How To Make a Winning Argument for Workplace Technology Investments

You’ve probably had frustrating conversations before where you tried to convince your CEO to invest in new workplace technology. If they weren’t listening then, they likely will now. The need to work remotely during the pandemic revealed technology gaps at many organizations and accelerated many digital transformation initiatives. At the same time, it also put a strain on company budgets. So while your leadership team may be more receptive to new tech investments, you’ll still need to build a strong business case for them.

Here’s how.

Lead with the employee experience

While much of your role is focused on solving technology problems, the work you do contributes to the employee experience on a much broader level.

The 15 minutes your employees spend searching for their colleagues or finding an available conference room may not seem like much, but they create frustrations that add up over time.

According to author Jacob Morgan, technology is one of the three main factors that contribute to the employee experience. Workplace policies and the physical office are the others. And with many employees working remotely for the past 12 months, they’ve missed the benefits that come with face-to-face interactions. Technology is a practical way to keep them connected to each other and their environment, especially after they’ve returned to the office. It also improves employee productivity and boosts the bottom line.

Morgan’s research found companies that invest heavily in the employee experience earned more than four times the average profit and two times the average revenue compared to those that did not. The same research also showed that employees tend to react positively when a company invests in workplace technology, as it makes their job both easier and more satisfying.

Creating a positive environment in which employees are happy has become a top priority for industry leaders. This is because a business with a good culture won’t just attract great employees — it will retain them as well.

This is a top priority for business leaders, especially as new research shows over a fourth of employees are planning to leave their current job following the pandemic.

By starting the conversation with the employee experience, you’re speaking the language of your leadership team.

Show how a new solution will not only solve problems for your team, but will also reduce frustration, improve productivity and collaboration, and potentially impact recruitment and retention.

Look for user-friendly, self-service technology

Now that so many employees have become accustomed to the efficiency of working remotely, they expect their time in the office to be just as productive. And they expect their workplace technology to be just as easy to use as the apps on their smartphone.

Investing in user-friendly technology that requires little to no training empowers employees and reduces administrative work. For instance, if your workforce can use a mobile app to reserve rooms or request IT support, they won’t bog down your team with so many requests.

It’s also important to consider how new workplace technology can simplify your current tech stack, especially if you use many different software licenses between different locations. You may also have on-premise software solutions, which are often expensive to maintain and upgrade.

Cloud-based software solutions tend to be much easier and more cost-effective, since maintenance, hosting, and upgrades are all typically included in subscription prices. They are also often easier to integrate with the technology you already use, especially if they have single sign-on functionality. This keeps employees from having to remember multiple usernames and passwords and also makes onboarding and offboarding much easier.

Ensuring that you have thoroughly considered these factors and chosen workplace technology that meets these criteria will give your CEO greater confidence in your recommendation.

Make the case for workplace analytics

While the hybrid workplace is great for flexibility, it can be more difficult to manage in some ways. When you can’t anticipate or monitor occupancy rates, it’s difficult to plan ahead. You don’t want to lease more office space if your existing locations are only half full the majority of the time. And for employees who come to the office expecting to collaborate with others, walking into a mostly empty office is a disheartening experience.

As an IT leader, you’re in a unique position where you can influence how your team works on a day-to-day basis. When you’re making your argument to your CEO for investing in workplace technology, show them how that tech can give them better insight into space utilization. For instance, they can see valuable analytics on the average meeting size and length so they can adjust your workplace design and scheduling accordingly.

Technology that integrates with sensors adds another layer of insight. You can measure average occupancy, peak occupancy, and the occupancy of individual workspaces compared to collaborative areas. You can allow employees to reserve space when they need it, instead of having assigned seats for everyone. And with historical data, you can better plan for your company’s growth.

Now is the time to make your case

Investing in new workplace technology can be an expensive, time-consuming process, so it’s no wonder that some CEOs need more convincing. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. If you look for technology that is easy to use, saves your company time and money, and is just as easy to implement, the solutions will sell themselves.

Teem by iOFFICE is essential in today’s hybrid work environment.

Employees can find available rooms or desks and reserve them with a mobile app, making it easy to manage flexible seating. Workplace leaders can also gain insights into how employees are using conference rooms and desks, including average meeting room occupancy, peak occupancy, and average meeting times.

They can use this valuable data to optimize workspaces, reduce costs, and plan ahead.

Teem’s solutions are just as easy to implement as they are to use. You can deploy them in minutes, with no floor plan required. Our meeting room booking system integrates with the calendar apps your workplace already uses and also includes single-sign-on so employees can stay connected simply by logging into their email. Learn more.