How to Optimize Hybrid Work for All Employees, Wherever They May Be
Supporting hybrid work with flexibility and resiliency is crucial for employers across the country – and around the world. Here are a few ways to do it.
For many employees, the ability to work from anywhere is so important that it can be a deciding factor in whether they look for a new job or stay at their current position. That’s why you must ensure employees are equally effective at home, in the office or on the road. Supporting hybrid work with flexibility and resiliency is crucial for employers across the country – and around the world. Here are a few ways to do it.
How to outfit a home office
When working from home, employees need the same level of security, speed and reliability they can get at company headquarters. Remote workers also need to have the same high-quality videoconferencing experience as their in-office colleagues.
This means organizations will need to make sure that all their employees can connect inclusively and equitably in hybrid environments. Being able to work effectively in a virtual setting will be essential to employee engagement.
That’s why it’s important to find the right videoconferencing solution. Microsoft Teams gives your employees a common interface, so collaboration looks the same from every device – whether they work at the office, at home or from the road. Employees at multiple locations can schedule and join meetings easily from their laptop, desktop computer – PC or Mac – and even from their phones.
When it comes to finding the right laptop for remote work, CDW partners with leading providers like HP and Lenovo to offer a wide range of options. The Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 1 provides a perfect mix of performance and power on the go at a comfortable price point, making it ideal for engineers, architects and students collaborating in the office, on a job site or visiting customers. Meanwhile, HP’s ZBook Firefly G9 helps you stay productive with AI-enhancing webcam and audio and a stunning display so you can collaborate and manage projects from anywhere.
Reduce clutter and eliminate background noise
With the need for new technology at the home office, you have to be able to connect everything together. Logi Dock is an all-in-one docking station, designed to make home working easy and productive. It’s simple to set up, so you can quickly reduce cables and clutter by connecting your laptop and peripherals to a single dock. And you can even listen to the tunes you need to get through your day with the high-quality, built-in speaker.
You can also make employees’ in-home office more versatile with the Cisco Webex Room Mini Kit that turns any TV or monitor into a professional videoconferencing space. And by activating end-to-end meeting encryption in Webex, you’ll add another level of security for highly sensitive discussions.
Without noise-cancellation technology, background noises like barking dogs, doorbells and crying babies can interrupt important work conversations. Fortunately, leading videoconferencing platforms like Webex and Microsoft Teams do a good job of filtering out background noise to help minimize distractions.
How to get more work done on the road again
For employees to be as productive on the road as they are working from home, they need to reduce physical equipment and gain access to cloud and internal-network resources. Fortunately, travelling workers can securely access resources in hybrid cloud environments with native IPsec or Cisco AnyConnect remote client VPNs without lugging around dedicated hardware.
When you need to take a call, Jabra Meet Anywhere and Meet Anywhere+ bundles combine cutting-edge video and audio in a lightweight and portable case to make hybrid working more efficient. Open the case and start any meeting, anywhere, with Jabra PanaCast, Speak 750 and the included table stand.
The right headset or speakers can provide an incredible audio experience, no matter where you’re working. The Poly Sync 20 USB/Bluetooth smart speakerphone allows you to take conference calls from anywhere with a battery that lasts for hours, while the Jabra Speak 750 offers a compact premium speakerphone with two-way full duplex so both sides can hear and be heard clearly.
Audio and video essentials for hybrid work
In order to work effectively in a hybrid work environment, employees need portable devices that deliver high-quality audio and video, both at home and in shared spaces, while providing a seamless transition between workspaces. Our partners at Poly have suggested the following features to look for when it comes to audio and video:
Videoconferencing
- HD camera for a clear picture in any environment
- Low-light compensation to combat poorly lit spaces
- Noise blocking to minimize all levels of background noise
- Automatic image framing to put users front and centre
- Directional microphones for clear audio in any environment
Audio solutions
- Noise-canceling speakers and microphones to block out background noise for both ends of the call
- DECT™ or Bluetooth® for the freedom to move around and wirelessly connect to multiple devices
- Latest DECT™ security protocols for secure conversations
- Wired (or corded) headsets for unlimited talk time and no charging necessary