Hybrid work has emerged as the preferred solution for flexible staffing in a host of business landscapes. According to Accenture, 83% of professionals consider hybrid work to be the optimal solution for productivity in the current landscape.
As team members become increasingly distributed, working from a range of divided environments, the meeting has grown to be one of the most valuable parts of the day-to-day workflow. Studies showed an average of 55% more meetings and calls per week among teams in the Microsoft Teams landscape during 2020.
While companies like Microsoft are making it easier for hybrid staff to remain aligned and connected in a modern, flexible workspace, there are still steps business leaders need to take to ensure the success of their teams. To survive in this new world, you need to ensure you’re making all of your team members feel equal in your meetings.
Here are some tips to help.
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Explore the Latest Microsoft Teams Features
Both in Microsoft Teams (the software) and via Microsoft Teams Rooms (Meeting Room hardware), companies have access to a host of tools for enabling and optimizing hybrid meetings. However, even with people spending around 148% more time in Teams since the pandemic, they may not be aware of all the features available to help them connect with their hybrid colleagues.
Together Mode is one excellent example of the Teams features specifically suited to hybrid work. This ensures employees can place themselves together in a virtual “meeting room” to create a better sense of bonding. You can also use Microsoft Teams Rooms with AI-enabled cameras from Microsoft partners to improve your chances of eye contact, with clever camera stream positioning.
Pay close attention to the latest features emerging from Teams which might improve your meeting quality, such as:
- AI-powered active speaker tracking, to follow people in the office space
- Companion mode, so team members can all access content from the same device.
- Live transcription and translation, to improve clarity in meetings
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Give Everyone the Right Audio and Video Devices
Everyone should feel like they’re in the same team when they’re joining a Microsoft Teams meeting. It’s hard to create that synergy when your remote staff are using grainy smartphone cameras, and your in-office employees have access to 4K streaming.
While it might not be possible to give your remote staff the exact same tools as your in-house employees, you should try to make the experience as similar as possible for both groups. Look into high-quality audio and visual tools for everyone in your workforce.
Microsoft has a huge range of tools available for hybrid meetings through partners like Poly and Yealink. There are even plug-and-play bars for your remote professionals which combine microphone, audio, and video technology into one plug-and-play solution.
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Upgrade the Connectivity
In your workplace, connecting to a Teams meeting should be relatively straightforward. Your staff will likely have access to the highest quality bandwidth and streaming. However, this isn’t always the case in the remote world. Upgrading the connectivity options of your anywhere work team will help them to feel more connected to the rest of the group.
For instance, you could look into upgrading your staff’s home broadband where necessary and using tools for SD-WAN optimisation to streamline connections to specific cloud-based tools. There’s a Microsoft Teams Network Assessment tool available within the app which you can use to examine connectivity issues.
