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The Future of WorkIt’s Borderless, Lightning-Fast, and Highly Creative.

By Eran Levy, Kevin Delaney, Ari Kapur, Nicole France, Jessica Hill, Stefanie McCann

A New Frontier of Work: Optimizing Creativity, Collaboration and Productivity

The future of work — it’s an exciting frontier where, more than ever, innovation and collaboration will be keys to success. And it’s coming to an enterprise near you at breakneck speed. Not to mention a café, home office, or shared workspace.

In this fast-changing world, speed, agility, and creativity drive competitive advantage. To succeed, teams need

better ways to meet, share ideas and information, and get things done — fast. That requires technology change, to expand the boundaries of human potential. And it also demands the right culture, to attract and retain top talent.

But how can business leaders meet the expectations of their best employees, who demand that technology and culture enable a creative, productive, and satisfying experience, anywhere they choose to work?

© 2018 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Connected Futures | Future of Work Report 2

93%Organizations that made

significant changes in preparation for the future of

work

55%

51%

52%

69%

... but progress lags in key areas, like culture

39%

41%

Technology (collaboration tools, applications, mobility)

Work space (optimizing for creativity and/or collaboration)

Culture (values, diversity, work/life balance, individual growth)

Organizational Structure (teams, headcount, departments)

How Work Is Accomplished (meetings, collaboration)

People/Talent (knowledge sharing, learning, productivity)

Most companies are adapting...

Figure 1

Question

Where has your organization made significant changes in preparation for the future of work?

Embrace the Future of Work — on All Fronts

The good news is that many organizations are adapting. In the preliminary findings of a Cisco survey of more than 1300 knowledge workers across nine countries, 93 percent believed that their organizations are making changes for the future of work. But that doesn’t mean it’s enough. In looking at changes implemented across key areas, the survey revealed that many organizations still have a long way to go.

This is true for investing in the technology foundation — including collaboration tools, devices, applications, mobility, and automation — where 69 percent are driving changes. But it is especially critical when it

comes to driving cultural changes, adapting the work environment, and changing the way work is being done.

True transformation occurs when organizations drive change on multiple fronts, including creating the kind of culture that values trust, individual growth, work/life balance, diversity, and the free exchange of ideas, as well as the organizational structure that enables faster and more dynamic ways of working.

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Connected Futures | Future of Work Report 3© 2018 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Challenges organizations face

Figure 2

Question

What are the most significant challenges your organization faces today?

Emerging technologies like AI and robotics inspire glaring headlines about humans being replaced by machines. But in disruptive, fast-changing marketplaces, innovation and agility rule — and those arise from human talent and creativity. New ways of working enable a nimble, innovative, efficient, and powerful new workforce, empowered by technology.

Yet in Cisco’s survey, the three most significant challenges for organizations today relate to people: diminishing employee satisfaction, slow decision making, and an inability to retain top talent.

Getting the whole environment right — including tools, culture, and work practices — has a direct impact on engagement, creativity, productivity, and agility. Those are the very things that keep high-performing employees engaged and make companies successful. Our findings show that in addition to the fundamental tools, savvy companies also focus on creating a work environment – physical and digital – where employees spend more time working effectively.

Tackling the People Challenge

Data and information security

Diminishing employee satisfaction

Too slow to make decisions

Lack of transparency and information sharing across departments/functions

Inability to retain top talent

34%

25%25%

32%32%

The number one challenge organizations face today is diminishing employee satisfaction

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Challenges people face in their job role

Figure 3

Question

What are the most significant challenges you face in your job role today?

However, too many employees lack the means to drive future success for their organizations. Knowledge workers made their top complaints clear: mundane administrative tasks that eat up too much time; lack of personal growth opportunities; ineffective meetings; and volumes of unmanageable data.

Cisco’s study revealed high expectations from workers looking to accomplish their tasks anywhere they choose, with the ability to focus, meet, collaborate, and share information in the most effective ways possible. Along with the flexibility to better control their work/life balance in a diverse, trusting environment.

The implications are big. Until such frustrations are lessened — through a combination of technology solutions and cultural evolution — companies will risk losing top talent while hampering productivity and innovation.

Barriers to Productivity and Innovation

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Too much time spent in meetings

Spending too much time on administrative tasks

Lack of personal growth opportunities

Poor or unproductive meetings

Dealing with an increased amount of data/information

Lack of work-life balance

33%

25%25%26%29%

33%

Poor, unproductive meetings are among the top challenges employees face today


This is validated by Cisco’s survey, which revealed that employees with the freedom to work remotely are already among the most satisfied, creative, productive, and agile.

The future of work is about what we do, not where. Today’s technology can make almost any place a workplace, allowing modern workers the freedom to decide how and where they contribute the most value. That means that “place-ism,” the insistence that all employees work in the same space, will increasingly hinder success — and innovation — moving forward. In Cisco’s

Goodbye ‘Place-ism,’ Hello Top Talent

Workers want flexibility and new capabilities, and organizations are largely respondingQuestion

Figure 4

Access to information & tools

Access to collaboration tools

Freedom to choose work location

54%

44%

Already There In process, but not quite there

Will be there in next 3 years

Never going to happen

0% 80%60%40%20% 100%

61%We have secure, reliable access to all of the tools and information I need to do my job, regardless of device or location

I have the collaboration tools (voice, video, IM, discussion threads, project plans/tasks, and file sharing) I need to easily collaborate with anyone in my organization

I have the freedom to choose any place to get my work done

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survey, 23 percent of knowledge workers currently have the freedom to choose where they work, but another 44 percent expect to have that choice within the next three years.

Ending place-ism also empowers more people to contribute their skills and passion, while giving organizations access to more and varied top talent.


