Building the workplace of the future

Evolving with technology

To keep up with employee demands companies need to ensure they are aware of the latest trends in the workplace and adapt accordingly.  One of the main trends we are seeing is employees wanting to be able to use their own device when working remotely.

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend is exploding – set to hit almost $367bn by 2022, according to Forbes’s 2019 report, The future of BYOD – and is creating a domino effect on other trends.

With a workforce increasingly dominated by natural collaborators in millennials and generation Z employees, we are now entering the next BYOD trend, where employees will expect to not only join meetings from their personal devices, but host them using their preferred conferencing solution, rather than their organisation’s official corporate service.

With this in mind, companies need to ensure the technology in the workplace is keeping pace with the consumer technology employees will be used to. Organisations need to be utilising products that allow their employees to embrace a bring-your-own-meeting (BYOM) approach to conferencing, with teams empowered to use whatever system they prefer.

Barco’s ClickShare Conference product enables an organisation’s employees to use any system they favour to host remote meetings, without affecting quality, security or compatibility. Users of this system can easily integrate with other conferencing companies while adhering to their own company’s policies.

By allowing workers to choose their own conferencing solution, as well as bring their own device, organisations will be able to better address the different dimensions of an effective digital workplace strategy, facilitating collaboration and communication among an increasingly diverse workforce.

Keeping the data under lock and key

While evolving through technology should be a priority for all businesses, it may come as no surprise that there are concerns around security for the workplace of the future. Given the crucial nature of security to most businesses, companies need to put steps in place to ensure a secure connection when using multiple devices.  

Companies can ensure this by making certain that the appropriate identification and authorisation steps are taken during setup, and that transferred data is encrypted and alteration prevented. They must also ensure all staff undergo training to guarantee there is no risk of a breach from personal devices – but in the long-run, this adds up to a small price to pay to ensure enhanced productivity.

Future proofing

With technology advancing at a rapid rate, organisations need to ensure they are prepared for the workplace of the future by putting measures in place. Guaranteeing the technology used by consumers is reflected in the workplace, and allowing them to bring their own devices is the first step of many towards more efficiency in business meetings.

By ensuring the technology available is catering to the demands of the employees, companies can prepare the workforce of the future.