How Technology is Revolutionizing Workplace Productivity

Though a fascination with the latest gadgets, desktop software, and mobile apps, or an obsessive need to stay in the loop with ongoing events and trends in social media may sometimes prove a distraction, digital technologies and their related processes are proving to be a positive contributor to productivity in the workplace.

In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at how technology is revolutionizing workplace productivity.

Linking Wellness To Work

As of 2017, 70% of employers in the U.S. offer a wellness program – as compared to 58% in 2008. And with the developments in technology since that time, increasing numbers of organizations are using digital tools and sensors to monitor, promote, and reward the fitness accomplishments of their workers.

Improved health naturally leads to a more positive attitude and a greater willingness to perform – in addition to lowering the costs of health-care and reducing the amount of time lost to sick days and hospital admissions.

Office communications networks have a part to play in this, with cloud-enabled platforms and IP (Internet Protocol) telephony tools powering the desktop, laptop, and in-app notification systems that report on individual progress, chart the status of leader-boards, and spread the good news about who has achieved which health or fitness milestones.

Wearable Gadgets For Performance Tracking

From the wrist-worn fitness tracker to clip-on tags, lapel badges, and pins, the combined ecosystem of IoT (Internet of Things) smart sensors, network connectivity, and enhanced analytics tools has made wearable gadgets a practical option for businesses wishing to use them as a means of assessing and monitoring employee fitness and on the job performance.

The trend is spreading as more companies are proving themselves willing to subsidize wearable trackers for their employees. A Xerox Human Resources Services study of over 200 employers conducted in 2015 found 37% already using wearable technology – and a further 37% planning to adopt it, in future.

Mobile Apps Designed For Productivity

With the growing market in wearable devices – and the ever-present need for workplace productivity – companies are looking to third-party and/or custom-designed apps which assist in the processes of performance monitoring, performance enhancement, tracking, analytics, and personal or group motivation.

Time trackers may be used to help make employees aware of their behaviors in the workplace – with an estimated average increase in productivity of 8.5%. Coupled with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) powered voice link or in app notification system, similar devices may also be used by managers or supervisors to plot the optimum route or methodology for a process, and communicate it to a worker in real time.

Cloud Communications And Technology

Telecommunications technologies like VoIP, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and UC (Unified Communications), and the shift from legacy phone systems to cloud-based platforms such as hosted PBX have fostered major cost reductions for businesses.

They’re also providing the scalability, flexibility, integrated applications, and services needed to unite geographically dispersed enterprises and diversifying workforces (in the office, on the road, at home, or halfway across the world) within a single consistent communications platform and resource base.

Cloud technology is also powering a new generation of analytics engines, capable of drawing insights from workplace behavior, employee performance, customer interactions, and the world at large, in suggesting improvements to processes and workplace practices.

If you’d like to know more about cloud communications, hosted PBX, or other technologies revolutionizing workplace productivity, get in touch with the experts at net2phone.