Article

How to Overcome 3 Modern Workplace Productivity Challenges

Grey haired female entrepreneur multitasking at home, video conference, speaking and listening on mobile phone, wireless technology

The modern workplace is evolving. Global events, shifting consumer behaviors and technology are disrupting every industry. Now, organizations are working hard to bring their digital transformation up to speed as their workforce operates remotely. The way work gets done must be redefined.

But how can you successfully clear obstacles as you grow your digital capabilities? What are the obstacles ahead? How can you and your organizational leaders motivate and encourage new methodologies as your business shifts away from traditional work styles? Consider us your guide as we help you navigate through the difficulties of productivity in a modern workplace.

In this article, we cover three of the most common productivity killers for remote work environments and how modern workplace solutions like Microsoft 365 can address them.

1. Systems and Productivity Platform Integration

If your teams are struggling to connect, collaborate and create because they’re all using different tools and software, integrating all that functionality across your organization can drive significant efficiencies and other benefits. But moving employees to a new productivity platform is not a walk in the park for any organization. And expecting an automatic increase in productivity all at once is not realistic. 

This is especially true for companies with multiple locations or businesses working through mergers and acquisitions. As the complexity of an organization and its partnerships increase, it becomes more difficult to manage all employees while also moving forward with digital transformation initiatives. 

Effectively launching a modern workplace solution requires strategy, planning and time. This is why many organizations find a trusted partner to coordinate systems integration, identity management, training, and other work. With an experienced partner, your in-house talent can focus on strategic goals, change management, improving efficiency and more. And your technology partner can handle the nitty-gritty details of implementing your new modern workplace solution. 

2. User Adoption of Modern Workplace Solutions 

Implementing a modern workplace solution such as Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) can be difficult. Over time, people get into a rhythm of delivering results that are expected — but not necessarily optimized. It is crucial to align business goals with your current operating platforms to fully realize the benefits of technology like Microsoft 365. This involves architecting your solution to fit your business, integrating your existing tools and empowering teams to adopt new habits that drive organizational productivity. 

Lack of adoption often arises when organizational leaders suddenly deploy a new technology and automatically assume employees will start using it comprehensively. In these cases, employees are often left wondering the reasons for the large change and adoption is low (and slow). 

Motivational speaker and author Simon Sinek explains that great leaders inspire action by starting with why. Defining the purpose for moving to a new productivity solution will help employees understand why changes are taking place and why adoption of the platform is crucial for the entire organization. And, as an organizational leader, you need to demonstrate adoption and productive habits from the top down. 

By demonstrating the value of a new technology to team members and providing support and documentation, using your updated modern workplace solution will become habitual. And similar to our everyday routines, once employees efficiently learn and gain experience with new tools, fast adoption progresses on autopilot. 

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3. Remote Work Security

Danger lurks around every corner as companies seek to address their digital security and data risk management. While companies and their employees reap the benefits of greater accessibility and productivity via the cloud, increased access raises concerns around data protection. 

As you move to a new productivity toolset, your organization may need to consider the safety of intellectual property, health records, financials, and other sensitive data. A solution like Microsoft Modern Workplace offers your business the power to address these concerns by utilizing built-in features for identity synchronization, multi-factor authentication, encryption, conditional access, compliance and more. 

Security concerns have only grown with an increasingly remote workforce. And many remote workers do not have a complete understanding of the threats they are at-risk for. Ensuring that employees are working within secure remote environments every day can be difficult to manage and guarantee. Educating employees about how to collaborate safely and securely is crucial for maintaining a productive workforce. But organizations also need to plan for the worst by protecting their data. 

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Work with Vervint for Your Modern Workplace Needs

Vervint is dedicated to helping organizations expand their digital capabilities and quickly adapt to changes — planned or unplanned. If you need help with securing remote work environments, reducing costs and transforming your organizational productivity, contact us today. We look forward to working with you!   

About the Author

Anna Ramirez

Author Title

Anna Ramirez is a Marketing Specialist at Vervint and a graduate of Grand Valley State University. She brings vast marketing experience through her previous internships and undergrad work. She is passionate about continuous, lifelong learning and looks forward to empowering her curiosity through both personal and work-related experiences.