Cubicles and conference rooms may be empty, but don\u2019t let that fool you: Companies and their technology partners are working around the clock to prepare for a Covid-secure workplace that keeps business alive both during and after the pandemic. Of course, changing the decades-old tradition of in-person offices is not an easy feat.<\/p>\n
Offices have long existed as a way to unify colleagues, bringing a business\u2019 sharpest brains together in the same room for creative brainstorming, strategic thinking, and employee-to-employee mentorship. Emulating these physical connections virtually has been one of many struggles for businesses throughout the pandemic, but Tom Galanis of Adorama Business Solutions says it doesn\u2019t have to be so hard. In fact, it shouldn\u2019t be \u2014 because like it or not, the post-pandemic work world looks more virtual than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cVirtual work is becoming the new normal, and, honestly, it should be. There are so many advantages to it,\u201d Galanis says. \u201cSay you need to have a meeting with someone. If they have a high-quality conference room and you have a high-end conference room, you can have a seamless virtual meeting and it\u2019s almost like you\u2019re right there, even if you\u2019re halfway around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does this new workplace normal \u2014 a normal that saw 300 million daily Zoom users<\/a> in April \u2014 look like? Like everything with the pandemic, no one knows for certain. Some experts guess that even after social-distancing guidelines ease up, companies will have to keep employees at a safe distance. In some cases, that means flex offices that are work-from-home friendly. For other companies, it\u2019s a hybrid workspace with half of a company\u2019s employees in the office on certain days, and the other half in the rest of the week. With that strategy in mind, some smaller workspaces or meeting rooms could be turned into \u201cZoom rooms<\/a>,\u201d with the common one-on-one meetings replaced with one employee in the room, and the other employee back home.<\/p>\n However the pandemic work setting plays out, one thing\u2019s for certain: Offices will be more virtual than ever, and it\u2019s up to company leaders to adapt. That\u2019s why the Covid-19 conference room isn\u2019t just a nice-to-have. It\u2019s a must.<\/p>\n Now, this is more than a laptop camera, Zoom, and a string of technical difficulties. Galanis says the \u201cCovid-secure conference rooms\u201d he and his team create center on making employees feel like they\u2019re in the room together, no matter the distance. They\u2019re spots where privacy and security aren\u2019t afterthoughts\u2014they\u2019re priorities. And they\u2019re meeting spaces where few if any employees have to ask, \u201cis this thing on?\u201d<\/p>\n Does the Covid-secure conference room sound too good to be true? Sure, but it\u2019s not. Here\u2019s Galanis on how to build a Covid-secure conference room and virtual meetings quickly.<\/p>\n If Galanis were to provide just one piece of advice to business owners and office managers, it\u2019d be this: Invest in a solid network.<\/p>\n “The foundation to everything is a network,” Galanis says. “If we start from the very first step, it\u2019s always upgrading your network, because if you\u2019re going to do higher bandwidth video \u2014 which is a trend we\u2019re seeing now \u2014 you need to upgrade your network from a bandwidth and security perspective.”<\/p>\n It may not be flashy, but security is by and large one of the biggest considerations for a Covid-secure conference room. Just look at Zoom in the early days of the pandemic, when privacy professionals and even the FBI cautioned about Zoom\u2019s lackluster security settings \u2014 a prediction that proved itself true all too quickly when \u201cZoombombers<\/a>\u201d started hacking into Zoom calls. Galanis says that hardly scratches the surface of potential security problems.<\/p>\n “If you don\u2019t have a correct network with a nice router, and an access point where security is built in, change it,” Galanis says. “Plus, if you\u2019re a larger company or a company that has something to lose with intellectual property or patents, you need to secure your network from somebody trying to access it remotely. Security is really important, especially from the standpoint of competitive advantage when leaks could be detrimental to your business.”<\/p>\n Companies don\u2019t rent or own office spaces for the fun of it. This unified meeting space brings employees together for brainstorming, collaborative working, team building, presentations, and more. These activities have centered on in-person connection for decades, then poof<\/em> \u2014 the pandemic changed that overnight. As the headlines<\/a> illustrate, virtual work shows no signs of letting up.<\/p>\n To replicate face-to-face meetings, Galanis suggests two simple gear updates: high-quality cameras and microphones.