Say "Hi!" - This will be your organization′s favourite meeting room!

The discussions about how organizations' new workplace should look land function - or if they even is needed - is a hot topic!

Who will decide where employees best to do their work? How to make sure both office workers and remote workers get what they need? ?While at the same time make sure the work is done and that employees are doing well?

Because it has actually turned out to be true that freedom with responsibility in most cases leads to much better productivity than strict reporting and checked in at office 08-17 every day.

But that is not what this text should be about.

This text presents a must - a new category of meeting room types!

All users new favorite! Office, remote and hybrid workers!

The new hybrid only meeting rooms are a must for those who want to:

- ensure that the office meeting places are adapted for those who love to come to the office.

- entice those who are sitting at home to have a reason to come to the office.

- let your employees decide for themselves where they do their work best.

- would like to see your employees working "from the distance".

- attract new employees to your company.

- give your customers, suppliers and partners the opportunity to meet your company in the way that suits that particular meeting and to always meet under the best professional conditions.

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Sounds like YOU? Of course – this advice applies to everyone who has an office / meeting place.

Perhaps have you already ensured there is the possibility of video meetings in your meeting rooms and meeting areas?

Installed video meeting equipment in your medium and large meeting rooms and covered that there is always at least one screen and some type of Bring Your Own Device (More about BYOD) in the company's smaller room?

Good start! You've made it through the “massive attack” of pandemic digital meetings, now it's about adapting the office to continue the hybrid future.

Surely you also have rooms that are intended for "local" meetings, i.e. rooms without any technology at all as when as for local presentation.

The question is - do you have rooms designed with a focus on hybrid only meetings?

Hybrid meetings only?

Probably not and why would you, isn′t it good enough to "video-enable"?

Well, the rooms that used to be a room for "IRL" meetings that have been equipped with video meeting hardware and a screen on the short end of the table are no more than just "made possible" for remote meetings. Sorry.

That doesn't mean there will be good hybrid meetings.

Those who connect from the meeting room might fill up four of the possible eight chairs. When they want to speak or appear engaged in the meeting, they need to turn their head to see the screen and look into the camera. Many times, the screen is adapted for presentation locally and not for both presentation and video distance participants. Which leads to the screen being perceived as too small.

Easy for those in the meeting room to romanticize themselves back to when everyone was in the same room.

"When will the miserable video meetings com to an end?"

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If we instead take the perspective of the remote meeting participant.

The person(s) who for one or more reasons have chosen to work away from the office.

That has ensured it's found its video-adapted nooks with professional meeting gadgets (headset and external camera at eye level). How does this participant experience the meeting room?

That ventilation that's barely heard when you're sitting in the meeting room might become the only thing you hear remotely.

They get a glimpse of a stamp of the participants in the room as they have spread out and the camera is taking a overview picture of the room.

In the worst case even in profile when most people do not sit with their eyes in the camera automatically.

The lighting that in a local meeting room is perceived as "cozy" rather leads to "painful" for the distance participants.

Add to that white shiny tables that feel fresh and lift the light for those who are in the meeting room – while for the distance participants it becomes an annoying gleam that can also cause the camera in the meeting room to give unwanted reflections.

No wonder the remote participants think that "everything would be so much better if everyone could connect from their own computer instead!"

Solution:

Build rooms for HYBRID ONLY !

How?

• Turn the long-sided table towards the screen!
• Maybe you need an extra screen while you're at it? Or larger?
• Changing tables? Square table is so far 2019! At least get rid of white tables.
• Throw out half of the chairs and place the remaining ones with the view towards the camera.

Try it out with remote participants:

• How does it sound? Do we need to do something about acoustics? The mics, speakers?
• How is eye contact, size of screen, can we both share and see each other? Lighting and lights from outside?

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This will be the solution to meeting rooms that office-diggers will love: they don′t have to think about how to act or sit, just sit down, activate the meeting room system and MEET!

The distance participants might get eager to come to the office to try it out themselves. Or they will continue happily from whereever they are- but get to enjoy much better meetings with their office-diggers!

Sounds lovely doesn′t it?

Please comment if you have any reflections on this article or contact me directly if your organization is in need of advice.

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