The Hottest Trends in UC Hybrid Work for 2022

The trends leading the way for hybrid work

4
Woman in hybrid work place sharing her time between an office and working from home remotely, EPS 8 vector illustration
CollaborationInsights

Published: January 19, 2022

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

On its own, hybrid work stands as one of the most exciting trends in the Unified Communications industry. Since the pandemic of 2020 forced us to rethink the way teams work, we’ve discovered there are a multitude of different personas in the office, all with additional needs. 

As the transition to the hybrid workplace continues in 2022, bringing with it new discoveries and transformations, teams need to be ready to evolve. The companies with their eye on the latest trends and innovations will be the ones that stay ahead of the competition. 

Here are some of the hottest trends we feel will make an impact on the hybrid workplace, and your choice of Unified Communications tools for 2022. 

  1. Staff wellbeing

During the pandemic, countless employees suffered significant issues with their mental health, driven by the climate, changes in the workforce, and other concerns. When the pandemic’s hold on the workforce began to diminish, team members found themselves searching for a greater level of empathy from their employers. Indeed, staff who felt under-supported by business leaders even considered quitting and finding a new job.

The right UC investments could play an important part in ensuring employee wellbeing in the future of hybrid work. The use of tools like Microsoft Teams, with its Vita innovations, could be crucial in helping teams to achieve better work/life balance. These tools could also play an important part in maintaining emotional connections between staff.

  1. Personalisation of UC tools

As mentioned above, the changing workplace has drawn attention to the multitude of “employee personas” many companies are seeing in the modern landscape. Different team members may require different experiences from their UC technology, though all employees will require access to the same information, and innovation. 

The ability to personalise UC environments to suit the needs of each team, and employee segment, could be crucial going forward. Companies need to ensure they’re choosing Unified Communications technology from vendors capable of offering highly flexible tech. This might even include allowing team members to adjust their UI on each device or add specific integrations. 

  1. Team Collaboration as a Work Hub

In the hybrid world of work, employees will be consistently distributing their time between moments spent at the office, and remote operations. In this environment, the work hub can no longer be a physical space. Ever-moving, work-anywhere employees will need access to a highly immersive virtual workspace instead. Team collaboration tools are emerging as the ultimate solution for this new working environment.

Within Team Collaboration tools offered by Microsoft, RingCentral, Cisco, and many other vendors, employees can share information asynchronously with staff, and maintain a constant stream of information. Alongside access to file and screen sharing tools, these services also come with a range of options for communication, like video and audio-conferencing solutions. 

  1. Creating COVID-Safe Environments

Although employees in the hybrid workplace will have the opportunity to work outside of the office, they won’t always take advantage of this option. According to Microsoft’s recent report on working trends, while 70% of workers want flexible remote working options to continue, 65% want more time with teams. This means employers need to think about how they can create a safe, and engaging office environment for their in-office employees. 

Covid-safe work environments will be critical moving forward, even as attention on the pandemic begins to wane. Meeting rooms will need to be larger, to accommodate more space between employees. Devices and tools will need to become more hands-free, reducing the risk of spreading germs. Some companies will even need to look into tracking and analytics tools to help manage things like temperature and occupancy levels in rooms. 

  1. VR Collaboration

Though we may have a little while to go before virtual reality makes its way into every business environment, the concept is growing increasingly more compelling. While so far, tools like video conferencing and file sharing offer excellent opportunities for hybrid workers, more innovation is necessary. VR collaboration could be the key to ensuring specialists can continue to work together and interact from anywhere in the world.

Through virtual reality headsets, employees can access the support of technicians and engineers wherever they are, reducing the need for multiple members of staff to always be available on-site. At the same time, VR collaboration can enable new levels of creativity. In the hybrid workplaces of tomorrow, VR tools could help teams to build more innovative products faster, without wasting necessary materials. Ensuring your UC system is compatible with VR could be an important consideration for tomorrow’s buyers. 

  1. Enabling People and Workspaces with Video

For those not yet ready to embrace the world of virtual reality, video will be a must-have. Already, in the last couple of years, video has emerged as an essential tool for collaboration and communication, in landscapes where many employees miss the intimacy of face-to-face interactions. Going forward, this crucial medium will remain an essential part of bringing your staff together.

Video will help to minimise the risks associated with potential separation between in-office and remote workers, by ensuring every employee still has the chance to be “seen” on a regular basis. The use of video could also be particularly valuable in ensuring team members don’t feel overly isolated in the new world of work. Most UC solutions will already be equipped with VR software already, the key will be ensuring good integrations between your UC and video technology. 

  1. Unifying UCaaS and CCaaS 

Finally, as companies become more distributed, today’s team members are relying on more tools and applications than ever before to stay focused and productive. The more technology your employees have to navigate, the more risk they have of becoming overwhelmed and confused. To reduce the risk of information silos and technology overwhelm, more unity will be necessary.

For companies investing in the future of UC for hybrid work, it may be time to start combining UC with more technology tools, such as contact centre systems. The unification of UCaaS and CCaaS will give employees fewer apps to work with, while ensuring IT teams can track the use of technology more effectively from end-to-end. 

 

 

CCaaSHybrid Work
Featured

Share This Post