Demand for hybrid working has never been greater. Since the pandemic, employees have discovered they often do their best work when they have the flexibility to choose where they operate from. While some tasks demand the creative boost that comes from being surrounded by other dedicated professionals, other projects are better completed remotely, with no distractions.
Microsoft Teams is one of the key tools enabling the future of hybrid work, ensuring team members can continue to operate efficiently, intelligently, and productively (wherever they are). With Microsoft Teams, employees stay connected wherever their day might take them.
Of course, many employees will need more than just the right technology to thrive in tomorrow’s hybrid world. Here are some of the tips companies can use to kickstart and enhance their Microsoft Teams hybrid work strategy for 2022.
Empower In-Office and Remote Employees
The first step in ensuring a powerful hybrid work experience with Microsoft Teams, is making sure everyone has the right technology. While Microsoft Teams accounts are a given, don’t forget to think beyond basic software access too.
In the office environment, you’re going to need to consider what kind of hardware and meeting spaces are going to be available for collaboration sessions with distributed employees. Are you going to configure a Microsoft Teams Rooms environment with one-click meeting access, so everyone can join a conversation as quickly as possible?
What kind of bonus tools might you need in the in-office environment to make your meetings more productive? Would a Microsoft Surface board be useful for brainstorming ideas? How about cameras with AI technology built-in, so you can set up automatic meeting starts and gesture control?
For remote workers, think about how you can ensure they’re also ready to join a meeting. Will you be providing your remote staff with video cameras, microphones, and other hardware solutions so they’re ready to jump into meetings at any moment? Plug-and-play tools with features which consider remote employee needs, like shutters for privacy and extra lighting support will be crucial.
You can also help your remote employees to master the power of hybrid work by providing them with guidance on how to arrange their remote office spaces to feel as comfortable as possible in meeting sessions. Don’t forget to look into security solutions to ensure the privacy of any video connections your remote team members might be making.
Optimise Every Meeting
Meetings have been an essential part of effective collaboration and communication for a number of years now. However, with more people working in distributed environments, the meeting could become more of a lifeline than ever before. In this new world, business leaders can’t afford to let inefficient practices get in the way of productivity.
To ensure you’re ready to master every meeting, you need to ensure you have a plan in place for:
Before the meeting
Before the meeting, make sure you choose the right space for true collaboration. Your in-office team members should have a flexible, easy-to-use space with one-tap meeting functionality. Your remote workers should have access to the tools they need to meet through any device they choose.
With a Microsoft Teams environment, you can even establish breaks before a meeting, so staff have a chance to decompress before the conversation begins. For in-office employees, you can also set up comprehensive Microsoft Teams meeting rooms, with gesture controls for video sessions and automatic meeting launches as soon as teams enter the room.
With “fluid components”, everyone in the meeting on Microsoft Teams will be able to collaborate on the agenda to ensure goals are clear and follow-up actions are set. You can even improve the chances of engagement in your meeting by setting up features like meeting “reactions”, so presenters and speakers can gauge feedback during a presentation.
