In today's remote and hybrid work environment, meeting fatigue has become prevalent among professionals. The endless cycle of back-to-back virtual meetings can lead to decreased productivity, burnout, and disengagement. Add a layer of remote and hybrid workforces and you have a recipe for unengaged, uninspired meetings.
77% of organizations use video conferencing solutions to connect teams, with clients and for other business purposes, according to TMCnet. But more surprisingly, 65% of respondents indicated that they expect their organization's use of video conferencing to increase in the coming years.
So with a rise in video conferencing on the horizon and participants already feeling meeting fatigue, how do we ensure that participants get what they need out of virtual meetings? We’ve gathered our top 4 video conferencing technologies that are shaping the future effective meetings:
1. AI-Assisted technologies
The added weight of tasks such as taking notes, managing follow-up actions, and documenting details can sometimes be a factor for professionals experiencing meeting fatigue. In today's fast-paced work environment, employees find themselves juggling multiple meetings throughout the day, each requiring active participation and attention. As a result, the additional responsibility of documenting meeting discussions, capturing action items, and ensuring follow-up tasks are completed can quickly become overwhelming.
The future of AI is bright and it continues to revolutionize the way we conduct effective meetings. AI offers tools to enhance productivity and elevate the burdens placed on professionals to free up time for what really matters. AI can be a useful tool for a variety of tasks like real-time language translations, transcriptions, and meeting summaries. This removes the need to have someone take notes and brings them into the meeting to engage and contribute.
These tools accurately capture key topics during meetings, provide valuable insights and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. By using AI, organizations can streamline their meeting processes, improve collaboration across teams, and unburden team members.
I’ve begun using the live transcription service in Microsoft Teams for some of our virtual meetings here at SMART; it’s simple to enable and makes for more productive and accessible meetings. Try it for yourself and let me know your thoughts.
2. Scheduling and meeting room management
There’s nothing worse than looking for a last-minute meeting room and seeing they’re all in use. Businesses can take advantage of in-person meeting rooms while optimizing and streamlining the scheduling process to ensure this doesn’t happen. Scheduling and meeting room management tools allow organizations to efficiently book, manage, and monitor meeting rooms, ensuring that resources are utilized effectively, and scheduling conflicts are minimized.
There are many meeting room management solutions on the market, but Crestron's stands out. With Crestron Connected systems, businesses can seamlessly schedule and manage meetings across multiple locations, ensuring optimal utilization of resources without scheduling conflicts. Crestron's centralized management tools make it easy for users to book rooms, access meeting details, and collaborate. This empowers employees to connect and utilize meeting spaces effectively. Use these tools to improve collaboration, reduce downtime, and create a simplified meeting experience for employees – both in-person and remote.
3. IoT – Internet of Things
If you’re part of a high-secure organization, or are constantly evolving your systems and functions, you’ve probably heard of an Internet of Things (IoT). This network of interconnected devices, objects, and systems that communicate and exchange data can help organizations optimize their systems based on real-time data analysis. The IoT helps to identify patterns, trends, and changes in order to inform product development, understand customer behavior, market trends, and, in this case, adapt physical spaces.
How does this support video conferencing? Business meetings that leverage IoT can also connect meeting room tools like sensors, cameras, audio devices, temperature and lighting control systems. This offers an intelligent meeting space that adapts to the needs of users in real-time.
IoT-enabled conference rooms offer many benefits, including:
- Automated room bookings
- Intelligent meeting invites
- Personalized environmental controls
- Remote monitoring capabilities
- Access a wealth of data
This interconnected network of devices aims at improving efficiencies inside larger organizations but as a first step, can enhance everyday experiences by enabling smarter, more connected ecosystems. Try it out in your meeting space to see if IoT can support your teams.
4. Interactive displays for collaboration
Among the plethora of team collaboration tools, one stands out as a game-changer for business meetings: interactive displays. Unlike traditional displays, interactive displays empower users to engage, collaborate, and co-create in real-time. With features like digital ink and touchscreen capabilities, interactive displays transform mundane meetings into dynamic and interactive experiences.
Imagine brainstorming ideas on a virtual whiteboard, annotating documents with digital ink, or seamlessly sharing content from any device with a simple touch. Interactive displays eliminate the barriers to effective collaboration, and foster creativity and innovation within teams.
Businesses should consider their newer employees as well. Generation Z is quickly changing the corporate environment as they demand interactive technology. They grew up using tablets, computers, smartphones, and even interactive displays in their classrooms. They’re tech-savvy in nature and prefer digital interactions to enhance collaboration, engagement, and learning.
It’s important to note the value of intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces on interactive displays. For users – both veterans or first-timers – it’s important to empower them to pick up a pen and begin collaborating with little to no training. This ensures your tech will be used to its fullest potential, plus create excitement amongst your teams to leverage this technology.
According to recent studies from Gallup, organizations that encourage active participation and utilize interactive displays experience a significant boost in productivity and employee engagement. With the ability to co-create and share ideas in real-time, teams can overcome communication barriers and drive business success.
Embrace the future of meetings
As we embrace the future of video conferencing, it's essential we redefine the way we conduct meetings. Businesses have a wealth of tools at their disposal to enhance collaboration, productivity, and engagement. Now is the time to capitalize on them.
So, why settle for ordinary meetings when you can elevate employee experiences? The best place to start is with the all-around meeting solution, interactive displays. Get connected, embrace co-creation, and unlock the full potential of your team.
The best way to do that is with a SMART interactive display. Users can easily walk up to the board and begin creating, collaborating and interacting with content – a key element to empowering teams to use this tech. SMART displays empower teams to collaborate effectively, regardless of their physical location.
Don’t believe me? Speak with a SMART expert and experience the power of interactive displays firsthand.