Technology has revolutionized the way that we communicate and collaborate with each other, especially in work environments. The instantaneousness of social media and cloud-based apps has raised expectations for response time and communication. Therefore, apps and other technologies are aiming to improve the way that we work together.
Collaboration tools can include video conferencing, wireless presentation systems, meeting room software, instant messenger, cloud technologies, and mobile apps. The goal of these technologies is to turn your meeting room into a collaborative meeting room. When managed effectively they make it easier to access files remotely, to talk face-to-face in a digital environment, and to simultaneously create and edit projects with others.
However, in order to implement them effectively, users must be open to using them to their maximum potential. If users think the apps are useless, then they will be useless. It is crucial to know more about what your users think about collaboration and communication technology at work in order for it to be successful. What do most users think?
Collaboration is crucial
When asking employees about collaboration in the workplace, most of them will agree that it is vital. In one UK study, three out of four respondents said that collaboration is crucial to the way that they interact with coworkers and clients. Studies have also shown that when employees work together closely on projects and tasks, they are more engaged and satisfied with their jobs. In general, users want to use technologies that foster and support collaboration. However, the challenge is finding the right tools for your organization.
Is it easy to use?
Users may want more collaboration, but what they don’t want is just another tool that they have to learn how to use. Technology should promote collaboration, not stifle it. If the technology is too difficult to use, it can do more harm than good.
Users are often hesitant to try a new tool, especially if it has a steep learning curve. This is perhaps the most crucial stage when introducing a technology into the workplace. In order for a tool to be even remotely successful, organizations must first overcome hesitation by ensuring that it is easy-to-use and useful.
How is it improving my job?
Collaboration technology is only truly successful when it improves overall business performance or satisfaction. Users want to know that the tech has had a significant, positive effect on how they do their job. This means that tools must go beyond simply increasing communication or improving response time. They must be embedded into the business processes, making them an important part of everyday operations.
Organizations are trying to increase collaboration and foster communication by introducing new technologies. Knowing what your users think about the tech is an essential step towards successful deployment and implementation. Organizations will know that these technologies are effective, when users begin to say statements like: It’s actually made my job easier, or I never want to go back to the way that we did it before.
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Meetings are often regarded as boring, unproductive wastes of time. In one study by Hubspot, 47 percent of respondents said that meetings were the top time waster in the office. However, that is largely due to how they are conducted. When conducted effectively, meetings disseminate valuable information, increase workplace communication, and boost morale and productivity.
One major contributor to meeting success is punctuality. Punctuality greatly affects the value of meetings. In some cultures, starting a meeting a little later than the scheduled time is completely normal or even expected. However, in general, there are several reasons why starting on time is crucial to its success.
It Fosters Productivity
According to a recent study by Bain & Company, a meeting that starts five minutes late will be eight percent less productive. When given an exact time limit for completely meeting objectives, people are more likely to work harder to accomplish them.
Keeping the time limit for meetings below one hour can help increase the effectiveness by helping to maintain attention. Online collaboration tools and conference room technology have also helped to decrease the time we spend in unproductive meetings. Save small updates and information for emails, instant messengers or other collaboration tools. This way, you can more easily stay within your time limit and meet the objectives that you set.
It Makes a Good First Impression
Imagine that you are attending a meeting with two different presenters. When you walk into the first one, the speaker is already there. His or her equipment is not ready and not functional, they hand you an agenda with objectives, and they cannot start exactly on time. The second speaker arrives five minutes late and spends another 15 minutes setting up presentation technology.
Which presenter made the best impression? Most likely, none of them. When you are leading a meeting, attendees expect organization and promptness. If your meeting room setup relies on wires and cables and your end users spend the first 15 minutes of their presentation struggling with connectivity issues, they may as well be presenting to an empty room. Individuals can eliminate set up time and worries by using wireless presentation systems and by arriving a few minutes before the scheduled time.
It Shows You Value Attendee’s Time.
By starting a meeting on time, presenters are also showing that they value the time of their attendees. When meetings continuously start and end on time, presenters build a reputation of respect, professionalism, and competence. On the other hand, when the start time fluctuates, people are more likely to show up late, daydream during them, or stop attending them altogether.
