The workplace is transforming, is your workforce future-ready?

If you are a business owner in 2017, wishing to succeed in this ever-evolving, ever-advancing industry, not only must you embrace change, but you must also be proactive and reassess your overall business strategies.

The divide between IT, innovation

According to Buchanan, a divide still exists between IT and innovation. This is evident in that only 34% of companies are taking advantage of IT and using it as a source of innovation and we need to learn how people use IT to make themselves more productive. Organisations need to cultivate a culture that enables, engages and empowers individuals to innovate.

Traditionally, organisations were divided up into three tiers: Those at the top got all the sweet new shiny stuff, the mid-level employees got the basic, functional PCs, and the clerical employees got the big, bulky machines.

"Things started changing through the consumerisation of IT. People started wanting pretty boxes instead of functional ones and this created massive headaches for IT departments," he notes.

"This traditional approach doesn't allow people to work more efficiently," says Buchanan.

Embracing the new era of IT means you have to manage the essentials such as hardware updates and migrations, reducing costs, and protecting your data. It also means accelerating your business by delivering ubiquitous mobility, implementing cloud computing, leveraging big data, and managing and mitigating risk.

Where to start?

So, where to start?

He advises to start with the user. Look at your employees and their specific needs. Once you have a clear understanding of their individual needs, you'll be able to create - within your budget - a secure, connected environment tailored according to the way they work, enabling them to be more productive.

Consider these questions when you embark on the journey of empowering your employees:

• Does our technology support the modern workplace?
  
• Has our technology recently been refreshed to enable better productivity and security?
  
• Are we secure?
  
• Are employees invigorated by the latest devices, designed for the way they work?
  
• Do speciality workers have the right devices for their job?

How work is transforming

As we all know, the workforce is evolving and work happens anywhere at any time. And it's thanks to new solutions that this is now possible.

To put things into perspective:

• There is 59% less office space than ten years ago
  
• 52% of people are equally productive working from home
  
• Employees spend and average of two hours working from public spaces
  
• 50% of employees check work email or take work calls after business hours
  
• 78% of employees working in highly regulated industries report regular usage of free file-sharing services such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

Not only is the nature of work changing, but so is the actual worker.

Five workforce personas

Dell EMC has identified five workforce personas that you may want to take into consideration as a future-ready organisation:

• The desk-centric employee: Works at their own desk more than 50% of the time. They need good ergonomics and efficient space to be productive and comfortable. A set of headphones to block out noise or second monitor can increase the productivity by 39%.
  
• The corridor warrior: By being away from their desks more than 50% of the time, going from meeting to meeting and working from multiple locations within the company, the corridor warrior needs lightweight, energy-efficient mobile devices that can connect hassle free, and has ergonomic keyboards.
  
• The on-the-go pro: This user spends more than 50% of the time away from the office, travelling and going to off-site meetings. They need lightweight, energy-efficient mobile devices that is easy to dock, a power network and a monitor on display. Seamless connectivity with access to apps and other information while on the go is critical.
  
• The remote worker: This employee spends at least 30 hours a week outside the company (e.g. working from home), and need seamless connectivity and communications, perhaps a larger screen, as well as remote access to apps and other information.
  
• The specialised user: Specialised users need specialised technology that works in non-traditional or extreme environments, often for mission-critical purposes. They need high-performance, rugged devices, as well as remote access to apps and other files.

Are you equipping, empowering, and future-proofing your workforce? Or will you be left behind?

For more on how to future-proof your workplace and workforce, view Dell EMC's solutions here.