You have probably heard the phrase \u201cSmarter Working\u201d thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean?\u00a0 If you looked for a dictionary definition you would find something along the lines of \u201can open work space environment paired with all-in-one communications,\u201d but it is so much more than that. Smarter Working is a lifestyle change of a company.\u00a0 It\u2019s unifying not only your communications, but your employees; providing them with a chance not only to express their ideas, but to feel like they are making a difference each day.\u00a0 In an organization that may have thousands of employees, that\u2019s no easy feat.<\/p>\n
Now don\u2019t be scared.\u00a0 This may sound like a lot of work, but it really isn\u2019t.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s almost more stressful to not work in this kind of environment. It is much more natural, and we have been doing it all of our lives.\u00a0 Think back to grade school.\u00a0 Did you still sit in your alphabetically assigned seat when you had a group project?\u00a0 Of course not!\u00a0 You pushed those desks together and worked as a team, openly discussing how you would achieve your goals.\u00a0 This is how group projects are worked on in smarter working environments, as teams with common goals and a common location, and it works<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Anyone who has worked in a cubicle knows how restrictive it can be.\u00a0 Sharing ideas in an open environment helps the flow of ideas and allows information to pass much more quickly.\u00a0 But no matter how open the environment is, you will always be limited by one thing – presence.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t there, no one can come and talk to you, whether \u201cthere\u201d is a cube, an office with a window, or a desk in the middle of an empty room. Here is where unified communications comes in.<\/p>\n Linking your laptop, smartphone, tablet, Skype, Lync, and any other device or softphone together will ensure that you are never missed when you are needed.\u00a0 Technology has progressed to a point that being forced to sit at the same desk every day isn\u2019t needed.\u00a0 Our technology is as mobile as we are now, and Smarter Working takes advantage of that.\u00a0 Many companies are only requiring people to come to the office 2-3 times a week, or are even hiring people who can work remotely that don\u2019t live in the area.\u00a0 This allows for whole new pools of candidates that were once unavailable to them.\u00a0 This also allows for increased productivity as they can work whenever<\/em><\/strong> they get a great idea, not just when they get one at work.<\/p>\n Smarter working is about changing how your employees view the office.\u00a0 They should want to come to work because it\u2019s nice place to be.\u00a0 The days of dark, dismal, cubical-ridden offices are coming to an end. Being surrounded by 8ft high cube walls is depressing and does its part in stifling innovation.\u00a0 Call it a good aura, call it positive energy, but having an open environment is just more inviting, and lifts the spirits of those in it.\u00a0 Take all these things, the open environment, the unified communications, the project teams, put them together, and you will start to see why they call it Smarter <\/em><\/strong>Working.<\/p>\n