Along with a number of other positive benefits, meetings can be an effective way to bring your team together, share updates, boost morale, and improve communications. However, when they start late, presenters already set them up to be less productive and effective. Starting meetings on time is one of the top ways to ensure that they are successful and engaging.
ADDITIONAL READING
5 Must-Have AV Products For Your Conference Room
Top 10 Conference Room Cable Management Fails
Wireless Screen Sharing vs. Conference Table Cable Management
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Where one learns is no longer restricted to space and time. More students, from high school to graduate school, are finding opportunities to get an education beyond the traditional classroom. Classrooms can now connect students and instructions far and wide from classroom to classroom or classroom to coffee shop.
Depending on the school, courses are offered in a variety of formats: discussion forums, pre-recorded lectures, live instruction, etc.. Every student has a different method of learning. In a University of California at Davis study, students taking an online course at a community college were 11% less likely to pass than those taking a course in a traditional classroom. The study found that for students, there was something to be said for social connections made during a course to boost comprehension. This could very well be where collaboration is key in many successful online learning programs.
Wireless presentation systems can turn the classroom into a collaborative space. Ubiq creates a wireless presentation where students and staff members can share content easily and have discussion on a subject and learn from one another.
How can wireless presentations work in education?
- Connect students across multiple campuses & off-site. More time to learn, less time to travel! Whether they’re in the classroom or at home, students can connect to their class sessions from wherever they are.
- Promote Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD). Whether you use a tablet or a desktop, the device doesn’t matter as long as you meet the requirements to connect to the presentation. By supporting multiple device types, institutions are promoting greater accessibility to learning
- Secure access to wireless presentation. One less thing to worry about while getting an education. Wireless presentation systems like Ubiq use hives which require codes to attend the presentation at its access point
- IT monitors from afar. Having a problem with your wireless presentation? Your institution’s IT administrator can manage activity and service levels from a single dashboard. There’s no need for check-ins, class interruptions or wasted resources
- Shared experiences. Whether it’s small group project or a full class lecture, the opportunities are endless. Instructors can work with IT to create special sessions for student groups to work together through assignments or continue class discussions
- The school administration can also benefit from wireless presentations for presentations with trustees, faculty, partners and other institutions
In 2012, the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. revealed that approximately 25.8% of students had enrolled in at least one online course. In January 2015, Kent State University in Ohio reported that 40% of their students had taken at least one online course during their study. As education becomes more accessible and flexible, the number of education institutions creating online courses and degree programs will rise to meet the needs of their students.
Education is just one example of how wireless presentations can work outside of the business world. Throughout schooling, students learn the tools to work in the “real world” and develop their social skills. The benefits of collaboration can easily be applied in and out of the classroom, now on a global level. Wireless presentations break down barriers for open communication and learning.
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Conference room technology and AV equipment have grown leaps and bounds in recent years. They have changed the way we communicate in the workplace, amongst ourselves, across departments, and across the globe. That shift has set expectations for more immediate collaboration and conversation during meetings. This is why the wireless presentation system has become one of the most in-demand conference room AV products of the BYOD era.
Wireless presentation systems turn meeting rooms into central access points for content. Through secured environments, team members can meet in one digital location from various physical locations and multiple devices. Wireless presentations turn the meeting room into a collaborative place where content can be shared through any pre-existing audio visual setup.
Wireless presentations turn meeting rooms into a central access point for content. Through secured environments, team members can meet in one location from various locations and multiple devices. Wireless presentations turn the meeting room into a collaborative place with shareable content and readily available means of communication.
So, why go with Ubiq over anyone else? Ubiq’s wireless presentation system is an all-in-one solution that provides a cable free, hassle free, seamless experience for meetings and conferences. Built around the concept of hives, Ubiq’s hardware resides in the center of your meeting room, connecting people to content across multiple devices and (soon) remote locations.
Here are just some of the benefits:
- Easy set-up. Ubiq has designed the system for self set-up and provides step-by-step instructions. Ubiq’s wireless presentation system integrates with your current IT infrastructure. It works with the A/V technology you currently use. The hardware, also known as a “hive,” only needs to be set up in center of your meeting room. The system is supported by PC and Mac operating systems, and will be compatible with multiple tablets and mobile devices (coming soon).
