Workplace Culture - Page 6

A Female-Dominated Workforce without the use of emails or an office

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Qinthara Fasya, DigitalCFO Asia | 15 November 2021

Saba Khan

Co-founder and COO of Counto

It is well-known in the conventional IT business that it is a man’s world, with statistics finding that women account for only 32% of the region’s tech sector. As a result, women frequently face more pressure to demonstrate that they are just as deserving of their place in the workplace as their male counterparts. Furthermore, transitional phases in a woman’s life, like as pregnancy and parenthood, hinder her from getting employed since they are perceived as disruptive to working arrangements in any field, much alone technology.

Do you have to pick up your children from school during the day? It’s no issue. At 3 a.m., when the kids are soundly sleeping, do you feel more productive? Take a chance. Counto, a local automated accounting tech business formed out of the Covid-19 outbreak, offers an incredibly flexible work culture. Counto does not have a physical office, and workers do not get emails; instead, all internal contacts are conducted through messaging. Most importantly, with highly qualified female computer engineers accounting for 70% of Counto’s workforce, the company aspires to establish a culture of support, providing a secure environment for women in tech to work and thrive, regardless of their stage of life. DigitalCFO Asia spoke with Saba Khan, Co-founder and COO of Counto, on how the organisation maintains productivity in line with its accommodating work culture while promoting female empowerment.

Women Empowerment in a Male-Dominated Tech Industry

silhouette of four people against sun background
Photo by Dennis Magati on Pexels.com

There is a mass pool of female talent who are looking to restart their careers and/or require their schedules to run around family life responsibilities.

Beyond the typical engineering roles in the fintech industry, there are other positions such as sales and product development, which offer interesting opportunities for women who might not possess any tech skills.

Breaking the workaholic culture that’s steeped in the fintech industry will go a long way in promoting workplace inclusivity and female career ambitions.

Women make up 70% of the workforce at Counto, notes Saba. Which is highly unusual given that the fintech industry is frequently perceived as a male domain. The company also has a number of working moms, and Counto recognises the unique challenge they face managing work and home demands. As such, implementing company policies that promote work-life balance is a key factor in building up a culture based on trust, inclusivity and strong values.

Its remote working arrangement and flexible schedule mean that working women are free to plan their schedule to suit their lifestyles. As a result, employees don’t feel the need to curtail family or personal time. Instead, they feel inspired to take ownership of  their work and work responsibly towards achieving their KPIs.

Maintaining Productivity with an Accommodative Work Culture

black laptop beside black computer mouse inside room
Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

First, says Saba, we need to recognise that a vast majority of women have a natural family-first stance. Second is that long work hours don’t raise productivity. On the contrary, research shows that gruelling schedules are associated with decreases in performance.

Everyone at Counto has clearly defined goals and are entrusted with the freedom to achieve those goals based on their own schedule. We might not be in the same office during the day, but we’re always connected with our messaging apps and google meet calls. More importantly, we are aligned via the same corporate vision.

Saba Khan, Co-founder and COO of Counto

Counto is uniquely positioned as an accounting and tax firm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate value and cost reductions for our clients. Unlike traditional accountants, our AI and accountants work together to offer a more strategic and tailored service. For example, our AI engine is able to send almost completed books within a few days from month close.

It also does simultaneous accounting and GST and CorporateTax classification of customers so taxes can be filed almost instantly with our direct filing service with IRAS. All these significantly reduce accounting and tax errors, save our employees countless hours, and improve compliance for our clients.

The pandemic has pushed many SMEs and entrepreneurs to turn to technology to take their businesses to the next level, and that includes automating their bookkeeping. Hiring a next gen accountant who can bring a seamless approach to financial processes is key. Counto uses artificial intelligence to analyse clients’ data, delivering insightful analytics to help them run and grow their businesses. Clients can also access their data anytime and anywhere on our custom built platform.

