5 Ways to Modernize Your Workplace

Have you ever walked into your office after working there for 5, 10, maybe even 15 years and realized not one thing has changed in all that time besides your age?  Have you been grappling with that one pesky printer and walking to the same corner to the water cooler since you can remember?  Do you still work on a 95’ Windows PC equipped with minesweeper and a big box back? 

 Modernizing your workplace can have a significant impact on employee productivity, morale, budget, and the company’s overall success. 

 Moreover, with millennials becoming a growing percentage of the workforce, you need to consider the preferences of different generations to cultivate the optimal workspace so each employee can be as productive as possible.  Check out our blog on 7 Ways to Manage Different Generations to find new ways to support diverse generations in updating your workplace.

 

Keep reading for our five ways to bring the modern world into your workplace:

Enhance Your Aesthetics!

The professional aesthetics of your office directly affect employee productivity, morale, and overall happiness.  Interior design and feng shui will help your employees feel comfortable at work, look forward to coming to work, and even welcome visitors to the space as it sets the tone for your company. 

Overall aesthetic should be a clean design that is free of clutter with wires hidden, open spaces, and room for collaboration.  Natural lighting is known to increase productivity, happiness, calmness, and lead to healthier employees.  Ditch the wood paneling and upgrade your office’s color pallet for a fresh coat of paint your employees can enjoy seeing every day!

Prioritizing communal spaces for employees to co-work, collaborate, and converse benefits the company by allowing relationship and idea building between people who may not have desks close to one another.  When employees can collaborate, concepts can grow through idea and experience sharing which advances opportunities for the company as a whole.

Invest in Technology! 

Technology is crucial when it comes to saving your company time and money.  Yes, initially upgrading your technology is an investment but when you factor in the amount of time it saves, the increased labor output, and the decrease in spending on office supplies (pens, paper, folders, etc.), the upgrade pays for itself in the long run.  Not to mention, technology aides in the “go-green” initiative and keeps your company competitive with others.

Technology aides in saving on labor costs because little adjustments like switching to wireless charging, wireless streaming for meetings (no more HDMI struggles), and touchscreens can save small amounts of time throughout the say which add up in the future.

Offering technology training and troubleshooting resources onsite is also a major modern movement of the workforce.  Rather than having an employee try to fix their own computer on the phone with the manufacturer, companies now have an IT specialist to manage the problem and get the employee right back on track with minimal downtime.  The saves the company on bringing in contractors and having to wait for employees to get back online.  It also helps lessen the frustrations of employees who struggle with technology, which leads to happier employees.

Upgrading the technology in your office is also important if you want to remain competitive in the labor market.  Companies want to hire the best, most qualified employees possible and with a shift in generations in the workplace, this means accommodating digital natives.  Digital natives are the younger generations entering the workplace who were raised on today’s technology and are constantly keeping up with new tech.  Offering a workplace competitive in technology upgrades means your company won’t fall behind when it comes to the labor market.

 

Flexibility

 Though flexibility is a broad topic, it is taking charge in the modern workplace.  Employers are beginning to realize the value in allowing employees to work a little more on their terms as long as they maintain and exceed productivity levels. 

 Offering the option for employees to work from home has become a major trend for companies even before Covid-19 struck.  Not only does it save the company on office space, it allows employees to work in a comfortable environment, save time and money on commuting, flexibility in where employees work from, and so much more.  The biggest downfall here is finding ways to ensure your employees are being productive and not distracted by home factors.

 Another way to offer flexibility in the workplace is through scheduling.  Many offices have daily arrival and departure expectations for salary employees (i.e. 9-5 or say 8-4).  If their job is not held to duties that must be done during the standard workday, consider letting your employees shift their schedule a bit.  If an employee knows they are not a morning person, let them come in a bit later and leave later as well (11-7) as long as the position allows it.  Some companies also offer split work schedules where an employee can come in from 8-12 then continue to work from home from say 3-7.  Allowing your employees this bit of flexibility helps them consider needs in their personal lives, work when they’ll be most productive, and they feel heard and cared about at work.  This method will boost productivity and morale by giving your people a voice to tell you what they need which brings me to my next point…

 Listen to your employees.  When you are looking to modernize your workplace, reach out to employees for suggestions on what they need.  You do not have to take every suggestion but work to compromise with your employees, so they feel heard and valued. 

Track and Use Data Wisely!

Modern companies are making huge strides to quantify and track as many factors of productivity in the workplace as they can.  Keeping data on the usage of office amenities, utilities, and spaces will help your company see where they needs to invest and what they can downsize in your physical office.  This is very effective when it comes to budgeting office upgrades and ensuring money is going where it needs.

Data is also crucial in tracking employee productivity and retention.  This responsibility would fall on human resources to learn why certain trends are the way they are and what can be done to improve these numbers in the future.

Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance!

Technology plays a major role in this factor of modernization.  With cellphones being a computer on the go, employees feel constantly tied to the workplace and available for any work needs.  This can add constant pressure and stress to your employees.  We recommend encouraging employees to “turn-off” when being available is not crucial to their position.  Now I know some positions, especially in the healthcare field, require people to be on-call or somewhat available incase of crises.  However, giving employees some guaranteed “off the clock” or “off the grid” time will help them to relax and unwind. 

A healthy work-life balance has so many benefits for your employees such as boosting morale, increasing employee retention, but most of all, it lowers burnout rates for employees.  Some people do not know how to balance the two and when an employer recognizes this and cares enough to step in and ensure their employee is giving appropriate time to both, it can save the employees relationship with the company and their career.

In conclusion, if your workplace needs a refresher and you want to upgrade your workplace, consider aesthetic, technology, flexibility, data acquisition, and the importance of work-life balance.  Not only will this bring your company into modern times, it will support your employees’ more than you know!  Please feel free to share any training or certification resources you recommend or ask any questions in the comment section below!

 

 

 

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Thanks so much for reading!

Dani Barry

Marketing Manager

REVEX

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Aihini, Danielle, and Ryan MacInnis. “How Companies Use Workplace Data to Optimize the Office.” Robin, 28 Oct. 2019, robinpowered.com/blog/how-companies-use-analytics-in-the-workplace/.

Davis, Chris. “5 Workplace Design Trends for Boosting Employee Engagement.” ViewSonic Library, 20 Nov. 2019, www.viewsonic.com/library/business/workplace-design-trends/.

Doyle, Alison. “What Is Workplace Flexibility?” The Balance Careers, www.thebalancecareers.com/workplace-flexibility-definition-with-examples-2059699.

Ellis, Christine. “The Modern Workplace Trends You Need to Know About.” IT Lab, www.itlab.com/blog/the-modern-workplace-trends-you-need-to-know-about.

Modern Workplace: Is Your Business Up With the Times? Trends In The, 1 July 2020, instapage.com/blog/modern-workplace-trends.