At our 2019 Modern Workplace information session, we introduced the day by taking attendees through a compelling history of the workplace. As a self-confessed old hat in the IT World, Kent’s insights were quite interesting given his career began when “computers were nothing more than glorified adding machines in the 1980’s” and has commenced to now, where the capabilities of computers and technology are performing in a whole new realm. A realm which is improving and developing every day, as organisations begin to transform into truly Modern Workplaces…

This certainly paints an interesting picture of how technology worked within the workplaces of the past, how they work in the present and how we foresee technology bettering organisational practices, efficiency and capability to work collaboratively, into the future.

Workplaces of the past

As we look to enter a new decade and consider all the technology that has been made available to us to date, within both our personal lives and workplaces, a few things are certain…it’s grown quickly and it has in turn, consistently transformed the way people interact, collaborate and work within varying office spaces. From the 70s and 80s where seemingly dull corporate culture was the norm and hours of unpaid overtime in the office were almost expected as a way to prove your dedication to your role; to the 90s when the internet came into play and workplaces moved into a more collaborative, communicative and globalised state of being. At the beginning of the new century – the 2000s, leading tech companies such as Google and Microsoft began to truly carve out the path for young, entrepreneurial people to both create and enhance the visibility, feasibility and capability of running their own organisations.

Plenty of evolution has occurred across technology and workplace culture over the past few decades, with a few key trends remaining evident across the entire timeframe. People work better and feel better at work when they;

• Have a better work/life balance.
• Are given the opportunity to give input into key decision making and to progress their careers.
• Have the capability to communicate effectively and collaboratively.
• Are allowed to work remotely or with flexible hours, where appropriate.

(Source: Deloitte, 2019; Career Builder, 2019).

Workplaces today

Today, key changes are already occurring in many organisations to allow for such expectations, while reciprocally bettering workplace culture, as well as organisational efficiency and outputs.

Organisations are becoming more and more collaborative with each new year and in many cases, are now allowing employees to play a more active role in management decision making and career development. This in part, is due to technology. Although, what you may not realise is that we can still move towards using better applications and processes, to improve your organisation and help you transform into a Modern Workplace.

For example, if you’re still using email as a key communication platform, you may not realise that 26% of employees generally believe email is a productivity killer. Further, 46% of employees rarely or never leave a meeting knowing what they’re supposed to do. (Career Builder, 2019).

To diminish this, there are programs such as Microsoft Teams and Basecamp available, as well as a range of other applications which may be more or less suited to your individual organisational needs.

Even then, as is the nature of technology and development in the 21st century – there’s still room to grow, to thereby create an instant Modern Workplace for your organisation.

How we’re driving the technology of tomorrow today

Here at Centrered our aim is to assist organisations in better positioning themselves, to allow growth into the future… To be the catalyst between systems, ideas and people –  driving the technology of tomorrow. There is no need to wait for the future, contact Centrered today and we will help you to identify what can be developed and improved.