CFOs in Managing Processes and Services

While some small companies rely on accounting software, a Counto accountant may assist them in increasing profits by developing strategies and streamlining procedures that are specific to their company’s difficulties. It’s also worth noting that Counto provides the first-of-its-kind limitless transaction accounting plans that are related to a client’s revenue. This implies that we expand in lockstep with our clients’ enterprises.

Companies may learn from Counto’s workplace culture, especially when it comes to creating an inclusive work environment that promotes women’s empowerment. Many individuals in male-dominated businesses may overlook the reality that women can accomplish the work just as well as or better than males. Aside from that, Counto’s flexible work culture adapts excellently to the current situation, and employees are not strapped to tight work arrangements. This, in the long run, may improve the mental health of employees and may even motivate them to strive for higher achievements within the company.

SAS recognized again with World’s Best Workplace distinction

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 21 October 2021

Workplace culture champion remains a constant on the list for more than a decade

The analytics leader once again achieved recognition on the World’s Best WorkplacesTM list by Great Place to Work® and Fortune – a mainstay since its 2010 inception. Representing analyzed feedback from 19.8 million employee opinions worldwide, SAS stood out for creating globally exceptional employee experiences, high-trust relationships, and workplaces that are fair and equal.

In addition to considering the breadth and impact of company workplace programs, organizations are assessed on their efforts to create great workplaces and make a positive impact on people and communities across multiple countries around the world.

“SAS is a global leader for a supportive, creative culture that attracts and retains top technology talent,” said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. “Our innovative environment and a culture of trust was especially important as we implemented safe remote-work conditions. As a result, our employees continue to thrive and stay motivated by making a positive impact in the world through meaningful work.”

SAS’ unwavering and legendary reputation is built on a high standard of excellence for supporting its employees. SAS continued this commitment during the pandemic by implementing virtual offerings – from career development and parenting needs to mental health seminars and exercise classes. In addition to free online learning offerings for employees, their children and the general public, other on-site benefits such as the health care center and pharmacy continued to remain open to care for employees and their families.

“This list includes the most sweeping and consistent examples of globally inclusive company cultures we’ve ever known,” said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “In a global workforce, alignment is everything, and these companies are fortifying their culture around the world – a nearly impossible feat. Even when tested by the pandemic, these companies recognize sub-communities in each region, and their leaders carry an equitable employee experience across cultures.”

A pioneer in workplace culture, SAS has a long history as a socially responsible business from environmental investments at its offices around the world to how the company has prioritized employees’ needs and treating them like they matter. SAS’ established background has cemented their authentic and credible reputation in this space, trailblazing the supportive employee mindset and inspiring so many companies to follow suit. In addition to prioritizing employee well-being and empowering them to volunteer, the company is committed to giving back to the community through social good efforts and opportunities to use analytics to address humanitarian issues such as combating COVID-19 and data illiteracy. SAS is well-known for helping local and global communities through its education and philanthropic outreach as well as its involvement in Data for Good.

Learn what makes SAS’ renowned culture one of the world’s best.   

About the World’s Best Workplaces™

Great Place to Work® selected the World’s Best Workplaces™ by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than 20 million employees worldwide at Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations. Organizations are assessed on their efforts to create great workplaces and positively impact people and communities across multiple countries around the world. Companies must have appeared on at least five Best Workplaces list sin Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, North America, or Australia during 2020 or early 2021; And have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, with 40% outside of its headquartered country. 

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All™.

From Fortune. ©2021 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved.  Used under license.  Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse the products or services of, SAS.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

Workday Announces a More Immersive Digital Experience for Employees With Workday Everywhere

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 20 October 2021

Borderless Experience Brings Workday Into Popular Workspaces and Enterprise Apps to Help Workers Stay Engaged, Productive, and Connected

Photo from Workday

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today announced Workday Everywhere, packaged connectors that bring Workday tasks and insights directly into digital workspaces to help organizations elevate their employee experiences. With Workday Everywhere, employees can quickly access Workday in their natural flow of work, without having to toggle between different applications. Employers can use Workday Everywhere to deliver a simple and connected experience that improves employee productivity and engagement. 

