This is because many companies are looking to cut costs, and make only the most financially viable and responsible investments. As decision-makers have to ask themselves:
Will this generate income? Will we get ROI? Will this save money? Will this help us in the long term? Are there any risks involved?
Thus, when executives are looking to make sensible financial decisions, they must consider how this will help the company recover and sustain itself as work-life adjusts to the ‘new normal’.
The increasing importance of digital tools
As Bernard Marr said in an article for Forbes “many people turned to digital tools to keep some semblance of normality”. That with the right technology infrastructure in place, companies are and will be able to continue business as usual; no matter where their employees may be working from.
For example, many companies have turned to communication and collaboration platforms like their intranet, to help them use tools such as Microsoft Teams to facilitate collaborating and working together whilst geographically dispersed. With Teams, you can chat, meet, call and collaborate all in one virtual place. Effective intranet solutions pack in many more collaboration, communication and productivity features to create an effective digital workplace that gives your organisation the opportunity to:
Collaborate better:
Microsoft Teams is one such tool that allows you to instantly chat, call and collaborate all in one place. Teams allows you to talk in real-time with your colleagues whether it be on a chat, or on video no matter how dispersed your workforce is. Furthermore, in chats on teams, you can store relevant documents and information, which makes it easy to collaborate on things and talk about them within your specified teams rather than losing key points in long email threads.
Benefit from targeted and relevant internal communications:
Your internal comms should be accessible, informative, and transparent, and having the right platform to facilitate that is key.
An intranet should become a central hub where announcements, information and guidelines are published so that there is an official source of easily accessible information for staff. This means that there will be transparency for employees, and everyone knows exactly what is going on and why. This is important as a more informed workforce is more likely to be a more productive and united workforce, as employees perform better when they know how they are contributing to company goals.
This is supported by Brian Kopp when writing for Gartner:
“One of the top engagement drivers for employees is seeing their work contribute to company goals,” says Kropp. “During periods of disruption, employees’ desire for being recognized for their contribution increases by about 30%”