The idea of going back to the office five days a week after Corona has become unthinkable for many people. But the pandemic has probably made it just as clear to everyone that even a purely virtual exchange is not the solution to the puzzle. That’s what the annual Barco ClickShare study on meeting trends and engagement shows. The Meeting Barometer, Barco’s meeting quality index, plunges from +17 in 2020 to ‑25 now. Hybrid meetings can remedy the situation: they combine the benefits of both forms and create opportunities for organizations to transform work culture and reshape the workplace. In doing so, Barco’s report identifies five trends for tomorrow’s flexible, hybrid workplace.
Office optimism returns
Back-to-office scenarios are not only being driven by management; rather, they are also in line with employee desires. 59 percent of German respondents are ready to return to the office and 42 percent are convinced that a return to the office will take place this year. On average, Germans want to work from home less than they did last year (2 days in 2020 — 1.5 days in 2021). The main driver for returning to the office for most Germans is social contact with colleagues (63%), followed by increased productivity in the office (42%) and co-creation (36%).
Meetings are losing quality
43 percent of Germans say that meeting quality has deteriorated compared to last year. This is largely due to a sharp increase in the number of virtual meetings in the home office and the fact that purely virtual collaboration is not as natural and easy. Hybrid meetings, on the other hand, almost universally score better than face-to-face (F2F) and virtual meetings in terms of efficiency and impact. 64 percent of German respondents find hybrid meetings effective (compared with 49 percent each for the other two meeting types) and stimulating (49 percent F2F and 48 percent virtual meetings).
Germans miss their colleagues
More than half of German respondents (58 percent) prefer to go back to the office for meetings. The preference for hybrid, face-to-face or virtual meetings depends heavily on the reason for the meeting and the number of participants. Most Germans prefer hybrid meetings for creative tasks such as brainstorming (34%) or all-hands meetings (31%). When it comes to relationship building (67%) or one-on-one meetings (58%), Germans prefer to hold them in the office. By contrast, 50 percent would like to hold routine exchanges of information purely virtually.
The laptop as the tool of choice
For 74 percent of the Germans surveyed, their own laptop remains the number one tool for participating in and conducting video conferences. The tablet and smartphone share second place with 20 percent each.
Focus on the employee in workplace design
Investments in hybrid meetings should be in line with the needs of employees. Almost three quarters of Germans believe that every meeting room should be equipped for video conferencing: 70 percent agree, only six percent disagree. However, employees prefer BYOD and BYOM to traditional in-room systems. Germans would like to see the greatest investment from their employers in the areas of equipment for video conferencing (e.g., cameras, speakers — 55%), wireless technology for meeting rooms (42%) and touchscreens (30%)
The time to change is now
A hybrid work approach is not about completely returning to old shores, nor is it about drastically changing today’s virtual habits. It requires a careful balance between employee needs and business goals. To bridge the physical distance between office and home office workers and enable productive meetings, a change in work culture and investment in technologies such as usability, BYOM and video solutions are critical. “Meetings will play a critical role in tomorrow’s workplace, as they will be critical to business continuity during the transition to a new hybrid reality,” said Lieven Bertier, Segment Marketing Director Workplace at Barco. The following three recommended actions are important to keep in mind:
Start now
The bond between a company and its employees is crucial for employee engagement. Nearly three-quarters of Germans (73%) believe their employer should start preparing for hybrid working now. Even though 74% of German respondents believe their company is well prepared for the new way of working post-pandemic, 48% complain that their company is not prioritizing the investments they need to make for better hybrid working.
No universal solutions
Not all meetings are the same, and not all employees have the same collaboration needs or requirements. Organizations need to develop workplace strategies that enable new levels of flexibility and allow employees to work the way they want.
Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) is the preferred choice of employees to connect with colleagues. 79 percent of Germans believe that easy-to-use technology positively impacts the quality of a meeting.
By taking these tips to heart, organizations can connect employees regardless of location and enable seamless hybrid collaboration, contributing to future success, higher engagement and increased productivity.