As the latest Workday employee experience offering, Workday Everywhere supports an ongoing effort to increase engagement with an open and frictionless experience that meets people where they are by bringing the power of Workday to them in their digital environment. With Workday Everywhere, Workday continues to advance in its journey that started with Workday for Microsoft Teams and Slack to create more intuitive experiences for the Workday customer community of more than 55 million workers. 

Advancing Employee Experience Initiatives for the New World of Work

New retention and productivity challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent hybrid work models have prompted organizations to adopt technologies capable of supporting their workforces in more meaningful ways. This has become a priority for chief human resources officers (CHROs) and chief information officers (CIOs) looking to provide the best experiences possible for their people — many of whom are now spending most of their day in a digital workspace. Workday Everywhere enables a borderless experience where employees can access Workday from a broad range of environments, including collaboration tools, intranets, applications, and employee experience platforms such as Microsoft Viva. 

With Workday, CHROs and CIOs can work together to create more impactful experiences that are tailored to individual needs and agile enough to adapt to changing conditions. 

Customers using Workday Everywhere also benefit from: 

  • Improved Employee Productivity and Wellbeing. Using machine learning (ML) for personalization and prediction, Workday Everywhere seamlessly surfaces the right information, tasks, insights, and recommendations to employees when they need them — anticipating what actions may need to be taken or what items require attention at that moment. For example, an employee could be proactively notified if they have not taken time off in the last six months, with a suggestion that they consider a break or vacation, to promote wellbeing and engagement at work.
  • More Efficiencies for Greater Engagement. Employees can access Workday data and tasks — from anywhere, at any time — without having to leave the digital workspace, intranet, or collaboration tool they are using. For instance, on a mobile device, a person could take a photo of a receipt, then create and submit this expense item in Workday while within the Slack interface.
  • Simple and Secure Integration. Workday Everywhere is simple to set up and enables CIOs to easily bring Workday into their existing IT ecosystem. All data is transmitted between Workday and the user with the same security and data privacy standards customers expect from Workday applications. 

Availability

Workday Everywhere is currently available at no additional cost to Workday Human Capital Management customers via Workday for Slack and Workday for Microsoft Teams; Workday Cards for Microsoft Viva Connections are expected to be available later this calendar year. 

For more information:

About Workday

Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organizations around the world and across industries — from medium-sized businesses to more than 50% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.

wagely expands into Bangladesh, to become the first and largest financial wellness platform offering Earned Wage Access (EWA) in Asia

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 13 October 2021

Photo from wagely

wagely, Indonesia’s leading financial wellness platform, today announced its entry into Bangladesh, launching with over 50,000 workers across the largest apparel manufacturers including SQ Group, Youth Group, and Classic Composite. The strategic expansion comes in just two months after wagely raised $5.6 million in funding, making it Indonesia’s first and largest financial wellness platform to expand its services to other Asian markets.

Asian workers are struggling

Managing financial worries is the number one issue in the everyday life for lower- and middle-income workers in Asia as they are struggling to cover basic needs with little to no option to build sustainable savings. With limited access to conventional financial services, many are forced to turn to illegal lenders and loan sharks when in need for emergency cash to cover unexpected expenses. With predatory interest fees and little support in increasing the financial literacy, many borrowers cannot repay their loan within the necessary time period. Incurring additional late fees that can quickly reach a multiple of the initial loan amount forcing them into a cycle of debt.

The effects on workers are long-lasting and have only been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing substantial financial stress that leads to a loss in productivity, higher absenteeism, irregular behavior, and increased turnover that severely impacts business performance.

