StaffThere’s been a steady stream of news that inverts the mad rush to “work from home” policies triggered by the pandemic: There’s a growing number of “return to office” mandates. Google, for example, is now trying to balance its RTO demands with the inevitable attrition that comes as a result. Some top talent simply doesn’t want to come back to the office, even though management believes that in-person collaboration leads to more innovation.
With that in mind, the reality is that the hybrid model still works well for many, many, companies. But there’s a twist: At the outset of the lockdowns, there was a push to create home environments that felt like the office. Now there’s a push to make the office feel more like home.
Michael Short, VP, Marketing Operations and Residential, Crestron explores how smart workplace technology is essential to making hybrid work successful by creating seamless, equitable experiences both at home and in the office, ultimately making in-person collaboration worth the commute.
Make The Commute Worth It
If you’re asking people to come into the office — even two or three days a week — there’s a growing realisation that employers need to “make the commute worth it.” And what we’re talking about in that regard goes far beyond things like quality coffee in the break room.
There’s a phenomenon that every company with a hybrid staff should strive to avoid: An employee comes into the office for a 10 AM meeting. The AV system in the conference room they’ve scheduled for this gathering isn’t working, or it’s simply too complicated for anyone to operate properly. The result: That employee is sitting at a desk, video conferencing with their laptop, just like they would at home.
If you want people to collaborate in the office, in person, you need to give them technology that doesn’t get in the way.
Some solutions include:
Seamless BYOD connectivity in the office
Most hybrid employees shuttle their laptops between home and work. Having an instantaneous connection to the in-office network is an absolute must, without the need to download additional software or fuss with more than a single cable (if any). That goes for smartphones, too; how many employees have their work email on their mobile device?
The right equipment at home
A quality computer, microphone and camera are baseline must-haves for the home office. The proper lighting and ergonomic seating go an even longer way to making that environment productive. Video software that tracks and frames the worker during meetings is important, too, which leads us to our next item:
Intelligent video in the office
One of the most frustrating things for a remote worker is to attend a video meeting where one’s in-office colleagues are presented via the “view down the bowling alley” – a single camera rendering those at the far end of the conference table barely visible (and audible).
Camera solutions that follow and frame those speaking in that conference room present the remote viewer with a head-on, framed look at whoever’s talking. The most robust systems reduce jerky camera movements, creating a broadcast-quality experience for those joining remotely. And those in the office needn’t worry about “staying in the shot” – the tech does it for them.
Meeting Equity
We’ve seen technology impact room design, too. Some companies have adopted semi-circular conference tables with the flat end facing a wall with a display, for example. The arc of the table allows in-person attendees to maintain visual contact with both remote colleagues and those physically in the room.
The goal here should be creating what we’ve come to call “meeting equity,” a scenario where anyone, no matter their location, can see and be seen, hear and be heard.
We need to see visual cues and gestures as we collaborate. It’s how we stay engaged. When you’ve achieved that, when you’ve made the home office and HQ equally comfortable and productive, that’s when hybrid work is really working.