How to keep a meeting room safe in times of covid-19

Novedades > Trends

27 de October de 2021

Florencia

AV & Collaboration Specialist

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The way we approach the modern workplace has changed significantly since the events of 2020.

When the pandemic hit, contact centers were closed for fear of having too many people in the same room. Small office spaces suddenly became more spread out, with partitions to separate desks in an "open" environment.

The meeting room is just one of many landscapes that have changed, and will change again, as we begin our slow transition back to office life. Before COVID-19, concepts like “huddle rooms,” with more people working together in small spaces, were gaining popularity. Now, the demand will be for larger spaces, prepared to support social distancing and reduce the need for contact.

Keeping the meeting room safe: bigger and smarter spaces

The first step, and perhaps the most important, is space. During the pandemic, we have all learned to put more space between ourselves and our friends, loved ones, and colleagues. As the return to the office begins, this need for space will continue. As a result, companies will need access to plug-and-play meeting room kits that can turn any room into an office.

These meeting kits will not only need to be simple enough to fit into any environment, they will also need to have the right technology to enable better and clearer connections. Virtual microphone technology that can pick up voices from across a room, and wide-angle cameras to capture larger spaces, will be essential.

In the future, the demand for intelligence in meeting room environments will also grow. Cameras equipped with AI algorithms that can automatically detect and frame faces will be vital here, allowing users to maintain focus anywhere in the room.

Technology in microphones that can simultaneously block out external noise and distractions, but focus on human voices will be a must. Employees working in a larger meeting room session should feel as if they are sitting next to each other, with their internal and remote colleagues.

What can we do then?

Bringing intelligence into the boardroom could be a particularly important step as we move into the post-pandemic era. Smart video conferencing meeting room bars and cameras can turn on automatically when a sensor detects motion in the room, reducing the need for of a physical touch during setup. Some cameras can even detect the atmosphere in a room, assessing things like airflow, temperature, and even how many people are present.

Smart technology also paves the way for contactless meeting room environments. With intelligent assistants that can respond to the human voice, users can set up a meeting in seconds, without having to touch anything in a shared space. Attendees can also use voice commands to zoom in on a meeting participant or display meeting documents without touching.

4 elements we could include for safer spaces:

1. BYOD technology:

Giving your users the freedom to bring their own devices to the meeting can be a great way to keep everyone safe. By sharing content and information, users can use their own laptops and smartphones, rather than having to access a shared tool.
Touchless Systems – Touchless systems that allow users to interact with systems through gestures or voice will reduce the need for cleaning between sessions and keep spaces as hygienic as possible.

2. IoT sensors:

Sensors connected by the Internet of Things will be able to collect information about the number of people in a room, their temperature, and even how often meeting rooms are used. This will make it easier for businesses to schedule cleaning sessions for rooms and establish policies on how to meet safely.

3. Data collection:

Tools for data collection will be essential in the future. The more information a company can gather about its hybrid meetings, the smarter future meeting room decisions will be. Tools that integrate with analytics services and machine learning systems could be extremely valuable

4. Bring your own meeting:

For people who want to start working and a meeting space for multiple teams or companies, hosting your own meeting could be ideal. This will allow people to simply log into the meeting system of their choice, using whatever hardware is currently available in the room.

Is your meeting room ready for security in the post-pandemic era?