Duleek Ranatunga, CEO of Ourotech, and Brandon Luong, Founder of GrindHub, joined the Business Leadership Series (BLS) on October 6 to discuss Digital Workspaces: How to Move Out of the Office?
Over the past ten years, technology has advanced so much that topics such as telework, virtual office and remote location have become a reality for business. Learning hot to create and effective digital environment is not easy though. It takes the right combination of physical and online interaction to bridge the generational gap and keep both millennials (digital natives) and older generations (digital immigrants) engaged and productive.
At Ourotech, Duleek has a need for both office space and lab space. The company is currently 3D printing cancerous human lung models to test drugs and other potential cures. As Duleek explained, “Ourotech saves money by utilizing a digital workspace since it’s illegal to do lab work outside of a lab.” They use a combination of software - in this case, slack and Skype - to realize financial and convenience advantages. Not the disadvantages, which are often overlooked - include distractions and administration. It’s hard to monitor your company culture online, so make sure you establish a plan for being online and connected. Even though employees are working remotely, they’re not always at their desk to respond instantaneously. Keep communication channels open and build in personal interaction so people can put a face to a name.
GrindHub, a smart tool aggregating popular services into one dashboard, has also moved out of the office like Ourotech. Brandon Luong shared similar experiences of a digital workspace. He also provided a checklist of items to know if you are ready. Tips for an easy switch include - establish office hours, preferred communication methods, and software tools to enhance productivity. Check out an hour tracker, Helpdesk, CRM, and marketing automation tools, in addition to the standard email, VoIP, and messaging.
