3 Simple Technology Solutions to Best Utilize Expensive Commercial Real Estate for the Modern Workplace

The problem is, people talk about huddle rooms like they’re more complicated than that; as if huddle rooms can only be used for certain types of meetings, located only in certain types of facilities, or equipped with certain equipment. The truth is while we could argue about what might be “best” for a huddle room, no two huddle rooms will be or need to be alike. What matters most is that your huddle room should be the perfect place for a small group (roughly no more than five or six people) to “huddle.” And that word is a bit of a chameleon because huddles look different for every team. Huddle spaces have long been overlooked. But now is the time to take advantage of those under-used spaces. It’s an easy step to take if you want to keep up with the fast-paced revolution in modern work culture, as well as maximize the rising cost of commercial real estate.   Smart Work Places for this Generation Millennials, and soon post-Millennials, will continue to enter and shape the workforce with their expectations of more freedom and flexibility. More businesses are using technology to make open offices and telecommuting more effective to fit those expectations. Activity Based Working (ABW) is a growing trend allowing a firm to rethink the way their work is aligned to their cultural and strategic objectives. Offering a choice in how, when, and where people work, helping them to be more effective and engaged. ABW embraces that people perform different activities and need a variety of work settings, the right technology, and a trusting and collaborative culture to be best supported.   As more companies hire remote workers and collaborate across longer distances, the ability to manage, support, and collaborate with global teams will set successful companies apart from the ones that fail.   Some Trends Are More Than Fads When you invest in technology, you should definitely consider the cost and the benefits. But there’s another factor to consider, whether you’re investing in physical equipment, software, or technology services: the long-term durability of your purchase. In other words, you don’t want to pour resources into a trendy, flash-in-the-pan technology fad. As more companies hire remote workers and collaborate across longer distances, the ability to manage, support, and collaborate with global teams will set successful companies apart from the ones that fail.   Why Most Huddle Rooms Need a Makeover Now that you understand what a huddle room is (and isn’t) you’re probably wondering, “Okay, but I’m still not sure what a good huddle room looks like.” Research suggests that, right now, most huddle rooms lack any advanced AV technology. The typical huddle room has a few simple ingredients: basic furniture, a standard whiteboard, and maybe a flat panel display for basic presentations. Most huddle rooms don’t even have a basic conferencing system. Even fewer have technology that would allow employees to share and annotate over data wirelessly or collaborate face-to-face with remote teams via video conference. There are plenty of features common in larger meeting rooms and executive boardrooms that would be out of place in most huddle rooms. That’s not to say those features are wrong for all huddle rooms. But as it stands, most people compromise for a “good enough” huddle room. The “best of the best” AV technology only makes it into larger meeting rooms, where expectations are higher (and budgets are larger).