How wagely helps workers become financially healthy

Founded in Indonesia in 2020, wagely’s financial wellness platform is centered around Earned Wage Access (EWA), the direct and affordable access to salary that has already been worked for. Replacing the costly month-long wait for salary with an application that allows workers to get paid at any day of the month eliminates the need to borrow, creating significant impact on a worker’s wellbeing. Letting workers see their earned salary in real-time moreover provides visibility into their financial situation, motivating and helping them make responsible financial decisions.

For employers, the benefits are equally impactful. Employers benefit from increased productivity, reduced turnover costs, and increased business savings by offering wagely’s financial wellness platform to workers. wagely’s plug and play platform ensures that companies do not have to change their existing processes and can customized to the specific needs of any employer.

Financial wellness for millions of Bangladesh’ workers

With the expansion into Asia’s fifth largest country, wagely is accelerating its mission to reduce financial stress for millions of workers in Asia. Tobias Fischer, CEO of wagely shared, “While Indonesia continues to be our priority in light of the country’s large blue-collar workforce that is in urgent need of fair financial services, Bangladesh represents a sizable opportunity with over 4.5M workers in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry alone. Bangladesh’s workers have been severely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulting in increased financial stress with major impact to manufacturers. We’re encouraged by the very strong demand by some of the largest Readymade Garment manufactures to partner with us during this initial launch phase and look forward to more employers adopting the future of salary payments.”

Mr. Warisul Abid, Chief People Officer at SQ Group said, “Thanks to the rapid advancements in technology, people today can access almost anything instantaneously. Worker wages shouldn’t be different. We are thrilled to partner with wagely and allow our 18,000 employees real-time access to their salary. With wagely, our employees can now track and access their earned salary anytime between the traditional monthly pay cycle including evenings, weekends, and public holidays. Even only a few days after launch, we already witnessed the positive impact of wagely’s solution on worker productivity and motivation.”

“Offering workers real-time access to their salary and financial education is only the first step towards building financial wellness. We are on the path towards building a holistic financial wellness platform with the underlying effort to offer workers access to affordable services, that encourage financial responsibility, and provide a path towards financial stability and inclusion,” Fischer added.

Strong demand and unprecedented growth

Launched in Indonesia in 2020, wagely has grown to become Asia’s leading financial wellness platform, partnering with over 70 companies in two markets servicing well more than 100,000 workers. Having partnered with Indonesia’s largest enterprises in recent months including Adaro Energy, Medco Energi, British American Tobacco, Ranch Market, Century Pharma, among several others, wagely has seen an unprecedented growth of its worker base by 517% in Q3 2021 and is well on track to reach over 250,000 workers by mid next year.

Learn more about wagely at https://www.wagely.app/.

About wagely

wagely is the leading employee financial wellness platform in Asia that gives employees visibility into their daily earnings, instant access to earned wages, and the power to plan ahead – proven to decrease employee turnover, enhance retention, and increase business savings. Established in September 2020, wagely is now accessible in Indonesia and Bangladesh. Visit https://www.wagely.app/ for more information.

About SQ Group

SQ Group is one of the leading apparel manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. The Company operates under four business clusters: Knitwear, Lingerie, Activewear and Textiles. SQ Group has a long heritage of 25 years and is committed to maintaining a thriving work environment for its 18,000 employees. All the major manufacturing facilities of the Group enjoy LEED©️ Platinum Certifications, the highest level of distinction awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Innovations in Digital Technology to build well-thought-out flexible workspaces and services

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Qinthara Fasya | 27 September 2021

Chew Peet Mun

Managing Director of Investment & Development, CapitaLand Development Singapore

Despite our economy’s cautious optimism about recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, there have been glimmers of brilliance from industries such as medtech and fintech that have thrilled the business community, academia, and, to some extent, the labor market during the last half year. We’ve also seen the emergence of highly active tribes comprised of entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and members of the investment community begin to consider putting together a mutually advantageous ecosystem that can bridge gaps and accelerate this momentum.

