Until the remote working revolution of 2020, the shift from the old-style physical meeting space into the virtual world had been gradual. In this short time frame, people’s home offices, dining rooms, and dens became their new workplace and virtual meetings exploded, sometimes just as a way to get people to talk.
As employees returned to the office, the next iteration of modern meetings needed to be considered to support hybrid participants (the old world and new world needing to co-exist).
Whether a meeting room is physical or virtual, it must accommodate the modern worker. It must support the various needs and preferences of all of the participants wherever and however, they’re joining.
The user experience in the physical space should be familiar and inclusive, whether attending virtually or in person. Today’s corporate spaces have been designed almost exclusively with the physical world in mind. To connect a workforce, particularly in a hybrid world, these spaces should enable a team to collaborate wherever its members are based.
All of this means the technology experts designing meeting rooms should plan equal access. Those attending virtually should enjoy the same access as those attending in person – everyone should be an equal citizen. Meeting rooms have tended to encourage participation among those sitting “at the table. But on-site attendees can overlook those in other locations.
With the right knowledge and approach, you can get so much more out of digital meetings. You are not hindered by the physical footprint of an office or whether the right people are all in on the same day, meaning more meetings can happen at any one time. Meetings can be quickly scheduled, teams can be brought together with ease and you can have ready access to the data you need to make decisions.
You can collaborate and co-edit documents in real-time, you can wallboard ideas and quickly bring in extra participants at any time, allowing meetings to progress and not stall. Links can be shared in the meeting chat and votes can be made, helping to make meetings more engaging and supporting active participation.
A connected workforce can work seamlessly anywhere and anytime. Users expect familiar and consistent user experiences, whether working from the office, the home, or a cafe.
The four prongs of our Connected Workplace concept should foster:
The principal goal of a modern workplace should be collaboratively developing new ways to support clients. And doing so with success calls for a range of assessments and incentives—sort of a continuous feedback loop. Of course, a company would be nowhere without capable IT technicians and an intuitive booking system.