Since many companies are not planning to increase travel budgets this year, virtual meetings will continue to be an option even if your team is back at the office. They will be looking for cloud-based means of communication instead. Small business owners in the era of the hybrid workplace require a cost-effective and simple-to-implement solution.
Thankfully, Microsoft 365 and Teams offer accessible environments in which to get things done. It’s not only the adaptable software, though. Microsoft uses data to enhance employee happiness, productivity, and satisfaction with their work environment.
The future of meetings is something that business owners should think about as they explore the future of work, be it a wholly remote or hybrid model. Now, with the right digital tools, even relatively small teams can reliably meet or exceed customer expectations.
Designing Flexible Work Experiences
The way we used to operate and hold meetings is clearly obsolete. In Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, it was reported that “weekly team chats per person are up 45% and time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings has more than doubled globally and continues to rise.” To stay ahead of the competition and attract and retain the best staff, you must provide them with flexible digital workspaces and tools.
Making Meetings Effective
According to Microsoft, by 2020, there were 115 million DAUs of Teams and 30 billion collaboration minutes per day were produced by Microsoft 365 users. However, despite “60% of executives expecting to raise spending on virtual collaboration tools and manager training,” top-level executives are still wary of making significant changes to their workplaces.
According to Gartner, “30% of business leaders are most concerned with maintaining corporate culture,” while 13% are concerned with “creating parity between the remote and in-office experience,” and 13% are preoccupied with how to deliver seamless employee experiences.
These are really valid worries. Results from a study conducted by YouGov and Otter.ai show that “42% of respondents say they have experienced Zoom fatigue since the pandemic began.” So, how can we make sure our gatherings yield fruitful results? The survey found that:
More than half of those polled said agendas are necessary for all meetings.
Of those polled, 35% agreed that workers “should only have to attend the relevant sections of meetings.”
Thirty-three percent think “meetings should be shorter”
Only 26% believe that “meeting notes should never be kept private.”
Creating Next-Generation Meeting Experiences
Holding a meeting might be a great way to improve teamwork, but relying on free services is not a sustainable option. The office can be moved to the cloud by using services like Microsoft 365 and Teams. It gives each member of your staff the option to use the functions best suited to their own requirements and working environment.
Making Use of Innovative Features
As stated on their website, Microsoft employs “artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the connection between employees, teams, and organisations.” The organisation is always adding new features and enhancing the ones already there to give their customers the best possible service. The following are some of the newest enhancements available for meetings:
Together mode: Thanks to AI segmentation technology, conference attendees will feel as though they are all in the same room. Microsoft’s analysis of brain activity during meetings reveals that switching to Together mode helps alleviate meeting tiredness.
Artificial intelligence allows dynamic views that adapt to your own preferences and requirements. New meeting controls make it possible to reduce the amount of information being shared or to seat select people next to one another.
Meetings might be challenging for staff members because of the absence of live reactions. Team members can share their feelings and provide rapid feedback with the use of emojis. PowerPoint Live Presentations can also benefit from this function.
The need to launch a second conversation window during a meeting was recognised by Microsoft, and the company responded with chat bubbles. There will be no lull in the flow of ideas between employees thanks to the constant stream of new information.
Live captioning is already available in Teams, but Microsoft is rolling out speaker attribution for captions to ensure all users can follow a conversation in a meeting regardless of who is speaking.
Live transcripts: Microsoft plans to roll out live transcripts later this year to make your meetings more accessible by including a copy of the transcript in the meeting tab so that employees can review the discussion in their own time.
Sticky notes, quicker load speeds, and drag and drop functionality are on the way for the whiteboard, making it a more dynamic feature. These modifications make the experience accessible to folks who don’t have a Surface Hub or touchscreen device.
Equipping Meeting Spaces
This year, rearranging workplace layouts is a top goal. According to Microsoft, “66% of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.” The meeting experience for both in-person and remote participants can be improved with the help of simple technology updates and meeting software.
With the newest updates, users of Microsoft 365 and Teams can now hold meetings with as many as a thousand attendees. Real-time voice/video/chat is available to all users. Or, you can host webinars for up to 20,000 people who can only watch the presentations. The state-of-the-art hardware in Teams Rooms is compatible with the Teams app. Smart cameras and microphones can be purchased by businesses to allow viewers at a distance to see presenters as they move around the room.
Connecting With Clients
Microsoft’s tools can provide the seamless experiences that customers need. Teams can be formed for a variety of purposes, including internal departments, external organisations, and client-facing initiatives. Customers can take part in workflows without jeopardising data security thanks to user access controls that allow you to restrict their level of visibility. You can do the following using Microsoft Teams and Channels:
Schedule virtual meetings with clients.
Engage in online discussion via group chat
Keep your data safe by storing it online.
Keep tabs on ongoing tasks and assign responsibility
Document all phone calls, meetings, and other interactions.
Work together in real time on documents like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Developing Business Resiliency With Microsoft 365 and Teams
It is crucial to design your business model to withstand interruptions. In addition, making smart technological expenditures helps safeguard operations and facilitate expansion. You may build a stronger basis for actively enhancing your remote and hybrid processes by decreasing your reliance on less secure applications. Teams and Microsoft 365:
Gives you access to a programming interface for adding new features and integrating with other programmes
facilitates the administration of data stored in cloud storage services such
Apps like Salesforce and SurveyMonkey can be used within the channel.
Provides bots for use in automating chores and facilitating communication
Empower Your Workforce With Microsoft
As workers reevaluate their professional needs and consider the advantages of more adaptable schedules, enterprises of all sizes can take prompt measures to keep their best employees. In addition, businesses can prepare themselves with strategies and resources to consistently impress customers and exceed their expectations. Workflow migration to Microsoft 365 and Teams can help you deal with current problems and prepare for future ones.