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Digital first

Editorial Type:     Date: 09-2015    Views: 2676      





In the second part of his article on changing working practices (click here for part one), David Wilkinson of Storetec explains how greater collaboration and new technologies will inevitably alter how we do business

Smart collaboration has two key features - it is extremely simplified and underpinned by connectivity. This is a 'liberating' way to work and the antithesis of it, which is commonplace, sees organisations returning to complex, fragmented, hierarchical and siloed approaches. These are labour-intensive, costly and time-consuming, but, burdened by heavy workloads, it is often the case that nobody has time to look for solutions.

Yet, if they step outside for one moment and take stock of what it is they are doing, they can see that subtle changes and investments can have a discernable impact, as Cisco found in its 2013 Collaboration Work Practice Study: "During the course of our study we found that employees definitely understand the value of collaboration - it provides diversity of thoughts, creates stronger relationships, and provides validation for business decisions. Our research found that through collaboration, employees have learned new skills, been more productive, and built networks of colleagues." Once you make that connection, there is no looking back.

BEING MORE COLLABORATIVE
Collaboration used to be 'locked into the real world'. It was characterised by a predetermined location, time and agenda, with participants usually gathered in one or two rooms. The technology on offer was a paper flipchart and markers, and/or a whiteboard and pens.

Fast-forward to today and collaboration is far more virtual, making it more than compatible with a flexible way of working. At any given point, an organisation can have employees working from the office, at home, on the move or in a cafe in a different country. They still need to engage with one another and while, in the past, they would all have had to assemble at a fixed point, thanks to changing attitudes and the development of technology, they now can do that remotely.

As Jeff Schick, general manager of Enterprise Social Solutions at IBM, noted in a piece for Forbes in 2014: "The goal is deceptively simple. Create a smarter workforce through collaboration. Use the rapid advancements in cloud, analytics and social technologies to connect in new ways. Build competitive agility into the organisation through the cloud so employees, partners, and customers can engage, collaborate and innovate."

BETTER TEAMWORK ANYWHERE
Collaboration has never been more important than it is today. Gone are the days of single-desk, single task, single - i.e. individual - ways of working, as well as the inflexible need for workers to be physically present. In its place is a more open sensibility.

People and processes have, in light of this change, been freed from their unnecessary constraints and empowered to do their work in any manner that deliver results. We may well be more dispersed than ever before, but we've never been closer and, in turn, smarter at delivering on our goals.

Resultingly, collaboration has been enriched by a shift in workplace culture and the adoption of tools and approaches that encourage employees to work more closely and regularly with all stakeholders, without the need to show up at a certain time and location.

When you think of the 21st century, chances are you'll think of something digital - it's certainly the spirit of the age, impacting on all areas of life. Within the first decade of the new millennium, the pace of change, technologically speaking, seemed to have increased exponentially.

Fifteen years later, the world is a remarkably different place. Probes can land on moving comets; 3D printers are providing ordinary people with the ability to make more or less anything; and smartphones have become an all-purpose tool from which you can do just about anything.

As a result, entire industries have been turned inside out, with long-established ideas unable to exist against a radically different backdrop. The music industry is a good example of how technology has disrupted the status quo, demanding its leaders to adapt and progress their operations to stay competitive, if not survive.

NOT SO SUDDEN IMPACT
For many organisations, the effects of the digital revolution have not been felt that acutely. While it has asked other enterprises serious questions about the way they do things, it hasn't demanded that all make far-reaching changes to their business models.

However, new technologies are slowly but surely changing this - they are creating the conditions in which if you don't 'get with the programme', it's not so much that it spells the end of your organisation, more that you get left behind.

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