Intel and CIO Power Hour exposes productivity challenges for hybrid working

Hybrid working is now mainstream. The latest figures from the UK government suggest that over one-in-five UK workers now work at least one day per week from home, while one-in-eight work from home exclusively. In knowledge industries these figures are significantly higher. Yet productivity is becoming a pain point. A November 2022 study for Microsoft found that while 87% of employees felt they worked as efficiently when working from home as in the office, 85% of business leaders lacked the same confidence. A recent Foundry Power Hour event, sponsored by Intel and conducted under Chatham House rules, exposed some of the concerns.

An IT specialist from the aerospace industry explained that while people might feel they were being more productive from home, it was too easy to become embroiled in end-to-end meetings, as discussions that would have been “a five to ten minute chat in the office becomes a half-hour chat, with those chats filling up the day.” A representative from a UK university concurred. Despite efforts to reduce the length and quantity of online meetings, colleagues were still ending up with packed diaries that stifled productivity. “It’s not to say that it’s not valuable but is it productive?” they questioned.

This was echoed by a representative from a major DIY retailer, who explained that they had home-based colleagues who would be engaged in two online meetings at once. “They think that’s making them really productive, but actually they’re not present in either. We need to think about how we look at productivity.”

An IT service manager from the construction industry described how, in their office, hybrid meetings had resulted in a two-tier experience, where participants working from home were not as actively engaged. In their opinion, this reflected a two-tier workforce, where those working remotely “are almost forgotten about.” They also felt that some employees ostensibly engaged in meetings were turning the camera off to spend their time on other tasks. “That’s not to say they’re not productive, but they’re not engaged in what their colleagues are devoting their time to.”

A representative from a shipping company said that their organisation had decided to focus on getting as many people back into the office as possible, even if that meant losing workers who preferred more flexibility. “I think productivity is relatively straightforward if it can be measured” they explained, “but it depends on the function of the company and the functions of the individuals working in that company.”

For Bradley Jenkins, UK Client Sales Director for Intel, the key is ensuring users get the best possible experience whether they’re in the home or office, using software features and settings to reduce distractions at home and investing in hardware, spaces and resources that enhanced their productivity while in the office.

“I think that, from a business perspective, that what IT really needs to do is look at people’s experience. What are the challenges people are having? What are the roadblocks that are preventing them from being as productive as they can be? And then, basically, to start to remove those barriers, because if you remove those barriers, if you improve the user experience, then I’m a huge believer that that’s going to improve personal productivity.”

From the discussions it’s clear that hybrid working raises a series of challenges for IT. How do you maintain security with a remote workforce, where end users may be working with their own devices? How do you create a culture of productivity and remove the barriers and distractions that constrain it? There are no easy answers, but businesses can start by putting the tech, policies and processes in place to support and secure employees and give them the most productive environment possible.

This is where the Intel vPro® platform comes in. Built to support IT professionals and their users with powerful tools and transformative features, Intel vPro integrates a suite of technologies that have been developed and improved upon over 15 years to move business forward. With each component and technology designed for professional grade, organisations of all sizes can be confident Intel vPro provides what they’ll need to enhance productivity through performance, boost security protections for their data, and manage their PCs in an easy, stable manner.  With multiple benefits enabled out-of-the-box and support for multiple operating systems and a variety of platform options, it’s simple: Intel vPro is Built for All Businesses. Learn more at intel.co.uk/vpro.