The ‘modern workplace’ has become something of a buzzword. Organisations know they need to be a ‘modern workplace’ to attract and retain the best staff.

But what exactly is a modern workplace and how does an organisation become one?

Many organisations think a modern workplace is about having all the latest whizz-bang tools and apps. But organisations that focus only on technology soon find there’s a lot more to a modern workplace than the latest shiny tech.

At the Modern Workplace Alliance, we believe that having a truly modern workplace is about people. Staff are more engaged with their work; they are focused on achieving their goals as well as those of your business. Teams work together collaboratively and enhance productivity. In all this, technology is not the focus. It’s the enabler.

But how do organisations begin that important journey to a modern workplace? At the Modern Workplace Alliance, we’ve helped organisations at many different stages of their transition, so we understand what works, what doesn’t, and where organisations go wrong.

The elements of a successful transition

A successful transition to a modern workplace involves focusing on three elements: people, process and technology.

We’ve written before about why many modern workplace transformation projects fail. Reasons include lack of buy-in from the executive team, lack of strategy and limited adoption by staff. If staff don’t take up the tech, then there’s no point investing in it. That’s why it’s vital to understand the way all employees and teams work and what the impact of new technology will be on them.

We’ve also written previously about ‘change fatigue’ in the workplace and how it stems from the fact that too often new technology is introduced to the workplace because it exists – not because people actually need it to do their jobs better.

At the Modern Workplace Alliance, we believe that the most important element to focus on in transitioning is the people who’ll be using the new tech. Working with staff to introduce new tech – rather than imposing it on them – is going to make transitioning so much smoother.

As well as focusing on people, organisations looking to transition need an effective strategy, and they need the right support throughout the digital transformation process.

While transitioning to a modern workplace is much simpler with the help of an experienced partner like the Modern Workplace Alliance, there are some things organisations can do to start that journey on their own. Based on our experience of helping organisations all over Australia transition, we’ve created a guide to help businesses get started.

8 quick tips to help you Do-it-Yourself

Our guide ‘Want a Modern Workplace? 8 quick tips to help you Do-It-Yourself’ outlines tips organisations can implement as they begin their transformation journey.

The tips include understanding what success looks like. After all, how will you know whether your transition has been successful if you haven’t previously worked out how you want the new technology to help achieve your business goals and enhance staff – and customer – satisfaction?

Another tip focuses on increasing organisation-wide cyber-security awareness. Transitioning to a modern workplace involves allowing your employees the flexibility to work remotely – from anywhere, at any time, and from any device. This means employee oversight or error can pose major risks to your organisation’s data security. The answer isn’t to refuse to allow employees the flexibility they want – you can’t attract and retain great staff that way. You’ll need to train staff so they’re aware of the risk and know how to minimise it.

The tips also cover key issues like creating a modern workplace culture; customising tech so it works for your business needs rather than merely being generic; plus how to engage staff in those virtual meetings that they might see as an arduous task!

Want to get started?

The first step along your digital transformation journey is to download our guide. It’s full of useful tips from our experienced modern workplace transformation professionals.

If, after reading our guide, you think digital transformation might be too complicated for your organisation to DIY – or that you don’t have the scope to implement all the tips – then get in touch to see how we might be able to help.