The office design landscape has changed rapidly over recent years, particularly following the pandemic and the shift towards remote working.
While many employees wanted to continue working from home following the end of the lockdowns, the market has since shifted, and more and more staff are working in hybrid roles and spending more time in the office.
Part of the reason for the return to offices is the cost of living crisis, which has made it harder for staff to find remote roles and meant that they now have to pay more for the energy they use at their property.
Therefore, many staff have started to go back to offices for at least part of the working week, with many changing their minds and starting to enjoy being back in a communal workplace following the convenience of remote working.
For business leaders looking to welcome staff back into the office, you might need to consider ways to make the most of your space. That’s especially true if your profitable business has grown but your office has not, or if you are seeking ways to be more efficient and get the most from your workplace.
One solution that can help significantly to increase efficiency and productivity is installing smart technology. Connected tools can help you to save time and make the most of your in-office resources if you choose the right products and use them correctly.
Incorporating Smart Tech Into Office Space
Keep reading, and we’ll explore how you can create a productive, connected workplace using smart office tech.
1. Consider Your Layout
The way your office is laid out will affect how well your smart tech can be used by your team and how well you use your space. So, before you start shopping for smart office technology, consider how you can optimise your layout to make the most of the square footage you have. If you’re eager to rejuvenate your office space before you make it smart, consider working with expert office refurbishment contractors like the team at Amos Beech. They can discuss the space you have and how to make the most of it, then do the work to transform your office and make it the perfect blank canvas for your interior design and technology plans.
2. Figure Out What Functions You Need
Smart technology can undertake a range of tasks for your office, but not all of them will be relevant to your workplace. Some ways you can use smart technology in an office include:
- Security and keyless entry
- Controlling lights
- Climate control
- Meeting room booking
- Virtual whiteboards
- Video conferencing
- Energy saving
- Automatically alerting you to low stocks of office supplies
As the smart technology market evolves, there will be even more ways that you can use smart tech. As such, before you start buying smart office products, you need to work out what you want them to do and how you can make the most of these innovative solutions.
3. Read Reviews Of Specific Products And Platforms
When you’ve figured out what you need from your smart office tech, you can start exploring the products on the market. To ensure that you get the best value and choose products that will give you every feature you need, read reviews of the latest smart technology tools on the market. Many platforms will offer professional reviews of the latest smart tech, so you can narrow down your search and find the brands and products you might be considering. Then, you can search for the specific products you want to use in your office and find reviews from real users so that you can get a complete overview of the tool and how useful it will be to your workplace.
4. Provide Onboarding Support For Your Staff
As your office workers will be the ones to use the smart technology you implement, it’s vital that they understand how it works and are committed to making the most of it. Therefore, when you install your new office tech, you need to provide onboarding training and ongoing support to your employees. They can then start to get familiar with the smart business analytics tools and report any issues or benefits that they are seeing back to you and your senior management team. Without proper training and onboarding support, your staff might be unsure about how to use your new smart tech and might not embrace it completely, which will mean that it won’t get used to its full potential.
A Brief Conclusion
Ultimately, smart tech can save your business time and make it easier for you to get the most from your office. Every business is unique, so your office set-up will differ from that of other companies, but you can take inspiration from what your competitors and industry peers are doing. By using these tips and doing your research, you can ensure that you get the best possible return on investment from your connected smart office tech. Once you’ve installed new tech, keep adapting and reviewing how well the system is working to make sure that you get the most out of your smart tools.
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