Technology that is cutting-edge and enables communication at a distance has become increasingly important as Asia Pacific organisations embrace flexible work practices. In order to meet the diverse needs of a hybrid workforce, it is essential that you utilize these exciting new technologies in your workspace. How can you do that?

A hybrid workplace enhances collaboration among all employees and facilitates new ways of working at the same time. Achieving these spaces requires more than implementing new technologies – leading organisations listen closely to their employees’ feedback in order to ascertain how they can make their workplaces more employee-friendly.

We at Zoom organized our APAC Work Transformation Summit (WTS) on 15th July, which focused on how technology can be utilized to support employees and customers, no matter where they are, by meeting their needs, no matter where they are.

Some key takeaways from the event:

• We are in the midst of a hybrid work revolution.

• Listen to the employees and provide them with a choice for how they would prefer to work in a hybrid environment if you want your business to succeed.

• For hybrid work to succeed, it is imperative to redouble efforts to improve employee engagement, connectivity, and equity.

• Keeping up with this new hybrid world requires the right platform and the right technologies to be successful.

We invite you to read on to learn about how APAC leaders are continuing to shape a work environment that is constantly evolving.

Understanding the future of work in APAC

In his opening remarks, Zoom’s Head of Asia Pacific, Ricky Kapur, provided an overview of the current state of hybrid work, and how leading organisations in this dynamic and diverse region are using technology to create a smarter hybrid environment at work.

There’s no doubt that hybrid work is here to stay in Asia Pacific – where a majority of workers across a range of countries and industries prefer to work in a flexible manner. Ricky explained that this is a clear indicator of the future of work.

The flexibility of hybrid work is one of its biggest draws for people: the convenience, the reduced time wasted, and the higher productivity it offers, Ricky said. It is something we have grown accustomed to over the years. As a result, companies acknowledge the fact that flexibility is becoming increasingly important to their business.”

During his presentation, Ricky made the point that in order for a business to succeed, it would require renewed efforts to better understand and enhance the employee experience, connectivity, and equity, no matter where the employee is.

There is no point in telling your employees they have the option to work in a hybrid way if they do not have the flexibility to do so,” he explained. The platform and technology you select for facilitating productive hybrid work have to be carefully considered so that it is meaningful.

Prioritising employee experience to navigate the future of work

During the APAC Work Transformation Summit, Qualtrics’ Chief Product Officer, Jay Choi, shared his team’s findings related to employee experience, and how small changes in employee experience can make a big difference in how organizations manage to tackle their futures.

There were also some tips that Jay shared about some of the best practices that organisations can use to structure their hybrid work model and create in-person experiences that add value to the business using an intuitive philosophy of Why, Who, When, and What:

• Why – Developing and communicating the reasons and benefits of in-person work is crucial to teams understanding the advantages and rationale behind why they should attend meetings in the office.

• Who – Team members have their own unique requirements when it comes to how they work, their responsibilities, and their needs. It is beneficial for teams to be empowered to establish norms at a certain level so that they can work according to their own ideal work style.

• When – Establishing a schedule of when teams are coming into the office and setting up those in-person days around team meetings, or offering incentives to come into the office, such as birthday parties, events, or team building exercises, can help to build team cohesion and provide employees with unique experiences that they wouldn’t be able to get at home otherwise.

• What is – By taking the time and making sure that team bonding and brainstorming meetings take place in person, it will encourage teams to attend in-person meetings, while other meetings, such as all-hands meetings or town hall meetings, can take place virtually.

The workspace of the future

We were treated to a brilliant presentation by Carleigh Noble, Senior Product Manager, Zoom Rooms and Workspaces, who gave us an unrivalled look at how employees are using Zoom’s platform to create the next-generation work environment. In this presentation, employees were shown how to utilize the Zoom platform to enhance and streamline their day-to-day operations, communicate in a more effective way, and collaborate more effectively in the workplace before they arrive at work, in the workplace, and while in meetings.

In addition to showing us how Workspace Reservation can improve on-site operations, Carleigh also showed us a sneak peek at a feature that will be available later this year, seamless meeting transfer, as well as how it can change the way we work on-site.

