Video Conferencing Trends in the Hybrid Workforce

As companies look to move back to the office, many are taking a wait-and-see approach to updating their conference spaces. It’s understandable that they would be hesitant to invest in new AV systems in an uncertain environment.  

On top of that, employees have proven they can be as productive working remotely as they are in the office.  

Companies must start thinking about their objectives for returning to the office. What is the value? What have we lost and want to recover? The companies that address these questions best will be able to build excitement in gathering once again at the office. Their teams will be fully engaged and ready to collaborate.  

“Building in better practices of connecting and communicating at the workplace is essential,” said David Albright, Business Development, Commercial Interiors for Legrand | AV. “We need to find new ways to leverage the office as a vehicle of communicating your culture and making it a place people want to come back to.”  

Companies that scrambled to put a simple webcam on a tripod are finding such solutions inadequate for meeting the long-term needs of a hybrid workforce. Legrand | AV has identified several trends that integrators should keep in mind as we look at the future of conferencing spaces.  

Get the Audio Right   

The typical open office design that we’ve seen over the past 10 plus years is a nightmare for acoustics when half the people on the call are remote. Hard surfaces bounce sound and make it difficult for remote attendees to hear what’s being said.  

Albright sees a trend toward repurposing private meeting rooms and offices as videoconferencing spaces that feature acoustic privacy. Meanwhile, conferencing in open office spaces can be assisted with smart speakers, rolling walls and directional sound masking.  

“We need a better handle on acoustics, lighting and video in personal workspaces to stay connected in the ways we’ve become accustomed to,” he said.  

When asked for her top advice on optimizing a hybrid workplace model, Beth Peterson, Product Marketing Manager at Vaddio, zeroed in on one thing.  

“Invest in audio,” she said. “Just make sure the audio is reliable and high quality. Ceiling mics are an easy addition and provide good coverage.”  

You can learn a lot more about audio in conference rooms by checking out our eBook on the subject. 

 

  

Experiences that Keep Everyone Included

Companies that set up an equitable meeting experience for both remote and on-site workers show their employees they care about creating a culture of belonging and value. Focusing AV design on meeting equity has the most impact on hybrid company culture, space planning and technology. Providing equity eliminates needless alienation of remote and hybrid employees and keeps the workforce aligned on a common goal.  

This means using technology that approximates the 1:1 experience we’ve all had with remote conferencing. Various programs like Zoom and Teams are beginning to tackle this with auto-framing software, projection screens, and more AV touches that ensure everyone is working at the same level. Going forward, conference room design will have to accommodate a variety of in-person to remote attendee ratios.  

In short, we need to bring everyone to the same table, no matter where they are.  

 

Adapt to Continuously Changing Needs

Workplaces may only need (or have budget for) a few AV solutions in any given meeting space right now, but situations can change as the organization grows or changes.  

Planning for future conference room scalability has a significant impact on initial product choices. Specifying the more adaptable solution now can leave the door open when it comes time to upsize the room without having to start over because the more economical option doesn’t work well with other solutions. You want to be confident that the systems you put in place today are adaptable and scalable to properly outfit tomorrow’s changing workplace landscape. 

That goes for downsizing as well. Thoughtful design can adapt to repurpose a large room into two smaller conference rooms depending on the needs of the business. 

With a robust suite of agnostic solutions that work with any online video conferencing platforms in place, you can ensure that the AV system meets the needs of the space and can overcome the concerns of future changes. 

In this changing hybrid workforce environment, it’s worth taking a step back to re-evaluate the way we’ve set up rooms to see if there are new capabilities and options that add value.  

From a simple video conferencing cart to a multi-camera hybrid collaboration space with accessible, interactive technologies, Legrand | AV solutions can grow with you as your organization evolves. Create the best seat in the house for all employees. 

 

 

Quickly Meet Growing Needs for Conferencing Spaces

Legrand | AV’s breadth of video conferencing solutions ensures productive collaboration with easy-to-use technology that works with any platform. For enterprise-level rollouts of a standardized AV system, easily ordered, fast-to-install solutions from one vendor create time savings as well as a uniform experience for end users.  

The best mounting and projection screen conferencing solutions for mass deployment eliminate the need for site inspection and precise measurements, meaning you can show up on site with the solution and be sure it will fit the space. Multiply that time savings across a rollout, and you’re now becoming the person with a solution for any problem. Time savings becomes exponential when you factor in the ability to program repeat configurations across an organization, update all camera firmware at once, and load storage solutions off site before deployment. Get another step ahead of the process by ordering cables to be kitted by room so you don’t have to sort through them.  

Standardizing these systems across sites adds the benefit of technology familiarity and less prep time so end users can start collaborating immediately in any conference space. 

 

Conference with Confidence 

No matter how flexible or equitable the system, you need reliable AV solutions that work every time to optimize the experience.  

Adding remote monitoring and management tools allows tech support teams to discover and address potential issues before they derail a meeting. Legrand | AV’s remote management software helps to provide AV support where you need it. Remote management helps to quickly eliminate possible problems before you even arrive on site.  

Look for conferencing solutions designed to be backwards compatible and capable of using drivers already in the computer so nothing ever needs to be installed or updated when you plug in. No more having to get into the room 15 minutes early to get everything up and running for important presentations. That’s the power of having USB products that just work.  

AV infrastructure designed to protect and optimize technology results in team collaboration that’s productive every time. 

 

The Comfort of Recognition

The benefits of providing familiarity cannot be overstated. It is what maximizes meeting time without needing to pause for troubleshooting or accidentally cutting off remote team members. No one likes surprises in a meeting. Except maybe if the surprise is a bonus. Or chocolate. 

On an installer level, there’s so much to be said with the familiarity of installing a well-tested, UL listed, warranty-backed solution supported by a top-notch customer care team. Integrators know Legrand | AV brands are designed to provide an intuitive experience for everyone from the installer to the end user.  

Many of the brands of Legrand | AV work together seamlessly to create systems that build on the strengths of each industry leader. For example, Chief mounting systems with Middle Atlantic’s LeverLock™ technology in one tidy conferencing package. In short, we work together to make integration and utilization easier. 

Legrand | AV video conferencing solutions are renowned for their ease-of-use. In fact, the right setup often simply requires a USB connection to the presenter’s laptop. No tedious driver installation needed.  

Eliminate the “how do I connect” meeting room panic with docking stations and adapter rings that end users will rely on for getting presentations and meetings up and running. Congratulations! You have a finely tuned conferencing machine that will impress everyone at every level of the organization. Look at you, all awesome and stuff.  

 

Let’s Go! 

Like we said, companies that move now to accommodate the hybrid workforce will be in a much better position to dominate the market. Having reliable, standardized conferencing spaces that provide meeting equity should be a top priority going forward.  

And, one last reminder – invest in audio!  

Learn more about conferencing solutions at our conferencing page.