This blog post was written in collaboration with Poly.
For nearly a decade, our friends over at Poly have been studying workplace personas. They have been exploring how to match workstyles and employee behaviours to devices and technologies so that organizations can increase productivity! Poly then uses that data to create archetypes based on the behavioural traits found in typical enterprise business employees.
Every few years, the research is updated; however, the year 2020 was a bit different! One thing the consults noticed was how quickly the world was changing as a result of the pandemic. (If only they knew what was about to happen).
There were talks about delaying the research and report until after the pandemic. But once they started reflecting on the seven workstyle personas, a wave of empathy overcame the team at Poly, and they decided to release it now. They thought of the Office Communicator – we call her “Olivia” – who represents people that spend most of their time in the office… and they’re only 1% likely to use video. She must be feeling incredibly distraught over having to lower the boundary between work and home life.
And they thought of ‘Ray’ the Road Warrior – who represents our colleagues who spend 50% of their time travelling. Having his wings clipped like this probably makes him feel anxious to get back out in the field to see customers and partners in person. After reflecting, the decision became clear not to wait and do the research now, despite the global pandemic.
In January 2021, Poly completed their latest round of persona research. The study surveyed more than 5,000 enterprise workers across eight different countries. While these findings reveal perspectives at a unique point-in-time, aka during a global pandemic, they believed the behaviour shifts would have a long-term impact. The survey asked about pre-COVID-19 work behaviours and the influences COVID-19 has on the way people work now, and what they anticipate for a post-pandemic future.
Three Important Findings
1) Flexibility
Work location will be more flexible in the future. The workforce was already starting to work more flexibly pre-COVID (compared to 2017 research), and users expect the flexibility to continue post-COVID.
2) Home Not-So-Sweet Home
Home is the new office for many, but not everyone has a dedicated space to work or the right set of technology to be their most productive at home.
3) Video Takes Over
COVID-19 has led to the rapid growth of conference calls and video meetings. 42% of global workstyles reported daily use of video pre-COVID. That number jumped to 63% during COVID. Some personas are still reluctant to use conferencing technology. Although it is not a preferred channel for all workstyles, the research shows that this is an opportunity for companies to embrace personal video technology in addition to video-enabled meeting rooms.
There’s no denying workstyles are transforming as hybrid work environments become more common. Work is no longer a ‘place’ you have to go! And the team at Poly believes the best way to understand the future of work is to understand the people performing it.
Start identifying personas within your business. It is critical to ensure that all your employees have the correct tools and devices to maximize efficiency and productivity. Perhaps these tools are unified communication solutions like gloCOM and gloCOM GO for the ‘Rays’ of the workplace who regularly go away for work. They must stay connected to their employees without losing the high level of performance out of the office. What better way to do so than by having an office in your pocket?
For your more traditional employees or those who prefer using their desk phone, make sure you provide them with the best VoIP solution! Not only should you look for a proper telephony system, but ensure it has additional features such as:
- Archiving Storage
- CRM Integration
- Online Self Care Portal
- Personalized Dashboard
- Branding Options
- UC Integration
- And more!
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ VoIP solution for businesses. It is essential to work with a company that offers different editions or customizable solutions to fit your business’s needs.
For more information on how you can get to know your workplace personas, request a consultation with Poly here. If you are interested in learning more about the tools that will help improve these personas’ productivity and efficiency, contact the Bicom Systems sales team here!
This blog post was written in collaboration with Poly.
