What a "once-in-a-lifetime" workplace rethink means for channel partners

Many employees are reportedly considering new jobs as part of the so-called Great Resignation and while technology may not be the main reason for this, it could play a part.

A US study by TalentLMS and Workable found that 21 percent of surveyed employees said that working with outdated technology was driving them to consider changing jobs.

That’s not surprising, considering that during the pandemic many employees have been forced to make do with devices they had at home – resulting in dark and backlit webinar recordings, low-resolution video calls, stuttering Wi-Fi signals and sore wrists from cheap mice and un-ergonomic keyboards.

A Paycom-commissioned survey of 1,000 office workers found that 77 percent were frustrated with outdated technology at work – and that two-thirds would be willing to take a pay cut to have software and technology that is twice as good as what they had at the time.

Fully 55 percent of employees told Gartner that their ability to work flexibly will impact their decision about whether they stay with their current company.

Which is why, with millions expected to continue working from home in 2022, channel providers have an opportunity to upsell businesses on integrated collaborative workspaces built around modern technologies.

Better workplace technology is quickly becoming table stakes for employers to retain workers. Clear videoconferencing footage, easy to use cloud-based collaboration and well-integrated messaging apps are as important now as the watercooler and whiteboard were in the past.

As work-from-home arrangements become permanent, employers will need equipment that keeps their workforces productive and comfortable.

Logitech sees this as especially important for retaining the younger workers it calls the ‘iGeneration’. It defines this group as people born between 1996 and 2010 and points out that they are often used to using video and social media to communicate.

“The next generation are technology-first,” said Sean Byrne, Head of Logitech VC, ANZ, “and employers need to make sure that can retain the best talent by investing in the technologies to deliver the integrated collaborative workspaces that employees expect.”

“Keeping them engaged is going to come down to user experience, and being able to offer that seamless in-office and in-home collaboration.”

Blending work and home

Logitech – the long-running supplier of keyboards, mice, cameras and other peripherals – has been working to improve hybrid working experience with innovations such as the Logi Dock, a docking station that combines a full-featured speaker system and noise-cancelling microphone array with 100W charging and connectivity to five USB peripherals and two monitors.

Such devices should appeal to users looking for a simple, high-quality collaboration experience that they don’t have to cobble together. They simply plug their laptop into Logitech’s Logi Dock and the system is ready to go for online work and collaboration.

With teams dispersed around Australia and the world, technologies such as Logitech’s AI-assisted Scribe whiteboard camera are enabling whiteboard drawings to be instantly broadcasted anywhere.

Integrated collaborative workplaces of the future will rely heavily on video-enabled collaboration, so low-light capable video cameras that provide bright, clear images should be invaluable. This can reinforce the feeling that teammates are collaborating in a shared virtual space.

Changing workplaces are also an opportunity for channel partners to upsell employers who will be looking for support standardising collaboration tools.

Success will be achieved by helping employers make employees feel valued as individuals and empowered to participate in their workplace, according to Gartner.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to rethink our workplaces, work models and workflows from the ground up,” Gartner notes.

“Let’s not waste it… We are reinventing the future of work every day and it is time to be more intentional about it.”

Learn more about Logitech video conferencing solutions built to scale with enterprises.