One of the big technology successes during the Covid-19 pandemic is video conferencing. As we found ourselves working from home and isolated away from loved one, people turned to video conferencing for work meetings and social interaction.

Video conferencing has been around for a while, but its use has dramatically accelerated.

‘Zoom’ has become a verb and companies like Microsoft and Google have quickly developed and improved their offerings. Now even those with limited technical skills have become comfortable with online meet ups.

Changing work patterns

As we begin to approach the end of the restrictions, more people are returning to their workplaces. However, things are expected to change. Many office workers plan to work from home for 2 to 3 days a week. The rise of cloud technologies has made remote working much easier, helping to facilitate this change.

Spending more time home working can reduce the environmental impact from commuting and can help improve work life balance. It is worth bearing in mind that homeworking can also result in working longer hours and make it more difficult to cut off from our jobs.

One implication of this change will be the rise of hybrid meetings, where some of the audience will be based in the workplace and others join remotely via video conferencing. Meetings where everyone is online are straightforward to run, but hybrid meetings are more of a challenge.

The challenges of hybrid meetings

Workplaces will have to prepare for hybrid meetings by redesigning and rethinking meeting rooms to include well planned video conferencing facilities.

Good audio facilities will be just as important as the screens and the layout needs to work effectively to for remote participants.

Organisations will need to decide which meetings can be effectively run in a hybrid format. For example, should formal meetings such as a union committee meeting require a physical presence when important decisions are taken? Does allowing remote attendance for formal meetings help to improve the representation of people who live in more remote areas or have challenges travelling due to disabilities or caring responsibilities?

Culture will need to adapt as well. Facilitation will be even more important for hybrid meetings to help guide the conversation and ensure remote participants are included. Virtual attendees can feel like 2nd class citizens and so engagement is critical.  For example, think about how presentations and whiteboards brain storming will work. 

The pandemic has accelerated the evolution of workplace technology, and it’s going to be interesting to see how meetings adapt.