News in the Channel - issue #23

ZOOM WORKPLACE COLLABORATION REPORT

crucial role. “It can streamline one-on-one and team chats by suggesting relevant information, summarising conversations, and highlighting key insights,” she explains. “This makes it easier for everyone to stay aligned without the need for constant in-person interaction. “For example, Zoom Tasks converts conversations across meetings, calls and chats into actionable to-dos. By turning information from various communication channels into tasks, teams can keep projects moving forward seamlessly, reducing the need for repetitive back-and-forth. “At Zoom, our tools are crafted to be sophisticated enough for effective collaboration and workflow management, meaning collaboration can happen at any pace, and ensuring our in-person time is of maximum value.” More apps = more challenges Another finding from the report was that teams that use more than 10 apps are twice as likely to spend an hour or more resolving collaboration issues than those who use fewer than five apps. Different apps and tools may promise greater productivity and time savings, but organisations should be cautious of app overload or introducing greater complexity into employees’ day-to day workflows. As the number of tools and apps increases, so does the likelihood of experiencing challenges with collaboration. Leaders who use more than 10 apps were up to 15% more likely than those who used fewer apps to experience consequences related to ineffective collaboration. More than one- third of leaders who use more than 10 apps reported experiencing these issues. The more tools leaders used, the more likely they were to experience collaboration issues. “Hybrid has become the norm in the working world, and we therefore need to be more mindful of the holistic employee experience,” notes Christina. “Businesses can and should consolidate tools into a unified platform to help with managing digital overload. “An integrated solution like Zoom Workplace combines everything from booking a physical workspace, messaging in channels or chats, document sharing, project tracking, video collaboration calls, the ability to nurture company culture and communicate through Workvivo, and allows for seamless third-party integration, minimising the need to juggle

multiple apps. “Zoom Workplace is designed to support diverse work styles and collaboration preferences, catering to dispersed hybrid teams and supporting office experience. By streamlining tools into one platform, companies can make collaboration smoother and offer parity of experience across hybrid teams.” Alleviation solutions Zoom’s research shows how long leaders can spend on collaboration challenges, but there are ways that this time can be reduced. One way to do this is through using AI and automation solutions more effectively. For example, AI can save time by composing content and summarising meeting points, thereby allowing people to be more selective about which meetings require in-person attendance and assist personnel catching up on meetings they choose not to attend. Automating follow-ups with direct reports or using AI to help compose simple follow-up messages can also help leaders free up more time in their schedules. Those who use AI are more likely than non- AI users to see the benefits of asynchronous forms of collaboration and to have their productivity criteria met when collaborating.

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Different apps and tools may promise greater productivity and time savings, but organisations should be cautious of app overload or introducing greater complexity into employees’ day-to day workflows.

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