What is being productive? These days, we all seek ways to be productive. We read books, listen to podcasts, and discuss it with our colleagues: how can we maximize our time or get the support to get things done? Pursuing productivity has also become more pressing in the current workforce and workplace. 

As we know, the office experience is back, and the workforce is more age-diverse than ever. Currently, the workplace accommodates up to five generations, from the traditionalists to the Gen-Zs. Some workers may benefit from the hybrid or the return-to-office arrangements, while others, especially the younger ones, are experiencing ‘tech shame.’ The HP Hybrid Work Survey (2022) revealed that 1 in 5 young office workers feel judged when experiencing tech issues, compared to just 1 in 25 of their more mature peers. 

So how can organizations support their diverse workers to be ahead of the curve?

The tech that can cater to the rapidly digitalized workforce 

Organizations must enable employees to work efficiently and at the highest standards to build a better workplace for everyone. The work experience in the office must offer a streamlined work process and improve day-to-day productivity. In light of the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, a growing number of businesses are embracing in-person work arrangements, as revealed by a survey of HR experts conducted by the cloud-based HR platform Sprout Solutions. According to findings from the 2023 State of the HR Report, 51% of HR participants indicated that their organizations have put in place on-site work policies. Tech can also be a great enabler for the workplace, and printers can be an innovative device to provide a seamless hybrid experience. A Morning Consult survey commissioned by HP found that 57% of office workers said they missed their office printer more than a free lunch or happy hour. 

The Global Print 2025 study by Quocirca noted that print would remain essential to many business activities while digitization is set to accelerate. The study also highlighted that mobile employees are expected to account for more than half of the workforce by 2025, thus increasing mobile printing expectations. With the increasingly digitalized workplace and workforce, printers are expected to be more intelligent to streamline work processes. Additionally, print end-user organizations mentioned security and cloud as top key priorities for their investments. 

In reimagining the office experience, printers play a critical role in catering to new ways of working. Printers must deliver powerful capabilities to advance business while ensuring security and flexibility in the ever-changing business landscape. 

Advancing by getting more things done faster

Today’s workplace emphasizes productivity. With the increasingly competitive business landscape, organizations seek to simplify workflows to be more agile while workers explore solutions to get more things in easier and faster ways. 

When workers handle various documents, they have to deal with changes, which can come quite suddenly. Sometimes, the revisions come only minutes before the printing. Some printer series offer comprehensive workflow solutions that allow users to make edits directly to the document’s content. Touchscreen control panels on printers also enable a consistent and intuitive experience for all workers. 

Organizations in an increasingly competitive world seek ways to improve their optimization. Often, businesses receive many similar tasks or orders simultaneously but must always provide high-quality output. Printers equipped by customizable shortcuts support workers from doing repetitive tasks. Moreover, they can avoid possible issues that can take up their productive time, such as paper jams or double feed in printing, with features such as Innovative Reverse and Retry technology that can detect and resolve these issues. 

Moreover, business decisions are often made on tight timelines, leaving organizations to get more done faster. For example, when an organization holds an urgent leaders’ meeting, management must act quickly to prepare the necessary documents. The organization can enjoy maximum uptime with printers that are powered by quad-core processors. Additionally, by utilizing autosensing technology, its workers can automatically save time with tone and color management, two-sided document detection, and automatic job separation features, thus making their internal process faster.

Customizable solutions that move along your organization’s agility 

Change is the only constant in business, and with the many factors at play, flexibility is important to continue growing and evolving. The HP LaserJet Managed E800/E700 series provides customizable solutions supporting your workforce for today and tomorrow. Make your organization’s day-to-day more productive with customized experiences, such as with cloud-connected HP Workpath apps, to access personalized content and enable the transition from paper-based workflows to digital. 

You can further support your team to get what they need to succeed. HP provides Open Extensibility Platform that contains hundreds of HP and third-party solutions, and reader support.  

Moreover, with the continuous development in workplace sizes, your organization may consider some redesign. Whether you plan to revamp your workplace to be sleek or more vibrant, get the latest printer series with modern designs and customizable color panels so they will complement any office place.  

Security, the foundation for productivity

Another critical factor in the dynamics of the workplace is security. Organizations and workers often overlook printer security risks even though is a lot of sensitive and confidential information being handled. Another finding from the Morning Consult survey: 67% of ITDMs believed privacy and security in a flexible work environment have become more complex, especially regarding printer security. According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the National Privacy Commission (NPC), familiarity and understanding of the Data Privacy Act (DPA) increased from 13% in 2017 to 25% in 2021. The survey measured public awareness, practices, and perception of data protection and privacy issues.

HP equips its latest LaserJet printers with HP Wolf Enterprise Security, which protects, detects, and self-recovers. Specifically, these new devices include Memory Shield, which helps detect malicious attacks on the printer and, if detected, automatically self-heals.  You can keep your business running, create an uninterrupted workflow, and ultimately nurture a better workplace experience by keeping troubles out. 

The new way of working expects a workplace experience that works for everyone. The right tech can support organizations to shape a workplace that drives productivity, optimizes workflow, and fosters flexibility. In a strive for advancement, businesses continuously look for better ways to unlock the potential of the increasingly diverse workforce. 

The HP LaserJet Managed E800/E700 series offers a sleek, fully customizable, secured, and easily manageable portfolio to meet today’s workplace and digitization goals for now and in the future. Visit https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/laserjet-managed-e800-e700-series.html to learn more about boosting your organization’s productivity with the E800/E700 series. (By Christian Reyes, managing director, HP Philippines)