The presence signal
The program establishes a consistent approach to availability indicators in Teams and other approved collaboration tools. Green indicates that a colleague may be contacted. Amber indicates that the system has not recently observed the activity it expects. Neither signal establishes whether useful work has occurred, although the weekly dashboard places them close to the productivity column.
Explaining an interval
Managers review repeated gaps during scheduled collaboration hours. Colleagues may record customer calls, reading, site visits or focused work as context. Focused work should be described in terms that a manager can recognize without opening the work itself. The approved category Deep Focus replaced Quiet Work after concerns that quiet did not sound sufficiently active.
Meeting participation
An employee can be simultaneously marked Busy, present in a meeting and unavailable to answer a message asking why they are Busy. Presence reconciliation occurs after the meeting. The program discourages unnecessary messages but retains messages seeking reassurance that another message has been seen.
Certification and exceptions
Presence Certified is awarded to teams that complete tool training and agree their collaboration windows. The mark is a program designation, not a claim that every colleague is continuously available. At Connection Week 2024, the team demonstrating the dashboard turned amber while explaining it. IT subsequently added Presentation Delivery as an approved exception.
