Hyphn Technology: Your Scorecard for going back to Work

Kyle Dunaway

Director of Workplace Technology

Kyle has 12 years of experience designing and implementing technology systems in a variety of environments. He excels at managing technology projects, developing standards and best practices, and delivering high quality audio visual systems that enhance the workplace. Kyle loves helping organizations optimize technology to create highly efficient, effective work spaces.

The importance of actionable data has become a central focus for many organizations over the last several years. For most, the remaining questions are not about whether they need data, but are more about what data to collect, how to collect it, and how to best utilize it to achieve results. This is especially true when collecting and analyzing internal data to increase your own organization’s efficiency and productivity.

The last 18 months have brought about many significant changes in the workplace. Though there was already a fundamental shift in thought around the work-from-home model in some organizations pre-pandemic, few knew how prevalent, and necessary, it would become. New challenges suddenly faced C-Suites, facilities teams, and space planners globally. The fundamental purpose of the office was in jeopardy. COVID-19 was effectively negating the time and effort real estate teams put into meticulously planned, state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative workspaces. Many asked if we’d ever be back in the office again, betting on how the future would unfold by reducing their space footprint or making other drastic reductions to stay ahead of the curve. Others doubled-down, increasing their collaboration tools and spaces in preparation for the great return to the office.

Through the forced shift to a “hybrid” working model, IT and AV leaders have also been faced with a whole new set of challenges. Not only do they need to support users in a controlled office environment, but now they are also tasked with supporting employees from wherever they may be and however they may be working.

With this onslaught of new ideas and innovative solutions, it is easy to lose sight of what these changes and implementations cost, how effective they are, and what - if any - value they provide. Without some reliable data, forethought and oversight, it is easy to imagine how any organization may get carried away into the unknown, with hundreds of tools and/or spaces that are underutilized. How and when do you know what the right solutions are?

From a technology perspective, I believe the future of IT and AV in the workplace would be best established and maintained by relying on granular and accurate data. The specific data needed and how it’s collected may be different for every organization, but the framework on which this data is organized can and should be the same. For instance, some use workplace sensors to gather data about how often a space is used and how many people are using it. Sensors can also be used to provide real time data about air quality, temperature, collect service requests, or provide interactive space booking and desk hoteling options. Others have implemented AI-enabled business intelligence tools and monitoring systems to inform their future decision-making.

While software tools and digital analysis are absolutely essential to gathering reliable data, it is important to also consider analog inputs from the people involved. Something as simple as sending a survey out to your workforce with a few intentional questions can provide a lot of valuable information. Providing an internal network where employees are encouraged to discuss internal topics and issues - like Google’s G-Suite application, Currents - is another way to monitor internal feedback from different user groups. Because both digital and analog datasets are vital, breaking the measurements up into technology alignment metrics and employee experience metrics can make the data more digestible, and therefore, easier to use to achieve measurable results.

For technology alignment, many factors can be considered. What is your annual technology cost per employee? How much money is spent annually on technical debt? In other words, what is the difference in cost between maintaining outdated legacy systems compared to the cost of implementing new systems that increase employee engagement and productivity? It’s important to consider ROI when discovering technical debt. How much more revenue is possible when newer systems that improve the employee experience are in place? 

How effective are your service level agreements? What are your workplace and technology utilization rates? Are the tools your IT team is providing to your employees being used? Are said tools making their jobs easier or adding friction to their workflow? All of these questions should be asked and addressed yearly to ensure your organization is cutting costs and increasing efficiency at every opportunity.

On the flip side, employee experience can be investigated in other ways. For instance, understanding the gap of an employee’s experience moving from a home office to the shared office environment could be attained through a simple survey. Prior to the pandemic, joining a meeting from home could feel uncomfortable. People joining from the office typically had bigger screens, better cameras, speakers and microphones, and the feeling of camaraderie in the same room with their peers. Now, some might consider being in the office less desirable as we have become accustomed to working in the comfort of our homes with better technology at our fingertips.

The effort it takes for employees to understand their tools and spaces, and how and when to use them should also be considered. Do they feel like they can effectively collaborate? Does their technology enable them to work faster and more efficiently than they can without it? Pulse checks with employees can also be an effective way of collecting data. Many communications platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet have post-meeting surveys and feedback options allowing participants to share their experiences with the platform. Encouraging your employees to provide feedback in those arenas can help identify commonly occuring issues and pain points amongst the user base.

As organizations continue to grapple with the new norms of hybrid working conditions, it’s imperative to ensure decisions are being driven by reliable, actionable data. The power that actionable data can provide is the key to improving employee retention, reducing the frequency of space and technology overhauls, and creating a consistent working experience for people to collaborate and achieve the best results possible. Consider what a thorough technology assessment like this could mean for your team. What would it take to capitalize on this unique moment in history? Perhaps the transition back to the office would be the perfect time to ensure your team has flexible, simple to use, consistent collaboration solutions that are stable, easy to support, and sustainable for a long time to come.