Hybrid meetings are a relatively new term for something you’ve probably been doing a lot since the first lockdown.
It’s a term that refers to having a mixture of onsite and offsite employees join the same meeting, huddle or stand-up session. So you have some attendees in the office and some at home or working from another remote location.
The benefits of hybrid meetings
There are many benefits to running your meetings in this way, you’ll better meet the needs of your teams, allowing them to save time and increase productivity. They can easily book back-to-back meetings with clients and still keep up to date with office requirements.
They save fuel, get more quality time with their families and of course have the flexibility to decide when they come into the office. It helps with the germs too, you can’t spread a virus over video call, so sick days improve!
These factors are all seen as positive benefits to employees, resulting in high loyalty and low staff turnover. In fact 80% of businesses surveyed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have stated they have increased homeworking due to improved staff wellbeing.
In late October 2021 the ONS also reported that 24% of businesses would increase home working as a permanent business model.
Setting up for hybrid working
There are a few factors that enable a productive and collaborative hybrid working scenario. Many offices simply aren’t set up for it or are some way there but could make improvements. It takes plenty of consideration and the right solutions for a seamless experience. Get it wrong and you could end up with a frustrated and unproductive team.
Here are the top areas we recommend you cover to make sure you’re getting the most out of every hybrid meeting…
Your office environment
This is often overlooked but is super important. Employees that have been at home or remote working are used to the comforts of grabbing a cup of tea, choosing where they sit, being in pleasant surroundings and even soft furnishings!
Suddenly cubicles, desk dividers, unwelcoming chairs and a substandard kitchen become something they don’t have to experience. Make sure you keep everything clean and invest in some creature comforts so that when they do come in, they enjoy it.
Your meeting room kit
Make sure your hardware is up to scratch and supports popular applications like Zoom and Teams, invest in some touchscreen tablets to enable total ease using the solutions. These can control your camera, display screen and audio and best of all, anyone can manage them!
Sound is a big factor also and it works twofold. If you work in an open plan office, you’ll need to invest in some sound proofing so you don’t disturb your office based teams, especially if they are on the phones. There are a host of creative and diverse options that will work with any office interior so they can be functional and aesthetically pleasing.
If you have a meeting room, it might be worth considering a ceiling mounted microphone, or multiple desktop microphones. Ideally you want them to be able to pick up sound from anywhere in the room. We’ve completed many fit outs over the years so can help and advise you as to the best and most cost-effective solutions.
Your collaboration tools
In order to get maximum productivity from each meeting, you need the right screen and sharing set up. You could opt for a large single screen or a dual screen that presents one side and shows your remote attendees the other.
We offer kits that support a truly immersive experience too, with digital whiteboards, content sharing and annotation, plus video cameras and microphones that are entirely wireless. They support the leading platforms like Zoom, so it means you don’t need a computer in with you. The possibilities here are endless!
Whilst all this clever kit can be game changing, it’s definitely worth having one or two trusty writing surfaces in the room. These can be glass or ceramic and made in a plethora of colours to suit your branding and interior design.
Choosing the right solution for your teams
At Unity AV, we have years of experience and a stunning portfolio of meeting rooms that have been designed by us to improve our clients workspace and productivity. We’ll always know exactly what you need and our installation team work closely with you to achieve your goals.
So get in touch today and see how we can help you achieve the perfect hybrid meeting space.