Hybrid in action: unified evolution

She went over some of the challenges and how organizations can manage these challenges related to hybrid work, in an expert discussion with Theresa Larkin, Zoom Manager for UCaaS Product Marketing. As part of this challenge, we are faced with the following:

• Keeping the company culture alive is essential to the success of the company

• Taking part in cross-team and cross-time zone collaborations

• Team communication is essential to ensuring that teams are informed at all times

She explained how Zoom can help organisations overcome these challenges by taking the following steps:

• Providing enterprise-grade communications solutions through a unified and intuitive platform, which is user-friendly and intuitive

• It is important to create a space where asynchronous communication can take place efficiently and dynamically

• Our solutions are designed to create equitable experiences for all employees, regardless of their location or their company size, by enabling effective, streamlined collaboration for dispersed teams

Developer tools to transform the meeting experience 

During his presentation, Ross Mayfield, the Zoom Apps Group Product Manager, described how Zoom Apps and the Zoom Developer Platform are enabling work transformation across a multitude of industries in the enterprise.

There are more than 1,500 Zoom Apps available for you to discover and use within Zoom, ranging from enterprise collaboration and productivity, to wellness, or video games, allowing you to make the most of your Zoom experience from any location. You can also use Zoom Apps as part of your webinars if you wish. The Zoom Apps SDK is available now to developers so that they can extend existing web apps or create new ones based on the Zoom Apps SDK.

Aside from providing an enhanced experience to end users through Zoom Apps, the Zoom Developer Platform is also able to provide the following features:

• Business acceleration: Zoom Apps enable businesses to rapidly create and deploy the solutions they provide to their customers. A Zoom App Marketplace listing is a great way to reach more people faster with apps that have been developed by Zoom customers.

• Trusted distribution: Apps on the Zoom App Marketplace have the backing of a trusted brand, and developers and customers are able to take advantage of reliable resources as well as a team of experts to help them grow and perform.

How top APAC organisations maintain workplace culture 

In order to explore the ways that enterprises in APAC are equipping their hybrid workforces for success and ensuring company culture is maintained when working with hybrid workforces, Roger Burgess, Zoom’s Chief Information Officer Advisor for APAC, convened a customer panel during WTS. IDC Asia Pacific Research Director Lily Phan and SafetyCulture Technology Specialist Corey Beckman both participated on the panel as did Ned Lowe, Head of Engineering at Singlife with Aviva, Head of Engineering at Singlife with Aviva. Their conversations over the past two-and-a-half years have led them to share the best practices they’ve gathered over that time.

Ned Lowe on forward-thinking: “At Singlife, we had already discussed the possibility of meeting customers without meeting in person, collecting e-signature signatures, so when we were forced to work from home, we were well positioned to implement the technology that would make our advisors and customers as successful as possible.

The wants of both our advisors as well as our customers were taken into account and we made sure that it all came together in the best way possible.”

Corey Beckman on designing hybrid workspaces: “For more than a decade we have been working to embrace the hybrid experience – which is so critical in today’s world – through technology and design in order to retain employees. At our office, we have over 48 Zoom Rooms, including a rooftop Zoom Room which is available to employees who are both in the office and remote. Our experience, however, has taught us that there are quite a few of our employees who prefer to attend work at least three days a week since they like the atmosphere at work. It is important for us to design an environment where employees feel comfortable and can work at their best. Our meeting rooms are also decorated to celebrate our customers, so we were sure to keep their interests in mind when designing them.”

Dr. Lily Phan on empathetic leadership: “ An important aspect of our research at IDC has revealed that empathetic leadership plays an integral role in maintaining the workplace culture within hybrid workplace environments. Empathetic leadership can be achieved by embracing five key principles – Cultivating Trust, Open Communication, Boosting Engagement, Demonstrating Visible Action, and Promoting Health and Well-being. By adopting these principles, leaders can create an organizational culture that appeals to employees and fosters a positive work environment.

Enabling the workforce of today and tomorrow

Zoom has stepped up to support businesses and individuals in adapting to the evolving concept of hybrid work. In order to stay ahead of the curve, it is important to stay informed and updated. Zoom has made it easy by offering the on-demand session recordings of the Zoom APAC Work Transformation Summit, which serves as a comprehensive rundown of the latest developments in the hybrid work arena. To take your first steps towards creating effective and efficient hybrid work environments, reach out to the Zoom Sales team today.

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