5 simple tips to create a seamless hybrid meeting experience
Offices have been a staple in professional work for hundreds of years. They provide an environment for employees to carry out their work and communicate with their co-workers to collaborate on projects. It’s no secret that the office has undergone some large changes and developments over the years. The way we utilise our office spaces now revolves more around digital technology than ever before. From digital whiteboards and signage to video conferencing equipment, the modern-day office is now efficiently designed to increase productivity and general engagement. As the use of technology increases, hybrid meetings have become even more common as people work from home or away from the office. However, running a smooth and engaging hybrid can be challenging for managers. Navigating through unfamiliar video conferencing equipment, overcoming technical difficulties, and learning how to maximise productivity are all part of the equation. To help you create a seamless hybrid meeting experience, we’ve listed our top 5 tips for meeting hosts below.
1. Integrate your meeting spaces
Larger meeting spaces in the office should be open plan, allowing for effective collaboration and communication between employees. You could also dedicate smaller rooms as “huddle rooms” to accommodate for smaller, more private groups to collaborate. To maximise the efficiency of these meeting spaces, the integration of high-quality video conference equipment should be a priority. These spaces need to facilitate video and audio for hybrid teams. Whether someone is working from home or another office, or you’re meeting with external business partners and customers, your meeting spaces should integrate a video conference system to increase productivity. You can also integrate workplace management systems to improve functionality. This includes room scheduling services, wireless presentation systems, a cloud platform for collaborative work, and much more. These systems will work together seamlessly, creating a digital ecosystem that facilitates open discussion and collaboration for everyone.
2. Connect with video conferencing systems
Depending on the number of meeting spaces you have throughout your office, you may need a number of video conferencing systems to cover all areas. The average modern meeting will more than likely include a number of people at the office along with one or more people working remotely. It’s important to utilise high-quality audio-visual equipment in these areas. This will help to replicate the engaged communication that occurs face-to-face. Creating a meeting space where everyone feels heard and equal is the key to maximising efficiency in the office. Video should be clear and displayed to employees in the meeting space, ensuring that everyone is visible and able to collaborate. Video has become extremely important in creating an efficient meeting space for businesses with remote workers. Without a high-quality video conferencing system in place, you could be jeopardising your meetings and your employees.
3. Encourage engagement
One of the most important roles you have as a hybrid meeting facilitator is ensuring that the attendees stay engaged. Keeping an appropriate meeting agenda is the key to ensuring that your employees remain engaged. With an agenda comes structure, and this enables a smooth flowing meeting where everyone is able to keep up with what’s being discussed. If the meeting stays to schedule, they’ll be more inclined to stay focussed, present and engaged. Interactive presentation systems can ensure that all attendees know the structure and what’s on the agenda. Another great way to engage your attendees is to utilise interactive video walls. These video walls can be used to display information, explain examples and highlight specific things that are important to your meeting. Digital whiteboards can be used in the same way, opening up new ways for people to share their information and collaborate together.
4. Consider the needs of the attendees
Ensure that you’re being considerate of all employees when hosting hybrid meetings. Time zones can be a big factor for those working remotely. If you’re looking at hosting a meeting at 8AM in Melbourne, but you have an employee working remotely in Mumbai, the meeting will begin at 3:30 AM for them. Try your best to accommodate for all, whether they are attending in-person or remotely. Sometimes people may not feel confident speaking in a hybrid meeting, whether it’s because they feel overpowered by other speakers, they’re new to the company or they’re just more of a reserved individual. Ensure that you give them prompts and the opportunity to speak, but don’t pressure them and make them feel uncomfortable. Good communication occurs when all participants are comfortable and content.
5. Consider outsourcing your systems to a systems integrator
If you’re currently managing your video conference systems and other programs through an IT department, or you’re managing it yourself, you may want to consider outsourcing them to a systems integrator (SI). At Serity, we offer SI services to a wide range of commercial businesses to help keep their systems up and running smoothly. Once we’ve installed your video conferencing equipment, we can then provide ongoing technical support to ensure you don’t experience any interruptions to your meetings. This not only gives your IT team one less thing to worry about, but it also means that your systems are managed by someone who truly understands office technology. We provide our expertise and management so that your hybrid system is able to work more efficiently. If you’re looking for a systems integrator for your office, you can contact us here.
Maximise productivity with your hybrid meetings
Creating a seamless hybrid meeting experience doesn’t come without its challenges. However, with the right facilitation, a hybrid meeting can create a space where all participants are communicating productively no matter where they are in the world. This opens up opportunities for great collaborative work and encourages employees to stay in communication with each other. If you’re looking to buy a new video conference system for your office, or some video conferencing equipment for your remote employees, you can contact us here. If you’re thinking about outsourcing your systems to a systems integrator, we can provide you with a free quote and begin managing your systems to maximise their potential. We are highly recognised for providing and managing high-quality av equipment in Melbourne to many of our satisfied customers. Get your business set up for the future of hybrid meetings today!