As an avatar in the virtual office: rethinking meeting culture

The Austrian Economic Chambers ( Wirtschaftskammer ?sterreich ) wrote an article about virtual or remote workspaces. Miriam Defregger spotted us at a trade fair and asked for an expert interview. You can read the original article (GER) here.

Read the English version ?

Covid-19 has changed our meeting culture forever: To host more exciting and interactive online meetings, more and more companies are using a virtual office. Experts explain what is possible.

Using avatars, employees can move freely in the "remote workspace" and interact proactively with other avatars (co-workers).

How do you define a virtual workspace?

What makes virtual workspaces so special is the interaction in the remote space, which is designed to imitate the reality: Employees can walk around with their avatars in the remote workspace and interact with other avatars (co-workers). When avatars meet each other, a video chat window opens; when they move away, the window closes again. This enables flexible meetings and discussions. Compared to conventional meeting tools like Zoom or Skype, these virtual meetings provide better social interaction.

How long has this trend been around?

Even though virtual offices have been around for a while, the Corona pandemic has created a boom with digitalization. "We didn't build our virtual office until Lockdown either. But the trend to virtual teams can be noticed for several decades and has come with New Work and the need for more flexibility," says Paul Stanzenberger , founder and CEO of " teamazing ", a Graz-based company that specializes in team development and remote work.

What are the most popular platforms?

Among the best-known virtual office providers are probably " Gather .town", " Wonder .me", " The Virtual Word (Mozilla Hubs) ", " Meta Horizon Workrooms" and " HyHyve ".

Which platforms work best for beginners?

By now, there are a lot of different providers offering a wide range of features. "In my opinion, Gather .town is a very good solution for beginners. Every employee has an avatar that enables them to move around freely in the virtual office. If two or more colleagues are standing together, a video window opens and they can talk undisturbed. Meetings, activities, workshops, short discussions or hallway conversations can easily be transferred from the real office to the virtual office with such a solution," says Stanzenberger.

What are the biggest benefits for employees of remote workspaces?

First of all, the most obvious pros are: Flexibility, inclusion and efficient communication. "I don't have to schedule a meeting for every short conversation, and I can make decisions more quickly or pass on important information face-to-face," stresses Stanzenberger. Apart from that, colleagues still have the feeling of "sitting in a shared office", even though they are physically distanced. By using remote workplaces, we could perceive an increased awareness of performance and responsibility. Employees focused more on output rather than on presence time. As a result, we also noticed an increased office presence time, because interpersonal relationships are strengthened by a virtual office," explains Stanzenberger.

Are there also benefits for employers?

When culture and communication are fully digitized through a remote workspace, you can recruit and collaborate across locations without losing efficiency. "Considering the current labor market, urban migration and high travel costs, the scale of this change is a game changer," says Stanzenberger. As a result, companies can expand faster and more cost-effectively or leverage demographic advantages for themselves.

Are there also disadvantages?

Apart from the fact that remote workspaces are not suitable for every industry, the biggest challenge is the implementation - "not the technical one, but the cultural one. Role models need to be built across all management levels and working habits need to be adapted," says Stanzenberger. Prices can also vary widely from provider to provider.

Are remote work alternatives also popular in "non-lockdown" times?

Remote work has remained in nearly all companies since the lockdown. "During the pandemic, there was much discussion about the future of virtual work, which accelerated its development.? The solutions implemented today are largely still the same as those implemented during the first lockdown. Unfortunately, this is now leading to high quit rates: Who feels connected to a company after two years of MS Teams?" asks Stanzenberger.

What is happening in the future regarding this?

According to many futurologists, there will barely be any traditional company locations in the future; instead, many smaller "hubs" will be created in cities. "They will be designed more openly and offer space for creativity, innovation, gathering and plenty of communication. This model is already gaining popularity in the tech industry," says Stanzenberger. Apart from that, companies will continue to digitize their headquarters and rely on augmented reality in the future. "We will see whether this is possible in five years already or still not until ten years from now. The largest companies in the world are working at full speed on this and the next big breakthrough is only a matter of time," says the entrepreneur.

What are the technical requirements for using a remote workspace?

A laptop with a microphone, webcam and internet access is all you need to meet the requirements. "By the way, the implementation with us is funded by the Steirische Wirtschaftsf?rderung SFG with a 70 percent grant," says Stanzenberger.

Read more about that topic at the article "How to tackle employee shortages with remote workspaces"