129 “Implementing the right AV technology is critical; we instantly notice poor quality sound, lighting and video and they quickly become distracting and deter us from attending future meetings. Hosting meetings with poor technology is like pushing a grocery cart with a twisted wheel – you can do it but it’s frustrating and difficult to keep it on track.” It is crucial for businesses to transform other aspects of the traditional office too. “Organisations must present the office as a place equipped with intuitive and reliable technologies that will enable employees to work productively, as well as space to access additional support, opportunities for enhanced collaboration, and social benefits,” says Labuskes. Change management is essential here. “Humans naturally resist change, but we adapt if we’re explicitly told what changes we need to make, why we must do so and how it will benefit us,” says Labuskes. “To gain employee support for the new hybrid working model, businesses need to clearly communicate the purpose of the office space and guide them as to which tasks to complete there and which to work on at home. If employees know why they should be in the office, they will be more likely to return happily.” Labuskes notes that businesses can seek help to plan their hybrid working strategy from organisations like AVIXA. “We know how to fix the wheel on the grocery cart,” he says. “We understand how AV technologies can be used to overcome the challenges of hybrid working. Not only are our members creating the AV technologies that are facilitating hybrid working, but they’re also the ones installing and maintaining them, so we can amplify peer-to-peer learning and sharing, and convene organisations to develop standards. We can also coalesce all those learnings into training and educational programmes for professionals.” Labuskes predicts that it will be several years before businesses create the perfect hybrid working environment. “We were all forced to start this journey quickly and unexpectedly, and both technologies and attitudes to remote working are still evolving, so it will be an iterative process,” he explains. “What constitutes a successful hybrid working environment today will be different by next year, but I expect that offices will primarily become spaces for meetings and collaborative tasks, while employees will complete ‘heads down’ work remotely. “It will be challenging, especially as these new technologies and office enhancements require capital expenditure, but if they’re implemented well, offices will become a hive of productivity and collaboration, and employees will feel connected wherever they’re working.”
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