The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in agile working and brought digital transformation at pace. This changing landscape has resulted in a significant increase in the number of organisations managing dispersed workforces.

Dispersed or hybrid workforces bring many benefits, such as cost efficiencies – as people become consumers of space rather than owners of it – allowing organisations to downsize their physical real estate. Diversification of talent pools is also facilitated as geography and accessibility are no longer recruitment barriers and increased employee engagement and satisfaction when working remotely is widely reported.

While such agility brings benefits, many organisations are increasingly looking for effective solutions to create more connected, resilient and engaged workforces, while increasing efficiency and boosting productivity at the same time.

A 2021 study by Financebuzz  – https://financebuzz.com/drawbacks-remote-work-survey – found that almost half of remote workers felt isolated and reported finding it harder to build relationships with colleagues.  Organisations have been quick to recognise that connectivity is vital, particularly across dispersed workforces, which require innovative solutions to replace traditional offerings, such as team building days and catch ups at the water cooler.  Connectivity is a key factor in ensuring that company culture is aligned and embedded across dispersed teams and geographical locations and can significantly mitigate feelings of isolation, facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practice and increase resilience.

The key to connectivity and alignment in the new world of work is effective communication. Implementing the right digital platform to drive communication and collaboration is essential to empower and nurture valuable talent. An effective platform when used well, which is embedded into a company’s digital culture, will keep workers connected, engaged and informed wherever they are based.

Dispersed employees often lack the opportunities for collaboration that those in a “bricks and mortar” environment enjoy. While video calls and the ability to share screens can go some way to bridge the gap, intuitive, digital collaboration platforms are the key to unlocking collaboration and driving productivity across dispersed teams.

Increasingly, organisations are seeking solutions which can allow them to respond with agility to the changing landscape. Companies are faced with an increase in remote and dispersed working models, therefore business resilience, workplace flexibility and people connectivity must now be valued and treated as key business priorities.

Dispersed work forces can bring operational challenges, particularly to HR and payroll teams, which are often managing a diverse workforce across differing global locations and time zones. Advances in technology have seen the development of digitally sophisticated solutions to address such complexities.  For example, MHR’s mobile first platform People First uses geolocation technology, which helps map and record mobile workers’ hours and routes, delivering significant time and cost savings while improving the quality and accuracy of payroll, as the need for physical timesheets and manual data entry is eliminated.

Chris Kerridge, Employee Engagement Expert at MHR International, which uses this technology to connect and align its dispersed workforce, echoed this appetite for intuitive and integrated platforms: “Our People First platform refines a new concept in workforce engagement that combines technological advances with new thinking about how to make businesses more productive, agile and resilient following a period of great change. Our market-leading combined HR and payroll software refines a new concept in workforce engagement that combines technological advances with new thinking about how to make businesses more productive, agile and resilient following a period of great change. It’s designed to unify workforces through enhanced communication and collaboration across organisations, aligning with the global shift towards flexible workplaces.”

Organisations need to connect and align dispersed teams to retain and grow talent, drive creativity and productivity and transform business resilience and flexibility and it is clear that to do intuitive solutions are required.  The demand for mobile first, innovative and holistic platforms that can deliver greater agility is increasing and the market is rising to meet this new appetite with the development and launch of holistic and increasingly innovative platforms that can deliver in this new world.  The future, it seems may be dispersed but we will never be better connected.

To view how People First can help your organisation visit: https://mhrglobal.com/uk/en/peoplefirst