Giving Employees the Power of Technology – Friday Distraction
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. The Workforce Institute at Kronos released the third book in its thought leadership trilogy aimed at developing and retaining a competitive and engaged workforce: It’s All About Bob(bie) – Strategies for Winning With Your Employees. Enjoy the post!)
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about office space design aligning with the work to be done. You can check out the post here. One of the things that I didn’t really touch on in the previous post was technology. And technology is an important part of the way we do business – which drives office space.
At this year’s KronosWorks conference, I had the chance to speak with several companies that were designing their workforce management systems so employees could review schedules and swap shifts using their smartphones. The reason? Giving employees control over their schedule allows the employee to decide when they want to work. Being able to have some sense of control is a contributor to work / life balance, which subsequently increases engagement and retention.
Also, I heard more than a few organizations mention that they were replacing manager laptops with tablets. They wanted managers on the floor coaching employees and taking care of customers, not sitting in a back office working on spreadsheets. It reminded me of this Time Well Spent cartoon about being chained to our desks.
When it comes to designing office space, organizations need to keep technology in mind. People do not want a different experience on their different devices. They want the same experience on their smartphone, tablet, laptop and even desktop. That means making a conscious effort to integrate technology with office design. That gives employees and managers the power they need to do their best work for the company.
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