Organizations today are unsure of how to handle the current business climate. Do they continue to allow employees to work from home? Or do they bring employees back to the office? Some organizations have begun to answer that question.
“Compared to a year ago, we are seeing organizations now move slowly back into the office,” says Dale Bielek, Manager, Managed Print Services Division, Blue Technologies, Inc. “Even a number of governmental agencies — federal, state and local — have been mandating that employees return to the office at least two to three days a week, if not the full five.”
This new hybrid office work environment calls for a more flexible, creative approach to building a strategy to manage a print fleet that is spread over a larger area.
“Employees must have the ability to move back and forth from main office to home office fluidly in order to optimize productivity from a technical standpoint,” he says. “That puts undue burden on an organization’s technical support staff, which in many cases is already spread thin.”
Smart Business spoke with Bielek about the changes organizations are seeing with the new hybrid work model and how their print management strategies must adapt.
How are organizations adapting their print services to the shift?
The resurgence of employees coming back to corporate offices has added another level of burden to an organization’s back office support staff. Print management support tasks are now typically shared among various groups outside of the IT department, such as accounting, purchasing, facilities and even human resources, to relieve time-constrained technical support staff.
Another way to stay on top of this shift is with the help of a managed print service provider. They give business leaders visibility into their organization’s print infrastructure — what’s being printed, where, how often and at what cost. That’s important now because many organizations must continue to offer dependable tools that their workforce can rely on wherever they are. That includes an office hybrid desktop print strategy that efficiently and cost-affordably manages device acquisition, service and supply activity, produces volume-level reporting and draws in an effective cybersecurity plan to tightly integrate it all.
What strategy does the new hybrid work model offer to combat cybersecurity risks?
Every enterprise runs on information. However, that information, especially in this hybrid office model, exposes organizations to attacks. Managed print service providers have partnerships with cybersecurity brands that can mitigate the risk of a security breach, even in situations where employees are moving from one location to another. The providers also bring a standardized approach to a desktop print strategy that works together with an organization’s cybersecurity partner to ensure remote operations are locked down and networked under one secure program, and everyone is printing on the same devices and receiving the proper parts. A uniform, well-managed program such as this dramatically helps reduce breaches.
What conversations should business leaders have with their provider to ensure they are fully leveraging their program?
Organizations should work with their managed print service provider on a comprehensive strategy that optimizes their print infrastructure. Is your organization technically ready for the influx of employees back into the main office? Are print devices in ready mode or have they aged from non-use? Have paper workflows changed now that employees are back at their desks? These and other details must be taken into consideration and discussed with an experience managed print service provider.
Just a 20-minute conversation can bring to light timely adjustments needed in a print fleet to make a seamless transition back to the office. And further conversations as the shift progresses can provide a more permanent solution that gives greater visibility into managing print assets and workflows, ensuring organizations maximize their resources effectively while creating cost efficiencies within a secure office hybrid work setting. ●
INSIGHTS Technology is brought to you by Blue Technologies, Inc.