<\/p>\n “There are a lot of companies now using higher-resolution cameras that have better low-light capability,” he says. “You can even use PTZ tracking cameras that follow a person as they\u2019re conversing. Beyond that, you can have multiple cameras working together, which is critical since people are going to be situated throughout the room. These switch from camera to camera as people speak, similar to microphones on Zoom calls.”<\/p>\n Speaking of microphones, Galanis recommends spacing the tech out across the room, particularly as social distancing remains paramount. “Companies with larger conference rooms will need to space people out, and when you do that, you either need more microphones or better microphones distributed across the room,” he says. <\/p>\n Another trend among Covid-secure conference rooms is the use of a video wall, or for smaller rooms, high-definition monitors. This lets businesses get the most out of their high-res camera investments while recreating the in-person meeting experience. “I think people tend to have face-to-face meetings because when you\u2019re not in person, it\u2019s tough to pick up on body language, but even that is something you can see on a high-definition monitor or video wall,” Galanis says.<\/p>\n Adorama Business Solutions has created live streaming gear packages<\/a> that include everything a connected conference room needs. Upgrading your space with a Sony streaming switcher, remote controller, compact full HD camcorders, as well as a video monitor, condenser microphones, and lighting kits can not only bring your video calls to the next level, but allow for professional-production quality content creation.<\/p>\n Nothing kills the vibe of a new-business or all-staff meeting like technical difficulties, and with today\u2019s virtual office, tech headaches abound. Nine times out of 10 the issue has something to do with the network, Galanis says. That\u2019s why an employee-wide tech-training program should happen as soon as office updates are in place.<\/p>\n “Once the network, gear, and applications are set up, it\u2019s time for a quick training, because technology skills vary across companies,” says Galanis, whose team leads office-wide training for client companies. “A lot of employers assume once you have the equipment, your teams can log in and go. But there\u2019s always something \u2014 you have to download a specific file, or you need to configure it with new wireless settings. Testing is key.”<\/p>\n As the pandemic effects shift, companies are reevaluating their budgets and best ways to invest in a full office upgrade. But it doesn\u2019t have to be an all-at-once investment. Many conference-room enhancements are surprisingly affordable, not to mention scalable. That means you can future-proof your virtual meetings and overall business livelihood while weathering the brutal storm that is Covid-19.<\/p>\n “Depending on the budget of the company, getting a higher-quality router and maybe a headset and a better-quality camera, with some labor involved for set-up, you\u2019re looking at about $1,000,” Galanis says. Partners like Adorama Business Solutions<\/a> also offer financing options to ease the upfront cost for those that need it.<\/p>\n And the investment goes beyond a couple virtual meetings per week. Unlike pre-pandemic conference rooms, Galanis says the Covid-secure conference room can double as a content hub, with the proper technically-sound equipment. Tech investments, including high-quality cameras and powerful microphones can be repurposed for content creation, whether that\u2019s launching a company podcast, creating a niche YouTube series, or hosting thought leadership livestreams to attract potential clients.<\/p>\n “These conference rooms can be dual purpose; there\u2019s no more wasted downtime of an empty room,” Galanis says. “If clients have a conference room they\u2019re using once a week, or several times per week, we\u2019re helping them learn to make the most of the equipment, because virtually all of it works for content creation, too.”<\/p>\n Feature photo by Slidebean<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cubicles and conference rooms may be empty, but don\u2019t let that fool you: Companies and their technology partners are working around the clock to prepare for a Covid-secure workplace that keeps business alive both during and after the pandemic. Of course, changing the decades-old tradition of in-person offices is not an easy feat. Offices have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11111143,"featured_media":65403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17690,639,646,17807],"tags":[17048,17277,17276],"class_list":["post-65401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-how-to","category-tech","category-vr","tag-adorama-business-solutions","tag-conference-rooms","tag-covid-19"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSmart virtual meetings start with a strong and secure network<\/strong><\/h2>\n
For lifelike virtual meetings, invest in quality cameras and microphones<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Cure “technical difficulties” once and for all with employee training<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A Covid-secure conference room doesn\u2019t have to break the bank<\/strong><\/h2>\n