How visual collaboration tools keep hybrid teams engaged

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Long before 2020, organizations were evaluating and adapting their existing processes. From allowing employees to work remotely to offering more generous paid time off, there were several key areas of focus for the modern business that were already taking shape.

Hybrid work by the numbers

But as the lines between work and home continue to blur after the pandemic, it’s clear that the future of work is hybrid. While COVID-19 is not directly responsible for its creation, it has certainly accelerated its evolution.

In fact, hybrid environments are now preferred by 83% of 9,326 employees surveyed in a recent Accenture survey. In addition, 74% of US companies have implemented or plan to implement a permanent hybrid operating model in the near future.

Advantages and disadvantages of flexibility in the workplace

Managing a hybrid workforce means your organization must combine the benefits of remote work with the collaborative capabilities of face-to-face interactions. This structure has undoubtedly delivered several benefits in recent years, including increased productivity, greater employee satisfaction and lower operating costs.

Despite the positive impact of hybrid environments on both work-life balance and flexibility, many managers and employees say collaboration between remote and on-premises teams has suffered significantly. Other common challenges include scheduling conflicts, communication failures, and diminished customer experiences. Fortunately, the right tools can make all the difference.

A new way of working

In the context of a hybrid workforce, visual collaboration can help break down many of the physical and digital communication barriers that stifle creativity, eliminate silos, and make it easier for teams to align with project goals.

While visual collaboration products are on the rise — from startups like Miro and Notion to tech giants like Microsoft Loop and Google Jamboard — one company that is making waves in this area is Box Inc., a content cloud company that recently announced the release of Box canvas.

Box Canvas for inclusive collaboration

Built into Box by default, Box Canvas is a visual whiteboard tool that connects hybrid workers so they can brainstorm, generate ideas, plan, and solve problems anywhere.

Available on all subscriptions later this year, Box Canvas will provide a powerful new way for users to collaborate, leveraging the enterprise-grade security solutions Box customers are already familiar with. Best of all, this functionality comes at no additional cost – a feature often only offered by larger enterprises.

Whether the work is done in real-time or asynchronously, this new visual tool helps bridge the gap between face-to-face and remote collaboration that static document types and traditional communication never could.

Driving the future of teamwork

“Between customers, partners and employees, most of our interactions are digital. That means our workflows need to be digitized to meet the needs of a changing workforce,” said Box CEO Aaron Levie. “With Box Canvas, we empower people to leverage their strengths as visual learners and exchange information through screenshots, images and video in a shared, flexible digital environment with infinite space.”

In an era where some employees are remote and others in the office, but still need to operate as a cohesive team, Box Canvas makes collaboration and decision-making streamlined and more efficient.

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This post How visual collaboration tools keep hybrid teams engaged

was original published at “https://venturebeat.com/2022/04/13/using-visual-collaboration-tools-to-keep-hybrid-teams-engaged/”