In Episode 52, Jay and Steve get together remotely (ironic, given the topic!) to discuss how we’re going to get back to the office. It’s not all about the technology in this episode, but it’s all related to it – especially with the Microsoft Teams Rooms systems we discuss on the show that we’ve been using from Yealink. Join us for a fun-filled show this week with real solutions to problems you’ll no doubt encounter soon.

 

Listen to this week’s show below and if you want to find out in detail what’s in store, check out the show notes as usual:

Is there a push to return to the office?

• UK ONS studies showing remote working works
• News stories suggesting those who work remotely don’t feel like they will be promoted, or people aren’t happy and engaged unless they’re in an office – what’s that about..?
• What is the reality likely to be?
• What is the purpose of the office?
• What do you need to plan for?

Listener question – did you really digitally transform?

• Are you having back to back meetings?
• What else transformed alongside video calling?

Tweet us at @AllAbout365 or tag @SteveGoodman and @Jaywynn

Is “hybrid work” a business, technology, or people challenge?

Or – is it all of the above?

How do you overcome the business and people challenges?

• There are differences in the employee experience working remotely and a need to avoid resentment from both groups – those who it works for, and those that prefer the office.
• How do we ensure productivity isn’t lost when returning to the office
• What particular productivity losses are there when going back to an office?
• Will there be less opportunities for teams to meet and work together than there were?
• Less work can be done due to distraction (“Have you got a minute” is harder to ignore)
• How do we determine the most valuable scenarios for using the office space?
• How do team (as in your team, not Teams) meetings work – and, what’s it like going into the office when your team isn’t in?
• What about cross-team interaction opportunities – meeting new people and building relationships – valuable, but is it too sporadic and reliant upon personality types?
• What models are companies using – such as local hubs vs central HQ
• Can we ignore the societal benefits from colleagues working closely in their communities and building better relationships with their teams?

What technology is needed to support the return to the office and the “hybrid workplace”?

• We discuss Microsoft PowerApp based solutions, such as the Return to the workplace app
• And we talk about the built-in Microsoft 365 technologies to support bookings, such as:
  • Exchange Online and Outlook – we discuss how the workspace booking feature in Outlook might be more useful than you know
  • Microsoft Bookings – for example, scheduling appointments for worplace testing is a use-case we’ve seen in the field.
  • And finally, Shifts – Is it perfect, or overkill?

Why is supporting Hybrid Working so important?

• How do you work effectively with a mix of colleagues at home/working remotely, and in the office?
• What can go wrong using the same speakerphones, headsets people have been using at home, when in the office, or when you use older, legacy meeting room kit, like speakerphones or older systems using interop tech?
• We discuss how supporting Meeting scenarios should be a key focus
• What technology do you need to support this?
• How much do you need? How do you plan for how many Teams Rooms you need to buy and implement?
• Finally we discuss examples of the Yealink Teams Room systems we’ve been deploying.

You’ll find Episode 51 above, and at our podcast site, on iTunes,Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google podcasts and you can subscribe with your favourite podcast app using the feed. If you’ve got any suggestions for what you’d like to hear on the next shows, let us know. You’ll find us on Twitter as @SteveGoodman and @jaywynn