june2022 - 21

FEATURE
Creating Digital Experiences
is the Future of Remote Work
By Jon Hubbard
THE WORKPLACE AS we know it has evolved. Remote work is here to stay,
with nearly 50% of workers in the U.S. saying they would take a pay cut to
continue working remotely at least part-time, and 25% saying they would
quit their jobs if forced to return to the office full-time.
Yet one issue persists in many firms with
remote and hybrid team members: people
miss the feeling of " connectedness. " Without
sharing the same physical space for hours each
day, coworkers don't get to know one another
well. As a result, they don't feel like they've
made genuine friendships at work, go above
and beyond to help one another, or consider
themselves dedicated to the team.
DIGITAL EXPERIENCES:
A SOLUTION TO THE DISCONNECT
The Josh Bersin Company's HR Predictions for
2022 forecasts the metaverse as a solution to
this disconnect. While there's a lot of marketing
hype wrapped up in selling the idea of
" the metaverse " - Facebook, Microsoft, and
Google are all on board - it may not be as
futuristic or dystopian as it seems. After all,
according to Bersin, a metaverse is " a digital
space represented by digital representations
of people, places and things. "
At Boomer Consulting, Inc., we tapped
the metaverse for our Boomer Technology
Circles Summit in 2020 using the collaboration
softwre Virbela. When meeting in person
was impossible, our members and sponsors
had fun creating their avatars and exploring
Virbela's virtual expo hall, auditoriums and
breakout rooms.
You visit a type of metaverse every day
when you meet with clients or coworkers over
Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Your live video or
static profile picture is a digital representation
of you in a virtual meeting space.
CREATING DIGITAL EXPERIENCES
Of course, most people who've worked
remotely know how mentally taxing it can be
to be on Zoom calls all day or stuck in a dull
" virtual conference " that feels more like an
eight-hour webinar. That's why it's essential to
be thoughtful about how you bring in-person
meetings and events virtual and focus on
creating a positive digital experience.
I encourage you to start experimenting
with virtual reality to make meetings, events
and even onboarding and training more
immersive. But even if you're not quite ready
to buy VR headsets for every member of your
team, there are things your firm can do today
to improve the digital experience and thus the
connection between your team members.
START WITH A VISION
What do your want your digital employee
experience to look like? How will it work for
people at home, traveling, and in the office?
Taking some time to think about what kind of
experience you want to create will help you
select solutions that will execute your vision.
FULLY LEVERAGE VIDEO
If you aren't already doing so, fully leverage
video in all internal meetings and strive to do
the same with your clients. That means everyone
has their camera on! Other tips for making
video meetings more interactive include:
* Present content or information as succinctly
as possible. The human brain can't maintain
attention for long stretches of time - especially
while staring at a computer monitor. So avoid
long monologues during virtual meetings.
* Use interactive features. Many video conferencing
platforms include interactive elements such
as in-meeting chat, polling, and breakout rooms.
These tools help to break up long sessions and
keep participants engaged.
* Plan some social time. It's tempting to launch
right into the day's business, but plan for some
non-work-related chat at the beginning of each
meeting. Come prepared with an ice-breaker
question if you're worried that the conversation
won't flow organically.
THINK BEYOND ZOOM
Tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack
are great but look for other ways to elevate
your team's online experience. For example,
after using Virbela for our largest conference,
we're not testing what it might look like to
recreate our " Boomer offices " in this virtual
space. We've also used Sococo and Workplace
to help our distributed team feel more connected.
Many more solutions like these will
come onto the market in the months and years
to come. So if you try one and don't find what
you're looking for, don't give up.
Shared experiences are a great way to
help your team members feel connected.
Even if your entire team is working remotely,
you can still create digital experiences that
engage people wherever they are. When you
do that, you'll have a cohesive team that is
more motivated to meet organizational and
client needs. ■
JUNE 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
21
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
june2022

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