PRODUCT FOCUS: MEETINGS & CONFERENCE FACILITIES The smart application of technology can support collaboration and help to
“I hate meetings” is a frequently heard phrase in offices all around the world. Naysayers complain they’re a time- consuming distraction from doing actual work. Yet, when set up and run properly, meetings are where exciting things happen. They are the place where new projects are green- lit, deals are finalised and true exchanges of ideas occur.
Of course, what people are really objecting to is bad meetings and we’ve all been in plenty of those. From a technological standpoint there’s little the facilities management function can do to ensure the right participants are invited, that there’s a clear purpose and agenda or that the meeting is called at the right time. However, the smart application of technology does enable us to iron out many of the surrounding niggles and frustrations. For example, making it easier to find a suitable available room, to prevent double bookings or to report a faulty piece of equipment.
“A mistake that many procurement-led exercises make is to prioritise a long list of functionality and capabilities over simplicity and ease-of-use.”
Having the right technology to support collaboration is especially important given the evolving role of the physical office. Demands for flexible working, the rise of hot- desking and the need for companies to recruit personnel more widely based on where the best competence is available, have irrevocably changed its purpose.
Today the work environment is far more dynamic and the need to quickly arrange a digital meeting with people in several different locations is much more common. Expensively kitted-out boardrooms that need to be booked days or weeks in advance are ill-equipped to support this. Instead there is a need for staff to be able to quickly find and book smaller huddle rooms that have user-friendly equipment that works.
So how do we support this? In my opinion a mistake that many procurement-led exercises make is to prioritise a long list of functionality and capabilities over simplicity and ease-of-use. It is so easy to get lost by adding feature after feature. Plus, they might all sound like a good idea when looked at individually. However, the end result tends to be the purchase of a product that in theory can do everything but in practice is used for nothing; it may have advanced technical capabilities but nobody actually uses them as
56 | TOMORROW’S FM
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM IN DEFENCE OF MEETINGS
resolve frustrations many employees have with meeting rooms, suggests Richard Glückman, CEO of Evoko.
it’s no longer obvious how it works. It’s the reason a lot of complex technology is installed and never used.
It’s also the reason why at Evoko our number one priority has always been to create products that are so easy to use that anyone can use them with little or no training. It requires a clear vison of what you want to achieve and the discipline to eradicate any superfluous functionality that comes at the expense of the user experience.
“There is a need for staff to be able to quickly find and book smaller
huddle rooms that have user-friendly equipment that works.”
Next time somebody complains about meetings in your organisation, think about whether the available technology deployed in your organisation is proving a help or a hindrance. Success is built on relationships and its vital to create those moments of interaction that add value and create new opportunities.
www.evoko.se
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