The COVID-19 outbreak has divided workers into two groups: those who can afford to live remotely and those who cannot.
While some see a hybrid workplace as a benefit—and it is—it is undeniable that it is putting a burden on both firms and employees. The effect will continue to rise until a remedy is set in place to assist businesses in adjusting to this new circumstance.
Companies can invest in proprietary software that specifically solves the challenges associated with a quick shift to an online workforce as one approach. But first, let’s look at what the problems are.
What Are the Challenges Facing Hybrid Workforces?
Disruption of Long-Term Processes
We were forced to transition to a hybrid workplace before we were ready due to the coronavirus. Most of the modifications were hurried and made in the heat of the moment to get through the crisis. Corporations are having to reflect on some of their hasty judgments now that these circumstances have fallen into place.
Employees who used to work in the same place have dispersed. Hundreds of people were once housed in facilities that now have a skeleton crew. Processes that had been honed over decades of corporate operations have now become obsolete or have been abandoned. Things have changed, and firms should no longer act as if they have.
Collaboration and communication
More team communication takes place at a distance in a hybrid workforce. The installation of this layer slows the flow of data and causes delays. This is a major step back from the days when you could just reach out of your cubicle and ask a coworker a question or share your views.
Productivity
Managers want to know if their employees are completing their responsibilities on time and if anyone is lagging. In a hybrid workplace, when the manager can’t physically see what their staff are doing at any given time, this can appear more challenging. Tasks which used to take just a few minutes are now taking much longer since tools or systems developed prior to COVID are no longer the most efficient solution.
Keeping Information Safe
When the workforce was totally onsite, protecting firm networks and data was already a difficult task. IT security must now be maintained across various locations, including home offices. Sensitive data is more at danger than ever before, and off-the-shelf communication solutions may not be up to the task.
The Role of Custom Software in Bridging the Gap
Custom software can address the issues of the emerging hybrid workforce and deliver long-term value to firms with the resources to invest. It does it in a variety of ways:
Identifies Your Process’s Weaknesses
A good bespoke software development project will start with a comprehensive discovery phase, which includes finding the gaps between your prior and present procedures. Your company will be able to determine which modification has cost you the most money by collecting user stories and performance indicators, and hence where to focus your development efforts.
Inefficiencies can be intelligently addressed using custom software.
The problem with off-the-shelf software is that it’s designed to please as many people as possible. They’re one-size-fits-all solutions that answer your demands in broad strokes but break apart when put into practice.
A tailored software solution, developed with a thorough understanding of business difficulties and the company’s specific operational requirements, has a much better chance of meeting business requirements. You’re not modifying your business operations to suit the software any longer. Instead, you can tailor the software to the specific needs of your company. Off-the-shelf software may often be integrated with customized solutions, allowing you to take advantage of the best of both worlds.
Long-Term Value from Custom Software
One of the most significant advantages of a custom software solution is that the profits will increase over time. Your company will be able to establish long-term plans for the hybrid workforce and incorporate them into the scope, allowing it to grow more efficiently and profitably.
There will also be extra cost savings from not having to pay third-party hosting or license fees. The less money invested in a SaaS provider, the more employees who need to use the proprietary program.
Provides Additional Protection
Off-the-shelf SaaS products, especially those that don’t offer a self-hosted version, won’t be able to meet the needs of organizations that want a high level of security. You must be aware of where your data is stored and maintain control over who has access to it. You’ll have to create your own solution for it. Even third-party firms who profess to be trustworthy data stewards are vulnerable to data breaches and malicious actors.
Internal hosting and management of a custom software solution reduces the possibility of concealed admin-level privileges or unsupervised external connections. Your unique software solution can also be tailored to your company’s own security regulations, such as LDAP single sign-on.
What Approach Do You Take When Creating Custom Software?
Custom software is not ordered in the same way that a restaurant meal is ordered. Custom software must be designed with the same caution and care as a bridge.
Assemble a Skilled Group
The first step is to ensure that you have the necessary skills to complete the assignment. You should not assign developers in a haphazard or arbitrary manner. You’ll want to hire developers that have worked on the type of product you’re searching for before and who have the correct mindset for leading an independent development project.
You can also employ an external development organization to conduct the task for you if you don’t have those resources or can’t afford to reassign them. They’ll have more experience than your crew and will be capable of handling all aspects of the project. Some agencies can also supplement your established team to fill in talent gaps while maintaining in-house planning and development continuity.
Identify and comprehend the inefficiencies of hybrid workforces.
The development team will then identify the issues that the new online workforce is facing, as well as the underlying reasons for those challenges and their impact on customers, once it has been assembled. The team will acquire information through collecting user stories and, if applicable, tracking performance indicators.
Make a business proposition and a project schedule.
Now that the issues have been recognized, the team needs to develop a business case that shows why a custom software solution is more cost-effective than using an existing SaaS solution. The advantages of custom software, such as high-level sufficiency, security, and requirement matching, would be the focus.
A project initiation plan would also be created by the team, which would define the project in broad strokes with as much information as possible. This project management plan would measure the number of hours it would take to complete the custom software, as well as launch and features roll-out timelines.
Phases of Project Execution
Work should be distributed across appropriate personnel once the project is accepted by senior management. Because a hybrid crew is fluid and demands may change as the program is produced, the Agile technique works best for these types of software projects. This entails creating and delivering a minimal viable product (MVP) as quickly as feasible so that users may provide helpful input to the development team, and then moving forward with the project in stages.
Repeat the process of review, iteration, and repetition.
The current mixed work arrangement is in a state of flux. Things are still prone to alter, thus the project strategy should be flexible as well. The project should be broken down into sprints or phases, with the result of each sprint being thoroughly reviewed by both the development team and stakeholders to determine whether it is still relevant in today’s climate.
The company will eventually have a customized software solution that exactly fit their requirements for the current scenario while also having enough longevity to survive them far after the current crisis if they stick to the project plan while remaining open to necessary adjustments.
Finally, custom software is much more than simply a temporary fix. It’s a long-term investment that, if done correctly, can tackle both short- and long-term hybrid workforce issues: by addressing the root of the problem, forward-thinking design, and remaining open to change.
