The large conference room is far from a new concept in the workplace. For years, teams used these spaces to train, develop new ideas, creatively solve problems, and interact with clients. However, the conference room technology we use within larger meeting spaces has evolved.
While countless companies rely on meetings to drive their organizations forward and unlock new opportunities, 71% of senior managers believe most meetings are unproductive and inefficient.
That’s why conference room technology vendors are investing in advanced solutions that help to enhance the quality of every meeting. The right technology can now turn any conference space into an environment that’s more immersive, engaging, and inclusive for all staff members.
More importantly, it can lead to more impactful meetings, strengthen relationships between hybrid, remote, mobile, and in-office teams, and elevate employee experiences.
The Impact of Conference Room Technology on Communication
Ultimately, conference room technology is the key to enabling effective communication in the modern workplace. That’s particularly true now that companies are filled with a wide range of different types of worker, not all of which spend the majority of their time in the office.
Less than 10% of employees now have 70% or more of their meetings in-person, which makes the right tech crucial to connecting and synchronizing your staff.
Let’s take a closer look at how conference room technology is redefining communication.
1. Conference Room Technology Makes Communication more Flexible
There’s no one-size-fits-all way to communicate in today’s world. Sometimes, the best way to share information and connect with a colleague is through a voice-based conversation, or face-to-face interaction, either in-person or via video. Other times, employees might be able to communicate better using text or digital whiteboards for brainstorming and visualizing ideas.
Conference room technology, such as team collaboration software, combined with whiteboards, touchscreen displays, and audio-visual equipment, opens the door to a range of communication methods. It allows people to choose the communication method that best suits their situation, leveraging a combination of hardware and software to share content, audio, visuals, and more.
Flexible conference room technology also empowers users to personalize the communication experience. For instance, companies can create branded virtual backgrounds for video conferencing, share their tablet and smartphone screens with colleagues at the click of a button, and even easily change the lighting or sound quality in their meetings.
2. Video Solutions Improve Clarity
Video has become a core component of the large conference room technology stack. Virtually every meeting room today features its own camera system for capturing video streams, as well as access to video conferencing software. The rising demand for video in conference spaces hasn’t just stemmed from the increase of remote and hybrid workers looking to replicate face-to-face experiences.
Video can improve the way we communicate. It ensures we can still use body language and facial expressions when interacting with colleagues and customers to add depth to whatever we say. It allows us to share visual content that can add context to a discussion.
Lifesize found that video conferencing improves the communication experience for 99% of people. Today’s video conferencing tech is more advanced than ever, contributing to greater feelings of inclusion and better clarity in meetings.
AI-driven video cameras, for instance, can track participants in a meeting, automatically zoom in on essential documents, and remove visual “noise” from images. Video conferencing software can also be used to create comprehensive presentations, where employees can combine their video stream with content for training sessions or demonstrations.
3. Immersive Technologies Enhance Collaboration
Communication and collaboration go hand in hand. Without excellent communication, people can’t work together cohesively. As hybrid and remote work become more common, conference room technology has evolved to help bridge communication and collaboration gaps.
For instance, companies can now use virtual reality headsets to connect employees from all over the world. These tools allow users to interact not just with each other, but virtual versions of documents, products, blueprints, and more in the metaverse.
Augmented and mixed reality technologies allow users to share digital versions of content, too, and can even help to “teleport” external employees into physical spaces so they can communicate more effectively, sharing body language and facial expressions.
Extended reality technologies help people to communicate more creatively by ensuring teams can access all the benefits of real-world, face-to-face experiences, no matter where they are. For instance, with VR, a team of architects in a large conference room can guide customers through a three-dimensional blueprint, adding visual context to everything they say.
4. Artificial Intelligence Optimizes Interactions
We’ve already mentioned how AI in meeting room cameras can improve visual communication. However, the potential of AI in large conference room technology can extend even further. An AI assistant built into a microphone or system within a meeting room can process speech at an incredible rate, removing noise and enhancing clarity.
Innovative AI assistants, included in conference room software, can transcribe and translate conversations, improving accessibility and understanding for employees from multiple backgrounds. Tools like Microsoft Copilot for Teams can summarize conversations, suggest action items, and detect trends in discussions.
AI solutions can even help to guide the course of a conversation. For instance, Microsoft’s Copilot tools can recommend talking points and discussion items for meeting agendas or offer insights into suggested responses during conversations. These factors make meetings more productive, efficient, and inclusive for every employee.
5. Conference Room Technology Improves Compliance
Effective communication is crucial in any business environment. However, the discussions employees have in large conference rooms, the training initiatives they host, and the webinars they create can all include sensitive information. This means companies must find a way to walk the line between excellent communication and preserving security and compliance.
Conference room technology can help with this. Companies can leverage software for device and room management that allows them to patch security issues instantly and implement protocols, such as audio and video encryption. Businesses can even use AI tools for compliance.
For example, when employees use technology to record a meeting or conference, AI solutions can search for and highlight potentially problematic topics or sensitive data in those recordings.
6. Analytical Tools Highlight Communication Trends
Many of today’s leading meeting room software solutions come with built-in analytical and reporting tools that can help companies optimize communication. These solutions can track and monitor issues with communication quality. They can inform business leaders when bandwidth issues lead to video lag or spotty audio.
Companies can also use software to learn more about how employees communicate and use large conference spaces. Room booking and scheduling software can track trends on the number of all-hands meetings, webinars, and other conversations happen in your organization.
They can also monitor the devices and resources used, tracking how frequently employees choose to communicate via video, use whiteboarding and interactive equipment, or share screens. This can help businesses make more intelligent decisions about which software and hardware they should invest in as they optimize their meeting rooms.
7. Conference Room Technology Enhances Inclusivity
Finally, one of the critical ways conference room technology is redefining communication, is by ensuring every employee within a business environment can connect effectively. We’ve already mentioned how AI tools that transcribe and translate conversations can improve accessibility.
These solutions can enhance inclusivity by ensuring people with hearing issues can access closed captions during a meeting. They also mean employees from different countries can rapidly translate conversations into the language they speak.
On a broader level, conference room technology can also improve inclusivity by ensuring everyone has a sense of presence in the meeting room. It can give remote and hybrid employees a seat at the table through video, enhanced audio, and even extended reality apps.
It also ensures mobile employees and field workers can stay connected to the rest of the office, dialing into large conference room meetings from wherever they are.
Redefining Communication with Conference Room Technology
The right conference room technology isn’t just crucial to ensure you can host the right meetings in your organization. Used correctly, the software and hardware you implement into your large meeting rooms can transform how teams communicate and collaborate.
Innovative solutions can add clarity and context to conversations, bridge the gaps between different workers, eliminate confusion, and improve employee relationships. As meeting room tech continues to evolve, it will have a significant impact on how we share knowledge, interact with each other, and engage in more inclusive workplaces.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/tLkDVeo
0 Comments