In today's diverse workplace, finding ways to span multiple generations and ensure seamless communication and collaboration can be a challenge. From baby boomers to Gen Z, each generation brings its own preferences, habits and attitudes towards technology. However, with the right approach, workplace technology can bridge the generation gap, fostering productivity, innovation, and harmony among employees of all ages.
It's not easy, but here's some top tips for getting this right:
At Prysm (www.prysmsystems.com), we believe the hardest thing about work should be the work itself. Not the technology you use for meetings, not even the logistics of collaborating with your extended teams, whether you are trying to work from home or on travel. That's why our mission has been to remove the friction points that stand between you and getting important stuff done. We're passionate about creating products and solutions that help people work smarter — both together and alone, from office and home, on any display or device.
Two weeks ago, Prysm participated in New York Digital Signage Week (NYDSW), hosting a variety of events – from press Q&As to a customer and partner open house – at our New York City CEC, located in the heart of bustling Manhattan. Throughout the week, we showcased how the Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) 6K Series is helping digital signage customers provide a unique and personalized experience for consumers.
I have been friends with Mark Thompson, the #1 growth leadership coach, and his wife, career strategist Bonita Thompson for years, and ever since they saw the Prysm Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) 6K Series at our launch party in New York City, they have been eager to give the new technology a try.
It’s the beginning of a new year, and like many of you, I find this is a great time to jump-start my resolve to accomplish more and better — whether that means de-cluttering my desk, better managing my inbox or taking a hike to re-focus.
Once you’ve realized how important it is to invest in a digital workplace and have secured the budget you need to move forward with your plan, it’s time to begin looking for a collaboration solution to support this new way of work.
Prysm is laser-focused on helping companies develop digital transformation initiatives because we understand that leaders in the digital space are also revenue leaders. Case in point: a McKinsey & Company study1 found that companies that wholeheartedly embrace digital technology — strategically, not just tactically — pull in, on average, five times more revenue than digital laggards. No small potatoes.
The number of remote workers is rising by the year. With the advancement of modern technology and an increasing understanding of how flexibility can improve performance and morale, this is a trend that is likely to surge in popularity.
Research* shows that today's employees can spend up to 80% of their workdays collaborating. As a result, meetings — our primary method of working together — have become mere waypoints in an ongoing collaborative process. This is a major shift from the way we used to think about meetings, which we regarded as events with a beginning and an end.
Remember scrambling like mad for new technology?
I know people who camped out overnight to secure their place in line for the latest version of a smartphone. Others significantly overpaid or added their names to pre-order lists months in advance — just to make sure they had the most up-to-date device.
The other day, I heard a great story about how a colleague of mine got board approval to hire more than two dozen new staff members—and the whole negotiation took less than an hour. He used digital workplace technology to pull a remote team member into a board meeting on the fly and run ROI scenarios in real-time. Without being able to see the specific figures, the decision would have taken weeks and cost millions in potential revenue.
When we talk about the gender/wage gap, we're most likely discussing how women and men with the same skills and experience should get paid the same salaries (inarguable). We usually attribute the gap to straight-up sexism, which is impossible to dispute. I know I've encountered plenty of that in the workplace.
I spend a lot of my time at Prysm talking to existing customers about our products and services, especially when it’s time to renew their contracts. Invariably, the most enthusiastic customers are those who take advantage of our full solution — using Prysm Application Suite in concert with a Prysm touchscreen display.
I was talking to one of our sales reps the other day, and he told me something very interesting: he frequently speaks with Prysm users who don’t know about some of our best features! (Reminds me of a guy I used to date, but that’s a story for another time.)
Because I’m passionate about our product, I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to highlight some of the cool features that you might not know about or that you might not be used to their fullest extent.
I had a chat the other day with an employee of a large, well-known tech company. She told me a story that really surprised me. She said that the meeting technology used at her company was so terrible that it was not only impacting productivity; it was actually making people hate their jobs.
“We picked Prysm, in part, because it reflected our brand in being very innovative.” —John Heiman, Director of Experiential Marketing, Sprint
Recently, Prysm published a case study about Sprint’s newly renovated executive-briefing center (EBC) at its headquarters in Overland, Kansas, featuring Prysm Visual Workplace. The telecom giant’s choice of technology was symbolic of a movement in today’s enterprise — the transformation of the traditional “dog-and-pony show” into a consultative sale requiring authentic collaboration.
It's the hallmark of rookie sales reps — the rote PowerPoint presentation, delivered to every new customer and prospect with little to no variation in content and no time for discovery or feedback. The one-size-fits-all presentation is unlikely to come across as personalized or inspired and rarely leads to a sale. When you're trying to impress a prospect with your understanding of their business and commitment to their success, this is simply a poor strategy.
While I love people, I can be downright curmudgeonly when it comes to meetings. After all, I'm a w-r-i-t-e-r. My work is typically solitary. In my mind, every moment I'm in a meeting is a moment I'm not writing. And considering the (lack of) value I've derived from and contributed to the meetings I've attended over the considerable length of my career, it's no wonder that each new invite has me scrambling for reasons not to attend.
The concept of remote work has been steadily evolving since the late 1960s.