5 Crucial Digital Workplace Mistakes You Need To Know

Finding a seat on the 7.19 am city loop service to Ringwood seems to be a distant memory for most workers.

Once, you struggled to find car parking at the station.

And hurried towards the platform.

Hoping the heavens didn’t open on you in your suit.

Of course, if you did find a seat, you’d share the next hour in the packed carriage as the train lurched towards the city.

You would wrestle to open the Herald Sun and hope the air-con would work today.

Many city workers have swapped the morning rush for a more leisurely stroll to the home office.

Perhaps even a quick jog or cycle around the ‘burbs.

Working from home seems here to stay.

And that means no more commuting to the Hoddle grid.

When the pandemic arrived in Australia, it was estimated that 70% of full-time workers worked from home. Even now, Melbourne’s office occupancy rate is still 39% of pre-pandemic levels.

And the majority (92%) of surveyed employees still expect to work from home at least one day or more per week.

The changing working environment has forced Melbourne businesses to rethink their work tools.

So has the policies they use to support remote and hybrid workers. Many switched to cloud-based digital workspaces for the first time.

And for many workers, the switch to remote and hybrid working has reassessed their priorities.

Many discover a more meaningful life with simple joys closer to home.

Some of the benefits workers and employers have discovered post lockdown are:

● Reduction in overheads and costs

● Improved employee work/life balance

● Higher employee morale and job satisfaction

● Maintained or improved productivity

● Increased flexibility in how to serve customers

The transition to a digital workplace has been challenging, with new risks emerging

● Increase security vulnerabilities for endpoints and servers

● Employees feeling disengaged with their workplace

● Technology interruptions causing communication issues

● People leaders struggling to track productivity and hold employees accountable

● Heighten risk of data security breaches

A study from IGLOO found during the pandemic, 20% of companies have experienced a data breach due to remote working.

Here’s how to avoid mistakes businesses make when building a digital workspace:

1. Poor organisation

When adopting cloud file management, it’s easy for problems to occur. For example, your employees lose productivity if you can’t keep your cloud storage organised.

51% of employees avoid sharing a document with a co-worker. Many claim they can’t find the document or decided it was too hard to look for.

Here are our three top tips for efficient cloud storage of shared files:

● Keep file structure flat (2-3 folders deep and only for more than ten documents)

● Create a consistent hierarchy and naming structure

● Archive and delete older files

2. Don’t leave them behind; get your troops on board.

Being left behind on the platform at Southern Cross as you run towards the 5.07 pm train home is something no one likes. More so when the timetable has changed, and no one told you.

The same can be said for poor behaviours in virtual team meetings.

No one enjoys hearing people start to talk about something at a meeting and realise they have missed out. But, many businesses are still adapting to the challenges of in-person and virtual meetings.

60% of remote workers state that in the past, they have missed out on vital information from a meeting. On-site employees made decisions but did not communicate with remote workers.

That’s why it’s critical people leaders inspire their teams to make the shift. And ensure clear communication for the entire team.

3. Do you know what your employees are downloading?

Downloading and using unauthorised apps is a problem that existed before the pandemic.

Known as ‘shadow IT’, this issue has escalated as more people work from home and use their own devices.

57% of employees say they have used at least one unauthorised app in their workflow.

Risks of shadow IT include:

● Potential for data leakage from non-secured apps

● Failure to adhere to data privacy compliance laws and regulations

● Increased costs due to redundancies in-app

● Business data is vulnerable as there is no oversight

● If an employee leaves, accessing the date in an unauthorised app is tough

4. Remote working isn’t always at home

For many remote employees, working from home isn’t confined to their home office. In fact, many may choose to work from a cafe in Moonee Ponds, the Park Hyatt or even at Tullamarine Airport.

And a lot of the time, remote workers are using public WiFi.

Melbourne SMEs must consider the risk of a data breach from accessing public WiFi. This is when many cyberattacks occur, known as ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks. The crooks connect to the same public WiFi to steal the transmitting data.

Using a business VPN for all remote work can guard against a cyberattack. VPNs are inexpensive and easy to use. Remote employees enable the app on their devices. The app then reroutes its data through secure, encrypted servers.

5. Hello, are you there?

Are virtual meetings giving your team problems?

85% of remote workers have had a meeting interrupted by technology.

“Are you there, Kevin?”

“Kevin? Look, we can see you but can’t hear you.”

“Kevin, if you could log out and log back in….”

You’ve been there.

I mean, there wouldn’t be a business that hasn’t experienced an interruption to their virtual meeting.

But that’s no excuse not to have compelling cloud-based video and audio calls.

You can improve team morale and productivity with better communication. Spend time reviewing and testing your communication tools. And provide your employees with the tools to connect, including headsets and webcams.

Does your business need help to transition to a digital workplace?

Stop the “we can’t hear you, Kevin” and up your digital workplace game.

We can help you improve your team’s productivity and job satisfaction using their digital tools.

5 Crucial Digital Workplace Mistakes You Need To Know