Don’t be fooled; there is a major tension happening up in the workplace.
After two years of working from home, employees have made the mental switch. Many are ready to ditch the commute, stay in their comfy clothes, and hop into an online meeting with minutes to spare. But on the flip side, many organizational leaders are publicly saying that they are preparing to welcome their teams back into the office full time, as soon as possible.
This tension was highlighted in Microsoft’s Work Trend Index 2022. After surveying 31,000 people in 31 countries around the world, researchers found that 51% of hybrid employees say they will consider switching to remote work, and 57% of remote employees say they’ll consider a switch to hybrid. But, at the same time, 50% of leaders said their company already requires, or plans to require full-time, in-person work in the year ahead.
We all know the job market is a tight one and that employees may leave at any time. So, what can you do, as a leader, to keep your staff happy?
Here are Four Ways Tech Can Support Hybrid or Remote Work
Make it easy to collaborate: In our March webinar, we talked about how to automate workflows to make it easier for staff to collaborate on projects. For example, Microsoft SharePoint makes it easy to co-author documents in real-time. There are also a number of ways to collect information using polls and forms. Learn more about how to boost collaboration in the workplace.
Create inclusive meetings: According to the Work Trend Index, 43% of remote workers say they don’t feel included in meetings. This is a chance for your organization to invest in top-notch audio and video, as well as tech that can help create that inclusive feeling. The Meeting Owl, which is what we use in one of the Techify’s boardrooms, has a camera that follows the speaker, and allows for multiple views, including a wide angle. That way, remote workers never have to miss what’s being said, or who’s in the room. Learn more about how to get ready for a new way of working.
Stop phishing attacks: Working from anywhere means there needs to be a greater emphasis on cybersecurity. One of the easiest ways to stop a hacker in his/her tracks is to train staff to be aware of potential phishing attacks. For example, would your manager really send an email at midnight asking you to buy 100 gift cards? Learn more about how to detect phishing emails.
Use conditional access: With employees working from anywhere, it’s important to create conditions that reduce the likelihood of unauthorized access. You can use conditional access to do this. For example, you can set up your system so that it only allows staff to log into computers that the network identifies. Learn more about conditional access.
The workplace is going to be in flux for a while. These are just a few of the ways you can help support hybrid and remote employees, while building in efficiencies and safety.
Contact us to learn more about how to set your office up for this new way of working.
