Microsoftâs latest work trend index has been released and as ever it highlights some really interesting statistics about the way we are currently working.
Iâve blogged about Microsoftâs Work Trend Indexes in the past, as I think it provides some invaluable context on the global shift we have seen post-pandemic with the rise of Hybrid Working and the enablement of the Digital Workforce.
If you would like to check out Microsoftâs Work Trend Indexes they can all be accessed here - Work Trend Index: Microsoftâs latest research on the ways we work.
The most recent report is looking at the challenges that many businesses are now facing in terms of balancing their employees desire to embrace hybrid work against business leaders desire to have people more present in the office.
20,000 people were surveyed across 11 countries and Microsoft 365 productivity signals were also included alongside LinkedIn labour trends and Glint People Science findings.
Microsoft identified 3 primary findings from the data points to empower people for the new way we work.
1. End Productivity Paranoia
The stats donât lie â people are working more than ever.
87% of employees report they are more productive at work, and the signals from Microsoft 365 support that.
The number of weekly meetings have increased by 153% globally for the average Teams user, with overlapping meetings or being double booked increasing by 46% per person over the past 12 months.
During these meetings 42% of participants reported multi-tasking by sending an email or Teams message and that doesnât even consider reading emails or messages or doing other work-related activity.
From personal experience, the above resonates. It can be quite hard to find downtime to do outcome-based tasks in between all the meetings, and I often find myself responding to emails during these meetings just to keep on top of the workload and respond swiftly to incoming queries.
On the flip side of thatâŚ
As a manager, I can understand the dilemma here â with employees in the office less, there are less physical touch points to know where your reports are and what they are up to so it becomes a trust issue.
Compared to in-person managers, hybrid managers are more likely to say they struggle to trust their employees to do their best work (49% vs. 36%) and report that they have less visibility into the work their employees do (54% vs. 38%).
This is something that managers and leaders need to move past â enabling the digital workforce and the hybrid workplace can bring greater benefits to businesses in terms of productivity and employee satisfaction. The Microsoft 365 Business Premium bundle provides all the tools necessary to meet the demands of the hybrid workforce regardless of where they work, and this presents a great opportunity for Microsoft partners to have different types of discussions with their customers to identify ways to securely enable those users to produce their best work.
The New Zealand labour market is very competitive at the moment, so anything you can do to increase your existing employeeâs satisfaction and retain them works in your favour, so it is in your best interest to ensure they are satisfied at work and being productive. Giving employeeâs clarity on their priorities & establishing a continuous feedback loop can also help increase employee satisfaction.
2. Embrace the fact that people come in for each other
The above stat is telling â employees expect flexible working options. Even more telling is that 78% of Business Decision Makers also need a better reason to go in the office than company expectations. If you are spending all day on Teams meetings, then why commute for however long and start eating into your own personal time and/or money?
Most employees are now motivated to go back to the office by the opportunity of socialising with their co-workers or by rebuilding some of the team culture and bonds that were impacted by the pandemic.
For me, having a mix of the two and working in a hybrid style works best. Iâm looking at a 1 hour and 15 minutes commute door to door to the Dicker Data office in Parnell â we have a set day on a Thursday where the whole Microsoft team is in for a team meeting, and I will usually do 1 or 2 more days for other face to face meetings and to spend some time with my direct team members. This is important for me, I enjoy working with, and spending time with the DD Microsoft team â weâre a fun bunch!
Teams is great for business focused meetings, but Iâm definitely a bit less likely to just call someone out of the blue to ask how their weekend went. These social touches can be important from a well-being perspective, certainly in the first lockdown I think most people struggled to find that balance between work and the most social side of working.
Tools like Microsoft Viva will bridge that gap over time, and will cater to the hybrid workforce, and it has been great to see it both emerge and mature over the past 12 months. The digital employee experience opportunity is huge and I believe Viva will be a market leader for years to come due to its close integration to the rest of the Microsoft 365 stack.
3. Re-recruit your employees
I like this oneâŚI think many organisations, much like mobile phone providers, can sometimes be guilty of offering the best deals to their newest employees (or customers in the mobile phone analogy). Promises of training and professional development are easily made, but the reality can often hit different once BAU is there to contend with.
Post-pandemic there is a new âworth itâ equation, particularly in the younger generations. Employees want to grow and learn, and they will often feel like the best opportunity to do so is by changing companies.
Businesses now need to take ownership of this and provide the opportunity for their employees to grow and learn. This internal mobility is essential for employee retention as employees currently have the view of learning means leaving.
Interestingly, according to a study by LinkedIn learning, learning is now considered the number one driver of great work culture, a jump from the same study in 2019 where it was ranked number nine.
Again, the Viva Suite can help businesses pull learning opportunities into the flow of work for their employees. Employee Learning and Training | Microsoft Viva.
Viva Learn can aggregate a range of external & internal learning content, and provide access to it via Teams. If your customers are worried about their staff retention, then this can be a great discussion point to get them thinking a bit differently about offering different types of value & growth opportunities to their employees.
Reach out to the Dicker Data Microsoft Team if youâd like to discuss the Business Premium or Viva opportunity in more detail, we have a range of subject matter experts available to you to help you grow your business.
Also donât forget, in October we are running instructor led MS-500 training, if you would like to register for it you can do so here - Dicker Data - MS-500 Course. We have also secured some 50% off exam vouchers, if you would like to apply for one, you can do so here - MS-500 - Discounted Exam Voucher Application (office.com).
In November we will run MS-100 & MS-101 training as well, which along with the MS-500 & MS-900 (run in September), will give you all the training needed to sit the certs required to attain full points in the learning metric of the Modern Work Solutions Partner Designation.
