5 minute read
Technology
Adapting to the new normal workplace
DARRYL MCALLISTER
THE 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 offi ce 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 fl ow of communication enabled so everyone can stay on the same page whether they’re working from the offi ce or from home. Th is 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 ineff ective communication, according to 86% of employees and executives.
Th is new hybrid workfl ow holds opportunities for businesses and employees alike, including increased productivity, improved morale, and signifi cant 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 effi cient 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 offi ce. Despite the explosive uptake in the move to remote working, most companies are only using basic functionality of Teams. Th ey don’t realise its potential, specifi cally that they have access to features that can maximise collaboration, enhance experiences and optimise organisational workfl ows.”
How Microsoft Teams Creates a Collaborative & Productive Working Environment
Th ere 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 matt er where they’re located, offi ce, or home.
Teams is more than just a messaging or conferencing app, it’s a virtual offi ce 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 workfl ow:
Time Waster
#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 diff erent 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 oft en communicate bett er when you can see someone’s face. Th e 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-fi delity audio and visual capabilities. Companies have the fl exibility to host one-on-one video calls, small group meetings, or large multi-attendee webinars and conferences.
Th e 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
#3 Workflows that are Optimised and Integrated
Teams works seamlessly with the other tools within Microsoft 365 and is designed to be the fi rst-place employees go when they start their day. It’s just like walking into the offi ce fi rst thing in the morning, only this one is virtual.
Presence indicators and status messages let everyone know who is “at the offi ce” and available and who is currently unavailable. Th ere are also multiple ways to fi lter tasks and messages so you can review those that are most important fi rst.
Th e Tabs capability in Microsoft Teams allows employees to link all the assets they use in their workfl ow – applications, documents, websites, and more – to a specifi c 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.
Th is allows everyone on that channel to instantly launch each piece of their workfl ow 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 workfl ow.
Get Your Office Started on Microsoft Teams Today!
Ensure your modern offi ce 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.
Darryl McAllistar is CEO at Netcare. Visit www. netcare.net.au
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