The Future Government Workplace
by Roseanne Cohen
W

ho would have thought that a global pandemic could prove in two years what I’ve been saying for 25 years? It’s been a journey. Fresh out of college, I took my first job working for a small video conferencing integrator in 1997. As a marketer, it was my job to communicate how video conferencing technology offered a new method for working from anywhere. I studied market trends, sought innovative use cases, and interviewed countless customers in the healthcare, government, and education markets. However, it wasn’t until after my first child was born that I personally tried “teleworking” (that’s what we called it in the ‘90s). It was then that my eyes were truly opened to the power and potential of video conferencing to offer new ways of working that optimize productivity while improving one’s quality of life. Fast forward 25 years and a global pandemic and my passion for researching and sharing how technology can transform how work gets done while attracting top talent has only deepened.

Photos by Heather Anne Thomas
Roseanne Cohen
Photos by Heather Anne Thomas
The Future Government Workplace
by Roseanne Cohen
W

ho would have thought that a global pandemic could prove in two years what I’ve been saying for 25 years? It’s been a journey. Fresh out of college, I took my first job working for a small video conferencing integrator in 1997. As a marketer, it was my job to communicate how video conferencing technology offered a new method for working from anywhere. I studied market trends, sought innovative use cases, and interviewed countless customers in the healthcare, government, and education markets. However, it wasn’t until after my first child was born that I personally tried “teleworking” (that’s what we called it in the ‘90s). It was then that my eyes were truly opened to the power and potential of video conferencing to offer new ways of working that optimize productivity while improving one’s quality of life. Fast forward 25 years and a global pandemic and my passion for researching and sharing how technology can transform how work gets done while attracting top talent has only deepened.

With a focus on the use of technology in government, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of how far government organizations had come post-pandemic in realizing that hybrid work works. In the fall of 2021, I partnered with the Center for Digital Government (CDG) to commission a study, which found that nearly 50 percent of state and local governments surveyed planned to support a hybrid work model for the next two years. They have good reason to do so.

Many government workers discovered, as I had, a multitude of benefits in remote and hybrid work. The top benefit, cited by 80 percent of survey respondents, was increased flexibility for both the organization and its employees. The flexibility of hybrid work ensures continuity of services during, for example, a pandemic, while also enabling employees to take care of family and personal needs and still be fully productive at work. Other benefits of hybrid work cited include cost savings and increased employee satisfaction.

man in zoom meeting at his computer
Photo courtesy of Logitech
The flexibility of hybrid work ensures continuity of services during, for example, a pandemic, while also enabling employees to take care of family and personal needs and still be fully productive at work.
Positive New Environments
As I look at the changing work environments the pandemic has necessitated, I see a need for government institutions to be open to offering flexible work arrangements where appropriate, to attract and recruit the best and brightest talent to support the vital functions of government. I think this is a gift we’ve been given, to have the opportunity to solve social issues but also discover more effective ways to extend access to government services in new and innovative ways. For government leaders, there is an opportunity to create flexible work environments that meet constituent demands while fostering positive workplace experiences that achieve new levels of productivity in cost-effective ways.
Of course, nothing is without its challenges, hybrid work included. To be effective, government organizations must evaluate their current systems and collaboration tools to ensure effective communication between remote and in-office workers. Our study found that 55 percent of government leaders use meeting spaces that lack the technologies needed to effectively host a hybrid meeting, and more than 38 percent rely on outdated/legacy systems.
Of course, nothing is without its challenges, hybrid work included. To be effective, government organizations must evaluate their current systems and collaboration tools to ensure effective communication between remote and in-office workers.
Of course, nothing is without its challenges, hybrid work included. To be effective, government organizations must evaluate their current systems and collaboration tools to ensure effective communication between remote and in-office workers.
woman sitting on chair with background image of office meeting
Photo courtesy of Logitech
As I see it from the technology perspective, the band-aid solutions organizations adopted to get through the pandemic will not suffice for the long term. We’ve all been there: Poor user experience leads to a host of other challenges that directly impact employee productivity. The technology is often difficult to use and requires training. People in the office have difficulty hearing remote participants; as a result, people talk over each other. Video quality is generally poor, so people on both ends of the call turn off their video. This creates an inequitable work environment in which people in the office can easily communicate with each other while remote workers are left in the dark.

It’s not just individual or even team productivity that suffers when organizations make do with outdated or incompatible video conferencing technology. Our survey uncovered that 75 percent of the drawbacks of hybrid work identified are based on social issues, including decreased workplace culture, difficulty connecting with others, and feeling less connected with company strategy. When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, culture and a sense of connection are critical for government organizations. They cannot be sacrificed, but neither can the flexibility of hybrid work.

office meeting
Photo courtesy of Logitech
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Richard Semple, the chief information officer for Williamson County, Texas, and found that prior to the pandemic, the county allowed remote work on a limited basis. As they transitioned to a permanent hybrid work model following the pandemic, they leveraged products from Logitech and Microsoft Teams to help remote and in-office employees connect on a more human level, increase engagement, and help them to feel like they are a part of something important. READ CASE STUDY

Today, Williamson County employees work three days remotely and two days in the office each week. On any given day, conference rooms are booked for video meetings between a group of four or five people working on-premises and another dozen working remotely. Upgraded technology enables employees to focus on the organization’s mission and foster relationships, rather than fumbling with technology.

People can’t do hybrid work with yesterday’s technologies, but with the right technologies hybrid work can elevate the employee experience, enabling flexibility and the human connections that increase productivity and enhance business continuity.
Be Flexible to Change
In addition to in-office working environments needing to adapt to meet the new reality of hybrid work, our survey uncovered that more than 50 percent of remote workers don’t have a home office, and background noises and distractions are a top challenge for 40 percent of these employees. In the case of Williamson County, they invested in laptops and high-quality webcams to ensure employees can support the same user experience regardless of their work location.

People can’t do hybrid work with yesterday’s technologies, but with the right technologies hybrid work can elevate the employee experience, enabling flexibility and the human connections that increase productivity and enhance business continuity. It’s a win for government organizations, their employees, and their constituents.

Roseanne Cohen
Roseanne Cohen is the industry solutions marketing manager for Logitech, responsible for identifying and elevating innovative approaches to digital transformation within the public sector. Her focus is on sharing customer experiences and lessons learned to better serve the needs of education, government, and healthcare customers. With more than 25 years of experience in the voice and video communications market, Cohen is highly skilled in consulting and educating customers and partners on how to leverage collaboration solutions to solve communication challenges.

Cohen’s experience includes designing boardrooms, K-12 and university classrooms, school-based healthcare clinics, behavioral health and courts and corrections solutions, immersive telepresence for law firms, and command and control environments. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing management from East Carolina University.

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