The Show is Off the Road – but can digital technologies keep business ticking over?
With social distancing now a necessity, digital technologies have become more important than ever. Stuck at home, colleagues are using a combination of chat apps, video tools, and knowledge platforms to create the connections they need to get their jobs done.
If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’re teleworking. Maybe you’ve worked from home before, only this time you’re squeezing in 8 hours between shifts of homeschooling and housekeeping; or maybe telework itself is a new experience for you. Either way, social distancing has pressed pause on the workplace as we know it.
All over the world, people are learning new ways to get their jobs done – but what shape does this new work scape take?
Virtual proximity
I asked Antoine Perdaens, an engineer who has spent almost 20 years developing digital tools for knowledge sharing and social communication in the workplace. As CEO and co-founder for the digital work tool Elium, he has gained some insight into the changing state of businesses.
Antoine describes today’s workplace as a scene of sudden fragmentation: ‘A company that was working across 5 offices last month, might now have 1000!’. But can digital technologies really constitute a workplace?
‘Today, a shared workplace is what?’ says Antoine. ‘First, you need a chat-space where you can just talk freely, then you need a video system, and then you need a place where you can have more professional interaction – stricter information, stricter knowledge, stricter communication.’
Prophetic trend?
Because of its potential to reduce carbon footprints, cut industry costs, and provide more inclusive employment, remote working has long been touted as a solution to a myriad of modern problems. The EU signed a framework agreement on telework in 2002, and soon afterwards several EU governments introduced incentive schemes for remote working. Enabled by these frameworks and the growing capacity of digital solutions, the rise in teleworking has continued. By 2017, 5% of employees in the EU worked mostly from home.
The right toolkit
What is the key to making telecommuting work? Well, according to remote workers, the answer is clear: digital connectivity.
In 2017, the communications corporation Polycom conducted a survey of 25,234 people across 12 countries including the US, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Germany, India, Russia, France, Australia and China. Their study found that 62% of remote workers want better technology for keeping connected with colleagues.
Solène Courpied works for the research and consulting firm BVA. She has found digital technologies essential during social distancing. ‘Thanks to video calls and instant chat tools,’ she says, ‘communication is not completely broken with the people we work with.’
A suite of solutions
The same digital solutions that facilitated the teleworking trend, also proved to be useful tools for on-site staff. Some companies began using intranets and online platforms to connect their workforce and organise information and resources. By the time social distancing measures were implemented, some firms already had the infrastructure in place to keep things going.
Diana Vazquez works at VIVAQUA, Brussels’ only water company. Her job is to take care of both internal communications between staff, and communications with the public. Last October, the company began using Elium as an intranet for centralising communications and keeping staff on the same page. When the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly escalated, the tool proved invaluable: ‘We had a lot of urgent communications at the beginning of the lockdown, to put things in place for working from home,’ Diana explains ‘… the tool was very, very useful at this time.’
Digital technology has come to the rescue in a number of ways, and, apart from having to cancel an open day and other big events, the company has managed to proceed as usual. Diane has replaced her physical meetings with video calls, and she says her job has stayed more or less the same despite being confined to home.
Productivity perk
Anne-Lise Bouffioux is Head of Communications at Groupe Mestdagh. When social distancing measures were put in place, she found that not only was she able to carry out her tasks remotely, she was also more productive.
At BVA, Solène has had a similar experience: she finds that her productivity is higher when working from home. In fact, she says, because of the tools available to her, knowledge-sharing is actually easier.
These accounts resonate with several studies that find the value-per-hour is higher when working remotely. One of the most commonly cited, is a 2014 study by Stanford University professor, Nicholas Bloom, who found that home-based employees were 13.5% more productive than those working in the office.
Those companies who already have a digitalised infrastructure are using their tools in new ways to enhance these connections. Solène has found that Elium has done more than convey information. It also goes some way towards keeping the social and cultural side of the company alive: ‘It now has a larger social network function with ‘fun’ content to entertain teams,’ she says.
The next best thing
There are lots of obstacles to working at home – nappies need changing, and coffee-break chats are a thing of the past. But let’s try to maximise on the tools we have – take the time to post on work platforms, set up team chats, video call colleagues ….
Nothing can replace a physical workplace, but by using digital solutions the right way, maybe we can build the next best thing.
About the Author
Alexandre Caulier, Growth Marketer at Elium, a communication and knowledge-sharing platform. Elium fosters internal employee engagement and team alignment.
This article is sponsored by Elium.