Building a Collaborative and Productive Workforce in a Modern Workplace An organisation’s workforce is its core, so empowering them to be collaborative, to be creative, in simple and secure ways, can help redefine the way we work. Sponsored by Microsoft uk.insight.com Why collaboration matters new user experiences. This might be holographic headsets placing scientists on the surface of Mars or large collaborative When it comes to understanding why collaboration is so screens connecting workers on different sides of the globe. important, you can’t get do much better than turning to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. Having taken the helm of one of New sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are using data in the world’s largest companies in 2014, Nadella set out a number new ways, such as helping manufacturers realise predictive of key changes he wanted to make. maintenance in their machinery or giving healthcare professionals more accurate information about their patients. In his recently launched book and New York Times bestseller, The combination of a hybrid infrastructure, mixing on Hit Refresh, Nadella explained his vision of Microsoft and its premise devices with cloud technology, and varying workload culture in more detail, noting: requirements of an organisation means that a flexible and “We are one company, one Microsoft – not a confederation collaborative approach is required. of fiefdoms. Innovation and competition don’t respect our Microsoft modern workplace technologies, such as Microsoft silos, so we have to learn to transcend those barriers. It’s 365, Surface Pro and Surface Hub, offer a degree collaboration our ability to work together that makes our dreams and flexibility an organisation requires to be more productive in believable and, ultimately, achievable.” today’s fastpaced workplace. There are many who are trying to achieve similar ambitions We truly live in an era fuelled by data and powered by the within their own teams, departments, and organisations – to intelligent cloud. It’s time to embrace this and to realise a break down walls that may have existed for years or to help collaborative workforce. different groups of people work more openly with one another. Nadella is famously doing a very good job at this. A new, The collaboration and productivity challenge collaborative culture realised, with a business on a positive path Today, the UK has a major productivity challenge. Despite towards future growth. His organisation isn’t just striving for economic growth, productivity remains flat. a collaborative culture itself, but is helping others around the Accentuating this, in October 2017, the Office for Budget globe realise a similar vision. Responsibility had to significantly lower its estimates for People are the priority here. An organisation’s workforce is its the productivity of UK workers. The implication being that core, so empowering them to be collaborative, to be creative, in productivity estimates for the last decade or so have been simple and secure ways, can help redefine the way we work. higher than they should have been. The transformative technologies that have emerged in recent And not only is productivity not improving, but we’re falling years are critical to empowering people – and the ways that further behind other G7 nations. The Office of National Statistics people are getting work done are changing. revealed earlier this year a 16% gap between the UK and the other six G7 nations. New hardware and operating systems and the advancement of cloud technology solutions and adoption, are enabling brand The issue has prompted much debate and headline after Sponsored by Microsoft Learn more about the Modern Workplace è 2 è uk.insight.com Productivity is essentially the output of each individual worker. It’s hard to believe, but, put simply – we don’t get work done effectively or efficiently enough. headline in the media. The Financial Times even dedicated did before. People are the core of any business, and an engaged, an article to the ‘Four theories to explain the UK’s productivity productive workforce should have a positive impact on talent woes’. The piece begins with a well-known quote from Novel retention too. Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, “Productivity isn’t So how do you make workers more productive? everything, but in the long run it is almost everything.” By creating a digital workplace, organisations can help foster a For many organisations, however, productivity feels like a macro culture of collaboration and innovation in a digital workplace issue that is discussed at a national or international level. One that engages employees, enables productivity across devices, for the politicians and economists. and improves discoverability of information and people. But productivity matters to each and every business. Why? Ultimately, this means building meaningful connections between workers, partners, businesses and customers. Productivity is essentially the output of each individual worker. It’s hard to believe, but, put simply – we don’t get work done This isn’t a simple task, however. Collaboration takes culture, effectively or efficiently enough. mindset, and of course the right tools. It’s not a case of demanding that people work better together, they need to Clearly, the solution isn’t just to work longer hours. want to do this and to be able to do this naturally. This is about helping workers use resources To overcome the collaboration challenge, organisations must more effectively, to get work done more quickly with fewer create workspaces that cater to the abilities of individuals errors, with a higher quality output. This doesn’t just help a and teams, to drive innovation, without losing sight of business; it helps customers too. business processes. The powerful side effect of this is a more engaged workforce. With such diversity at play, Office 365 is designed to give One that has satisfaction in getting the job done better than it teams a choice in collaboration tools. Sponsored by Microsoft Learn more about the Modern Workplace è 3 è uk.insight.com Attracting and empowering the workforce Flexible cloud-based services are ideal. Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft 365 can be used across multiple devices, While a great deal of work is yet to be done in fully realising allowing workers to use familiar tools to get work done. the diverse workforce, progress is being made. This is true Young digital natives who have They allow people to collaborate on documents, to access across gender, ethnicity, disabilities and more. This has to be a grown up with the internet and data as and when it’s needed, and to keep in touch through good thing. Diversity is of course about equal opportunity, but Skype for Business. smartphones fully expect to use also valuing the input of each individual in an organisation too. The hardware has to match up to these experiences too, and business solutions that mirror But with so many different people with a variety of skills, ultra-light, versatile devices like the latest Surface Pro and the their personal lives. perspectives and requirements, it can be a daunting task to wider Surface range are the perfect companion. determine the best way to help them work together. Whether using the Surface Pen to write notes or asking Cortana Consider the multi-generational workforce. With an ageing to schedule a meeting, workers have the power to get things population, the new normal is a UK workforce covering a broad done on their own terms. age range, including Gen Z and Baby Boomers. Young digital natives who have grown up with the internet and smartphones Of course, all of these experiences require reliable and secure fully expect to use business solutions that mirror their personal infrastructure. With Microsoft Azure, workers can rest assured lives – simple apps and visuals rather than text-heavy input, for they will have anytime, fingertip access to the tools and example. On the other side, there will be workers who had to get information they need. used to technology later in life and who may well find new tools Providing the right tools to meet the needs of the diverse intimidating. The needs of both can be met. workforce is vital in attracting and retaining the best talent, This boils down to delivering more personal computing so mustn’t be overlooked. After all, the London School of experiences. Giving the digital native the slick experience Economics points to technology as one of the three key pillars they’re after, and giving a more reluctant worker tools that to enhancing workforce productivity, alongside management are simple to use and will have a positive impact on their practices and flexible working practices (LSE, 2016). day-to-day activities. Sponsored by Microsoft Learn more about the Modern Workplace è 4 è uk.insight.com Bringing together a Modern Workplace Case Study The right technology must be environment to build a collaborative culture University of Bristol provide its students and implemented to get the work done. As Satya Nadella found, building a collaborative culture is teachers with smart, collaborative teaching tools. This means migrating to not easy, but get it right and the rewards can be significant. A great example is the University of Bristol. One of the top 50 universities in cloud-based services and It can be difficult to know where to start. Long-standing the world and home to 23,000 students and staff, the University of Bristol had a large body of people to get working better together. innovative new hardware. processes, expectations and ways of working, not to mention established legacy systems that fit a time gone by. Specifically, senior staff wanted to find new ways to improve teaching capabilities to attract more students. In its research, it became clear the To get everyone pulling in the same direction, there are three university wanted to facilitate remote meetings and communication.