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Entering the New Era of Hybrid Workplaces

Ever wondered if Hybrid Workplaces will ever work in the future and what technologies are used to make this model successful? Follow Trish, Marketing Executive, as we get to know more in depth about how this Hybrid Workplaces will soon be the next big thing in the future…

In the wake of the pandemic, the usual ‘’stay at home, stay safe’’ saying is slowly fading away. Knowing this, organizations are slowly starting to implement remote working arrangement and policies to allow their employees to adjust to the new normal. This allows a small proportion of the employees to work from home and the rest to work from office as social distancing will still be in for a long time. Unlike companies like Facebook and Twitter whereby they allow their employees to continue to work from home forever, it is highly unlikely that all companies will follow these two companies. This is how we enter into the new era of the Hybrid Workplace.

 

A Hybrid Workplace model allows employees to have the freedom to work almost anywhere where they can achieve total productivity to complete their work. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Barco have found that future of workplace is definitely hybrid and companies must be ready to invest in technologies and give adequate support to their employees to enable the hybrid workplace model to be successful.

 

As companies are moving into the hybrid workplace model, there will be lesser work cubicles and more meeting/conference rooms to encourage collaboration. Before the pandemic, the use of collaborative technologies is often neglected due to issues concerning privacy and security. Often, companies rely on face-to-face meetings with clients and colleagues instead of having virtual meetings. Now, with the pandemic causing a change in the way we work, it is definitely a need to adopt safe collaborative technologies in the office.

Safe and Effective Technology for Hybrid Workplaces

Most collaborative activities such as decision-making meetings, project meetings and even demo sessions are often held in meetings rooms thus, companies need to equip their meeting rooms with the latest Unified Communication (UC) and collaboration tools. By deploying the latest and safe UC and collaboration tools as a part of the business ecosystem, companies are able to achieve safety measures and increase their productivity at the same time.

Companies need to ensure that their UC and collaboration tools includes camera that will help to count the number of people in the meeting room to ensure there is no overcrowding. It should also be equipped with built-in reporting and cloud-based analytics that can be used to better understand how employees utilize the collaboration spaces and how it can be enhanced, safely.

Some UC tools can be set to detect safety issues. For example, in the event that the maximum capacity in a meeting room is 4 people and the 5th person comes in, the

camera in the room will detect and alert the IT or Facilities Team to step in to solve the issue. Furthermore, to enhanced collaboration while the Hybrid Workplace model is in place, there are some advanced native room systems that works well with many UC platforms which enables the technology to support everyone, whether they are in a meeting room or working remotely. For example, having an adequate digital display and high-quality audio technologies such as microphone, ceiling speakers and tabletop devices allow all the participants to see and hear each other properly.

With safety and hygiene being two of the factors taken into consideration when choosing the right UC tools and technologies, having a personal device content-sharing gateway that enables employees to use their own devices such as laptops and mobile phone to share content to another display is important. This is because when one enter a meeting room, he or she do not have to touch anything, which then help to combat the spread of viruses in the meeting room. For example, Crestron’s AM-200 and AM-300 allows Wireless sharing in just a few clicks and taps on your personal device and it works with any Windows®, Mac®, iOS®, Android™, and Chrome OS™ devices. In addition, Crestron too provide a wide range of solutions that enables companies to have a smooth and safe meeting experience in just one simple application that you can download in your phone. With the app, it gives the attendees in the meeting room control, ranging from dimming the lights to even booking and scheduling slots for meeting room, remotely.

Not only do Crestron Room solutions allows employees to have control in the meeting room, it enables the employees to cross-collaborate over other video conferencing systems that other clients and partners used. For example, a company that uses Zoom Rooms™ software can have a meeting with another company remotely that uses Microsoft Teams® software. This is important because, in the event that the clients or partners are working from home, employees are still able to communicate with them even on a different platform.

The Future

As the pandemic has given companies a chance to explore remote working, it is to no doubt that hybrid workplaces will soon be a thing in the near future. Companies need to ensure that in order for these hybrid workplace model to work, they need to equip themselves with the latest UC tools and technologies that will help to promote this model. Not only that, these UC tools and technologies have to be safe for their employees and clients as safety and hygiene is equally important as productivity and collaboration even after the pandemic ends.

In conclusion, companies should take the time and effort to restructure their office spaces and work from home arrangements by deploying the latest and safe technologies that will support the employees and also to ensure that the Hybrid Workplace model works.

Contact ESCO at [email protected] if you would like to know more about the Hybrid Workplace Solutions.