According to knowledge workers, the number one factor influencing productivity, agility, and job satisfaction is secure, reliable access to all of the tools and information they need to do their jobs, regardless of device or location. While only 33 percent have that ability today, companies are responding; another 61 percent expect to within three years or less.

Our study revealed a similar trend with collaboration tools, a linchpin of future work success. Voice, video, IM, discussion threads, digital whiteboards, project tasks, and file sharing allow

teams to be creative, flexible, and productive moving forward. No single tool is a magic bullet for future collaboration. And finding the right combination is essential for success.

Beyond those current capabilities, AI, voice recognition, and other emerging technologies are poised to play a major role in improving the lot of knowledge workers. These tools will alleviate such previously mentioned challenges as time spent on administrative tasks and managing large amounts of data, and will support better, faster decisions.

In Cisco’s survey, 63 percent of respondents are using or are in the process of adopting some kind of automation tool, such as those that simplify setting up meetings or filling out expense reports. Smart organizations will continue looking for ways to ease the burden on knowledge workers from rote tasks.

The Right Tools for a Borderless Future


Cisco’s study demonstrates that driving the right cultural and technological changes pays serious dividends for any organization looking to compete in the digital age. These show up in the form of job satisfaction, productivity, and levels of innovation and creativity, all of which drive greater customer value.

Beyond access to the tools and data they need to do their jobs, the biggest factors influencing job satisfaction among knowledge workers include effective team meetings that resulted in clear outcomes and diverse teams built on respect for all kinds of contributors.

Innovation and creativity are also enhanced by work spaces designed to accommodate different kinds of activities, whether focusing,

collaborating, or creating — as well as secure access to tools and data and effective team meetings.

When the right collaboration tools are combined with a forward-thinking culture, teams can reach their full potential.

Driving Engagement, Productivity, and Innovation: Where Culture and Tech Meet

When the right collaboration tools are combined with a forward-thinking culture, teams can reach their full potential.


Efficient team meetings are a key driver of creativity, productivity, and job satisfaction

Figure 5

Office spaces optimized for focusing, creating, and/or

collaboration

Secure, reliable access to essential tools and information, regardless of location or device

Team meetings with clear outcomes, efficient use of time

Respect, values, diversity, and free exchange of ideas

Flexibility to control work/life balance

54%

47%

47%

48%

49%

Satisfaction


Office spaces optimized for focusing, creating, and/or

collaboration



Tools (voice, video, IM, and file sharing) that allow easy

collaboration

45%

41%

43%

44%

45%

Creativity

Respect, values, diversity, and free exchange of ideas




Trusted to complete tasks and make good decisions,

regardless of location

50%

42%

43%

45%

46%

Productivity

QuestionWhich of the following would have the most positive impact on your overall job satisfaction?

Base size: 639

Which of the following would have the most positive impact on your ability to be innovative and creatively solve problems in your role?

QuestionWhich of the following would have the most positive impact on your productivity in your current role?

Question

Base size: 702Base size: 655


The key is getting the most out of those meetings, no matter where participants are located.

Poor, unproductive meetings proved a top challenge and persistent complaint. On the flip side, efficient and effective meetings are the second most impactful factor on satisfaction, productivity and creativity level altogether (see Figure 5).

Although 25 percent of knowledge workers feel they spend too much time in meetings, they don’t expect the balance of “me-time” vs. “we-time” to change much in the future — there’s simply no way around it in a collaborative culture. The key is getting the most out of those meetings, no matter where participants are located. Once workers go back to their crucial “alone” time to think and create, they should be empowered with the information and inspiration they need.

Getting Meetings Right


Where and how meetings happen

Figure 6

According to the knowledge workers we surveyed, time working remotely is expected to double within the next three years. That longing for greater flexibility translates into a preference for the technologies that help to transform meetings — and work itself.

This includes a pronounced move away from voice-only and in-person meetings and towards virtual and video. These employees have signaled that they are ready for, if not fewer meetings — there’s simply no way around them in a collaborative culture — then more effective ones.

However, while virtual meetings offer much greater flexibility, they introduce their own challenges. In Cisco focus groups, participants feared a drop in levels of engagement compared with in-person meetings — especially given the tendency to multi-task. Video technology helps to lessen such issues, by offering an immersive experience that includes the kinds of non-verbal gestures and communications once discerned only in face-to-face meetings.

Getting virtual meetings right increases flexibility and offers real-time access to information and insights. All of which results in a more engaging and productive work experience.

Building Better Collaboration: From Voice to Truly Virtual

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26%

41%

59%

74%

Virtual

Video

No video

In-person80%In-office

20%Remotely

Now In 3 Years

44%

58%

41% +110%+68%

Growth

+43%

0%

Question

What percent of your meetings today are in-person versus virtual?

What percent of your virtual meetings use video conferencing today?

And how would you like this to look in the next 3 years?

What percentage of your time do you currently spend working from home or some other remote location versus in a corporate office each week?


Cisco’s preliminary study results indicate that workers see a clear path to a better future, with effective meetings, better work-life balance, and highly creative collaboration. Business leaders must respond in kind if they want to attract and keep the best talent.

Technology change — ensuring a strong, secure, and modernized infrastructure foundation to support the kinds of collaboration and effective meetings that workers demand — is part of the challenge. Culture change — encouraging trust, flexibility, and respect across highly dynamic and far-flung teams — is another.

It’s not just the right thing to do, but the wise thing. These capabilities drive clear benefits in productivity, creativity, agility, and engagement.

The future of work: It promises to be borderless, lightning-fast, and highly creative (not to mention fun). Good leaders will reinvent their businesses to meet these challenges — and create unprecedented value along the way.

The Future of Work Is Here for the Taking


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