A recent poll revealed that office workers still face a barrage of challenges when adjusting to remote work. Almost half of the respondents claimed they needed more tools and resources that would have been available to them in the office and 16% of respondents experienced reduced productivity when working from home.

The productivity resource gap created by these challenges can be filled by the use of modern collaborative technology such as that provided by Microsoft Teams. With the use of software integrating multiple communications and collaboration functionalities, companies can improve productivity and work satisfaction for remote employees. 

When it comes to software solutions and add-ons Teams offers a lot to boost productivity. For example, Teams Unified Communication (UC) Connector creates a single communication system, OneNote is easily integrated so employees can access the right information when they need it and Power Automate can be used to set up workflows. Here’s how they can be utilised to boost employee productivity when they are working from home.

When working from home, employees can often find it hard to distinguish between personal and professional spaces. As a result, some may find themselves working longer hours than they would in the office and risk burning out in the long term. The videoconferencing offered by Microsoft Teams means employees are able to communicate easily from anywhere.

Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult to find a dedicated workstation at home. Some people simply don’t have the space. In these instances, using blurred backgrounds during video calls can maintain employee privacy and create a more effective conversation between each team member as there are no background distractions.

Working from home can provide a great deal of flexibility to parents who have childminding duties or individuals who want to balance work with other personal responsibilities. This flexibility has become an increasingly important factor for employees in recent years. A study by recruitment company FlexJobs showed that almost a third of employees have left a job due to the lack of flexible work arrangements.

With cloud-based scheduling systems and integration with Microsoft 365, business leaders can encourage workers to share their calendars with colleagues and facilitate flexible work arrangements without reducing productivity. More specific project management tools like Project creates an intuitive workflow so every employee can deliver the tasks on time. Deadlines can be met and team members can easily work together. The flexibility means employees don’t feel like they’re locked into a rigid structure.

Video conferencing has become a necessity in recent months and is the default method for office communication and collaboration. Microsoft Teams ensures every employee is able to keep in contact if they’re in their home office or on the go.

Microsoft Teams offers more than just videoconferencing. Employees can use the chat function to continue the discussion beyond the video call to keep ideas flowing, and even record the meeting for future reference. All this can be shared with larger teams using integrated cloud sharing services.

The addition of Singtel Teams UC Connecter powers up the Teams experience by offering a variety of ways to communicate with colleagues, clients, and external vendors. Employees can conduct video calls within their teams or reach out to external parties through the use of fixed-line calls using their existing business number. This enables greater collaboration within business units and allows employees to provide better service on their customer’s preferred communication platform.

Workflows and tasks can be automated through the Power Automate add on to Teams. Repetitive tasks often take up valuable employee time and can be prone to human error. Alerts and notifications can be automated so it’s clear within Teams when a task is done. Approvals can also be automated so managers can see what has been completed.

Working from home can be distracting which means mistakes can happen, especially when it comes to repetitive tasks that require focus. Automating these jobs means reducing errors and frees up time for employees to focus on more rewarding and innovative work.

Working from home will remain the default for many office workers for the foreseeable future. For some companies, keeping productivity and employee engagement levels high can be a struggle. However, it does not have to be.

Singtel makes it easy for businesses to customise Microsoft Teams to their unique needs by offering a complete end-to-end MS business solution with the powerful UC connector add-on. With Singtel’s bespoke productivity software and convenient service bundling, every business can achieve new levels of business efficiency even when working remotely.