Rethinking spaces for returning to the office

Attracting employees back to the office will require investment in a hybrid style of working

Pro

In association with System Video

Businesses have created collaborative and agile workplaces in order to stay safe, remain competitive and prepare for returning to the office. The past year’s challenges has changed how businesses operate. Hybrid working is a new and flexible model focused on how employees work, and not where they work. This has led to an increase in relying on new technologies and rethinking how we use work spaces. Companies are now focused on how to improve and strengthen collaboration and hybrid meetings made up of in-office and remote workers.

Office optimism and the employee experience

System Video help its customers to evaluate and rethink their current work space to best support hybrid meetings. It offers solutions to connect and present with in-room and remote participants and the technology required to do that. As well as making the workplace safe, it’s important to make work spaces productive and somewhere your team want to be. The employee experience has become essential to retain and keep teams happy and connected – whether they are in the office or at home. Providing smart technology is expected by employees so they can do their jobs well. By updating your building to support hybrid working, you can attract employees back to the office.

As restrictions ease across Europe and Ireland, optimism towards the office has returned. More than half of the workforce are ready to return and 72% are expected to be back in the office one or more days by the end of June 2021.  As return to work approaches, businesses will be investing in meeting room technology that provide employee-centric workplace experiences.

Hybrid meetings and the technology needed

Keeping employees engaged in meetings is challenging, especially when trying to prepare for a flexible, hybrid future. The quality of collaboration with team members can deteriorate when overloaded with virtual meetings. Remote collaboration can be hard to replicate in-person interactions. People prefer either hybrid, in-person or virtual meetings depending on the purpose, type of meeting and how many participants will be present. High engagement activities focused on decision making, solution-solving or building relationships are best suited to the office environment. Hybrid meeting investments should provide an employee experience in the workplace which is in sync with their expectations on how and where they want to work and collaborate. For businesses to daily bridge the gap between in-office and remote workers and allow for productive meetings, a change in work culture and technology investments will be essential. It’s important employees are able to re-connect with the organisation and with colleagues. Businesses need to create workplace strategies that allow for flexibility and empower employees to work the way they want.

Optimising spaces with Barco ClickShare

Gone are the days of gathering around a laptop to connect with a remote participant, often left relying on a device’s limited camera and microphone capabilities. Not only do meeting spaces need to allow for safe distancing, they must also provide easy connectivity and allow the remote and in-room participants to feel equally engaged. Hybrid meetings work best when surrounded by the right tools. Audio visual integrated meeting spaces provide high quality video and clear audio, ensuring your teams can be seen and heard. Wireless collaboration and conferencing devices like Barco ClickShare allow meeting participants to bring their own devices and turn any room into a hybrid collaboration room. Users can present easily and use their preferred conferencing platform and existing meeting room peripherals like audio, camera and screen, creating more intuitive and engaging meetings – for both in-room and remote participants.

Wireless content sharing, VC platforms and AV set-ups enrich the office meeting room experience. Hybrid meetings create opportunities for business leaders to change work culture, redesign the workplace and invest in usability and technology fully in sync with employee needs.

Elevate collaboration in the workplace

Simplify collaboration by creating an all-in-one solution in your building’s meeting rooms. Transforming office buildings’ tech set up presents an opportunity – to create an agile and modern business space. Increase a building’s value and provide better experiences for the people who use it. Touchless and wireless audio visual solutions offer efficient and safer ways of working when sharing spaces with others. Improve teamwork by creating smart spaces that keep your hybrid workforce connected and productive.  Whether it’s a huddle room or a large conference room, increase productivity with collaboration technology, that is easy to use and manage.

Digital transformation in the office

As AV integrators, System Video sees the value ClickShare has for our customers in making the meeting experience seamless. The pandemic has amplified the importance of technology for keeping businesses connected and helping employees remain collaborative. By updating building spaces, employers can ensure their teams can work safely and efficiently. Redesigned work spaces and collaboration technology are keeping remote and office employees connected and productive until it’s possible to all be in one space again. Businesses can use this time to invest in smart meeting room technologies like ClickShare so they’re prepared for their returning workforce. As workplaces change their technology and practices, businesses must adapt to facilitate a positive employee experience. Empower employees to feel engaged and productive with technology, wherever they work from.

System Video are official resellers of Barco ClickShare and serve as Ireland’s only Barco Gold Partner. Talk to an experienced System Video project consultant about ClickShare Conference. Right now, we’re offering our customers the opportunity to trade in their aging ClickShare to upgrade for a newer model at a discounted price. New to ClickShare? We also have a 30-day free trial available if you want to see for yourself how Barco ClickShare can improve your meeting experience.