Google Workspace Business Insights

Embracing the New Normal with Google Workspace - Part Two

4 min read

Oct 28, 2020

In the first post of our “New Normal” series, we outlined our predictions for the future of remote work. Here’s a brief recap of what we, at Pythian, see coming:

Remote work will become the norm.
Businesses will reconsider the need for physical office space.
Leadership will invest more in tools and technology to promote virtual work.

Speaking of leadership, it’s only natural that some leaders will have reservations or uncertainty about the new world of remote work. Before we talk about the great solutions we see, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the challenges they perceive in a remote work model.

Asking Questions

For many businesses, working remotely is something they’ve had to adopt by necessity during COVID-19. Some of the most common concerns we’ve heard about maintaining this model in the long-term include:

Loss of human interaction: Because disengaged employees cost businesses billions each year, any potential reduction in morale is a valid concern.
Lack of team communication: Will a loss of face-to-face interaction lead to a breakdown in communication?
Reduced project collaboration: How can employees easily access the information and data they require to get their work done? How can they reach the team members they need to collaborate with to move projects forward?
Subpar online security: What’s the best way to share documents and critical business information in the absence of a controlled, physical environment? How secure is the Cloud?

These are real concerns, backed up by current research:

Nearly 60 percent of office workers feel less connected to their colleagues since working from home. (The future of work — the good, the challenging & the unknown)
One in three workers feels disconnected from company, culture and colleagues. (Insight)

Finding Answers

The good news is that Google Workspace offers solutions to these very legitimate concerns. Simple, human-centered immersive experiences like those offered by Meet picture-in-picture improve collaboration by helping people build meaningful connections. Enhancements like live captions, in-meeting translation, adaptive layouts, low-light mode, and noise cancellation connect workers, from the frontline to the back office. Statistics show, despite the challenges of remote work, using tools like Meet can deliver measurable advantages:

52 percent of people feel more valued or included as a remote contributor, because everyone is now in the same virtual room. (The future of work — the good, the challenging & the unknown)
62 percent of employees feel more empathetic towards their colleagues now that they have a better view of their home life. (The future of work — the good, the challenging & the unknown)

By continuously evolving to meet the needs of customers, and the new environment we all find ourselves in, Workspace offers a wide selection of tools enabling real-time team collaboration and providing trusted security. In the new normal, Google Workspace can help you not just survive, but thrive. According to Forrester, companies using Google saw employee efficiency gains to the tune of $22.1 million. In fact, Forrester’s study proved that Google improved end-user and IT productivity via collaboration tools and security via enhanced capabilities.

Embracing Change

At Pythian we know Google Workspace, and we take the time to get to know your business needs. This puts us in a great position to leverage the Workspace all-in-one, cloud-based platform to help you work smarter, faster and together. We can show you how to put Google Workspace to work to connect, create, access and control in your workplace.

Connect

Communication and true connection have never been simpler with Google Workspace. Using built-in tools, employees can reach colleagues anywhere, any time. Send a quick email using Gmail with Smart Compose and Reply features. Schedule a Google Meet video call that fits everyone’s schedule by accessing shared agendas via Google Calendar.

Create

Google Workspace tools include everything your team needs to do their best work, including:

Docs: Create, share, edit and collaborate on documents without the need to manage multiple versions. Instead, versions are updated in real-time. Plus, your team can chat, assign tasks and add comments inside documents to take collaboration to the next level.
Sheets: Complex data processing capabilities with a simple interface make visualizing data simple. And again, there’s no need to manage multiple versions, removing added confusion.
Slides: Google Workspace allows your team to create presentations and collaborate in those presentations at the same time.
Forms: Google Forms enables you to create surveys or forms using a simple interface. Plus, it’s simple to track and collect responses inside Sheets for easy data visualization.
Sites: Your employee intranet is critical for collaboration. Build an intranet using Google Sites, no coding required.
Jamboard: The in-office whiteboard goes virtual with Jamboard, an interactive whiteboard that allows for real-time collaboration through a simple app.
Keep: Keep is integrated with other Google Workspace tools. It’s an easy way to capture ideas, write to-do lists and more.

Access

Google Drive allows your team to store, sync and share files across your entire enterprise in one secure location. Employees have access to everything they need for work in one place, regardless of whether they’re in the office, at home or abroad. Use Drive with Cloud Search to find information and data across company content.

Control

Google Workspace delivers all its capabilities securely to help you protect your organization’s critical information. Google Vault helps you manage, retain, search, and export email and on-the-record chats. Admin Console allows you to add users, manage devices and configure security settings through one administration portal. Plus, Mobile Management keeps data secure on Android, iOS, Windows and more.

Taking it to the next level

In post one of this series, we accepted change. This post is about embracing it. In our final post in this series we’ll talk about how Pythian can apply our expertise to help you thrive through change. Of course, we're here for you at any time if you'd like to connect with a Pythian Google Workspace expert.