- Quick access. Wireless presentations can be activated and accessed in under 10 seconds. Using P2P and WiFi connectivity, it takes a few simple clicks to enter your meeting session in and out of the conference room. Remote presentations will allow for your virtual teams to share in the experience in real-time, creating greater communication and collaborative opportunities.
- Time. Ubiq not only is easy to use, but it promotes productivity. Integrating with calendar tools, like Google Calendar, teams can schedule meetings, reserve rooms and request “hive” access. It sets structure around meeting organization for all parties involved.
- Security. Ubiq works with your enterprise security structure and policies. It can bridge corporate and guest networks to allow all key parties to partake in the same session. Live session data is encrypted and protected to only be accessed through the designated meeting with the hive. Ubiq also supports corporate SSO (single sign-on) to create a simple authentication process through Ubiq’s software.
- Less strain on IT. Ubiq is user-friendly. It is meant to empower employees to set-up their own meetings using easy to manage technology with minimal IT involvement. IT can spend their time more efficiently to support your company in other areas. Ubiq also provides an administrative dashboard for monitoring of “hive” activity from a single, remote location. IT does not need to be in the room, and can be proactive in making sure all systems are a-go!
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Like any new technology, it always starts out as a novelty. It is often something you want, but don’t necessarily need. Take cars, for example. When the first automobiles were introduced many people may have wanted one, but they just weren’t practical, and the horse and carriage was working just fine.
That all changed as cars became faster, more reliable, and eventually more affordable to the masses. Now we can’t imagine life without them. The same was true for the telephone, computer, smart phones, and many other revolutionary technologies. Wireless presentation technology is headed down that same road.
To determine what is truly necessary in the business environment, let’s examine the fine line between a need and a want, when it comes to technology. A want becomes a necessity when environmental forces tip the balance and create a scenario where functioning without the new technology actually creates real challenges to obtaining business objectives. It goes from being “nice to have”, to being “necessary” in getting the job done right.
Take computers in the realm of word processing. There came a tipping point where typewriters became obsolete because of the unavoidable efficiencies created with computer word processing. Wireless presentation appears to be currently at that tipping point. But has it really reached the status of “need”, or is it still just “nice to have”?
Some would argue that we are not to the point of necessity yet. There are still work environments where wireless presentation is not necessary to carry out the businesses objectives. This is exactly what happens at the tipping point of a technology’s usefulness. Companies on the forefront of technology will be early to adopt, while other companies are slower to adopt. Eventually it becomes mainstream, and is adopted as a necessity.
It is interesting to observe over the last few years as wireless presentation technology used to be a novelty. It was something you could use to impress your friends by wirelessly displaying the content from your device up onto the screen. Then, when the meeting actually started, traditional connectivity would prevail.
Times are changing, however. The days when everybody had a laptop with multiple AV plugins are gone. Current devices have limited connection ports, and some have none at all. Many people do not even own a laptop, and companies like Microsoft are attempting to blur the lines between tablet and PC.
The current business environment, in general, is revolving more and more around wireless connectivity. Most employees now carry smartphones that are always connected to the internet. Cloud computing is facilitating the ease of sharing information wirelessly. As more employees, clients, vendors, and other parties implement these sophisticated devices, the demand for wireless presentation will be unavoidable.
In conclusion, it appears to be evident that wireless presentation technology is quickly becoming a necessity (if it is not already). This is the direction where business is headed, whether we are ready or not.
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Time is a precious commodity in the workplace. We want to get down to business, complete projects and tasks and do it all as quickly and efficiently as possible. Booming conference technology, like the wireless presentation, can help to alleviate “time suck” or obstacles in productivity.
Here are 5 ways to help you save time with wireless presentations:
1. Centralization: Having a centralized location, like a Hive, can connect people from different platforms through a single access point. There’s limited need to shift calendars and reschedule based on location. You can eliminate the need for travel of remote team members and guests. Everyone can be a part of the meeting.
In addition, your IT team can manage wireless presentations from a single dashboard. It allows them to monitor activity from their desks, rather than going from room to room or waiting on a help desk ticket. To have a central management point, your team is able to be proactive in assisting employees and meeting company expectations.
