The workplace is always changing and evolving, with technology disrupting the way we work. This is an ever-present trend, with companies experimenting with new tech that could potentially save them money. In the following article, we’ll be taking a look at the up and coming trends that will revolutionize the way we work.
Augmented Reality
We’re already seeing some companies using augmented reality to visualize projects. This is a useful tech trend within many industries, including design and manufacture. While we see it used by a lot of B2C businesses, there’s also space for it to be used internally. This can even be used for project management or to present to employees.
This is still in the early stages and many augmented reality platforms are plagued by issues. As time goes on, this will become streamlined and easier to use, as we become more accustomed to it. This would be interesting to see in use more as time goes on, as there are so many potential options out there.
BMW has already made significant investments in this sector, with HUD windscreens and apps that allow you to see their cars in your own garage. It’s easy to see how the former could be used to great effect across a range of different industries, from defense to hospitality. When using this tech, you really do feel like you’re getting a glimpse into the future and as it becomes more affordable, we’re likely to see more applications.
Communications
While improved communications are great for the workforce, it also makes outsourcing a much more viable solution. This means that companies don’t always need to pay to have in-house staff for convenience, as they’re able to use out of house staff and still have the same rate of communication. This improved infrastructure has changed business a lot so far, with Skype and online communication becoming a lot more common.
This will be likely to continue too, with different ways to contact one another becoming more diverse. If we look at the sector of virtual assistants, we can see that they have a lot of awesome techs that could be used elsewhere too. For example, they’re able to answer phones remotely from different lines and track their time with an employer.
This culture of transparency and clear communication will be sure to improve the workplace for those that work in-house and outside of an office. Being able to communicate clearly with those that are on the other side of the globe had a major effect on business and each new breakthrough is likely to improve this further.
Voice Technology
Increasingly, we’re choosing to communicate to smart speakers and search engines using our voices. This is creating an interesting gap in the search engine market, as marketers attempt to create the right content for these users. Being selected as the featured answer for voice search basically works as a free advertisement for a company. This has had a huge impact on the marketing world.
The voice recognition tech that we use is also becoming a lot more sophisticated, as it can distinguish tone and even different users. This could have more business applications than we realize, as many service workers could effectively be replaced by this kind of technology.
Being able to communicate to a computer without having to touch or type is also likely to revolutionize things for those with visual impairments. This is an essential tech for people that require different kinds of assistance, rather than just using a screen.
The possibilities are endless with this kind of tech and it’s possible that they could replace some workers over time.
Team Tracking and Accountability
When it comes to the accountability of a workforce, employers are keen to be able to see who is working on which tasks at all times. From a high-level view, this means that they can see which tasks take the largest amount of resources and cost them more effectively.
If these business owners have an overview of these tasks and the times that it takes to complete them, then they have a more accurate understanding of how their business works. This is essential for owners that want to be able to understand why things take as long as they do, where they could be improved and any team members that may be falling behind.
More businesses are investing in employee recognition software, tracking software and productivity tasks, which would potentially save them money in the long term. This was a trend that really started off in the software development world, but has since come full circle into manufacturing, retail and more.
Agile and SWOT planning really helped to kick off this trend, but it has now diversified into all sorts of different methods. The Kanban method is one of the most used out there, though it has been around since WWII Japan. During this time, factory workers were under stress to complete more tasks, so they had to find a way to make the workforce they had more effective. If you want to know more, then Kanbanize have the Kanban method defined here which will allow you to find out why it is so popular.
Continuity Management
Most large companies these days need to have a plan in place to keep them working, no matter what happens. This means that they have all of their data backed up, an alternative location that could be used and employee records stored securely. The government has been recommending having this kind of plan in place for a long time now, so it’s good to see that companies are actually bringing this to their day to day workplace.
As we move forward, this emphasis on data and security will be increased. Under new privacy laws, companies have to spend more time safeguarding the personal information of those they hold data on. This will be sure to have a knock on effect to the overall security of our workplaces.
With this kind of emphasis on personal data, we may see more employees requiring information on how their data is stored. This is the right of the employee, so employers will be required to put a process in place for this too. This will no doubt take a lot of time and money for employers, which could lead to pioneering new tools, processes and information accountability.
All in all, we’re likely to see a lot more transparency around data processing. This may mean there are new tools and platforms that can be used to monitor and improve this. Any companies that don’t follow these new regulations will find that they could incur a large fine. No doubt, we’ll see new tech that claims to make this easier and more convenient for the employer in question.
New technology offers a range of new uses, within the business world and outside of it too. This can be quickly adopted by companies looking to solve a range of different issues. As we continue through the next few years, we can clearly see how these will be able to influence the way that we work.
