POLY: People, Technology, and Spaces Will Be Critical Elements to the Post-Pandemic Return to Office

Work is no longer a place; it’s what your employees do, and how they do it. In the same way, the world of work has also changed; hybrid working is here to stay as an increasingly permanent fixture, although many organizations are figuring out how to succeed at this new model, amidst ongoing challenges with the Return to the Office.

We’ve heard a lot about what organizations should do when building out strategies for a new world of work — whether changing the nature of work for employees, what technologies should come into play, or the need to redefine the office space.

At Poly, we believe that the recipe to success in this new world of work over the long-term, starts with three central ingredients:

1. People, the most important asset for a company.
2. Properly defining the needs and work styles of employees leads to the ability to discern the right technology solutions that can enable both effective and efficient work across different spaces, regardless of where that might be.
3. By understanding the workstyles most prevalent among employees, the organization can then better design experiences across spaces that increase both engagement and innovation by eliminating friction to create seamless transitions from the home office to spaces across the office, or anywhere in between.

This people-focused approach is a radical departure from defining requirements based on space. As such, the best way to strategize for the future of work is to understand the people who perform it. Poly has been studying workstyle evolution for nearly a decade, and has identified six distinct workstyles, often referred to as personas – which make up 97% of a typical enterprise, each with different character traits. By identifying the attributes, pain points, and communication preferences associated with each persona, businesses are better equipped to match workstyles and employee behaviors to devices and technologies, thereby increasing organizational productivity.

Samir Sayed, Managing Director, ASEAN and Korea, Poly, says, “For organizations to succeed in this new world of work, they first have to understand how their people do their best work, how to configure work spaces to enable their workers to get the most out of their working hours, and by extension, where to best invest their money in technologies that enable a seamless, flexible, and more equitable working experience.”

Some key takeaways:

• There is an ongoing and dramatic shift to remote-centric workstyles: From before the pandemic to 2022, there has been a 25% increase in workers adopting remote-centric working styles and preferences.
• The ability to connect is driving a return to the office: While there are numerous barriers hindering the return to the office, the ability to connect to one another remains a key element in driving people to return to the office.
• Connecting employees driving a shift in office space reallocation: Pre-pandemic, up to 70% of office space was geared towards individual desks and support spaces. Post-pandemic, the shift to more remote-centric roles is driving a shift from individual space, towards space that supports activities that connect employees for collaboration.

Low Hee Bun, Senior Solution Architect, Poly, comments, “Organizations are getting serious about implementing their long-term hybrid strategies, which also includes plans to refit their office spaces to better fit the new purpose of the office as a center of corporate culture. Planning for the return to office is about designing experiences for this new hybrid world of work that will drive people to the office to build connections, and at the same time maximizing the experiences for those in the office and those who are remote.”

To learn more about setting up your workforce for success in a new world of work, please visit www.poly.com.