2. Coordination: Wireless presentations promote greater collaboration. However, with any team activity, there needs to be some coordination. By organizing your presentation as to who will share content from where, it’ll help your meeting run smoother and stay on task and time. You should also work with your remote colleagues and guests to ensure they know how to access the presentation, and how they can contribute. During your presentation, you want the focus to be on your content and message, and not on logistics.
3. Capitalization: Wireless presentations allow you to bring together subject matter experts who can really speak to the issues and topics at hand. Use the wireless presentation to allow them to share their content from their devices to deepen conversations and really hone in on where the opportunities are. Your employees don’t want to go to meetings to sit in a room and make small take. They want takeaways and insights from those in the know. Really work the meeting and the attendees to create a productive session and save time with focus. Carpe diem (and the meeting!)
4. Creativity: The instant nature of wireless presentations gives access to content and people in about 10 seconds. This opens the door to make creative use of everyone’s time. Your wireless presentations need to be engaging and team building, while respecting everyone’s time and efforts. So, find ways to promote time efficiency to begin and end meetings as scheduled.
5. Communication: Conference room technology like wireless presentations have changed the way we do business and how we communicate. They break down silos with enhanced audio and visual connectivity to create real-time experiences. Wireless presentations allow for immediate responses and interaction. Bringing people together from different areas quickly to find solutions promote proactivity over reaction. That helps to save time, not just in a meeting, but for the business overall.
Meetings can break up your workflow. How you manage them will tell if those meetings will benefit or become an obstacle to your work. Wireless presentations are instant means to bring people together and create value. However, time has respected and to be on everyone’s side for your team to be successful.
What tips and tricks have you used to save time in meetings? Let us know how wireless presentations have helped you!
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Wireless presentations are meant to be collaborative and engaging. Sharing and streaming content from multiple devices without being tethered to wires creates greater access. By using systems, like Ubiq, you and your team are not limited to share with those in the same company. Your guests can be active participants as well.
Here are 5 ways to bring your guests into a wireless presentation:
- Be Proactive: The purpose behind wireless presentations is to empower and promote self-management with little involvement from IT. That doesn’t mean that your IT team shouldn’t be hands-off. Wireless presentations are new to many, and your colleagues need to be trained to use it. They also need to be able to prepare their guests. As they book their meeting space, IT can help teams plan ahead for their meetings by providing instructions, security policy and support for employees and their guests in advance. This will decrease strain on IT and help the meetings run smoother, as hoped.
- Support BYOD: Your guests are not tied to your corporate IT policy when it comes to device and software usage and requirements. However, your policy should make accommodations for them to use their devices on your networks, other than just hardwiring into it. Your BYOD policy should extend to guests by supporting multiple device types and access to your WiFi. If security is a concern, wireless presentations system, like Ubiq, offer data encryption and secured access to ensure the proper parties are connected.
- Collaborate: Turn your presentation into a work session with your guest. Rather than just standing in front of an audience, your guests can engage with your colleagues and stakeholders. That way, they can experience your company’s culture, understand expectations and provide immediate feedback. Wireless presentations make for great brainstorming sessions between you and your vendor, client or partner. Create the opportunity to define your working relationship with them.
- Open Up: When a guest comes into your company, you have to be careful of how much access they should have to your network and data. Closing them off completely can certainly hurt your communication and work exchange. By setting the right security parameters, you can allow guests to connect through a secure WiFi connection and engage in a wireless presentation. For example, Ubiq uses data encryption by session. Therefore, data shared during the presentation is cleared when it has ended. Your goal is to protect your company and its employees, first. However, your policy should extend to include and protect your guests as well.
- Be Remote: Remote presentations are not just for your virtual employees. They can be a great way to work globally with clients and vendors. Larger corporations can benefit as remote presentations can be cost effective and timely. By allowing your guests to lead or engage in a wireless presentation, you can save on travel, collaborate without boundaries and reduce time waste. It allows you to get work completed quicker, which is a plus when working on time-sensitive projects.
Whether it’s a potential vendor or a third-party consultant, their contributions in meetings and conferences should be valuable for your business. Wireless presentations make it possible for them to connect their devices with one simple click and begin sharing. You’ve invited them to your meeting. Let them be fully a part of it.
