Performance Matters - Digital Experiences - 26

by Stephanie Roberto
Creating space
for flow within
my team is critical.
It allows dedicated focus time to work on
How do we create an environment that encourages employees to
find flow? By working to actively create and protect flow.
Microsoft's research and efforts to increase employee well-being
have enabled more opportunity for flow (such as standardizing
user interface patterns) and making space for better virtual
connection (such as automating complexity with AI).
From Microsoft's 2021 Work Trend Index: " It won't be easy, but
consider how to reduce employee workloads, embrace a balance
of synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, and create a
culture where breaks are encouraged and respected. "
Others argue we can recapture flow if we fight fire with fire:
leverage technology to manage technology distractions. While
analytical data and productivity tools can help in this endeavor,
they are mostly passive and require intentional action and
upkeep from individuals, teams, and organizations. For
technology to help, we also need clear boundaries and
expectations within the workplace.
I have the privilege of leading a cross-functional team of TiER1
consultants that delivers continuous value through a
consolidated backlog. To remain experts in the Microsoft 365
suite, we leverage several tools to stay organized, collaborate,
and complete tasks. We're big believers in optimizing the
technology you already own, and we help clients define and
design solutions that are easy to use, easy to maintain, reduce
task redundancies, and improve performance-ultimately
maximizing their investment and optimizing the employee
experience. (Did I mention I'm a consultant?)
priorities and it reduces feelings of
boredom and burnout. We're still improving
in creating flow for ourselves, but we have
found value in the following practices:
» We adopted a shared service delivery
model to increase quality work-life
balance and to dynamically prioritize
and delegate work. An intake form
(using Microsoft Forms and Power
Automate) for all incoming requests
consolidated communications into
one channel, removing many daily
disruptions. By aligning on work
to be done daily and reflecting it
within a Kanban board, external
stakeholders have clear visibility
and accountability without needing
to schedule tons of meetings.
» Leveraging Microsoft Planner, the team
organizes all work across the projects
and products. Tasks are organized in
two-week sprints, using due date to
put tasks front and center, and
leveraging key tags like " needs
staffed " to help stay aligned. This
reduces decision latency and
redundancy, since the team can
quickly refer to the board to see
what they are working on or pull in
something when they finish early.
» Every morning, the team meets
(using Microsoft Teams, of course!)
to discuss task completions and
upcoming work items, request help,
and raise awareness where additional
support is needed. Stakeholders
requiring updates on their tasks
are assigned to the task in Planner
so that they can see progress.
Recognizing that not everything can
be resolved with a digital task on a
virtual board, we have an open guest
invitation to stakeholders to join us
during our daily scrums to touch base.
» During each sprint, we hold one
design review and one demo day to
get group feedback and learn from
one another. By sharing our ideas and
innovations, we increase our talent
and skill pool rapidly, and create
a safe space to share and grow.
» At the end of each month, the
team conducts a retrospective
to discuss what is working, what
isn't working, and what to focus
on improving next (plus ideas on
how to do so). Again, it creates a
safe environment to be heard and
a chance to improve together.
Performance Matters - Digital Experiences

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Performance Matters - Digital Experiences
