by Brianna Crandall — February 5, 2014—Asure Software, a Texas-based provider of workplace management solutions, recently shared its perspectives on three key factors that the company expects will drive workplace strategies in 2014: mobilization, globalization and technology. As facilities managers experience daily, these forces are driving major shifts in the workplace environment.
“Organizations are constantly striving to more effectively manage their largest expenditures, which typically are labor, real estate and technology,” said Asure CEO Pat Goepel. “Three general areas are driving dramatic changes in the workplace landscape: mobilization, globalization and technology. By focusing on the trends occurring in these areas, business leaders are successfully transforming what are typically their largest expenses into a business advantage.”
Asure Software’s new infographic illustrates the company’s workplace management predictions and insights for 2014.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Goepel shared perspectives and related trends in each area:
Trend Area #1 – Mobilization
IDC projects that 1.3 billion workers worldwide will be mobile by 2015, which affects organizations in many ways. “The workforce is becoming increasingly transient, decentralized and global. Telecommuting continues to grow, and most organizations now offer or allow it, whether formally or informally, to support retention and recruitment strategies,” Goepel said. A Harris Interactive 2012 study found that one in three employees ranks the ability to work from home higher than perks such as company cars.
The dynamics of an increasingly mobile workforce are also impacting physical office space demands. With growing numbers of mobile workers who no longer need a “permanent home” at the office, and the traditional “office backpack” (cubicle/office space, landline, desktop) costing employers about $10,000-15,000 per year, business leaders are motivated to right-size and optimize space.
For example, many organizations are moving from assigned space to shared space approaches for mobile staff, and providing more collaboration spaces where staff can gather for ad hoc working sessions, and using space scheduling systems to ensure workers can access and reserve space when they need it.
“Today’s workforce is increasingly demanding flexibility and agility to work when and where they need—out of the office confines and into the world where customers and prospects are living and business is being conducted—and empowerment to do more for themselves,” said Goepel.
Trend Area #2 – Globalization
The statistics on globalization are hard to ignore: 96 percent of the world’s population is outside of the United States, and more than half of the country’s gross domestic product comes from the Asia Pacific region. More than 82,000 companies and 800,000 subsidiaries are multinational. “Businesses are increasingly looking outside of the U.S. for market opportunities. As employees and customers become dispersed globally, organizations must find ways to collaborate and operate more effectively and seamlessly,” Goepel explained.
Trend Area #3 – Technology
“Smart companies are building their technology strategies to support today’s mobilized workforce and the technologies they use,” said Goepel.
A 2013 Forrester study reported “anytime, anywhere workers” in the USA and Europe grew from 15 percent to 29 percent of employees between 2011 and 2012, and 905 million tablets will be in use for work and home globally by 2017. Silicon India recently reported that the number of active cell phones will reach 7.3 billion by 2014.
Organizations are increasingly turning to The Cloud, which facilitates mobility and agility by providing anytime/anywhere access that frees workers from the constraints of office-based networks. Cloud access also removes the disruptions and barriers that can limit employee productivity and leave mobile workers feeling isolated and disengaged. It enables them to access the same tools that are available at the physical office location, and provides all employees with access to the same information at the same time.
Organizations also are adapting to increased mobility and global trends with support for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) strategies and technology solutions such as mobile apps. In fact, a 2012 Cisco study found that 89 percent of information technology (IT) departments enable BYOD strategies in some form. “With advancements in facial recognition and geolocation technologies, employees can now use their mobile devices as a timeclock, organizations can reduce costly time fraud, and supervisors can more effectively track and manage remote staff,” Goepel noted.
Asure Software
Asure Software, headquartered in Austin, Texas, offers cloud-based time and labor management and workspace management solutions that enable businesses to control their biggest costs—labor, real estate and technology—and prepare for the workforce of the future in a highly mobile, geographically disparate and technically wired work environment.
Asure serves approximately 6,000 clients worldwide and currently offers two main product lines: AsureSpace workplace management solutions enable organizations to maximize the return on investment (ROI) of their real estate, and AsureForce time and labor management solutions deliver efficient management of human resource (HR) and payroll processes.