What has never happened before is a landlord, such as CapitaLand, taking the lead and beginning to shape some of these projects by matching partners and organisations in order to create a healthy ecosystem through its Bridge+ business. DigitalCFO Asia spoke with Chew Peet Mun to find out how CapitaLand takes the lead and begin to shape projects by matching partners and organisations in order to create a healthy ecosystem through its Bridge+ subsidiary.

Companies, whether big or small, are increasing looking at their office not just as a space  to house work desks and cubicles for their employees. They are looking to the office as a  strategic tool to enhance work productivity, build team and company culture, and even  used as a shared environment to reach out to their customers, industry partners and  service providers. While real estate cost will always remain an important consideration,  there is also a growing realisation that just being narrowly focused to minimise real estate  cost by squeezing more and more staff into a certain square footage of space could be  counter-productive in the longer run. The company’s workspace is a strategic tool that  needs to be understood and utilised more holistically. 

In line with that focus, companies are also increasingly eschewing traditional workspace  design to embrace more flexible workspace options that encourages agile working, foster  collaboration, promote social interactions and foster company culture. They are also  increasingly looking to embed more flexibility into their real estate options so that there is  scope for them to change their space requirements in line with their changing needs in a  dynamic business environment.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the pace of change. In recent times, we  notice more companies, particularly large space users, reviewing their space needs to see  how they could include “core-flex” and/or “hub-and-spoke” models into their workspace  strategy. There is also an increased focus on workplace health and employee wellness by  corporate occupiers due to the pandemic. 

Key Driver for Companies in selecting co-working offices

There are many drivers for companies who select co-working spaces as their main offices.  Some appreciate the quick “plug-and-play” ease for them to start up their offices, while  others appreciate the flexibility offered by co-working spaces to scale up and down quickly  in a cost-effective manner based on their business needs. There are also companies that appreciate the use of well thought out shared spaces, facilities and programmes that allow  for business networking and serendipitous interactions. As hybrid working and “work from-anywhere” acquire traction in a post-COVID environment, co-working spaces could  also become one of the flexible workspace options that companies incorporate into their  real estate strategies for their employees to be able to work across dispersed business  hubs as required.  

Bridge+ taps on its CapitaLand parentage to offer purpose-driven flexible workspace  solutions that meet real business needs. Bridge+ spaces leverage on CapitaLand’s  expertise in development and design, as well as investments in digital and technology  innovations to create well-thought-out flexible workspaces and services. Unlike most other co-working spaces, Bridge+ spaces are usually conceptualised as an  integral component of the building which CapitaLand also owns or manages. This creates  better user experiences and service offerings for Bridge+ members.  

Taking the latest Bridge+ 79 Robinson Road (Bridge+ 79RR) for example. Spanning three  floors and covering a space of 56,000 square feet, Bridge+79RR offers a mix of purpose driven workspace solutions that enhance the connectivity and productivity of businesses  and their employees through a variety of private and controlled social spaces that observe  safety measures and personal well-being. 

In addition to private work-suites, dedicated desks and hot-desks, Bridge+79RR  has more than 16,000 square feet set aside for in-person events, which are also  digitally-enabled to hold fully virtual or hybrid events. Bridge+ members are able to use facial recognition for frictionless and contactless  access all the way from the main lobby turnstiles to Bridge+ common areas, and  even to their private work-suites should they choose to do so. The Bridge+ app is fully integrated with the building’s access control and visitor  registration system such that members are able to invite and register their guests  to Bridge+ without the need for their guests to subsequently queue up at the  building lobby to identify themselves.

Leveraging on CapitaLand’s industry and business network, Bridge+ members  have access to curated functions and networking events that include not just  Bridge+ members, but also other market players such as business associations,  regulatory bodies, and government agencies. 

