Telstra: Effective hybrid work requires the right technology

• ---

  Three out of four employees feel that digital tools have made it easier to stay engaged and drive cultural exchange

• APAC business leaders have selected three investment areas for their organizations’ strategic technology transformation priorities

Going hybrid is the way of the future. It’s a paradigm that’s working for everyone, with many teams moving recently to remote work and coming into the office occasionally. Especially considering that almost everyone has basically prepared for and is already adjusting to the hybrid work environment as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

It offers the flexibility – making it is easier to maintain a balance between work and life outside of work in a flexible work environment. When employees have more control over their work schedules, they can find more time to solve problems that emerge in their personal lives.

Additionally, both large and small tech companies are always developing innovative ideas to make hybrid work more enjoyable and effective. Some of these concepts give people a chance to “escape” and renew the social connection we all now long for.

Of course, there are still businesses that are geared for hybrid work. But decision-makers worldwide are making sure that the hybrid work may benefit both the employer and the employee.

Businesses optimizing hybrid work for employer and employees

In a recent report titled Telstra Asia Pacific Transformation Vision: Optimising for Hybrid, Telstra examined the four key areas that would help organizations recover from the pandemic: collaboration, leadership, productivity and economic impact, and optimized hybrid work and technology.

The research discovered that 21% of organizations have postponed expansion plans due to the pandemic’s uncertainty after gathering insights from over 450 business decision-makers and 560 employees from the Asia region, including Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, with 38% of businesses wanting to expand globally and 28% focusing on APAC markets, global and APAC expansions continue to rank highly on business growth ambitions.

The report demonstrated how firms have also adjusted to the new working environment due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. 7 out of 10 businesses currently hire employees from all locations and support hybrid work arrangements, while 85% of businesses actively promote them.

According to Geraldine Kor, Managing Director, South Asia, Telstra, the developments over the past two years have forced executives to adapt to new employee expectations and propelled businesses to accelerate their digital objectives in order to remain competitive and be accessible to customers.

“As we learn to navigate further uncertainties in the current economy, leaders must continue to be compassionate, and lean on digital tools to facilitate open communications with their teams. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building the work environment, but the right use of technology has the potential to facilitate employee engagement and foster corporate culture despite a decentralized workforce,” she added.

The use of right technology

Looking back on the last few years, technology has significantly and intriguingly impacted business. It made it easier for remote workers who were spread out throughout organizations to interact and work together.

Three out of four workers report that using technology has made it simpler to stay involved and promote cultural interchange in effective hybrid work situations. 70% of businesses already have a plan in place for choosing and implementing the best technology and tools to support both in-office and remote work.

APAC business leaders have selected three investment areas for their organizations’ strategic technology transformation priorities: emerging technologies (45%), cybersecurity (43%), and digital innovation projects (41%). The priorities of large and small businesses are different. Smaller businesses give cybersecurity enhancements priority while larger businesses are focused on enhancing agile processes, particularly the way they collaborate with partners like service and solution providers.

Employee experience is still a top priority in business trends, and business technology is catching up. Businesses need technology that is simple to deploy, use, efficient, and secure in order to overcome the main problems they now face.

Businesses need dynamic network solutions, reliable cloud infrastructure, and strong security platforms to do this. Data and analytics must be the foundation of these solutions if executives are to make wise business decisions, foster deep involvement within their workforce, and foster expansion.

---

---

---

---