A hybrid workplace offers companies a unique chance to diversify their workforce, shake up corporate culture, and find new ways to collaborate.
However, creating and maintaining a hybrid workplace can be a challenge. While 70% of employees value the flexibility of working from home, over 65% feel that they still need the face-to-face time that only in-person work can provide. This suggests that a large number of employees are looking for an environment that allows for a combination of work-from-home and in-office days.
When developing a hybrid workplace, you must also take increased rates of burnout into consideration. The past two years have seen longer meetings and overflowing inboxes, and increased productivity has masked an exhausted workforce. Further, the stress of an ever-changing working environment has led to incredibly high resignation rates among mid-career employees, resulting in what is now known as the “Great Resignation.”
So, how can you create an effective hybrid workplace that balances productivity and employee well-being? The main priority should be incorporating integrative technology that easily connects remote and in-person workers. Let’s dive into a few hybrid-focused tools that Microsoft offers.
Microsoft Teams in the Hybrid Workplace
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration app built for hybrid work so you and your team can stay informed, organized, and connected—all in one place. No more switching between apps, endlessly searching drives, or wondering which calendar to look at. Teams provides video meeting functions that keep employees connected, and the Teams chat allows remote and in-person employees to collaborate seamlessly on projects. Additionally, Teams syncs with Outlook and other essential apps in order to seamlessly consolidate information.
How you use Teams is as important as adopting Teams in the first place. Leaders and managers should recognize the flexibility Teams provides as an opportunity to approach work differently. For example, keeping the Teams chat open during a video meeting allows for quieter team members to contribute without having to speak up or interrupt. While the team leader needs to toggle between what’s being said and typed, the diversity of voices in the meeting will be a benefit to the project. There are many other tips and tricks for Microsoft Teams that will allow you to create a more collaborative workplace, as well.
Microsoft Viva in the Hybrid Workplace
Powered by Microsoft 365 and accessed through Microsoft Teams, Viva is Microsoft’s first-ever employee experience platform. A communication, knowledge, and learning platform designed to empower teams and individuals to collaborate and reach their goals, Viva is built with the employee experience in mind.
Through Viva Insights, your employees can get data-driven personal and team-focused analyses of their activities and productivity. Viva Insights also looks at the balance of a person’s day and can make recommendations regarding their overall focus and wellbeing. If employees are burning out, Viva Insights can suggest ways to slow down and recharge.
The disruptions and instability inherent to the hybrid workplace can leave your team members feeling disconnected. Viva Learning helps to bridge that gap. Viva Learning makes onboarding and continued professional development easy to implement and track, and can encourage career-related skill building. While Viva Learning provides pre-designed professional development modules, companies can create their own learning content, as well. Most importantly, these modules are self-paced and easily shareable between team members, building collegiality along with diverse skill sets. Microsoft Viva is a powerful tool for keeping your team members connected with a holistic approach to productivity, wellness, and learning.
Related Content: How to Improve Corporate Communication Using SharePoint
Microsoft Sharepoint in the Hybrid Workplace
Microsoft Sharepoint is another powerful tool to use for creating a hybrid workplace that is productive for the company and sustainable for your employees. Sharepoint easily integrates with Teams and other Microsoft apps. You can share files, assign tasks, and collaborate on revisions, so your remote workers no longer have to search endlessly for documents and ping their colleagues for help. These tools can also be modified to serve the needs of different departments and teams.
From a communications perspective, Sharepoint is critical to keeping all employees in the loop. You can create a communications hub through which you can share company-wide announcements, human resource documents, or even a funny story. Templates and modules can be modified to reinforce your company’s values, and controls can be customized to best serve your needs. Additionally, the Shoutouts Power App allows team members to send notes of encouragement and appreciation to each other, building camaraderie and connectivity in an increasingly digital world.
Conclusion
The hybrid workplace isn’t going anywhere. As company leaders and managers, the intentionality with which you approach constructing the hybrid workplace is critical to your team’s success. Implementing Microsoft Teams, Viva, and Sharepoint is a way of tempering the chaos you might be feeling about hybrid work. The structure these apps provide can create greater stability, productivity, and community among employees.
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