As the pandemic wanes and a return to the office is on the horizon, management is starting to prepare for what that return will look like long term. If one thing is certain, it is that the office will look nothing like the one we left behind at the beginning of 2020.
Industry experts predict that the future of work will lie in a hybrid model, where employees will spend part of their week in the office and the other part working from home. The impact this will have on the office environment cannot be overstated. Meetings of the future will likely have remote participants, meaning that clear and consistent communication between all employees is of the utmost importance. And the most crucial factor for management to consider? Audio, because you can have a meeting without video, but without audio, there is no meeting.
Audio in a post-COVID office
Though vaccinations have reduced the threat of COVID-19, they haven’t eliminated it. As workers prepare to return to a physical office, rules around social distancing and shared equipment will still have to be observed.
These restrictions mean that management needs to review the audio systems now to ensure in-house employees can communicate with their colleagues working remotely. One way they can get around this physical challenge is to implement whole-room audio coverage that would allow employees to move around, sit at a safe distance or face away from their colleagues and still be heard by remote participants as if they were sitting beside each other.
Another headache for management is the issue of shared devices, which pre-March 2020 no one batted an eye at. Now, though, shared devices – such as microphones – are generally seen as potential virus spreaders. To avoid this problem, a mic system that can be put out of the way of contact or droplets, while still being able to pick up meeting audio, should be considered.
This all sounds well and good, but IT budgets are tighter this year and many conventional audio systems require a whole variety of mics, speakers and other components, as well as a technician to come in and install it all.
Also, physical distancing measures will require larger in-person meeting rooms that may lead to the installation of complex and expensive audio systems. For some, it may feel like it’s just too much of a challenge to get the office’s audio hybrid ready.
There is, however, an all-in-one cost-effective solution to these problems.
A simple way to support hybrid work
Nureva’s patented Microphone Mist™ technology delivers true whole-room audio pickup so meeting participants can move and converse in a safe manner. Continuous autocalibration allows your meeting room to always be ready no matter what changes you might have to make at short notice. It equips large spaces at a fraction of the cost of conventional systems, it’s virtually touchless and installation is 100 per cent DIY. Learn more.
