Future of Work Roundup: June 21st

This week’s Future of Work Roundup takes a look at how we can improve our hybrid meetings, plus some insight from industry leaders on how to revitalize offices for hybrid workers.

We’re all thinking it: hybrid meetings kinda suck.

When some colleagues are in the office together but others are in a tiny box on a screen, it can all feel a bit awkward. Those working from home are often forgotten, or at best they forgot they’re on mute. And for those together in a conference room, we wonder: who, exactly, do we look at? The screen of faces, or the person talking IRL?

Wow, and those are just some of the ways meetings today are weird.

• And as we navigate what successful hybrid work looks like, there are some things to do to make sure everyone feels included in hybrid meetings. For example: require everyone to tune-in via their laptop (it levels the playing field) – and for those in a conference room, be sure to join from the room’s audio/video source (while individuals mute their own computers). 
• Here at Brandlive, we have our own expert tips on hosting better hybrid meetings, too. First, make sure you have the right platform, one that encourages authentic engagement and interaction. You also want to provide your attendees the option to watch any meetings asynchronously; this allows folks the freedom to jump on an urgent sales call or take their child to an appointment without missing any of the important stuff.

The bottom line: The ideal set-up for people working from home and working from the office is constantly evolving (just like our new normal and hybrid work in general) which means companies need to stay aware of what the best tech is for their teams.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Can offices be revitalized for hybrid workers?

If you ever want your people back in office for those precious moments of in-person collaboration, then you have to give them a good reason to leave the comforts of home – and some big name CEOs have thoughts on what that could look like.

Such as?

• Prudential’s CEO says that we need to start bringing people back in with a purpose. He says, “That purpose may be for a specific meeting that you want to use to create things. Otherwise, there’s work that they probably can do more efficiently at home.”
• Similarly, JLL’s CEO says that where you work shouldn’t be dictated by whether it’s a sunny day or if it’s a Monday. “We can agree that hybrid is the new normal. Work should be executed where it makes the most sense.”

The bottom line: It’s becoming more and more clear that orgs need to allow their employees the autonomy to effectively manage their work (and life) via a sustainable hybrid workplace – and one of the best ways to do that is to have the right tech to facilitate engaging virtual meetings and comms.

Source: Fortune