Hybrid working – key technologies and the role of speech processing
Hybrid working is now well established in the wake of the pandemic, providing employees with the flexibility to work a portion of their week from home and the remainder of their time in their office.
Key to making this model successful is the support of a range of IT systems and services. In this blog we’ll take a closer look at some of the key supporting technologies and the benefits they deliver, whilst also investigating the important role that speech to text solutions can play.
Cloud technology
Cloud technology is vital for all organisations with a hybrid workforce. Solutions available via the cloud offer the same versatility and convenience on-site as they do everywhere else, providing employees with 24/7 access to the information they need to do their jobs. In addition, the ability to scale quickly means the technology can support fluctuating numbers of remote and office-based workers if and when requirements change.
Collaboration
Collaboration tools have proved absolutely vital, both during the pandemic and in the subsequent move to hybrid working. Such tools enable workers to track progress on common projects and share files independent of physical location. In addition, video conferencing software provides flexibility and connectivity to the hybrid workforce, allowing remote and in-office team members to communicate seamlessly.
Document management
These systems support hybrid working by providing the capability to create, store and share electronic files, enabling teams to quickly distribute and transfer files and provide access to other members. In addition, the technology can be customised to allow for the control of file access, restricting who can see, edit and delete files within an organisation.
Workflow
Tracking and maintaining control of tasks in a hybrid workplace is essential. Workflow ensures that documents and information are available to the right people at the right time, meaning that teams working from multiple locations benefit from centralised and streamlined processes.
Security
Hybrid working brings with it a whole new set of security challenges since it places increasing reliance on employees working remotely, where their online, digital, mobile and IT-related behaviour can create vulnerabilities. As a result, organisations have invested in appropriate cybersecurity technology, such as VPNs (virtual private networks) and proactive security protection systems, whilst also developing greater security awareness amongst employees.
How speech to text systems support hybrid working
The benefits that speech to text systems can bring to the hybrid working model largely mirror, and are complementary to, those underpinning technologies detailed above.
First and foremost, increasing numbers of speech to text solutions are available via the cloud meaning that accessing dictation and speech recognition capabilities from home or a client’s site is just as straightforward as from the office. What’s more, availability via the cloud means that the software is available via a range of mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablets as well as office-based PCs.
And, of course, speech to text software is an integral part of document management solutions for many organisations. The key element in any documentation system is creation and it is here that dictation systems can play a major role, saving time and increasing efficiencies.
Speech to text software also incorporates important collaboration features, not least in the way that it enables an author to share transcripts with other team members, allowing them to add comments or sign-off the contents. And because the software is cloud-based, these changes/additions can be made by individuals anytime, anywhere.
Speech to text software can also benefit from, and add value to, workflow solutions within a business. It can help to automate the entire document production cycle, from the initial voice recording right through to the final sign-off of the document, thus streamlining processes, enabling documents to be completed quicker and more efficiently. And critically, from a hybrid perspective, all of these tasks can be completed by workers completely independent of their location.
And finally, security is a core feature in speech to text solutions. Documents often contain information that is of a personal nature or is commercially sensitive. The integrity of this type of information is vital, so leading-edge cyber -security features such as encryption and two factor authentication are incorporated within speech to text solutions as a matter of course.
