How to enhance hybrid working culture with Smart Tech in Malaysia

This article explains how businesses can use current technology to their advantage in order to maximize their hybrid capabilities.

According to a Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) poll, 61.7% of businesses emphasized the need to keep using hybrid work experiences, however, there is still room for development. 1 in 6 workers still believes that companies are not prepared for a hybrid environment after more than two years of hybrid work.

This raises the question of how companies may best utilize their hybrid skills with the aid of modern technology, and how these businesses can assist their staff in striking a balance between work and personal life while still enabling them to provide their best work.

Recently Star Media Group has held a webinar “Enhancing Hybrid Working Culture with Intelligent Technology” with HP and AMD discussing how enterprises in Malaysia can adapt to embrace a new way of allowing people to ‘work happy’.

Enhance their hybrid workforce in a growth-first environment 

The webinar’s stellar speaker lineup included HP Malaysia and Singapore Business Director Yogesh Bhatia, AMD Asean Senior Solution Architect Eric Sugiono, and TM Research and Development Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah. It was moderated by 42 Kuala Lumpur Head Technologist Jeff Sandhu.

Firstly, the audience was given the chance to hear from the panelists about how they enable their organizations and staff to improve their hybrid workforce in a growth-first environment.

Burnout due to full remote working

Here comes the first two questions from TM Research and Development: When the first movement control order was announced in 2020, two things came to mind: Will TM R&D be able to deliver on their project commitments? Could they contribute to the fight against Covid-19?

Sharlene pointed out that these agendas turn out to point to the same thing: “Will I be able to engage with my team, will my team be able to work unsupervised, and will my team be able to work with one another with internal and external stakeholders to deliver results?”

Although in 2020/2021, Sharlene’s team had one of the best years in delivering on project commitments, she mentioned that there were signs of staff burnout and lack of social interactions whereby some employees were working round the clock.

In our early days, our online engagements were work-related but we started shifting into more social interactions. We had hangout, lunch and jamming sessions. We shifted, we learnt what was needed and we delivered

Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, TM Research and Development Chief Executive Officer

Hybrid work culture helps productivity 

Sharlene also mentioned that they allow their project teams to have the flexibility to decide the working location and how they work. Lots of surveys have already revealed that flexibility in the workplace is now one of the major factors to retain talent.

Learn more: Singaporeans now reject jobs that do not provide a hybrid work option

Retaining talent will boil down to the work culture – we strive to put in place a culture that is inclusive, collaborative and not afraid to fail

Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, TM Research and Development Chief Executive Officer

For measuring the effectiveness of the hybrid working, Sharlene mentioned that:

We will naturally evaluate performance, whether we are meeting the expectations of our customers and staff.

We will also look at the success of the organisation, our relevance and whether we are able to retain our talent and if they are happy to continue to work with us

Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, TM Research and Development Chief Executive Officer

Tech and security in hybrid working

Smart office technology and security are the main issues that are required to take care of when implementing hybrid working. The panelists discussed how smart office technology could facilitate a smooth transition while guaranteeing office security.

HP Malaysia and Singapore Business Director Yogesh Bhatia suggested that smart technology for your office should be reliable, seamless, and able to predict your needs and cut out mundane tasks.

The machine should be able to predict that you are sitting outside and the noise cancellation would be activated automatically instead of you having to do it manually.

Yogesh Bhatia, HP Malaysia and Singapore Business Director

He also mentioned that it was also important to keep employees happy and that the right tech could do it effectively.

One of the top concerns of employees when it comes to hybrid work is what tech they will use. If the machine is not working, the employee is unhappy the entire day.

Employers are now looking into the type of devices to give to employees and providing tools that would ensure they are happy and productive.

Yogesh Bhatia, HP Malaysia and Singapore Business Director

Smart office system for your office

ONES Smart office system is one of the famous management systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease.  

You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room BookingDesk Booking, and Visitor Management features, in order to improve your office productivity, retain your talents and make your office more secure.

Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/my/