80% of companies in one study stated that they leverage emerging technologies to improve cost-efficiency and daily operations. If you want to enhance your office infrastructure – tech is the answer.
So, which are the top tech trends powering the office of the future? Keep reading as we discuss the tech essentials you must consider for your office. Modernizing your space can come with cost benefits and increased convenience for your daily office use.
Smart Desk Management Software
The pandemic forced many businesses to explore their remote and hybrid work options, adopting cloud-based communication and collaboration tools to facilitate remote work. While many companies are returning to the office, they also opt for hybrid work schemes to improve employee work-life balance.
When employees work from home, they get to skip the commute, sleep longer, and be more present with their families. Since remote work can improve employee satisfaction, many businesses aren’t dropping it entirely. However, in-office work is sometimes necessary for communication and collaboration.
Businesses are implementing smart desk management software to allow employees to access office resources when needed. Without desk reservation systems, employees might turn up at the office only to realize that no desks are available. In this instance, they will waste time commuting and experience delays in productivity – which would be highly frustrating.
To prevent this, smart desk management software allows employees to reserve desk space for when they plan to use office resources. They can view the office floorplan on a user-friendly interface and see which desks are available, which are reserved, and who has booked each desk. This will allow them to find an available desk and book it. By viewing which staff member has committed to each desk, they can also sit with friends or in teams when they work in the office.
With this tool, companies can allow employees more autonomy in working within a hybrid work model. They do not need to create employee schedules; employees can manage their work schedules.
Access Control Integrations
Cloud-based access control is being adopted more frequently in the modern office environment. This is because it facilitates remote management of door locks, remote onboarding, and remote visibility of security data. Cloud-based access control presents another lucrative opportunity for businesses – open API integrations.
Businesses can use the services of an access control integrator to enhance the functions on offer with their security hardware, maximizing ROI. Below are some of the top access control integrations revolutionizing the modern office.
Visitor Management Systems
Visitor management is a crucial element in building security. It provides reliable information regarding who has accessed the building and at what time. This information is critical to security investigations and evacuation procedures.
For this reason, many offices employ reception staff or extend the duties of their administrative staff to ensure every visitor signs in upon entering the building. However, visitor management systems allow offices to automate these duties, reducing the manual input required to maintain accurate visitor records.
Visitor management software can integrate with access control to provide automatic visitor registration forms. The user can fill out these forms on their mobile device, providing their details, who they are visiting, and their contact information. Once they have completed this process, the user can enter the building.
The system allows them to download temporary access credentials to their mobile device, which will enable them to enter the building and will be revoked when they leave. Creating a digital visitor management system ensures reliable data, improving security processes.
Automated Time Tracking
Time tracking is a massive contributor to excessive spending within a business. Without adequate and accurate time-tracking tools, enterprises rely solely on employees’ reports of their hours worked. Since employees can bump up their hours to increase their wages, this system is ineffective.
With a cloud-based access control system, offices are choosing to automate time tracking for hourly employees to ensure they spend on staff effectively. The tool bases time monitoring on the time an employee enters the building and the time they leave.
HR teams can use this data to inform their payroll processes and ensure the company is spending money accurately on their hourly employees.
Smart Building Management
One of the most significant concerns for offices right now is the cost of energy bills. The energy crisis has impacted homeowners in their personal lives and is also making businesses more conscious of their energy expenditure. Many companies are reducing their energy usage by taking advantage of the open API integrations on offer with a cloud-based access control system.
They are integrating smart, IoT-connected building management tools with their access control system to ensure no energy waste.
When the building is unoccupied, building management hardware – such as heating, lighting, and HVAC systems – will switch off. These systems will activate when an access control event occurs, indicating the space is occupied.
Heating, lighting, and cooling unoccupied rooms can seriously increase a company’s monthly overheads. With integration, companies can lower their monthly overhead costs while cutting their carbon footprint for more eco-friendly operations.
Summary
If you want to improve daily operations for your business, you must turn towards smart and sophisticated technologies. Smart technologies allow integration, which can help you add functions to your hardware. The integration enables more competent time tracking, energy-conscious building management, and air-tight security processes. Consider whether your business is operating efficiently.
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