Four Different AV Workspaces for Your Business

Is the meeting room in your business fit for purpose? In a recent survey carried out by Sharp Europe, it was found that 85 per cent of those questioned found their own desks more productive spaces, while 55 per cent described meetings as boring.

There was a time when all meeting rooms looked the same: a room with a table in the centre and enough chairs to cater for all who wished to attend. Presentations were delivered via a projector, while collaboration would be carried out with post-it notes on the wall, or a flipchart and pen and paper.

However, in this age of digital transformation, the meeting room needs to evolve to meet different needs at different times. Here we look at four quite different meeting room configurations, meeting the needs of users and the business alike:

The Boardroom

For some organisations the boardroom might be the only meeting room available, so it will be used by a variety of people. This means that a display needs to be intuitive and easy to use, especially if it’s interactive. Many of our displays come with an Active Pen which you can simply pick up and start using. This gives people a lot of confidence, particularly workers who are reluctant to use this type of technology because they think it will be complicated or won’t do what they want it to do.

A boardroom is likely to need a video conferencing solution for remote meetings, so in addition to a display you will need a camera, a PC and video conferencing software. Some of our customers choose, for example, a Crestron Room Lync (RL2 Room System) solution with a Sharp display. This has compatibility with Skype for Business and Microsoft apps so you can be confident that the solution will fit into your IT system and the applications that you use.

The Huddle Space

In our research, almost 60 per cent of people said their office did not have small informal meeting spaces. This is a shame because most work meetings are with two or three people. These meetings don’t require a big room, but it is useful to have them away from desks in a separate area, so you can focus on the meeting rather than what’s happening at your desk.

We are seeing many of our customers turn informal areas like canteens, receptions and open plan areas into meeting areas using furniture and technology. Furniture solutions like cubicles and pods are attractive because you can move them, even taking them with you if you move office.

Sharp’s huddle displays are included in a range of furniture options, from a semi-enclosed Cocoon with integrated table and seating, to the Plug and Meet, a mobile solution that can be easily moved to different rooms or areas in the office. It has the benefits of being mobile, but also the benefits of a fixed installation with neat cabling and a professional look.

The Training Room

Training rooms in a corporate environment have the same requirements as a classroom: a display large enough for everyone to see, easy-to-use for the trainer and the participants, compatibility with all devices that the trainer wants to use and reliability. Sharp displays also include some features specially designed for teachers like a freeze-frame button that lets you freeze the content on the display while you work on content on your device.

We have a public-sector customer with a logistical planning room which is used to brief large groups of people. They use a large Sharp BIG PAD with Touch Display Connect technology which lets people connect their own devices to the display. This means they can follow the training on their own device, clearly see all the information and make their own annotations.

During these sessions many specialists need to contribute to the discussion. When you are 20 people it’s difficult to all work in front of the screen and explain things, but using Touch Display Connect the leader can easily manage the meeting from BIG PAD by giving rights to people to share from their devices to the display. When people are more engaged; they pay more attention.

The Creative Area

An interactive display is a great tool for a brainstorm. It combines all the benefits of a flipchart with the benefits of being a digital device that can connect to all your other digital devices and get information immediately into the apps you use. You don’t need to take a photo of the notes and email them to yourself for example.

For creative areas, consider the size of the display and allow enough space for people to gather around it. You also want a display with multi-touch so that more than one person can work on it at once. Also think about location as, the creative area might not be a room, it could be in the corner of the office where people can get to it quickly when they’re inspired. If you have a display that is portable, people can use it more spontaneously.

If you are a creative organisation, an interactive display is also a great way to present your work to clients and customers.

You can impress your audience and let them interact with the content too, demonstrating that you have the tools to quickly translate ideas into action.

As you can see, there is much more to setting up the perfect meeting room for your business than simply buying a large display. To make sure you have the solution that meets your needs, explore the extensive range of Sharp Interactive Displays, and then Get In Touch to arrange a demonstration.