The use of collaboration and communication tools has made organizations comfortable with the concept of a modern workplace, it’s designed to allow employees to work remotely and still produce the desired result. The idea behind the digital workspace is to create a platform that helps employees of an organization share relevant thoughts and ideas and perform their daily tasks, no matter where they are working. One of its numerous advantages is that it makes sense economically.
Unfortunately, envisioning a successful digital workspace and creating one that empowers employees are not the same thing. Companies have made several missteps in this area that resulted in many productivity issues. In a survey on the state of the digital workplace, 80% of remote employees confirmed that they experience more challenges than those working in-office. Additionally, 85% of remote workers have technology challenges. Some of the instances include lost connection and problems associated with Wi-Fi.
The primary cause of these challenges that affect the actualization of the digital workspace in some organizations is the inability of business leaders to implement it using appropriate steps.
Here, we’ll discuss some common mistakes business leaders make when implementing digital workspace in their organizations.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Creating a Digital Workspace
- Too Many Expectations
One of the mistakes business leaders make when trying to create a digital workspace is expecting too much from the system. This implies that many are unwilling to follow due process and, instead, expect immediate results. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
It takes time for offices to fully realize all the benefits of a switch. There is a period where they will be working through process and policy corrections and adapting to the new flow of things. Those expecting to have a perfect digital workspace immediately, without any hiccups are not being realistic. Optimizing a transformed hybrid office takes time and patience to allow the transformation to work.
- Ignoring Employees’ opinions
Employees are agents that help to promote the values of a company. Many organizations want to implement a digital workspace without considering the opinions or concerns of employees. Failing to communicate is one of the mistakes many business leaders make when trying to implement a more flexible work environment.
When employees want to make a switch, they need help on how to handle data security when working from home, and how things like breaks and time schedules are going to work. Sadly, business leaders do not always communicate well with employees about new procedures being planned, and this brings a form of resistance to the desired change.
In the same way, business leaders do not back up their communicative style with appropriate training. When business owners fail to communicate effectively with their employees, establishing a digital workplace becomes very difficult.
- Little or No Understanding of a Digital Workplace
It is erroneous to promote a concept that is not fully understood. Without a doubt, there are numerous advantages to establishing a hybrid office. Many business leaders want to take advantage of the digital workspace without correctly understanding it.
For this reason, they do not attain their desired goals. A digital environment differs from one place to another. It is only when business leaders come to terms with this reality that it becomes easy to actualize.
Without proper knowledge about what’s involved in properly setting up things like automation, cloud-based communication, and flexible tools, organizations will keep having misplaced priorities. This is why many business organizations establish a digital workplace that doesn’t align with their business goals.
- Too Much Information In Different Places
When employees are no longer working in a centralized location, it can mean that previously organized file structures quickly become disorganized. Files can be spread out across employees’ devices and various cloud platforms.
51% of employees say they’ve avoided sharing a document with a colleague because they either couldn’t find it or thought it would be too hard to find. Cloud storage is great, but it needs some rules to keep it manageable.
Instead of just allowing documents to be saved in whichever way is convenient, create policies on which cloud platforms to use and how files should be saved. This helps ensure that they are easily accessible to everyone and improves data security and productivity.
- Management Doesn’t Back the Transition
The management wants to implement change but is less interested in the process. This can mean that employees don’t embrace the changes and end up falling back into old ways of doing things.
For example, you may introduce an app like Microsoft Teams with the expectation that it will consolidate communications and reduce the need to switch between different apps. App switching has been found to take up as much as 30 minutes per day.
But, if managers and company executives aren’t using Teams, then employees will be less likely to as well. It will be easier to just do things the “old way” instead. Without leadership support of a transition, meaning they also adopt the new tools/workflow, it’s going to be very hard to get employees to adopt the transformation.
Get Help Creating a Digital Workspace
In today’s business world, many organizations benefit from the advantages of technology. Unfortunately, companies often concentrate their energies without getting the right results. This can be avoided with thorough planning and practical communication skills. These may be some of the things that hamper the possibility of creating a digital workspace in your organization.
With a professional IT company, your digital transformation can be much easier to accomplish. Contact us online or at 519-672-0900 (London, ON) or 519-772-2525 (Kitchener, ON) to get started.
