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Maintaining productivity
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In the past several years, Native American businesses and organizations across the country have seen an unprecedented shift as IT teams quickly adapted to a work-from-anywhere approach. Provisioning devices, deployment, support, security, and refreshes — it all changed seemingly overnight as employees and IT staff were now both operating remotely. Among all local municipalities, 61% were allowing employees to work from home at one point.1 In fact, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, government agencies leaned more heavily on telework than the economy as a whole during the COVID-19 pandemic.2

And, for the most part, it seems to be working. 70% of employees say the flexibility to work from home makes them more satisfied with their job, and 83% of ITDMs expect that at least 50% of work will be done outside a traditional office going forward.3

But Native American organizations often face additional challenges compared with other business and government agencies — fewer IT resources, remote and sometimes isolated regions to support, and greater difficulty attracting and retaining employees.

There’s also the issue of the digital divide. Only 67% of tribal lands in the continental US have access to broadband internet, according to an American Indian Policy Institute analysis of federal data. And the majority only have access to broadband speeds considered to be less than “minimally acceptable” by the Federal Communications Commission.4

The key to maintaining — and improving — productivity in this hybrid work world: Focus on modern end-user technology, especially as federal support grows to implement broadband infrastructure.

The PC is the core of work-from-anywhere success

End-user technology has always been critical to improved productivity and talent retention. Having the right tools in place makes a big difference when it comes to getting the work done: 77% of employees note that PCs are a critical factor in their engagement and daily work.5

Now that we’re working remotely, flexibility, connectivity, and mobility are permanent requirements. A Lenovo global research study found that 85% of workers feel more reliant on their work PCs than they did working from the office.6 And yet, 50% of employees surveyed said their PC devices were out of date or insufficient (e.g., not fast enough, reliable enough, or powerful enough) to support their work activities.5

Modern devices for modern times

Focusing on end-user technology can deliver significant benefits. According to Forrester, nearly 60% of ITDMs surveyed have seen more than 10% improvement in their employee experience scores by focusing on improving employees’ satisfaction with technology.4

And those ITDMs have seen a 5X ROI from their efforts.4

Meeting the evolving demands of today’s work environment requires devices with the processing capabilities to manage multiple tasks seamlessly — devices like the Lenovo ThinkPad® T14s with Windows 11 Pro and Intel vPro®, An Intel® Evo™ Design. The advanced reliability, security, and connectivity of these devices can help maximize employee uptime and reduce the demand on IT support resources.

Devices that include LTE/5G capabilities will also be increasingly important to supporting a more productive environment as more than $2B has been earmarked for tribal broadband infrastructure improvements to deliver better connectivity as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.7

A progressive approach to procurement

One way Native American businesses and organizations can bring in new, modern devices for their hybrid workforces without a significant up-front capital investment is through Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) programs. Adopting a program like Lenovo TruScale DaaS can shorten refresh cycles and accelerate the replacement of outdated equipment with devices that are 5G/LTE-ready and feature the latest security enhancements. And the scale of our coverage means outstanding support even for remote locations.

In addition to helping ensure employees have the right end-point technology for their needs, Lenovo TruScale DaaS can help free up internal IT resources by managing the time-consuming aspects of device management — from configuration and provisioning to day-to-day support and security management. Lenovo TruScale DaaS also solves for time-consuming end-of-life tasks with secure, documented data destruction and environmentally responsible hardware disposition. You can explore the possibilities for potential savings with our DaaS value calculator here.

Workers are more productive, and IT teams can get back to focusing on mission-critical projects like digital transformation or infrastructure support.

Explore your options

As a trusted partner for hundreds of Native American-owned and operated organizations today, Lenovo is uniquely positioned to help you succeed in the world of hybrid working. We hold multiple certifications from the US government, highlighting our ongoing relationship as a trusted partner at the federal, state, and local level.

  • Current GSA contract/permission to sell PC workstations to US federal agencies
  • TAA-compliant manufacturing
  • Tier III Certification — US Customs and Border Protection’s highest-rated C-TPAT certification level

You can learn more about Lenovo’s complete portfolio of award-winning devices and comprehensive service solutions for Native American businesses and organizations at Lenovo.com/Tribal.