You might not think so, considering how often companies complain about the cost of updating their technology and how difficult it is to keep up with business innovations, but they’re just not staying current despite all those efforts.

That’s according to Paige O’Neill, chief executive officer of cloud solutions provider Prysm, Inc., who offered a presentation on “Realities Disrupting the Workplace” at ISE 2017. The talk discusses how employee disengagement, outdated technology and innovation challenges cost companies up to $550 billion each year.

The session, and a series of white papers commissioned from Forrester Consulting, provides examples of how companies address such challenges via unified-communications and visual-workplace technology; the data are intended to help attendees build the case for digital-workplace solutions.

Among the topics covered in the presentation are ways to bridge the technology gap between in-office and remote workers; how to meet the challenges of innovation; how to conquer employee disengagement; ways to boost productivity in meetings; using the most current technology to boost collaboration; and ways to capitalize on the advantages of global teams.

The white papers lay out the extent of the problems facing outdated workplaces, including the extent of employee disengagement — seen as the major cause of that $550 billion annual cost, with one paper citing a Gallup engagement index that “quantifies employees’ level of interest in and involvement with their work” that indicates an increasing level of discontent in the workplace.

“Early data,” the paper says, “found disengagement levels at around 70 percent, whereas the most recent data indicates that 87 percent — nearly 9 out of 10 — of employees worldwide are ‘checked out or actively hostile toward their employers.’ The phenomenon is taking a devastating financial toll, costing businesses a staggering $450 to $550 billion per year.”

In addition, the papers provide such suggestions as greater workplace flexibility, in both hours and location; better understanding of the collaborative challenges faced by employees working in different time zones; the role digitization can play in making meetings more efficient; and the need for integrated and visual communications in employee collaborations.

Instant Insights /

Outdated tech, thinking cost companies billions in productivity

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