{"id":5310,"date":"2021-08-12T07:58:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T14:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=5310"},"modified":"2021-08-12T07:58:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T14:58:04","slug":"return-to-work-planning-why-persona-development-is-a-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/return-to-work-planning-why-persona-development-is-a-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Return to Work Planning: Why Persona Development is a Priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

As business leaders plan for permanent and often hybrid workplace options for their employees moving forward,\u00a0 there is a corresponding issue to address: What technology kits do they need, based on their workstyles, responsibilities, and locations to ensure optimal employee productivity and satisfaction?<\/p>\n

Many organizations already had developed \u201cpersonas\u201d for their employees. Typically, they include four to eight types of workers, and each type corresponds with necessary hardware, licenses or software, and services. Post-COVID-19, however, these personas have largely become moot, and IT leaders must re-examine their persona classifications to accommodate for changes.<\/p>\n

Why? Well, workstyles have changed, along with the applications and end-user equipment needed. People assume that the same work role<\/em> has the same workstyle.<\/em> That\u2019s not always the case. Changing requirements are largely driven by so many people working from home, but it\u2019s also driven by the improved quality and capabilities of technology. For example, video applications have become reliable with functional quality.<\/p>\n

But the level of video and audio quality requirements will vary, based on the job description and the location of the worker. For example, noise cancellation headphones and a high-quality video camera may be significantly more important at a noisy, kid- and pet-filled home office than at a more quiet, private company office.<\/p>\n

Those who think they can wait it out, and at some point, things will go back to the way they were will be disappointed. The workplace will not go back to the way it was pre-2020, when just 34% of employees worked from home, compared to 87% at the end of 2020. Moving forward, only 12.4% of companies have mandated employees will return to the office full time. The rest will be required to work from home (38.3%), work part-time in the office (9%), choose where they want to work (36.4%), or are unsure (3.9%). And in the contact center, only 6% of companies have said they will not<\/em> allow work from home, and 20.9% are still evaluating. The rest will have agents work from home full- or part-time.<\/p>\n

Key Technologies<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The number of technologies to consider has increased, as well. For example, with video so widely used, IT leaders must evaluate who needs lighting, backdrops, or high-quality video cameras. Then there are the additional end-user devices: Who needs handsets, headsets, mobile phones, monitors, laptops vs. thin clients, executive desk systems, small room video hardware, or webcams? Who needs business-grade Internet access, access through a VPN, licenses for team collaboration or UCaaS? And who pays for what?<\/p>\n

Companies are investing in many of these areas in 2021 (see chart below), but which employees get what\u2014and what level of sophistication?<\/p>\n

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Issues to Consider<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Given the changing workplace of the future, as well as the new technologies available, consider these issues when developing your personas:<\/p>\n