The idea of a workplace in a set location, amongst in-house, local teams only, is becoming a thing of the past. Almost three quarters (74%) of businesses now recognise the benefits of ‘adaptable teams’ to efficiently complete tasks, so it’s no surprise that half (49%) of today’s workforce is using freelance and contract workers as part of its business structure.
Of the 11.1 million workers in ANZ, 61% are working flexibly. Originally commonplace in enterprise, flexible working is now increasingly prevalent in medium and small businesses however, to be successful, this new way of working requires effective methods of collaboration.
Almost all (96%) business leaders believe the use of collaborative technologies can be a source of competitive advantage, while three quarters (73%) of workers view flexibility as a benefit of collaborative tools. Cisco predicts the demand for collaboration tools will continue to grow ten fold.
Just 29% of workers communicate as effectively as they would like and 67% have communication issues with colleagues, suppliers and other businesses. 3 in 10 (30%) ineffective communicators find issues with the communication tools themselves, commonly because the existing equipment is unsuitable or not user-friendly, or simply because the tools are just not available to them.
Ineffective communication can create a negative experience, particularly amongst those working flexibly. Amongst the 61% of workers who are already engaged with flexible work practices, half feel disconnected when working remotely and 3 in 5 (60%) find flexible working difficult because they don’t have effective collaboration and communication tools. Even when the tools are present, they often aren’t up to scratch. Almost 9 in 10 (87%) workers believe existing communication and collaboration tools in their workplace could do with improvement and 4 in 5 (82%) workers admit that poor user experience of existingtools restricts usage. In fact, 3 in 5 (62%) would even consider switching their job to access effective collaboration technologies.
With 86% of businesses identifying collaborative and flexible teams as key to the success of their organisation, there is no denying the workplace of the future looks very different to now.
To get it right, the adoption of effective collaborative tools is a necessity, and getting it wrong can do more harm than good.
Workplace of the future The ecosystem of the correct collaboration tool and technology allows everyone to work efficiently where-ever, whenever.
