Being an entrepreneur, you are responsible for every single aspect of your business. From maintaining profitability and building up a good reputation to increasing employee productivity and motivation, it is your duty to do your best in growing your business and achieving your objectives.
With the latest advancements in technology, one effective way that helps business owners and managers reach their goals is to create a modern workplace.
Generally, this is defined as an operational setup, which is professionally designed to meet the physical and technological needs of the business and its employees. It is more agile, digital, and efficient as it can help increase a business’s success while boosting employee productivity and engagement at the same time.
However, designing a modern workplace goes beyond implementing ergonomic furniture and clever desk seating arrangements. It also requires taking innovative approaches to provide an enjoyable workplace for satisfied employees.
Here are five ways to build an effective modern workplace.
Make use of Power Apps
One of the latest technological innovations many companies rely on to modernize their workplace is Power Apps. This is a set of apps, services, connectors, and a data storage platform that provides rapid development of custom apps to meet particular business needs.
For example, if your business has to deal with paper or electronic documents daily, you can use Microsoft Power Apps to provide electronic forms to your employees, but also people outside of your business. The data is centralized and stored in a secure location, and it is accessible to authorized individuals only.
For best results, you can look into hiring PowerApps consulting services that will help you develop Power Apps. These professionals are equipped with the necessary knowledge to ensure your apps are running seamlessly.
Invest in new office equipment
You may not have the time, money, or energy to completely remodel your office, but investing in new office equipment is essential if you want it to look more modern.
For example, a piece of office equipment no company can operate without is the printer. No matter the type of business you are in, you may greatly benefit from having a commercial printer, which you can use for printing a wide variety of documents. Of course, you’ll need ink, so it might be worth looking at Brother printer inks or a similar brand of inks if you’re getting a new printer, but having the capability to print your own paperwork can save money in the long run. Such printers can produce brochures, posters, catalogs, annual reports, and other business forms, all of that at high speed and without any unnecessary waiting.
Finally, you don’t have to replace all pieces of equipment at once, but purchasing them one by one is essential if you want to improve efficiency in your office.
Opt for a modern workplace design
Another effective way to build a modern workplace is to design an open office space. This typically includes tearing down walls to encourage team collaboration and communication without the division imposed by cubicles and offices. Doing so will lessen the office’s sense of hierarchy as every employee will be allowed to contribute and be heard.
Besides this, you should consider designing an activity-based working space. This refers to giving employees the freedom to choose the area of work that best suits the activities or tasks they need to perform on a given day. Consider bringing in convertible desks and chairs to help increase comfort, improve mood, boost productivity and reduce absenteeism.
Implement digital tools to improve collaboration
As technology constantly evolves, you should also consider implementing digital tools to improve collaboration between employees as well as stimulate high levels of productivity and efficiency.
For example, interactive whiteboards are an excellent digital tool to encourage communication and collaboration. The interactive whiteboard allows workers, even those teleconferencing far from the office, to add notes, insert drawings and share data with each other.
Another commonly preferred digital tool is Microsoft Teams, which is used for chat-based teamwork. This collaboration tool allows employees to share content and ideas directly or to a wider channel, store files in a default document library folder, and do online video calling and screen sharing.
Retain skilled and savvy employees
In addition to modernizing your office space and implementing digital tools, you should also do your best in retaining a skilled and savvy workforce. The truth is having employees who lack the proper skills can inhibit your organization’s performance and innovation, potentially affecting your profitability and reputation in the long run.
To maintain a talented and digitally sharp workforce, you should focus on several areas such as employee talent, culture, modern workflows, and implementation of the right training tools.
For example, due to the constant changes in the modern workplace, you could provide your employees with proper training using modern tools such as digital adoption platforms to advance their skills.
Final thoughts
Building a modern workplace takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication on the part of business leaders. If the managers’ main aims are to increase profitability and build a good reputation, then they must define their goals, create strategies and implement organizational change to modernize their work environments.
These improvements need to be done regularly as they are key to keeping employees happy and productive while also helping the company stay ahead of its competition.
To ensure you are on the right path, use our post as a reference and build an effective modern workplace.