A huddle room fitted with audio and visual equipment can have a drastic effect on employee efficiency and help team members feel like they have more control over how a project is executed. Both are worthy goals for any company, and as businesses increasingly rely on small teams for big projects, it makes sense to arm them with the best technology available. Usually, that technology comes in the form of modern AV solutions that improve communication among team members and with other teams.
The Art of Small Space Collaboration
Companies are moving away from the traditional idea of what a meeting should look like, instead focusing more and more on small teams that can interface quickly. For those smaller teams, a full size meeting room doesn’t make much sense, for the meeting members or for the company. Consider why this is the case:
- Small teams leading a project may need access to a meeting space at a moment’s notice. If there is only a single large meeting space, instead of multiple smaller ones, it will be constantly tied up, slowing down the speed at which teams can communicate.
- Business real estate is at a premium, and every square foot that goes wasted is a drag on the company’s overhead. If an expansive meeting space is only garnering use from small teams, that’s a lot of wasted square footage.
- With the mobile nature of the modern employee, some companies employ professionals that have no permanent desk area in the office. Collaboration areas are ideal landing spots for these professionals when they are in the office, so it makes sense to have multiple spaces on hand.
- There are many opportunities for fitting a huddle room with audio and visual equipment, so even though the meeting space has been downsized, its capabilities have not.
A/V technology may be even more effective in small spaces, as it’s easier to modify the space’s lighting and acoustics to produce perfect call quality. Tables that seat a few people can be wired up to allow connections to laptops and mobile devices, outputting these devices to a single, high definition display.
Video conferencing is a popular option for companies fitting a huddle room with audio and visual equipment, as it is easier to capture the video and audio in a smaller space using fewer inputs. A quality camera that captures high definition signals and a well-placed microphone make for a cost-effective approach, and the display that serves as a meeting facilitator can also act as an output device during a video conference. Full room, immersive telepresence options are available as well, freeing the meeting space from any burdensome A/V components and making for a simple collaborative experience.
Huddle rooms are a fast emerging concept in industries where collaboration is important, and with a wave of tech-savvy employees entering the workforce, it’s a strategy every business should consider.