Why technology is a factor you can’t afford to flub in your hybrid office (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Unlike the early days of the pandemic, when many employers sent workers home and developed their remote-work plans on the fly, the ongoing shift to hybrid workplaces gives businesses a chance to think more holistically about their technology strategies.
It’s a chance they would be smart to take, experts say, as hybrid setups will bring a new array of headaches that don’t always exist in an all-remote or all-onsite environment.
Companies will need to strategize about how meetings will look when some employees are at home and some are at the office, but they’ll need to make sure they have the technology to match — a question that could have higher stakes than they realize.
Chris Balcik, head of mobile B2B at Samsung Electronics America, said employers are cognizant of the rapidly evolving environment and are trying to assess what’s on the horizon. That includes an acknowledgment that most white-collar workers are likely to be in a hybrid arrangement for years to come.
“Employers are thinking: ‘How do I future-proof my employees and my organization so I’m not making a purchase that is an initial cash outlay today that will be (obsolete) in 18 months?’” Balcik said.
Experts say one key is taking an employee-centric approach to the technology questions that will arise in the hybrid world.
“You’ve got to put the person at the center of the universe,” Balcik said. “How do they want to collaborate and how do they want to interact?”
It also means considering how mobile devices, tablets and laptops fit into a company’s hybrid approach and how they interact with in-office technology tools, such as Microsoft Office 365, Slack and others.
One emerging area of employer interest Balcik has noted is a desire to segment device usage into buckets that allow employees to separate their business and personal lives.
He said Samsung has been working on a similar initiative for Walmart that would allow employees to use the device for their job in the day and then go home and use it personally. Unlike many tech initiatives, he said the effort was driven by human resources instead of the IT department.
“That’s an example of listening to your employee base on how they want to work and operate,” he said.
Balcik said more companies are seeking partnerships with companies like Samsung to consult and advise on technology options — rather than having just a procurement or transactional relationship. In turn, Balcik said the feedback from end users in the hybrid world has helped hone new features for its products, such as its new Galaxy S22 smartphones.
Slack, Teams and the debate over tools
One example of why it’s important to consider employee input is the often-thorny question of: “Which messaging and productivity tool is the best fit: Slack or Teams?”
To some, it may sound like a trivial question. To others who are particularly passionate about the topic, it could be a deal-breaker in a hot job market.
James Rice, head of SEO at talent acquisition software company Picked Group, said it is not necessarily about which tool is the best, as both are good. Instead, he said it’s about which overall ecosystem makes the most sense.
“For remote teams, it makes sense to use the tool most appropriate for your IT ecosystem. Here at Picked Group, we adopted Slack for our teams, as we are all Mac users,” Rice said in an email. “If your ecosystem is built around Windows/Microsoft, then it makes sense to choose Teams as your communication tool. That way you can use the integration benefits Microsoft has to offer.”
As for which tool might win out over the other? Rice pointed to the widespread Slack outage in February as one reason why it’s important to have a backup option.
David Ciccarelli, CEO of voice-talent platform Voices, also doesn’t think there will be an ultimate winner when it comes to the Slack versus Microsoft Teams debate. At Voices, the company’s 150 employees use Slack, having previously used Google instant messaging.
“In my view, it’s unlikely that there will be a winner take all. As with most battles in technology, a duopoly is a more likely outcome, with both Teams and Slack coexisting,” Ciccarelli said.
Cybersecurity in the hybrid office
Given the situation in Ukraine, experts were already encouraging businesses to be more vigilant about cybersecurity.
Having a wave of employees that will bounce back and forth between home and the office adds new complexities to the mix.
Even before Russia’s invasion triggered a wave of warnings, Balcik said cybersecurity was moving back to the forefront for many businesses, thanks in part to high-profile breaches.
“Large enterprises are becoming more aware of the risks. Your digital footprint is increased because people are working wherever they are,” he said. “You’ve got people inside and outside of networks creating potential vulnerability. All you need is one person who may not follow the rules and you’ve potentially compromised the entire network.”
Balcik said those realizations are leading to more interest in multifactor authentication and biometric options, even for small and midsize businesses.
“We’ve had recent conversations with some medium-sized players in the last few weeks and their first question is, ‘How do I protect my network?'” Balcik said.
In addition to selecting devices and systems with those options, experts have also suggested businesses should be vigilant about training — including specific training that focuses on using work devices outside of the office.