In the words of Kathryn Minshew of The Muse, “a company is only as good as its people.” Still, a company is only as good as its people so long as they have the right tech to support their jobs.
You can have the best talent in the world, but they can’t deliver if they’re using stone-age tools. Often, workplace technology can stunt creativity, block ambition, and snuff out productivity if it just doesn’t fit. Technology can have a huge impact on the workplace culture and experience. Consider this: Before automation, office managers had to manually collect data — whether from surveys or other tedious processes — sort it, calculate it, and come up with results. These days, nearly every piece of technology we use automatically collects user statistics and other data. In general, people are happier the less time they spend on repetitive tasks. They’re also happier when office technology makes their lives easier. Therefore, having the right tech can help boost their job satisfaction, raising their morale and the way employees impact the office culture around them.
This article outlines 5 types of technology solutions that can boost the workplace experience, helping employees spend less time on menial jobs and more on their projects and company relationships.
5 workplace technologies that boost employee happiness
Amidst the Great Resignation, business leaders are rushing to improve their employee experiences. Why? To retain and attract top talent. Employees are what make a company, and the recipe for success requires a dollop of pure talent with the right supporting tech blended in. Technology isn’t always a flashy solution that wows the world. In fact, the best tools are usually the tech nobody notices; the solutions that just work, supporting teams from the background; the dash of salt that changes the entire recipe.
Below are five particular areas where tech can seriously improve your office, enhancing the workplace experience.
Workspace
Specialists have observed a solid link between flexible work conditions and employee happiness. Yet, keep in mind, “flexibility” is a spectrum, not an endpoint. Solutions as simple as adjustable desks, smart lights, and desk booking tools can provide employees with the flexibility they crave. Just as there’s no spectrum for flexibility, there’s no recipe for the best working conditions. Some employees work best in the dark, some in daylight. Some work best at a desk and some work best on a sofa. The key is to provide flexibility so they don’t feel limited. Again, it’s the concept of solutions working best in the background.
However, flexible workspaces can get chaotic without the right tools. If you have flexible stations, you might want to consider a booking app. The Joan “book anything” initiative offers limitless support to flexible spaces, making virtually any company asset bookable directly from their smartphones.
Collaboration
With so many companies turning to hybrid work models, communication tools have never been more important. Video conferencing and messaging apps are battling each other, racing to be the best in the world. Consistent WiFi connections are key for a smooth experience that doesn’t leave every employee frustrated. Project management platforms are a must-have to keep everyone on the same page and on track.
Don’t hesitate to invest in the best solutions for your company — solutions that will not only grow with your company, but also help your company grow. Many ambitious organizations are implementing a meeting room management system to help their teams have quality collaboration time. With real-time updates and signage, the Joan room management software all but eliminates room squatters, no-shows, and overrun meetings.
Experience
The office experience affects everyone who ventures on-site from employees to visitors. A robust, user-friendly visitor management system can make a great first impression, all the while enforcing security standards. The Joan visitor management tool offers customizable screening questionnaires and collects visitor data for security purposes. Moving further into the office, digital signage can help smooth the office experience by displaying company information, wayfinding details, seating arrangement, and any other custom content. For ease of use and a sleek appearance, the Joan 13 display is a wireless solution, lasting up to one year on a single charge.
Smooth our negative, unproductive office experiences by making every desirable asset bookable. Extra monitors, cameras, parking spots, and even food blenders can be added to the Joan app as bookable assets. This setup streamlines the booking process, making sure employees have the resources they need when they need them.
Get creative with the Joan Book Anything initiative by signing up for our Early Bird adopters program.
Culture
One sticky subject in today’s world is company culture. Over the pandemic, companies have struggled to maintain a strong culture while transitioning to remote workers. With most companies turning to hybrid workplaces, office time is a valuable commodity. It’s important to help employees make the most of their onsite workdays on both a working level and a teambuilding level. One great way to maintain culture is to provide reliable sources of team bonding spaces, games, and general resources. For example, with the Joan app, you can make anything bookable from company tennis courts and gym space to gaming consoles and foosball tables.
By making resources bookable, employees can arrange tournaments, regular recreation schedules, or even bookable timeslots for smaller groups who just want to have fun.
Miscellaneous accessories
The best part of providing bookable resources is that you don’t need to buy one per employee. You can spoil anyone who comes into the office with new technology such as coffee warmers, under-desk treadmills, day-use desk organizers, or even a mini-fridge.
The most skilled employees, or top talent, want to work for innovative companies. Joan is one of the few flexible solutions that allow companies to truly think outside the box and attract skilled professionals with fun, out-of-the-box work environments.
Get creative with Joan
With Joan analytics, you can check how each resource is performing. With the information collected by Joan, you can learn which assets are producing a strong ROI, identifying which resources you should invest more in and which you should invest less in. Before long, you’ll have an office space that provides the best office experience imaginable.
With Joan, your options are limitless. You can even make the office dog bookable. How creative can you get? The future of work is organized chaos: flexibility with the best tools in place.
Get started by signing up for our Early Bird adoption program.