Alice Chambers |
Over the last five years, Republic Services, a North American waste collection company, has transitioned its enterprise collaboration platform to Microsoft Teams.
As part of this, it has built collaboration spaces for the organisation across various sites and its most recent project integrated Teams with audiovisual (AV) technology in two boardrooms, seven training spaces and 30 conference rooms. The transition highlighted the importance of having clear AV standards to ensure dependable collaboration experiences across all meeting spaces, as well as consistent room design and best practices for Microsoft Teams Rooms.
“AV standards are essential for ensuring seamless and scalable collaboration across an organisation,” says Chris Bischoff, senior manager of infrastructure engineering at Republic Services. “Without established standards, the user experience becomes distorted because it introduces an inconsistent meeting experience and interaction with AV technology. They enhance usability, which allows IT teams to support systems at scale and ultimately enables a frictionless, unified experience in the modern workplace.”
This variability is crucial, as different workplace environments have unique needs that require a balance between standardisation and flexibility.
“AV standards vary across the workplace because they help minimise the impact of customised or one-off builds,” says Bischoff. “No two spaces are the same, nor are the user requirements, especially when considering span across an enterprise. While deviations from standards are necessary, having a flexible AV framework allows organisations to scale efficiently while maintaining a consistent design approach.
“The most critical consideration when implementing AV standards across various workplace environments is supportability. Organisations should prioritise cloud-enabled and remotely accessible solutions to simplify maintenance, minimise downtime and enhance the user experience.”
To prepare its rooms for AV integration and optimise the meeting spaces, Republic Services first considered the user experience and expected outcome.
“One of the most crucial components of AV design is the acoustics,” says Bischoff. “A well-designed room with acoustic treatments for example, enables a better meeting through improved audio clarity, benefiting both in-room and remote participants.”
And room layout is equally important. “Factors like wall angles, furniture placement and display positioning significantly impact usability and engagement,” explains Bischoff. “For example, simple things like articulating mounts for displays allow users to adjust the display to their preference. Plus, proper placement of microphones, speakers and cameras enhances the overall meeting experience and ensures all participants feel included.”
When establishing best practices for deploying team collaboration rooms, Bischoff recommends organisations focus on standardised room templates, tiered cost models, and remote support and monitoring.
“Users expect a flawless collaboration experience, which requires careful planning and strong support,” he says. “Building a meeting room is easy but maintaining and scaling it is the real challenge. Organisations must consider long-term support, lifecycle management and financial alignment to ensure a sustainable and successful collaboration environment.”
Ensuring AV standards are consistently applied across different workplace environments is key to enabling effective collaboration, particularly as hybrid work models continue to evolve.
“AV standards bridge the collaboration gap between in-office, hybrid and remote employees by ensuring a consistent AV experience across work environments,” says Bischoff. “A good example of this enablement is seen by the volume of quick and easy collaboration-certified devices out on the market today. Along these lines, lower hardware costs, coupled with a solution for every need, has made it easier to access equipment.
“By focusing on wellness, sustainability and flexibility, organisations can create AV standards that enhance meeting equity, simplify collaboration and support long-term scalability, ultimately leading to an effective hybrid work environment.”
Bischoff will deliver a session on enterprise Teams integration at InfoComm 2025, which is taking place on 11-13 June 2025 in Orlando, Florida
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