Zoom Report: Singapore Leaders Waste More Time on Ineffective Collaboration Than Their Teams  

A new report commissioned by Zoom and conducted by Morning Consult reveals that nearly half of Singapore leaders (45%) spend at least one hour a day catching up on overdue tasks. In fact, leaders in Singapore are not only more affected by this issue than employees (32%), but are more likely to experience this compared to leaders in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region overall (32%).

The Zoom and Morning Consult report surveyed nearly 8,000 full-time knowledge workers globally in 16 markets, including 750 in Singapore, to understand how teams are collaborating today, the challenges they face, and how they can be supported to collaborate better in today’s hybrid workplace.

With new tripartite guidelines on flexible work arrangements coming into effect this December in Singapore, collaboration in the workplace is more complex than ever. Not only are teams now more likely to work alongside a mixture of remote and in-office colleagues, there is also the added complexity of having multiple generations of workers under one roof, each with their own distinct ways of communicating.

Team Leaders Bear Brunt of Collaboration Challenges, Zoom Finds 

The  Zoomreport finds that leaders and employees both report similar challenges or barriers that made it difficult for them to collaborate. However, the day-to-day activities of team leaders tend to involve more people and more cross-functional interaction than those of employees Not surprisingly, leaders spend more time on collaboration and are more likely to experience related challenges.

According to Zoom, the top challenges flagged by Singapore leaders when collaborating were:

• Difficulty in finding time on their own schedules to connect (85%)
• Difficulty finding time on others’ schedules to connect (85%)
• Not enough time in between meetings to get things done (85%)

For leaders, however, the impact of ineffective collaboration is greater. Besides spending time on overdue tasks, 44% of leaders in Singapore also report spending at least one hour a day participating in meetings or chats with no clear outcome or that do not solve a problem. Similarly, leaders were more likely to say this compared to their teams (33%).

Globally, generational differences paint an interesting picture. Gen Z leaders appear to spend the most time resolving issues related to ineffective collaboration, according to the Zoom report. Almost half (48%) of Gen Z leaders say they spend one or more hours a day following up with teammates to ask about the status of a project. This is much higher than older generations, especially baby boomer leaders.

Finding ‘Just Right’ Amount of Time for Synchronous Collaboration 

To address these collaboration challenges, Zoom highlights that Singapore leaders need to focus on finding the “just right” amount of time for synchronous and/or in-person collaboration.

Findings of the Zoom study reveal that Singapore team leaders and employees generally agree on the benefits of in-person meetings and have a preference for real-time communication: Out of the different forms of collaboration, they report that in-person meetings were the most effective to achieve intangible outcomes like building relationships and engagement. More leaders report the following outcomes for in-person meetings, compared to more tangible outcomes like better decision-making or efficient sharing of knowledge:

• Makes them feel most connected to colleagues (30%)
• Leads to the highest level of engagement from colleagues (29%)

Singapore employees, noted Zoom, feel the same, and in fact, to a larger extent than their team leaders:

• Makes them feel most connected to colleagues (51%)
• Leads to the highest level of engagement from colleagues (49%)

Overall, Zoom found that both leaders (77%) and employees (64%) agree that they prefer to engage with colleagues in real-time, not asynchronously, notably more than the APAC average of 70% and 62% respectively. However, they are aligned that their time can be used more efficiently when collaborating synchronously, for instance, in meetings.

When meetings are cancelled, 64% of Singapore leaders report that the alternative use of that time is more productive than the meeting would have been, higher than the APAC average of 54%.  In fact, leaders are more likely to say so, with less than half (46%) of employees reporting the same. This is in line with the earlier finding that leaders are more impacted than employees by excessive time spent in meetings that do not achieve intended goals.

Leveraging other forms of asynchronous or non-face-to-face communication, such as instant messaging or chat, collaborative documents, whiteboard, and project management software, could help create a more balanced approach. This would not be difficult to implement within Singapore workplaces, given that the top preferred form of collaboration for both leaders (21%) and employees (31%) is instant messaging.

Reducing App Burnout with a Streamlined Platform 

Organisations should be cautious of introducing greater complexity into employees’ day-to-day workflows with different apps and tools, Zoom pointed out. While they cater to different ways of communication, the likelihood of experiencing challenges with collaboration increases with the number of tools and apps in play. In fact, 62% of Singapore leaders say they often feel overwhelmed by the amount of tools and apps they need to use. Once again, leaders are more impacted by this concern, with only 38% of Singapore employees noting the same.

Consolidating to a single or handful of platforms that offer multiple tools, streamlined integrations, and different ways of collaborating could help address app burnout and context switching.

“Generational differences, cultural backgrounds, and seniority all influence how today’s workforce approaches collaboration. As workplaces become increasingly diverse and flexible, it’s crucial for organisations to consider how they can cater to different hybrid ways of working and communication preferences keeping cost-efficiency in mind,” said Ricky Kapur, Head of Asia Pacific at Zoom. “The right platform technology will help reduce friction and increase productivity when collaborating, while not compromising on building human connection and engagement within teams.”

AI Is a Transformative Force for Collaboration Efficiency 

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have long emerged as a key productivity solution, and Singapore leaders and their teams agree. Eighty percent of leaders say that AI features within tools and apps make them more productive than they would have been otherwise. This figure is higher than the APAC average of 73%.

Meanwhile, Singapore came in third in terms of AI usage among employees alongside the United Arab Emirates, with 37% reporting daily or near-daily usage. India came in first (70%), followed by the United States (40%).  The APAC region also emerged as the region with the highest percentage of employees reporting daily or near-daily usage of AI (38%), compared to EMEA (26%) and North America (34%).

Singapore employees also say that top benefits of using AI at work include:

• Saving time to focus on other things (88%)
• Better brainstorming ideas (87%)
• Fewer repetitive tasks (85%)

Beyond productivity, the Zoom report also reveals an interesting use-case of AI: Singapore leaders are seeing benefits in AI implementation to improve collaboration. Some of these outcomes include better brainstorming ideas (89%), better communication (87%), and making it easier for colleagues to work in different locations (86%).

“AI will revolutionise the future of collaboration. Our data shows that many Singapore leaders and employees are already embracing AI, with a growing recognition of its ability to save time and drive productivity. However, there remains untapped potential to expand AI’s use and maximise its value in the workplace, particularly in enabling and improving collaboration efficiency. Moving forward, organisations need to assess how AI is currently being integrated and ask the right questions around where else AI can be implemented to create real impact on both collaboration and productivity,” added Kapur.