Digi-digest | Could Microsoft hold the answer to hybrid working? Introducing Places

Hybrid working has become the norm in the working world and while there are benefits, it isn’t without its challenges. Lead digital consultant Tony Stewart shares how Places, Microsoft’s latest AI-powered solution, could soothe some of the teething problems that come along with the future of work.

We’ve all been there.

You go into the office, set up in a meeting room ready for some in-person team collaboration, only to find that half the team are dialling in from home.

Or maybe you’re struggling to find physical spaces for team meetings when, really, a quick online round-up would do.

We’re all still getting our heads around hybrid working, and that means teething problems.

Enter: Microsoft Places

Part of the Microsoft 365 suite, Places uses AI to solve the problems of hybrid work. It connects with Outlook calendars to let you check when co-workers are in the office and when they’re not. Copilot even gives recommendations about when you should go into the office and why.

Say there’s a meeting in the diary and six out of seven of your teammates will be in the office for it. Copilot pipes up and suggests that maybe you want to join them, too. It could be a really valuable tool!

But here’s the thing …

As promising as these features could be, the reliability of the data is crucial. People would need to accurately mark when they’re in the office, and room booking systems would have to be correctly managed.

Beyond this, there are moral and privacy implications, too – people having to constantly update their whereabouts or allow Places to access their location. With some organisations receiving pushback to strict ‘return to office’ mandates or ‘work from home, means work from home’ messaging, it could raise a few eyebrows.

Think of the data!

If companies can get the implementation and communication around Places right, it could show some really interesting insights and measurements.

Think about it: business leaders could see which spaces their people use, which days are busiest, which aren’t and the average building occupancy and energy usage.

All this can factor into business decisions. We can base policies on what’s really happening, rather than what we think is happening – or what our unconscious bias tells us is happening.

It’s exciting! And if Places delivers on its promises, it could provide new touchpoints for internal communication and greatly impact how and where people do their work best.

If we understand where our employees are spending their time and when more accurately, we can curate comms in our physical and digital spaces to match the demand, driving a better employee experience.

Places is currently opt-in for Microsoft 365 customers. If you need help making sure your people get the most out of it, get in touch.