With each of us spending an average of 23 hours a week in meetings, this time needs to be used effectively. The meeting room space is saturated with incredible innovation, each of these products are designed to solve common issues within the meeting room space. Although these innovations aren’t new and we see a lot of smart solutions breaking into the consumer space, office spaces are often further behind when it comes to modernising how we do business. Often, these are seen as an expensive investment without return, but is this really true?
Collaboration is key to moving a business forward, there has been a huge shift in mobility, providing laptops and mobile phones for workers to ensure that productivity isn’t hampered whilst their employees are on the move. Phone systems are moving towards internet based calling over the traditional static handset. The next progressive area for businesses is incorporating digitalisation into their meeting rooms. Collaboration increases productivity across all departments and allows for growth to take shape in a different way than ever before.
At Bechtle we recently opened a Manchester office and a key focus for us was to ensure that we stayed connected and that this connection felt natural. By upgrading our meeting rooms, our managers were able to communicate seamlessly, share and collaborate on documents with ease and feel connected to the staff in Chippenham. This has been crucial in our growth.
With companies spending on average £750 per employee, per year on business travel, having professional spaces to hold and conduct meetings has never been more important. Investing in meeting rooms is not only improving the standard and quality of the meetings but it can also benefit the business financially by spending less money on travel. I think this extends further than just the cost of business travel, and we should consider the impact this travel has on productivity. How many times have you heard or used the phrase “the signal on the train was bad, so I couldn’t do that”?
With such a wide range of options it can be hard to know where to turn. These solutions often centre around a central console that enables you to start the meeting at the push of a button. These bundles also include additional speakers and microphones for a complete solution. The historic issues of taking 12 minutes to start a meeting are long gone. By utilising meeting rooms kits such as the Logitech Tap and the Lenovo Think Smart 500, meetings start with just the touch of a button. This provides a professional and clear path for starting engagements internally or externally. Without a doubt, it also eases the demand on the technical support teams with requests such as “How do I make this work?” or “Which cable do I need for that?”. In my opinion, it’s an investment and buys productivity and time for all areas of the business, including technical support, managers and employees.
In my experience, there are so many outstanding brands in the market, you can’t go wrong when choosing a solution – as long as it helps you achieve your business goals and solves the issues you are currently experiencing.
So, what is the ‘new’ normal for meeting rooms? Well excluding the specific requirements of your office, there are some common denominators. Ultimately, we need a solution that works. This includes having microphones around the room, thus losing the need to raise voices to be heard clearly in your meetings. Interactivity is another area that has seen huge growth and focus as it makes meetings collaborative and engaging (no more doodling) and this experience must be seamless. Finally, anything within our office needs to look the part. Not only does this help provide an identity to the business but it helps make your workplace attractive and potentially tempts a few more people into the office to provide culture. By equipping ourselves with the right information and engaging with the solutions teams at Bechtle we can make sure that any choice you make is one that will support your business in the transition into the Modern Workplace.
Head of Modern Workplace
Phone: +44 1249 467921
E-mail: tori.west@bechtle.com