The flexible workplace: an indispensable component of the digital enterprise | CIO

I am sure that at least one of your colleagues wants to work from home instead of working in a clock-controlled mini-office routine. I can also be sure that you have at least one colleague who thinks the office is the right position, and you cannot achieve the same result in a dispersed team. Perhaps they made this decision even before the worst global health crisis of our generation.   

Xerox launched

The plan enables organizations everywhere to navigate these unknown waters-dare to work differently; not only can they survive, they can also flourish. We achieve this by using data to automate workflows, personalize at scale, and create flexible workspaces.

We conducted in-depth research and talked with IT and business stakeholders in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. In our "Future Work in the Pandemic Era"

, We share these findings. Almost half of all companies are transitioning to "return to work", but months of remote models have left their mark. Almost a third of people want some remote work to continue forever. Considering only global business, this proportion is as high as 58%. But almost everyone (95%) believes that face-to-face communication is essential for personal development and talent assessment. Therefore, mixed work seems likely to become the new norm.

Most people (72%) admit that they are not technically prepared for the work model imposed by this crisis, which may explain why 56% are now expanding their technology budgets, while 34% intend to accelerate digitalization​​​ Transformation. Therefore, our future workplace will have to be a flexible environment in which technology is used to enable offices to appear anytime, anywhere. This will require companies to modernize their infrastructure with cloud services to provide remote teams with the tools they need to increase productivity.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hits the continental United States, it may be worse now for the respected country of Colorado

. The 64-year-old public television and broadcaster will soon be used in conjunction with its new $34 million Denver headquarters (Buell Public Media Center), with a goal of accommodating 350 employees. Understandably, it was not designed for remote work. Rocky Mountain turned to Xerox for help to figure out how to use the new facilities while adapting to the new realities of a mixed workforce. 

The relationship is not new. Xerox established a partnership with broadcasters six years ago when we implemented a 24/7 support IT overhaul. Through the management of service relationships, Xerox learned about the business model of media organizations and helped it design the most advanced Buell Center, which consolidated all businesses in a 93,000-square-foot building. This reduces office costs, provides an innovation laboratory for the future of public media, and provides co-working facilities for multimedia studios, flexible theaters and community gathering spaces, and journalists from other institutions.

When the pandemic disrupted Rocky Mountain's plans, it worked with Xerox partners to develop a strategy that would provide operational continuity and the production of fresh content through television, radio and digital channels while keeping employees safe. Xerox must provide server space, multimedia storage, reliable connections, and support for remote and on-site staff. Most of this is done through centralized wireless networks and new media storage systems. Therefore, Rocky Mountain adapted the Buell Center to provide a hybrid and flexible workplace model.

For organizations that have already begun to survive even when the fourth industrial revolution is considered possible, digital transformation is not easy. Such companies usually resist changes and insist on using old procedures, worrying that any upgrade of equipment or processes may lead to a decline in operational performance, while still lingering in the learning process. When the global health crisis hit, some of these companies had no choice but to go digital. Fortunately, others have already completed the journey.

North Carolina

It has a history of nearly a century. The family-run furniture manufacturer finds itself in the digital age with no searchable records. Employees describe themselves as "a dead letter" and have to put customers aside and go to another level to consult documents so that they can answer simple questions. The search involves browsing more than 150 file cabinets. Company stakeholders know that this situation is untenable in the digital age.

By using Xerox DocuShare, the company is able to make the work of 425 employees easier, while laying the foundation for remote work where most people have never heard of the term "COVID-19." Fairfield Chair can digitally process 500,000 documents, not only allows any employee to use a laptop to answer queries anywhere; it also frees up the space previously occupied by file cabinets and reduces paper usage and printing costs. Fairfield has been recognized by the Enhanced Furniture Environmental Culture (EFEC) for its sustainability practices-the highest ecological honor in furniture manufacturing.

Ask people which industries they think need flexibility most. You can almost be sure that "education" will appear in the top five. Keeping children learning has been a few months for decision makers, parents, teachers and school administrators. Xerox and long-term partners

Nebraska region to use technology and provide distance learning. Xerox and Lincoln School have spent more than 15 years providing effective document management solutions for 60 schools, serving more than 42,000 K-12 students, and focusing on using existing Xerox technology to manage Distance learning. The DocuShare content management and collaboration platform enables teachers and administrators to upload, store, access and edit documents in real time from any location. The region can also use DocuShare for its human resources, purchasing and accounting operations.

If you want to work for you immediately, a flexible workplace is necessary. Staffing appropriately and supported employees can not only achieve business continuity; they can provide innovative continuity-turning your business from a survivor to a prosperous one. 

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