecosystems, workplaces are no exception. Companies today seek technology-driven workspace design that impacts every aspect of the business. From operations and security to motivating employees beyond monetary rewards, companies are embracing innovative workplace design concepts to address diverse challenges.
The success of a business hinges on three fundamental elements: purpose, people, and performance. Purpose defines a business's reason for existence, with people being the driving force behind that purpose. Performance, the outcome, determines scalability.
Technology in the workplace acts as a catalyst, connecting and sustaining these essential elements, ultimately shaping the future of work and workplaces.
Let’s delve further into how workplace technology design impacts an organisation.
1. Understanding the needs of your workforce
A business's success depends on its employees, and today's talent looks for more than just good pay. They want flexible work setups, camaraderie beyond office hours, seamless teamwork, a positive culture, and spaces that turn chaos into focus.
A. The Smart Office Ecosystem
Employees are more engaged and more likely to stay beyond three years in their jobs if they feel they have the technology that supports them at work.
Technology plays a pivotal role in envisioning the workplace from an employee perspective, hence it's crucial to foster a work environment that employees eagerly look forward to coming back to.
Further, combining human-centric approaches with appropriate technology helps ensure a balanced work-life experience. Gartner's Centre of Excellence in Gurgaon exemplifies this approach. With RESET® certified centralised and decentralised air purification systems and IAQ monitors for a real-time view of indoor air performance, Gartner’s space showcases integrated technology for a healthier work-life balance. The LEED and WELL certifications further highlight Gartner’s commitment to creating an employee-friendly work environment.
All this translates to increased productivity, improved employee comfort, and well-being – all crucial factors impacting a business's success and employee retention.
B. The People-first approach
A technology-driven workplace design that caters to varying employee needs ensures a strong sense of belonging, fostering a stronger connection between employees and the organisation. This paves the way for an employee-first culture within the workplace impacting positive talent attraction and retention.
Having areas designated for virtual meetings, brainstorming sessions, and collaborative work goes beyond enhancing teamwork and performance—they also foster innovation. The modern workforce appreciates collaborative designs, making these areas vital for maintaining the organisation's competitive edge.
The Siemens Healthineers workplace in Singapore is a prime example of this approach. The workplace design perfectly aligns with its purpose by incorporating cutting-edge workplace technology for daily efficiency and collaboration. Whether it's the extensive green screen in the town hall area or the seamless integration of work tech throughout the spaces, it adeptly connects teams, ensuring seamless collaboration across geographical and generational boundaries.
2. Balancing functionality and experience
The future of technology in the workplace opens a portal of endless possibilities when it comes to automation and mobility. Further, it paves the way to creating an experiential manoeuvre within the workplace for the entire organisation.
A. Personalisation
Personalised work environments and functions such as enabling employees to customise their workspaces, adjust lighting and temperature, and find available meeting rooms or quiet spaces result in higher employee satisfaction and increased efficiency. Transforming the various functional manoeuvres within the workplace into a cluster of curated employee experiences ultimately impacts the organisation's bottom line.
Taikoo Li Qiantan’s new workplace in Shanghai is a shining example of how navigating through a technologically sound workplace enriches the employee experience. This truly transformative space includes collaboration hubs, wellness areas, and ergonomic seating that adjusts as per employee needs. Such spaces allow autonomy while effectively stimulating employees both mentally and physically.
B. Workplace OS
To keep up with the ever-changing landscape of workplace culture and tech advancements, it is important to centralise technology within the workplace to streamline various processes. With that in mind, Space Matrix has created an experiential concept of Workplace OS.
Workplace OS is a comprehensive system that coherently integrates workplace technologies. It does so by adapting to individual preferences and revolutionising the modern workplace experience. The platform empowers employees to regulate and customise their immediate micro-environment as per their pre-set preferences in an extremely intuitive manner, without any intervention.
From visitor management and room scheduling to indoor wayfinding and building management systems, Workplace OS creates a cohesive ecosystem where all technologies work together effortlessly.
3. Designing secure workspaces in the digital era
Today’s digital age demands the safeguarding of sensitive information, complying with data protection regulations, and ensuring privacy and security of both employee and customer data. Tech integration within workplace design plays a crucial role in addressing data protection and regulatory compliance concerns.
Implementing biometric access controls, secure Wi-Fi networks, and private meeting spaces for data protection and regulatory compliance are some ways to address critical security concerns in today's digital age. An example of this is Space Matrix's LAB in Gurgaon, where advanced technologies, such as biometric scanning and secure meeting room codes, are seamlessly integrated for increased privacy and security. Additionally, a temperature monitoring system within spaces allows employees to personalise the environment they wish to work in.
4. Towards a brighter, greener future of work
A workplace that focuses on sustainability is ready for the future. Incorporating sustainable practices while designing your workplace plays a crucial role in determining the brand’s environmental responsibility and the organisation’s public image.
Using green technologies in the workplace such as energy-efficient lighting and heating systems ensures a significant reduction in energy consumption, consequently reducing carbon emissions. This also leads to substantial cost savings in the long run resulting in reduced utility bills and operating expenses.
Embracing sustainable practices also gives the organisation a competitive advantage as it portrays the brand as an environmentally conscious company.
The future of workplace technology: What's next?
As we have explored, the future of technology in the workplace offers employees flexible, adaptable, positive, and inspiring work environments. Furthermore, it simplifies business operations resulting in a resilient and energy-efficient workplace.
Technology-driven workplace design focuses on stimulating the employees emotionally as well as rationally. It helps streamline the process of individual preferences without compromising personalised experiences in the workplace. This empowers the employees to perform better while also ensuring overall well-being.
Embracing tech-driven workplace transformations helps create an inclusive, efficient, and eco-friendly work environment that has better scalability. This future-ready workplace is not only prepared for the business-related challenges of tomorrow but also continues to evolve as the needs of the business as well as the workforce evolve.
In today's digital transformation, organisations investing in cutting-edge tech are set to thrive and shape the workplace for generations.