Focussing on the FinTech Tribe

FinTech is a growing industry sector. According to the MAS, investments in FinTech  firms based in Singapore reached a record S$1.4 billion in 2020, an increase of more  than 30% from 2019. In the first quarter of 2021, FinTech companies here already  raised more than S$650 million. The financial services and FinTech sectors together  created 2,500 net jobs last year. 

In the context of such growth trajectory, we envision 79 Robinson Road to be a  destination in the Singapore Central Business District (CBD) where leading members of  the international finance and technology communities can congregate regularly, not just  within themselves but also with corporates from different industries and other  stakeholders. Bridge+ flexible workspaces at 79RR provide the apt infrastructure and  services to facilitate business growth, partnerships and collaborations in FinTech.  

To that end, Bridge+ has established community partnerships with several key FinTech  bodies in Singapore. This includes the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), ASEAN  Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), Elevandi – organizer of the Singapore FinTech  Festival, and the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) – a research institute jointly set  up by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the National Research Foundation (NRF)  and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Bridge+ is working closely with these  partners to bring the FinTech community together. 

The international FinTech community can tap on the Bridge+ network as a platform to  connect and collaborate with local partners through seminars, hackathons, lab crawls,  industry gatherings and exhibitions that will be housed within the centre’s community  spaces. These include an event space which can host activities for 30 to 240 people, 25  well designed meeting spaces, spacious social hubs for collaboration and a private  member lounge.  

Recent activities at Bridge+ 79RR include the Singapore FinTech Festival Green Shoot  series, InvestTech series and workshops covering discussions and practical insights  from leading FinTech speakers globally on key issues affecting financial services,  technology and public policy. Bridge+ has also introduced exclusive membership  privileges for Singapore FinTech Club providing a place for meetings and  work. Members of Singapore’s FinTech community can also look forward to a lineup of  events to foster deeper social engagements among FinTech professionals in the  upcoming FinTech Odyssey such as fireside chats, masterclasses and labcrawls at  Bridge+ 79RR.

Research shows meeting rooms take centre stage in the hybrid workplace

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By: DigitalCFO Newsroom | 31 Aug 2021, Tuesday

Meeting Barometer drops as people struggle with virtual collaboration, on the impending return to the office

Barco ClickShare

Barco ClickShare, global leader in visualisation and collaboration solutions, has revealed the results from its annual research on meeting trends and engagement. As the Meeting Barometer, Barco’s meeting quality index, takes a plunge from +17 in 2020 to -25 now, the report marks five trends in work and meeting on the verge of returning to the office post-Covid. Hybrid meetings create opportunities for business leaders to change work culture, redesign the workplace and invest in usability and technology fully in sync with employee needs. 

Olivier Croly, Senior Vice President for APAC, Barco says, “Meetings play a crucial role in the workplace of the future. They will be key for business continuity in the transition into a new hybrid reality. Connecting workers wherever they are and making hybrid collaboration truly flow will lead to future success, higher engagement and productivity. Business leaders can make a real impact on business outcomes by starting from an employee-centric mindset.”

In our latest survey, we continued to monitor the engagement and needs of employees in meetings. We discovered five trending topics that business leaders can simply not ignore when preparing for a flexible, hybrid future:

  • Office optimism returns. Back to office scenarios are not only pushed by C-level management, they are completely in line with what employees want. More than half (58%) of Asia Pacific (APAC) respondents are ready to return to the office, while 75 percent expect to be back in the office by the end of June 2021. Employees want to work less from home than they did six months ago.
  • The Barco Meeting Barometer takes a plunge as people struggle with an overload of virtual meetings. An index of -25, compared to +17 in 2020 and +63 in 2019, clearly shows that meetings deteriorate. 63 percent feel remote collaboration does not come naturally. 
  • The search for more engagement drives us away from virtual. We look for more in-person meetings and less virtual interactions. 52 percent of respondents in APAC prefer to return to the office to host a meeting. The preference for hybrid, in-person or virtual, meetings depends on the purpose and type of a meeting, as well as on the number of meeting participants. High engagement activities like decision-making, solution-solving or relationship-building require office-based meetings.
  • The laptop is our interface to the world. As the preference for people-centric tech becomes clearer, the laptop remains the number one tool for 78 percent of APAC employees to host video calls from. Traditional in-room systems are no longer preferred, in favour of BYOD and BYOM.  
  • The employee-centric workplace arises. Hybrid meeting investments should be in sync with employee expectations on how and where they want to work and collaborate. 46 percent of APAC respondents believe that the company has not prioritised the investments they needed for better hybrid collaboration while 80 percent think that all meeting rooms need to be equipped with videoconferencing technology. 

