With collaborative workspaces, teams can get together to brainstorm and work on the same project at the same time whether they are in the same office or working remotely. With advancements in hardware and software, it is now possible to turn virtually any space into a collaborative work area. You don’t require an IT administrator to come in and set up a video conference. There are many team collaboration tools available in the market that allow users to set up audio and video calls on the fly. In fact, Gartner has predicted that the collaboration solutions market will reach US$4.5 billion by 2021, and by 2022, 70% of teams will primarily use such tools to get their daily work done.
Collaborative workspaces bring in a lot of benefits. Let’s see what makes them a compelling business case for companies to adopt.
1. Attract, Engage, and Retain Talent
Highly talented employees have huge expectations about their work environment. And companies that have adopted digitalization have experienced a 25% lower turnover rate. Talented employees are more likely to stay with a company that has a collaborative workspace. In fact, 64% of employees would opt for a lower-paying job if they could work away from the office. Another study points out that when employee engagement increases, employee retention also rises by up to 87%.
2. Increase Productivity
Employees who work in groups are more alert and engaged. Those who are in constant touch with other productive colleagues contribute more than isolated individuals who work remotely. Studies have shown that organizations with strong online social networks are more productive than those without.
3. Employee Satisfaction
A collaborative digital workplace plays a huge role in employee satisfaction, as it offers every team member an opportunity to network, connect, and share ideas with others. Allowing workers to freely express their opinions makes them feel valued and promotes employee satisfaction. Furthermore, those who are allowed to work remotely even just once a month are more likely to feel happy. Digital workplaces make entire workforces more flexible and responsive to business needs.
4. Better Communication Tools
Information workers prefer newer communication tools with instant messaging capabilities over more traditional solutions like email. Communication tools that cannot match the pace of the ever-growing needs of your workplace should be rooted out. Employees, especially millennials, favor tools that allow them to communicate with speed. And a majority of employees expect their colleagues to answer messages as quickly as possible. Along with the growth of the remote working culture come the latest communication tools that can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
5. Increased Flexibility
Collaborative digital workspaces increase flexibility in terms of both work environment and schedule. With digital tools like smartphones and apps, employees can connect from anywhere without any physical barrier. Greater flexibility results in better work-life balance.
6. Reduced Costs
By opting for virtual meetings, companies can reduce or eliminate in-person meetings. They can save on costs related to business travel, additional office space for conference rooms, electricity, and furniture, among others. And if they choose to use cloud-based tools, they won’t need IT resources to manage on-premises servers or proprietary software that need time-consuming upkeep.
7. Increased Revenue
According to one study, organizations have seen a 43% increase in revenue by implementing digital workplaces. Employing digital workplaces can help organizations reduce costs and increase productivity, which naturally translates to bigger revenue.
8. Improved Customer Experience
Employees who enjoy better work-life balance due to better communication tools and strategies suffer less from stress and are more likely to become brand ambassadors for their organizations. Happy employees breed happy customers.
9. Eliminate Communication Silos
Disconnected apps and working remotely can cause problems for businesses. But since remote working became the norm during the pandemic, the potential for communication silos increased. Companies that have adopted collaborative digital workspaces, along with the right communication tools and policies, have been able to handle this situation effectively.
10. Facilitate Knowledge Management
Collaborative digital workspaces help in acquiring, storing, and sharing different types of information from multiple sources, making it readily available to all team members. Efficient knowledge management helps increase productivity, encourages continuous learning and development, and improves customer service, to name a few.
Conclusion
With the advantages mentioned above, more organizations are considering the implementation of digital workplace strategies that promise to deliver measurable returns. For collaborative digital workspaces to succeed, employees must be given the right tools so they can collaborate, communicate, and connect. Companies should exercise enough caution to avoid disparate apps and siloed communication and adopt clear roadmaps to ensure their collaborative digital workplace delivers measurable business value.
Loading ...
