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Adapting to the new normal workplace DARRYL MCALLISTER HE COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted life as we know it for months, it has changed business in its wake into a new hybrid model of office and remote working. As companies return to the workplace, they’re adjusting to this new altered reality. 78% of Australian office workers believe that once the pandemic shutdowns are over, remote working is going to become the new normal. One of the key elements to navigating a remote working environment is to keep the flow of communication enabled so everyone can stay on the same page whether they’re working from the office or from home. This requires using the right technology solutions that can keep teams connected to each other, to their digital resources, and to their customers. What’s one of the biggest causes of workplace failures? It’s ineffective communication, according to 86% of employees and executives. This new hybrid workflow holds opportunities for businesses and employees alike, including increased productivity, improved morale, and significant cost savings. Making it work means deploying tools that support not only virtual capabilities but deliver next-generation enterprise productivity and a fully collaborative experience. For those looking to empower their digital workplace and create a productive and efficient team-based culture, the Microsoft Teams platform acts a foundation and daily launchpad for digital workplace. According to NetCare’s Darryl McAllister, “Microsoft Teams is much more than a video conferencing app, it’s an entire platform that helps employees communicate and collaborate in the modern office. Despite the explosive uptake in the move to remote working, most companies are only using basic functionality of Teams. They don’t realise its potential, specifically that they have access to features that can maximise collaboration, enhance experiences and optimise organisational workflows.”
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How Microsoft Teams Creates a Collaborative & Productive Working Environment There are several factors that go into a successful remote working environment, video collaboration is just one of these. Teams has multiple features that work together to create a central virtual work hub for employees no matter where they’re located, office, or home. Teams is more than just a messaging or conferencing app, it’s a virtual office that allows everyone to connect, collaborate, and manage their business processes in one place. Here are three ways that Microsoft Teams creates a collaborative and productive workflow:
Time Waster 73% of companies say they waste over an hour per day switching between apps. #1 Powers the Collaborative Process When everyone had to begin working from home due to the pandemic, it forced them to think of collaboration in a different way. It’s not about proximity, it’s about connectedness. Being able to instantly brainstorm via audio, video, or text chat, share screen and work on a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet side-by-side are all capabilities that can happen across the city or across the world in Teams. Teams has a set of collaborative tools that encourage people to interact and stay connected and make it as easy for them to interact virtually as if they were in the same room.
#2 Keeps Human Beings Connected “Face-to-Face” You can often communicate better when you can see someone’s face. The
face-to-face connection also makes us feel more in tune with our colleagues and mitigates feelings of isolation when people are working remotely. Microsoft Teams powers video conferencing with high-fidelity audio and visual capabilities. Companies have the flexibility to host one-on-one video calls, small group meetings, or large multi-attendee webinars and conferences. The guest feature allows you to use video conferencing with people both inside and outside your organisation, and the guest participant does not need to have a Teams account to join. Microsoft goes above and beyond to make the video call experience as close to the real thing as possible with current and upcoming features such as: • Document, whiteboard, and screen sharing. • Ability to join video calls from any device. • Together Mode, which adds a common background for all participants, so they feel more connected. • Dynamic View, giving more control over how participants are displayed
Presence indicators and status messages let everyone know who is “at the office” and available and who is currently unavailable. There are also multiple ways to filter tasks and messages so you can review those that are most important first. The Tabs capability in Microsoft Teams allows employees to link all the assets they use in their workflow – applications, documents, websites, and more – to a specific Teams channel where that asset is used. For example, someone working in marketing may add their social media app to the “marketing” channel tab in Teams. This allows everyone on that channel to instantly launch each piece of their workflow from a single window, reducing wasted time spent switching from application to application. 73% of companies say they waste over an hour per day switching between apps. Teams is fully integrated with Microsoft applications and you can also connect many third-party apps as well. Most apps, those that have the capability, open right inside the Teams window making for a more productive workflow.
#3 Workflows that are Optimised and Integrated
Ensure your modern office has the right digital tools to take you into the new business environment. NetCare can help you get set up on Teams and show you its full capabilities.
Teams works seamlessly with the other tools within Microsoft 365 and is designed to be the first-place employees go when they start their day. It’s just like walking into the office first thing in the morning, only this one is virtual.
Get Your Office Started on Microsoft Teams Today!
Darryl McAllistar is CEO at Netcare. Visit www. netcare.net.au
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WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS AUGUST 2020
