The onset of the pandemic has fundamentally altered the workplace equilibrium while accelerating the evolution of workspace 2.0 or hybrid workspace - a combination of virtual and in-office environments, primarily driven by the rising aspiration of employees for a more flexible work model. The point that needs to be fully understood is that the shift to hybrid work is not temporary. It’s going to stay with us permanently. Therefore, leaders should ponder the multiple components of a hybrid work environment carefully when they start to think of building it.

Managing collaboration equity

Understanding the ‘employee-mix’ is vital in the hybrid work environment. Some employees look to go office and seek to stay at home for some time. Then, some employees want to stay at home permanently, while others will work from the office. The future workplace needs to accommodate all three types of employees.

Providing equal access to information and working, known as collaboration equity, for both in-person and remote employees is going to be a challenge for the management. Their focus should be on bringing collaboration equity, enabling your employees to collaborate and participate equally regardless of the location, role, or device preference.

Brainstorming for the digital era collaboration

Though many experts prematurely jumped the gun and even declared that distant collaboration cannot be effective. There is no need to fall into this trap. Hybrid workspaces can be created provided you can imagine a space with all required components of hybrid space placed at right place to fit the needs of in-office and remote employees. It includes collaboration tools and other tech components like audio and video for building a successful hybrid working environment.

Whether in manufacturing or banking, you have to establish synchronization between the physical and digital environment. But how can you achieve this goal. It can be achieved.

Here are the following four building blocks of the hybrid workspace:

How about drawing, sharing, or annotating on the same digital canvas in real-time. Technology can make it possible. For instance, with powerful Intelligent Capture functionality in Microsoft Teams Room, participants can frame, focus and zoom any specific part of the whiteboard in real-time. Remote attendees can view images and text on the board and save them for further reference, unlike a physical whiteboard.

Man is a social animal and they feel the need to talk and share their feelings and emotions with others. An informal chat at coffee table in the office canteen should be replicated in the hybrid space as well. Virtual chat rooms and Teams channels offer such virtual spaces where employees can jump in suddenly and chitchat in an informal environment.

Providing consistent experience to participants everytime is key to a successful hybrid culture. It requires much more than a traditional video meeting solution.

For example, Microsoft Teams Rooms has been designed to enhance the meeting and collaboration experience through audio-visual experience.

The customizable hybrid system uses webcams, multiple cameras and microphone, to create a seamless & fluid meeting environment. Powered by MTR device, it enables to setup and start meetings with one-touch join system. How Microsoft Teams Room sets your hybrid space apart using powerful audio-video device:

Maximizing the screen real estate becomes crucial to offering participants a true to life meeting experience. The increased digital space brings a larger-than-life experience, making team meetings more engaging. And when this is complemented with other features like live reactions, spotlight, and chat bubbles are added, the meeting experience goes to a different level altogether.

Summing up

On a final note, building a successful hybrid working environment depends on how well you bring collaboration equity, understand employees’ needs and use technology to solve their problems effectively while helping them navigate this new world of work together.