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A six-step guide to navigating the new era of work

Work is changing – fast – and HP is creating smart products and solutions designed to power hybrid working environments. These tips’ll help you keep up.

1. Consider hybrid working

The workplace is no longer the only place to work. Over the course of the past year, many of us have claimed corners of dining rooms, kitchens and spare rooms as temporary offices – and we like it. Almost three quarters of company directors surveyed by the UK Institute of Directors said they would be maintaining increased home working after the pandemic, making sure they keep employees happy all the while. The trick is in finding the right balance.

Creature, a London-based advertising agency, was among the first firms in the UK to deploy the 3:2 model, with staff working in the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and wherever they want for the rest of the week.

2. Remember the importance of lifelong learning

Employees need to feel as though they’re developing professionally in the workplace, so providing lifelong learning for your teams is crucial. It’s also a good idea to train staff in new skills. ‘Being able to reskill and redeploy workers during the past year has been essential for individuals and organizations – and for the wider economy,’ says Peter Cheese, chief executive of UK HR-industry body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Tyneside-based Sail Creative encourages staff to pursue internal passion projects that support social and sustainable causes as a method of learning and testing new ideas, as well as developing new skills.

3. Don’t forget to be asynchronous

Work no longer happens at the same time for everyone. You might be at the office in London, but your head of engineering might be working from home in Amsterdam and your marketing department might be spread around the UK. Working asynchronously means developing clever ways to communicate and make decisions when not everyone is in the same place. The HP+ printing system works seamlessly within this environment, with a smart printer and HP Smart app that saves you time – and is always ready when you are.

Audience is a creative agency in London that’s made asynchronous work, well… work. It does that by copying in all staff to daily missives that highlight key points – but lets them know they only need read what’s relevant to them.

4. Offer equipment to aid working from home

It’s vital that your employees have the right equipment at home if they are to get anything done. Extra monitors, printers and desk chairs are important components of any office – and if the office is now at home, it should still be a safe working environment. With an HP+ printer, you’ll receive a trial of Instant Ink, which delivers ink or toner straight to your front door, meaning you never have to worry about running to the shop for cartridges in your lunch break.

Domain-name registry Nominet gave employees a £100 stipend for equipment and shipped chairs, monitors and desks to help people as they set up their home offices.

5. Give employees purpose in the workplace and consider sustainability initiatives

It’s no longer enough to provide secure employment for workers – you need to give them a purpose to go to work every morning. Workers are more likely to leave businesses that don’t align with their beliefs, so social purpose and sustainability initiatives are key to showing that a company cares. HP+ is built with sustainability in mind. Its Forest First feature tracks how many pages you print; then HP invests in the restoration and preservation of forests.

Take a look at Prezzybox, one of the UK’s leading online gift retailers. It gives employees a day off every year to volunteer at a charity of their choice.

6. Consider providing cloud printing

The future of work requires adaptive stability. That means not wondering about whether home internet connections are fast enough, or leaving staff to juggle with USB sticks. It also means providing the most sustainable and secure printing solution. HP+ printers are equipped with HP Wolf Security that spots and prevents malware attacks, keeping you ahead of hackers. As millions work from home, demand for printing is high. The cloud-based HP+ smart printing system allows native in-OS printing from anywhere, keeping staff productive.

Introducing HP+
Supporting the new hybrid models of life and work.

As millions of people have shifted to working and learning from home, HP+ is the smarter printing system that is more connected, more secure, more productive and more sustainable than ever.

More than 48 million users of the HP Smart app are able to print and scan from virtually anywhere so they’re always ready for the next remote meeting.

Using a new cloud-based ecosystem, HP+ aims to ensure that you can print smartly and securely wherever you are in the world.

You’re busy enough without worrying about ordering more ink – with HP’s Instant Ink subscription (all HP+ customers get six months included), you’ll always have ink or toner replacements when you need them most.

Find out how HP+ can help you navigate the new normal at hp.com/uk/plus

Illustrations by Phil Hackett