Technology has dramatically reshaped the average workplace in North America over the past few decades. The office environment of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s is no longer the norm. Instead, the office and work environment has been taken over by rapid technological advancement. Technology now allows workers to interact with a global market, and even work from home or take work with them while on the road.
Advancement of technology has changed everything in terms of how we work and where we work too. Evolving technology has opened doors for innovation, efficiency, research and further education. Technology has become an integral part of how we work and how we deliver our products and services to our customers.
The influx of new technologies that has been making an impact on our personal lives has also affected our professional lives. It has greatly affected the way we conduct business and the internal functions of companies. Evolving technologies are redefining what Canadians look for in a workplace. Whether it is the small business owner or the employee who is looking to work for a progressive company, the technology used in the workplace is key to success. Advancements in technology have allowed us to connect to anyone, anywhere at anytime. Communications technology has helped to increase collaboration in the workplace while giving us the ability to work offsite, away from the office. It has also redefined how teamwork is done.
Small business owners are constantly reminded that the bottom line of any business is to achieve profitability. Advances in technology in the workplace facilitate improved productivity. As employees are encouraged to optimize their time thanks to such technology, a great deal less time is wasted, and a lot more time is used on more profitable tasks.
A productive workplace is a profitable one, which is just one of the important ways that technology has changed the small business workplace environment for the better. Having the technology to connect and change our processes doesn’t mean we factor ourselves out of the equation. It means we are forced to change how we use tools to get our job done. Even though tools and apps have taken over the light to heavy lifting, we are still the ones in charge of streamlining the new processes we have set up for our small businesses.
As we are halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, work can be done from almost anywhere. In fact, technology has encouraged more ‘face time’ with clients, employees, coworkers and colleagues. These days, not everyone needs to be physically at a meeting to be at a meeting. Working from home (or remotely) is something that is much more common in our current work lives. There is no denying the incredible impact that technology has had on the traditional workplace. It’s now up to small business owners to keep up with this ever-evolving trend efficiently. One of the ways this can be accomplished is by having office space in a serviced office that provides access to ever-changing technology – including phone systems, business internet networks, WiFi advancements and even network printing on advanced photocopiers.
One technology that Telsec Business Centres offers (that is becoming very popular with virtual office clients) is the VoIP extension. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocals) is a service that allows small business owners to work from wherever they are, yet still appear as if they are working from their current physical business address. Incoming calls are transferred, and outgoing calls also appear to be coming from the same business address phone number. In other words, you could be in London England for work or on vacation. When you call your client using your VoIP extension, they see your main business number come up in their call display. Your clients do not know that you are working thousands of miles from your primary business address.