It has been months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and without a doubt, no organisation or individual has been immune to the magnitude of the challenges it presented. Businesses around the world have had to adopt remote working in a breakneck speed, with some coping better than others. It’s clear from the businesses that are navigating the crisis, technology has been a key enabler to ensure the continuity of their operations.
As we slowly return to normal this ‘new’ way of working is becoming the norm. Hybrid working – the sweet spot of both remote and in-office working – is here to stay well into the future. But as businesses prepare to implement this new style, there are some key considerations to factor in.
Here are three key things to consider for businesses looking to embrace hybrid working for the long haul:
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Technology will define success or failure in the new ‘normal’
Before the crisis hit, virtual meetings were exponentially on the rise. Our recent The Future of Meetings research found that over two-thirds (71 per cent) of Australians expect meetings in three years to include all remote attendees. While we don’t know exactly when or how all businesses will return, it’s likely that meetings with remote attendees will stay consistent to COVID-19 levels.
Implementing the right technology will be crucial for companies looking to navigate this new workplace landscape. Companies are searching for solutions that can enable effective collaboration and communication in both the physical and virtual worlds. Those hosting conferences from office meeting rooms, for example, are looking at how they can wirelessly connect a peripheral camera and microphone equipment to their own screens and stream that rich, audio-visual content to remote workers to enhance their virtual experience.
Security is also a key consideration here. As the use of virtual communication and collaborative technologies expand, businesses will need to ensure their cybersecurity measures are robust as ever-increasing amounts of sensitive content travel across internal networks and the cloud via multiple devices and software solutions.
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Employees will want to be trusted to use whatever technology solution they feel comfortable with
While the majority of people do still use company-supplied hardware, the COVID-19 crisis has seen a big increase in the number of employees using their own devices to join conference calls and virtual meetings or exchange documents and data with colleagues. This was already on the rise before the lockdown but had been accelerated by the enforced period of working from home.
The next stage of evolution of this trend is ‘Bring Your Own Meeting’ (BYOM) – where employees not only want to use their own laptop or device, but also their own preferred video conferencing software. Employees do not want to be forced to use the ‘official’ company solution, they want the freedom to choose the tool they are most comfortable with and which empowers them to perform at their best. This will extend far beyond meetings, requiring business leaders to consider giving employees the option to choose their own software, and address how this will fit within the business’ processes.
3. The way businesses structure themselves may change
Offices will always be crucial to the way companies operate and, in that sense, we will return to ‘normal’. But companies increasingly need to reassess how and where they invest in office space and where virtual interaction can be better integrated.
Instead of operating out of a headquarters, many companies we work with are already starting to consider having multiple smaller ‘hubs’ where teams of employees can network together and interact with other hubs using virtual tools. The model would provide a more efficient solution for many companies to strike that balance between physical and remote working in a way that serves not just their bottom line, but their employees too.
Whatever happens over the coming months, businesses are looking at what has already happened and seeing that remote working can bring real benefits, even in times of crisis. Post-lockdown, we can expect a significant shift towards a more balanced hybrid approach where employees have much more freedom to choose how they want to work and work flexibly to meet their and the business’ needs. There will always be a need for face-to-face interaction, they just need to find the right balance, facilitated by the right technologies.
By Claudio Cardile, Managing Director, Barco Australia and New Zealand
About Claudio Cardile
Claudio Cardile is a seasoned enterprise technology executive with more than 17 years of experience in commercial strategy, planning and operations.
In his current role, Claudio leads the Australian and New Zealand operations of Barco, a global technology company headquartered in Belgium that specialises in networked visualisation and collaboration solutions.