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The internet and technology continue to allow more and more people to work from home. This creates obvious efficiencies such as eliminating commute time and fuel costs, as well as eliminating the need to find office space for employees that work from home. However, those who have worked from home will attest that eliminating your commute does not automatically translate into an efficient working environment.
There are many obvious ways to encourage efficiency when working from home, including the need to set physical office boundaries as well as boundaries for the time you spend “at work”. There are myriad articles across the internet touching on these efficiencies. Instead, here are 5 tips involving the latest conference room technologies, wireless presentation, and collaboration tools, and that will go a long way to improving your efficiency.
- Enable Calendar Sharing with Colleagues. When you choose to work remotely, it can be very easy to lose touch with what is going on around you. If you work with others on a team who are not physically located in the same place, it becomes even more important to share your calendar. There are many free and paid services (including google) that allow you to see your coworker’s schedules, and allow them to see yours. This makes collaboration so much more efficient by allowing you to see at a glance when a colleague is available for a meeting or to help out on a project.
- Learn to Master Wireless Presentation and Screen Sharing Technology. Remote meetings are pretty much unavoidable when working from home. This is where Ubiq comes to play, we are soon coming out with remote presentation where you can access a presentation from any location. This makes working from home so much easier rather than physically being in meetings. Emails and phone conferences are probably a big part of the day. Some jobs require you to present complex ideas over the phone or through online meetings. Taking the time to learn features and functions of your chosen presentation technology will help you relay your ideas more efficiently. If you can learn to create short, succinct presentations via PowerPoint, video, or by just sharing your screen, you will find it easier to make the sell, or to relay your ideas.
- BROADBAND! This probably goes without saying, but if you work from home, make sure you have the best internet service that you can afford. This is probably the most important tool you have. Nothing kills efficiency like waiting for a page to load, or losing a connection during an important online presentation.
- Invest in the Right Headset, or Microphone and Speakers. If you do spend a lot of time in online meetings, you will want to invest in the right audio visual setup. Just like having the right conference room technology in a physical office, your computer, wireless presentation equipment, and internet connection ARE your conference room. Having the right headset, or microphone will increase the efficiency of your meetings by eliminating disturbing background noise, and other distractions that require you to repeat yourself.
- Consider using apps that track activities and/or manage team projects. There are many online collaboration applications that allow you to segment any project into smaller portions that can be completed by different individuals and then show the combined results in one central location. Many of these applications also provide internal messaging systems for communication back and forth between team members. Constantly updated project information will decrease lag time waiting for replies to emails, or returning phone calls. Everybody’s work is there for all to see in real time.
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Implementing new technology can be met with skepticism and fear from colleagues outside of the IT department. With encouragement and a bit of training, those concerns can subside over time. The end result for IT should be to have colleagues feel confident in using new technology without putting a strain on the IT department.
When it comes to communication, especially through wireless presentations, having an easy-to-use tool is key! It reduces the amount of involvement IT needs to have in meeting organization, especially in setting up and/or breaking down conference room hardware and software. The user has more control over the technology and can be his own director in how content is shared through the presentation across devices and platforms.
Wireless presentations are meant to create new means of communication and collaboration across teams. The tools to support them do not need to be complicated. In fact, the purpose of any new technology should be to simply operations. Therefore, IT should seek solutions that will improve upon or create new workflows that benefit the business.
Ubiq’s enterprise solution provides access and security through single sign-on (SSO) and data encryption, all with a simple click. Presentations are activated in 10 seconds or less, empowering the user minimal need for IT assistance. IT team members do not have to be “on call” to manage presentations or provide full audio/visual connection support, unless it’s truly necessary.
With Ubiq, IT resources can review an all-in-one cloud-hosted management dashboard to monitor usage from a central location. The dashboard provides real-time analytics and performance status information to track activities connected to the presentation, down to a specific meeting participant. The ability to conduct performance maintenance checks without having to having to enter a conference room promotes efficiency. There’s no longer the need to manage each individual meeting and the technology supporting it.
Wireless presentations are meant to bring teams together to perform meaningful work without boundaries. That includes your IT team. The team can now be a part of the conversation rather than waiting on the sidelines until someone needs help. It’s time to empower your colleagues and free your IT team to focus on higher priority tasks and projects.