The time for workplace change is now

The emerging hybrid workplace isn’t just about simply going back to our old ways or about drastically changing present-day, virtual habits. It will be a careful balance between employee needs and business goals. For companies to daily bridge the gap between in-office and remote workers and allow them to be truly productive in meetings, both a change in work culture and technology investments like usability, BYOM and video solutions, will be crucial.  


In addition, the report includes three main takeaways that will enable decision-makers to anticipate and keep ahead of competition, as they shape the hybrid workplace moving forward: 

·       Re-connecting with the organisation and with colleagues is crucial for employee engagement and retention. 70 percent of employees in APAC think their employer should start preparing for hybrid work now.

·       One size does not fit all. Not all meetings are equal, not all employees have the same needs or requirements for collaboration. There are many differences across generations, gender, department and seniority level. Companies need to develop workplace strategies that allow for this kind of flexibility and empower employees to work the way they want.

·       Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) is the employee’s preferred choice for connecting to the world and to co-workers. The laptop is the heart of the meeting room eco-system and employees want to work with wireless & touchless meeting room tech that allows BYOM. 82 percent of APAC-based respondents believe that easy-to-use technology can make for a better meeting. 

“As the world begins returning to the office, there’s no better time to start investing in an employee-centric work model. This includes enabling Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) in meeting rooms, implementing flexible work and installing easy-to-use, worker-centric collaborative technology. Business will only be able to stay ahead of the curve with focus on usability and engagement in hybrid meeting solutions,” concludes Croly. 

The full findings can be viewed here.

About Barco 

Barco designs technology to enable bright outcomes around the world. Seeing beyond the image, we develop visualisation and collaboration solutions to help you work together, share insights, and wow audiences. Our focus is on three core markets: Enterprise (from meeting, classroom and control rooms to corporate spaces), Healthcare (from the radiology department to the operating room), and Entertainment (from movie theaters to live events and attractions). In 2020, we realised sales of 770 million euro. We have a global team of 3,300 employees, whose passion for technology is captured in 430 granted patents. 

About the study

The online survey by market research and advisory company Savanta, was based on an international study of 750+ white collar workers from different industries, seniority levels and company sizes. The sample consists of employees from seven countries: the UK, US, Australia, India, Singapore, France, Germany and as to give a global overview of workplace trends.

For more information, visit us on www.barco.com/clickshare, follow us on Twitter (@BarcoClickShare), LinkedIn (BarcoClickShare), YouTube (BarcoTV), or like us on Facebook (ClickShareBarco).

Five ways to combat ageism at the workplace

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Article attributed to Marylin C.

Photo by @bernhard_dinger on Unsplash

I recently started watching a Korean drama series on Netflix titled “Misty” and it inspired me to pen an article on age discrimination. For those who don’t know about this drama series, it depicts a mature, successful, highly ambitious lady at the peak in her career as a news anchor. She fights to remain at the top despite repeated efforts to bring her down because of her age. The bosses wanted to replace her with a much younger news anchor as they felt TV viewers preferred a “fresh” face with no visible wrinkles.

This got me thinking about the topic of Ageism. What does it mean really? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ageism refers to “the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination towards others or oneself based on age.”

