(From left) Moderator Sandhu and panellists Yogesh, Sugiono and Sharlene at the #SembangBiz with HP: Enhancing Hybrid Working Culture with Intelligent Technology webinar.

THE recent webinar titled #SembangBiz with HP: Enhancing Hybrid Working Culture with Intelligent Technology organised by Star Media Group in collaboration with HP Malaysia, delved into the panel’s experiences and solution by combining intelligent technology for collaboration, productivity and security.

Moderated by 42 Kuala Lumpur head technologist Jeff Sandhu, the webinar featured a stellar line-up of speakers, including HP Malaysia and Singapore business director Yogesh Bhatia, AMD Asean senior solution architect Eric Sugiono and TM research and development chief executive officer Dr Sharlene Thiagarajah.

Enhance hybrid workforce

The panellists were given the floor to share how they empower their businesses and employees to enhance their hybrid workforce in a growth-first environment.

“When the first movement control order was announced in 2020, two things came to mind: Will TM R&D be able to deliver on our project commitments? Could we contribute to the fight against Covid-19?

“Both these agendas boiled down to the same thing: ‘Will I be able to engage with my team, will my team be able to work unsupervised and will my team be able to work with one another with internal and external stakeholders to deliver results?’” said Sharlene.

She added that her team had one of the best years in delivering on project commitments in 2020/2021, but noted that there were signs of staff burnout and lack of social interactions whereby some employees were working round the clock.

“In our early days, our online engagements were work-related but we started shifting into more social interactions. We had hangout, lunch and jamming sessions. We shifted, we learnt what was needed and we delivered,” she said.

Sharlene added that measuring productivity would change as the hybrid work culture stabilised.

“We allow our project teams to decide where they work and how they work.

“Retaining talent will boil down to the work culture – we strive to put in place a culture that is inclusive, collaborative and not afraid to fail,” she said.

On measuring whether hybrid work culture is effective she said: “We will naturally evaluate performance, whether we are meeting the expectations of our customers and staff.

“We will also look at the success of the organisation, our relevance and whether we are able to retain our talent and if they are happy to continue to work with us.”

Hybrid work with tech and securityWhile hybrid work may be the future, it does come with its own challenges.

The panellists shared how intelligent tech could help create a seamless transition, while ensuring security for businesses.

Sugiono said it was important for organisations to use smart technology to address hybrid work concerns and to enhance productivity, collaboration and security controls.

In terms of sustainability, Sugiono said AMD designed its products to be high-powered and energy-efficient, with some of its laptops being two times more efficient and even exceeding the energy star requirement.

“To meet the needs of hybrid work, laptops and chargers need to have good processing power, long battery life and true portability for workers on the move.

“Employees can maximise their potential with the right technology.”

“At AMD, we are striking the right balance between performance and portability. We are dedicated to the art of science to ensure we can support the hybrid working environment with the right device,” he added.

Meanwhile, when it comes to intelligent technology for the hybrid work culture, Yogesh opined that it should be reliable, seamless and able to predict your needs and cut out mundane tasks.

“The machine should be able to predict that you are sitting outside and the noise cancellation would be activated automatically instead of you having to do it manually,” he said, adding that security on your machine should be able to predict the future as there are new viruses every day.

“Security is critical. There are so many hacks and phishing mails whereby the endpoint devices are the most vulnerable.

“In HP, most of our machines come with good security that can protect at a level that antivirus software can’t.

“If your machine is not on, hackers can still hack in,” he said, adding that sustainability was at the forefront for HP with materials from recyclable plastic being used and sustainable measures for disposal of machines in place too.

He said it was also important to keep employees happy and that the right tech could do it effectively.

“One of the top concerns of employees when it comes to hybrid work is what tech they will use. If the machine is not working, the employee is unhappy the entire day.

“Employers are now looking into the type of devices to give to employees and providing tools that would ensure they are happy and productive,” he said, adding that businesses could be less reliant on in-house technicians to fix machines as more employees were on the go.

The HP instalment plan gives your business the much-needed financial flexibility to acquire the best technology products from as low as RM86 a month, complete with a three-year warranty to cover your needs (terms and conditions apply).

Find out more today on how you can empower your digitalisation journey with HP in today’s hybrid environment at https://reinvent.hp.com/HP-for-Business. To watch the webinar, visit https://fb.watch/fuzm5b1erl/.