As many of us have been asked to return to the workplace, here are six things to keep in mind regarding your meeting rooms.

If your company’s return to the workplace is keeping you awake at night, that’s just another item on a long list of things you don’t need to worry about right now. Or let yourself be bothered by the ever-changing business trends.

Remote work has replaced on-site work. Even in challenging situations, organizations and individuals appreciate the increased productivity and time they get back into their schedules. Will it last though? What happens when employees return to the workplace? How do you organize a meeting in a safe setting and synchronize everyone’s calendar?

When everyone returns to the workplace, it would be good to think about setting up your conference room as an IT manager or even an HR manager.

You have some things to think about whether this is now or next year.

• How many of your colleagues have returned to the office in recent months?
• What will future meetings look like in the coming months and in the future?
• How do you meet remotely?
• How will you involve everyone in the office and homeworkers?
• What can you do to make sure these meetings stay on track?
• How do I ensure that my employees return to the office with a good attitude?
• How do you connect the equipment in your meeting room to the virtual meeting software?
• All these questions, and more, are answered in this piece.

Employees go back to work

JPMorgan Chase, America’s largest bank, has asked traders at its New York-area branches to return to work after a drop in productivity – and this is likely to be true of many other companies as well.

A short LinkedIn survey showed that some employees had already returned to work.

Dominic Kent – on Medium is the Director of Content Marketing & Communications at Mio. Founder of UC Influencers. He researched returning to the workplace versus working from home last year, and many more are now returning.

There has been a lot of publicity about companies returning to the office since last year and that return is now increasing. Still, giant companies like Shopify and Twitter quickly and openly went remote, but they’re also now returning to the office.

Other companies such as Yahoo, IBM, Aetna and Best Buy have revised their work-from-home policies and asked employees to return to the office.

In a Wired article, David Bishop stated: Customers such as Gymshark and other large companies such as Yahoo, IBM and Deloitte have recognized that the workforce is more productive in the office. That is, they demand their employees come back and they work to grow the workplace into a solid corporate culture. Bishop is Design Director at Oktra – (cool office design and furniture).

Some companies are realizing the limitations of remote working. However, the urge to return to the office poses a new problem IT and HR managers.

Employees look forward to returning to the workplace for several reasons. Reasons include fatigue, a lack of personal connection, and even missing the drive.

When it comes to your business, don’t rush. You must guarantee that you are adequately prepared for future encounters.

What does a future meeting look like?

We have no idea what meetings will look like in the future. However, we can predict what is likely to happen – and how to make them pleasant and enjoyable productive for your team.

We’ll start with the basics. That is, rather than suggesting that most meetings would be held in person, as they were before the pandemic. There may still be some meetings that are best held virtually, for example for teams that are in different locations – and maybe even if you are spread out across a building. However, it is still very helpful for all teams to meet in person to improve productivity (and camaraderie) and team unity in general.

New technology

If you think you’ll need to keep holding a lot of virtual meetings, you need new video conferencing software and hardware. Quality wins out over quantity in this situation; you may consider adding cameras, microphones, computers, computer stands, or anything else your employees may need. It is also possible that you need a way to integrate the old conferencing devices and software. This may require the purchase of new equipment if current equipment is not up to date.

People

You may not have as many people in the workplace as you used to. Still, meetings can be productive and beneficial for everyone involved, whether virtual, in-person, or hybrid. Ultimately, it’s important to focus more on the people in the meetings than on the technology involved. Of course technology will play a role, but the people who put together your teams are much more important than a microphone or any other device. Consider furnishing meeting rooms or even individual meeting rooms if they are not already furnished.

When it comes to your employees, your top priority as a leader should be to put them at ease. In addition, do everything you can to make them feel safe in an unfamiliar environment.

After you’ve addressed safety and comfort issues, there’s the unique difficulty of keeping everyone involved. You could hire a brass band. Or show movie trailers. But the best way is to make participants responsible for their own commitment. Ask them what they want from the meeting and make sure they understand – keep your words in emails and communications to 200 words or less.

Employee feedback

When a company transitions from remote work to in-person operations, employee feedback is essential. Here are four reasons why it is crucial to collect and act on employee feedback:

Adaptation to changing requirements:

As employees return to face-to-face work, employee feedback provides helpful insights into their changing demands and expectations. With regard to workplace design, safety procedures, planning and teamwork, employees may have certain concerns, preferences or recommendations. Companies can adapt their policies and procedures to the changing demands of their workforce by actively seeking and listening to employee feedback, promoting a smoother transition and increasing employee satisfaction.

Employee engagement and involvement are enhanced when employees are given a voice in decision-making through feedback mechanisms. Employees are more likely to care about the success of the transition if they believe their ideas are valued and taken into account. Actively seeking employee feedback creates a collaborative environment where employees feel empowered to participate in the decision-making process, increasing acceptance and support for the changes made.

Challenges and opportunities for improvement:

Employee feedback can be used to identify issues and areas that need improvement during the transition. The return to personal work can create bottlenecks, breakdowns in communication, or other inefficiencies, and employees may be able to shed light on these issues. Using this input, companies can proactively address issues, make required corrections and improve processes, ultimately improving the overall work environment and maximizing operational effectiveness.

Welfare and assistance:

Employee feedback gives employees a forum to express concerns about their well-being and draw attention to any additional assistance they may need while on duty. Employees may need to make adjustments when they resume personal work, such as commuting, juggling commitments outside of work, or adjusting to more frequent social interactions. Companies should implement policies to support employee well-being and ensure a seamless and successful transition by soliciting and acting on employee input.

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