Unfortunately but perhaps not surprisingly, age discrimination is common in the workplace. For example, I was out with my dog a few weeks ago and passed by an office building. As I walked by, I saw an elderly man who works as a cleaner there and who I have chatted with on several occasions. He came up to me and told me that it was going to be his last week of work as the cleaning agency said he was too old to keep working. I asked his age and he said he is in his 60s. He went on to say that he didn’t want to stop working but the “heartless” agency insisted on it. He added that the elderly are always deemed as “useless” and, because of their age, are no longer qualified for any job. I was saddened by his words, but I could only wish him all the best.

Here in Singapore, the government recently announced that, starting on 1 July 2022, the statutory retirement age will rise to 63 and the re-employment age to 68. This is the first step toward raising the retirement age to 65 and the re-employment age to 70 by 2030. The question is, if ageism is a serious problem at the workplace and not much is done to combat the issue, how do we continue to stay employed until the “golden” age as envisioned?

A 2020 study conducted by Randstad Singapore revealed some shocking key findings:

·      31% of young respondents chose to avoid any interaction with mature workers

·      57% of respondents felt that they were given fewer training opportunities as they age

·      The mean age that 1,052 locally-based respondents think that they will reach career stagnation is 48 years old

With a few decades to go until I reach the “expected” retirement age, I wonder about how frightening age discrimination can be and how biases against older workers can easily inch their way into the workplace like a virus invading one’s body. It can spread very fast across an organization, negatively impacting the workforce and its culture.

Are organizations only focused on hiring/growing the younger generation and overlooking more experienced, mature workers? Have they been focusing on age rather than merits? As a fellow LinkedIn member David Wee recently posted “If you are asking for 20 years of work experience then don’t look for 30-year-old candidates.” He pointed out that although older candidates may cost more, their expertise, institutional knowledge and versatility also are of value. I couldn’t agree more!

I feel that to mitigate the effects of ageism, employers need to implement unbiased HR policies and step in quickly.

Here are 5 ways organizations can combat ageism at work. The goal is to create an inclusive environment for everyone.

Don’t approach layoffs based on age or pay

Assuming that older workers could be retiring soon and therefore marked for retrenchment is a bad idea. It damages employee morale and productivity. Because they have accumulated more years of experience, older employees often will be more highly paid. Again, it is bad policy to target pay as the reason for letting an employee go. Sometimes, management will try to exclude the mature workers from projects and important meetings or find fault with their daily tasks, in the hopes they would leave on their own accord. I find this manipulative, sadly, it happens.

Offer mentorship programs and training

Ensure orientation programs for new hires and leadership courses for managers cover ageism in the workplace. Mentorship programs also can help bridge age-related tensions. The expertise and knowledge that more mature workers bring to an organization are valuable resources and are worth sharing with employees in the earlier phases of their careers. Organizations should get mature workers involved in training and development for new/ younger staff, this will give them a purpose in working in addition to the usual day to day work. 

It starts with the hiring process

Age discrimination limits the talent pool and can cost the organization qualified candidates and diverse teams. Don’t ask applicants to indicate their date of birth on the hiring form and remove discriminatory language like “fresh grads” or “1-2 years of experience may apply” from job descriptions.

Create an open dialogue with employees

Building a safe environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their views and concerns is important to combat ageism in the workplace. Cultivating open lines of communication is a way to build trust and dissolve the generational boundaries that can form inadvertently.

Employ a multi-generational team

A multi-generational workforce helps to build a culture of diversity and inclusion. It is all about the connections between employees, engagement, and retention efforts to drive business growth and success. Cross-generational learning is developed as a result. The mature employees can impart their expertise to the younger generation while, at the same time, the latter can impart their “tech-savvy” office skills and knowledge to the former. It is a win-win for the workers and the organization.

Have you experienced phrases like “past your prime” or “over the hill” labels? Have you ever felt ageism at your ex/current workplace? I would love to hear your views in the comments below.

“Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.”- David Bowie 

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