The Modern Workplace: Why an Investment in Technology is an Investment in Your People

The modern workplace has completely evolved over the past few years. It's gone from trying to entice your employees to stay at the office, to hybrid work environments and allowing them to work from home. Unfortunately for Google and Twitter that spent billions on cafes, spas, and indoor basketball courts — hybrid work is now the standard.  

So, it's no surprise that companies are struggling to pivot and adopt a “modern work” model. Especially while they have to focus on increasing margins, boosting productivity, and growing their businesses.

According to Alex Bant, Chief of Research for the Gartner finance practice, the single best way to address this is by investing in technology.  

“Business resilience and growth demand that you invest in differentiators that will drive success over the long term,” Bant said. “If you don’t invest effectively in digital in 2023, you’ll increase your technical debt and let competitors out-innovate you on digital products and services and scoop up the talent you need.” 

But how do you implement modern workplace solutions AND position your business for growth? 

What is the Modern Workplace?  

Adopting a modern work model is about investing in the right technology to unlock the full potential of your organization. Modern work should focus on two things:  

1. Empowering your team to do their best work. 
2. Transforming your organization to become more efficient.  

When you use your technology the right way, you can create a flexible work environment and reduce the number of repetitive tasks that plague operational efficiency. 

At InsITe Business Solutions, we dedicated a whole section of our business to helping companies do this. We help you find the best technology for your business and then help train your team to stay connected, productive, and secure - no matter where they are.  

How is InsITe's Modern Work offering different from Microsoft's? 

Microsoft Modern Workplace is a suite of tools designed to help you embrace the hybrid work model. While we highly recommend Microsoft’s tools to all our clients, our solution is a lot more comprehensive. 

We look at your business strategy and tailor a work model that fits your people and your goals (with a focus on security, of course). 

3 Ways a Modern Workplace Makes It Easier to Scale  

Now that you have a better understanding of what we mean by “modern work” here are the three ways you can leverage technology to scale your business.  

1) Improve the lives of your employees, instead of looking to replace them 

Even though Microsoft reports a whopping 94% of Fortune 500 companies utilize Power Platform, we know that very few organizations take advantage of its full capabilities. 

From approval processes to tracking warranties — automation and custom apps can make jobs easier, prevent burnout, and avoid costly employee turnover.  

You can create workflows between various apps and services that bring people together quickly (No more tracking down people to get regular updates). This also lets you automate mundane tasks, so they get completed in minutes, even when your employees are working out of the office. 

2) Embrace remote collaboration without worrying about security threats

The benefit of an office is that you always know where everybody is, and where everything should be. 

But since employees can work from anywhere — even at non-standard times — their work needs to live in a shared database. 

That's where software like Microsoft SharePoint can help bring order to the chaos. SharePoint makes file storage and large audience communication a breeze.  

You can also design sites and move files from servers into SharePoint. So as remote work grows, accessing files stays easy and convenient.  

While Microsoft's tools come with built-in protection, we add extra layers of security that evolve over time. So, you can be confident you are safe against new threats as they arise.  

Along with virus scanning and encryption, we check every endpoint to make sure your team is safe, whether they are at home or the office.

Beyond file storage, SharePoint can be a central hub for your company for employees to access company-wide announcements, calendars, and more. These hubs ensure all employees have the resources they need while keeping them all on the same page.  

You can also create sub-sites for specific departments with unique permissions. So, departments like HR or Accounting can house their files without other employees having access.  

3. Offer your employees the opportunity to learn and grow in their own way  

When it comes to any team-based environment, communication is key. But depending on where your team is, that can prove to be difficult. 

Many people found they enjoyed the freedom to choose to work in-office or remote. In fact, about 47% of adults in the US would quit if there wasn’t a flexible work option. 

Our modern work training sessions happen in a couple of different settings. You can attend with your entire organization or as a single department. Either way, we tailor them to your team and your specific goals.   

We offer hands-on training, demos, and other online resources to make it easy to learn at your own pace. But it's all designed to help your team work how they work best. 

Ready to Build a Modern Workplace?  

The “modern workplace” isn't a fancy buzzword anymore — it's essential in business. Not only does it help position you for growth, but it will keep you on par with the leaders in your industry.  

It also makes sure that your security strategy evolves to protect your people, data, and assets against rising threats — whether they're in the office or at home. 

If you are ready to build a modern workplace but aren't sure where to start, try one of our free training sessions. We will walk you through the steps you should take to transition to a more flexible, collaborative, and efficient workplace.