What tools does a team need for hybrid working?

New approaches to work not only present new challenges, but also a wealth of exciting opportunities. Here’s how your business can strike while the iron is hot.

The landcape of work has undergone a phenomenal transformation in recent times, from the where and when we work to how we communicate and collaborate with colleagues spread across different cities and, in increasing numbers, countries.

The concept of the workplace, meanwhile, has come under fierce scrutiny and many organizations have used this period of disruption to pivot away from one fixed location to a vast hub of personal workspaces. The pace of all this has been breath-taking, and many business leaders have been left feeling overwhelmed. The task isn’t made any easier when some organizations continue to use tools that just about sufficed in what could well be now described as a previous age.

There are, however, a number of easy-to-implement solutions that can have an instant impact but, first, it would be wise to reflect upon and dissect the challenges facing organizations across all sectors because when it comes to solutions in the digital age, one size no longer fits all.

Business pains today

During the early stages of the sudden shift to remote working, it quickly became clear that allowing staff to take their laptops home with them and hope for the best would simply not cut it. It was a short-term, band-aid solution, unsustainable for any businesses with serious ambitions about turning WFH into a business strength.

Cyber security instantly became a concern as data went from being protected in on erobust, centralized location to depending on a multitude of remote WiFi connections. Furthermore, the reliance on paperless processes reached unprecedented levels and, while this was not a major concern for many, it still caused considerable headaches for those in administration and other traditionally paper-dependent operations. There was still a need for printing and scanning, as well as faxing and managers had to come up with a solution – and quick.

A study undertaken by The Economist Intelligence Unit and supported by Kyocera, conducted with more than 360 business executives on the implications of remote work on organisations, their employees and on productivity, reveals a worrying trend that any manager would be foolhardy to ignore: 47.5% of find collaborative teamwork difficult in remote work. This allows us to come to the conclusion that many emplooyees still feel under-equipped to do their job to the best of their ability.

There is no one magic solution to getting remote working right, but a need for an over arching approach to galvinize all layers of an organization’s operations.

While this is often easier said than done, we happen to know just the partner to make life that little bit easier.

Modern business solutions

The aforementioned study by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that the most preferred WFH ratio is to spend 30% of the time working from home and 70% in the office and, given the fierce battle for talent right across Europe, everything points to hybrid working being here to stay.

It is little wonder, then, why so many organizations have turned to Kyocera to guidethem through this period of profound change. Through its customer-centric innovation Kyocera continues to adapt its offering to meet the needs of today’s businesses and consolidate its position as a total document solutions provider.

Its compact and energy-efficient ECOSYS range of A4 printers and MFPs, for example, represent the ideal fit for the new era of work, whether you need to print an invoice on a Monday morning in the office or scan legal documents from home on a Friday afternoon. These devices are robust and reliable, and keep enegry usage to a minimum. They are also compatible with Kyocera Fleet Services, a software which enables service providers to ensure your devices are running smoothly while addressing any potential issues before they disrupt your workflows.

Kyocera Mobile Print allows users to start a job at home and finish it in the office for maximum mobility and productivity. There are also a whole host of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions such as Kyocera Smart Information Manager (KSIM) for the easy intergation of documents into digital workflows. Such solutions allow employees to acesses, share and store data and documents in a quick and secure manner regardless of where they are working from.

Our approach to meeting the needs of organizations in the new age of work is based on three key pillars:

• Reliability: Printing devices that are built to last and consistently deliver outstanding output quality.
• Flexibility: Software solutions that allow your team to work with the same quality and productivity levelswhether in the office or remote locations.
• Security: A robust document solutions infrastructure with fully integrated hardware and software to ensurethe integrity of all documents and data.

In this new age of work it will be those organizations that pivot towards liquid models of work, allowing their staff to work to the same quality regardless of location, and versatile technologies who will not only retain talent but create an organization that is much better equipped to thrive in these uncertain times.