Teamwork And Gradual Return To Offices
Introduction:
Teamwork – The year of fighting the pandemic has significantly changed the way people look at work from home, video conferencing and teleworking have become an everyday part of the lives of office-displaced employees.
A global experiment in remote collaboration has accelerated a change of mindset. Until now, for many, office work has only been associated with a fixed workstation with a computer, monitor, and telephone, or fixed 8-hour work hours, when present in the workplace was more important than efficiency in the performance of work.
The digital transformation of teamwork has started in full swing and an influx of innovations awaits us in order to obtain a better experience in digital communication in various respects than from a personal meeting.
How is it possible?
Real-time translation of conversations in various languages is already available today, and the massive adoption of automatic interpretation is a big step in opening up new opportunities.
We can record every important meeting or lecture or get a text transcript from the meeting, thus streamlining our work with time during the day. The advent of machine learning, artificial intelligence or personal assistants will change our perception of digital communication.
The year is a very long time, and it was 2020 that showed us that it is possible to work in other places than in the office and at the same time give the same results as a team. Personally, I am a supporter of the hybrid mode, when we choose a home office only on selected days and for certain types of tasks.
In any case, even during work “from anywhere” we need to be a full member of the team. A remote participant in a meeting cannot be a burden to colleagues in the meeting, and here we will encounter a problem. Is your company ready for a new normal, daily routine cooperation of connected teams, when working from home will not be an exception, but a common part?
Teamwork tools
The basis is a correctly chosen software platform for team collaboration, good technical equipment, but also a team of colleagues adequately adapted to digital communication. Many tools allow excellent communication during scheduled meetings, video calls, but we miss spontaneous communication and random conversations in the hallway over coffee. Therefore, if remote colleagues are to be an effective part of the team, natural communication must take place outside of scheduled meetings.
Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Zoom team collaboration platforms may seem similar to disinterested managers, but there are big differences between them. They have different target groups and each corporate culture may be impressed by a different feature or use. Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams are the most widespread and dominant platforms in the enterprise.
In a survey among IT managers, 64% of respondents confirmed that the new platforms reduce the number of emails sent, which could be a sufficient signal to implement one of them.
Digital Transformation in Teamwork:
Digital transformation in teams does not mean that we will bypass company tools and communicate through insecure applications that we also use in private, with friends or family. Communication of employees through unapproved applications, exchange of information or files with external collaborators outside the controlled environment of the company is the nightmare of every security manager.
This is where, from a security perspective, employees have often outgrown companies with their behavior, and it is important that companies give their communication teams well-secured applications, managed by the internal IT department.
Constantly available conversations with colleagues, exchanging files in a secure environment, or quality audio and video communication, regardless of whether I am currently using a PC, tablet, or smartphone. These characteristics are not only the basis for a successful change of communication but a necessary condition.
Zoom as a video conferencing platform has become synonymous with video communication for the masses thanks to its simplicity and generous free service package. They quickly mastered the platform in schools, corporate webinars or online yoga classes. And so far, you always have a one-on-one or 40-minute video call in a group for free.
Microsoft Teams is an extended platform thanks to the high penetration of Office 365 users, and its strong point is the collaboration over documents at the current moment or the concentration of documents for the team in one place.
The unrivaled strength of the Cisco Webex platform is the emphasis on security, end-to-end communication encryption. When you prefer quality and variety in communication, the benefit is the best offer of Webex room terminal equipment for the diverse needs of meeting rooms or personal video conferencing equipment directly on your desk.
Where to start when returning to the offices?
Those of us who have had several video conferencing meetings every day know how important proper technical equipment is. When a laptop does not have well integrated microphones, a good quality headset is essential. The headset with a microphone will ensure quality sound, especially from your side, which colleagues will certainly appreciate. Each of us knows how the sounds of a washing machine, children, or pets can destroy the smoothness of a video encounter. The main advantage of the headset is the fact that it only occupies the voice of the speaker, not the noise of the surroundings.
In a recent study, researchers at Stanford have shown that fatigue from frequent and long video conferences is also a real problem. Fatigue is mainly caused by a higher cognitive load, lower mobility, and excessive eye contact. The solution to prevent this is to conduct effective and short video conferencing meetings without undue disruption.
Expected situations where four colleagues at a table need to actively discuss with two other team members who connect remotely will be very common. Are you ready to arrange similar meetings so that they are effective?
As employees have adapted to work from home, company meetings will have to adapt to the presence of distant colleagues, where video communication will be a natural part of meetings, not a punishment for people on the team.
Teamwork – Company Meetings
1. Good room sound and proper microphones
2. Interoperability and support of standards across different platforms
3. Advanced face detection features in the room
4. Automatic recognition and approach of the currently talking colleague behind the table
5. User-friendly control and wireless sharing of content from a computer
This is the tip of the iceberg of features that transform your dreaded video conferencing experience into your preferred way to work effectively with colleagues.
Each team has a different culture and the equipment adapts to the people and the possibilities of the space.
Compact devices with an integrated camera and audio are intended for everyday operational meetings with a smaller number of participants. Just connect to the screen and you’re ready to go. With microphones, you’ll appreciate advanced noise cancellation technologies. The precise and almost invisible 4K Ultra HD camera with a viewing width of 120 degrees will ensure that every addition will be well visible and internal or external communication with partners will take place on a level.
Artificial Intelligence – Teamwork:
Larger groups of people in the meeting rooms cover the upper classes, where quality sound is a matter of course and your attention will be drawn to the integrated 5K Ultra HD cameras. The user experience is perfectly complemented by advanced image processing and the implementation of artificial intelligence. The automatic “intelligent director” selects the correct full HD 1080p crop from the captured Ultra HD image so that people’s faces are sized or a talking colleague is in the picture. Advanced AI algorithms constantly automatically optimize the sent preview from the room according to how and where users sit in front of the cameras.
Conclusion:
In addition to the user experience, the top rows of end devices impress with their design. All-in-one video conferencing devices integrating two 70 “screens, sound system, 5K Ultra HD cameras will change your view of video conferencing.
Also read: Autonomous Driving – The Future Of Driverless Vehicles
