5 Takeaways From the Cisco Workplace Transformation Summit in London

Workplace Transformation

Last week in London we hosted our first European Workplace Transformation Summit.  Following the success of our previous WTS events in Melbourne and San Diego, we were excited to welcome some of the most influential Workplace Transformation leaders from this side of the world.

We had a packed agenda including industry futurists, thought leaders, and Cisco experts. Together we analyzed predictions, trends and the intersection of people, place, and technology in workplace strategy. Here are the top 5 themes that resonated throughout the day:

1. How to evolve with an ever-changing workforce

Today there are 5 different generations in the workforce and we need to create a work environment for each generation to co-exist and be better engaged. Noreena Hertz, author, professor, and futurist told us about Generation K – today’s 16-25-year workers will make up a third of the global workforce by 2023.  She said, “as employers, we need to make sure that you use technology that better connects your workforce rather than to make them ultimately more disconnected.”

2. The changing nature of work

Growth in short term contracts and freelance work means teams need to be able to form and disband very quickly. By successfully transforming your workplace, you will not only attract talent but retain it by offering choice and flexibility in work style with no compromise to experience.

3. An increased need for flexibility

Where you work is becoming irrelevant and we now have a mix of desk workers, telecommuters, remote, mobile and deskless workers. In order to be successful, we must allow these different workstyles to co-exist and be better engaged. Collaboration tools that support remote work with calling, video, and IM can enable every team to be successful.

4. Leverage technology

82% of millennials say the technology would influence their decision to accept a new job. With that in mind, we need to create an environment where technology enhances and improves employee engagement and provides benefits to the business.  AI and Cognitive Collaboration improve productivity and enhance the employee experience when deployed correctly.  Michael Bush, CEO of Great Places to Work, reminded us “while we now have machine learning, AI, and digital transformation, we still need people to get the work done.”

5. Customer expectations increasing

To serve customers better, organizations need to be more customer-centric and have uninterrupted workflows across all touchpoints.  With the addition of AI and data analytics, organizations can improve their customer experience instantly by knowing customer’s preferences and purchase history.

During our many discussions at the event, we all appreciate how important it is to continue to transform our organizations to meet these important trends.

Our aim was to show that technology is becoming the key enabler of delivering measurable change and most importantly, so is how we treat our people. In the midst of evolving workforces and cultural revolution, productivity through diversity and social contract are companywide initiatives that require ownership across all business units.

If you are interested in attending our future Workplace Transformation summits, we will be hosting our next two events at Cisco Live Las Vegas and Cisco Live Melbourne.

How can we help?

At Cisco, we have already transformed our workplace and created a blueprint for success. Our secure and insightful Collaboration platform can transform your workplace too. We have the tools to enable you to improve employee engagement and productivity, enrich agent and customer experience, win the war on talent, optimize real estate and reduce costs.  Our collaboration platform gives you the ability to Call, Meet and Message from a single application driven by a single unified platform.

Security is top-of-mind at Cisco, so we provide pervasive security to enable collaboration without compromise. We understand that not everyone has the same tools, so we are an open ecosystem and platform where collaboration solutions are integrated with all tools. And to help you make better decisions, we provide insights and analytics across the collaboration portfolio.

You can watch an online video replay of the event, so get a cup of tea or favorite beverage and enjoy the excellent presentations from these Workplace Transformation experts!

Thanks for letting me share this important information with you and we hope to see you at one of our future Workplace Transformation Summits!

Aruna

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