72 INTERVIEW Redefining workspaces Crestron’s Brad Hintze explains how companies can use AI and other technologies to create equitable meeting experiences and make going to the office a preferred option rather than an obligation BY ALICE CHAMBERS Businesses striving to bring employees back to the office must make the transition from remote to in-person work seamless. A frictionless experience fosters collaboration and productivity, making the commute worthwhile for employees. “We’ve learned that in-person, face-to-face collaboration is incredibly effective, but when an employee walks through the entrance, they need to be as instantaneously productive as they are at their home workstation,” says Brad Hintze, executive vice president of global marketing at Crestron. “Is desk space easy to reserve and readily available? Are digital connections immediate and reliable? Starting the day with a call to the help desk is never good for the employee, their productivity, or the potential tenure of that employee.” A well-designed workspace that integrates with advanced technologies can make all the difference to the employee’s overall experience. “If an employee can walk into the office and begin collaborating in a one-touch (or no-touch) manner with anyone in the world – seeing every gesture their remote colleague is making, and vice-versa – and if that workspace is as welcoming as the environment they’ve created at home, then you’ve made the commute worth it,” says Hintze. “Employees can work more effectively with seamless bring-your-own-device options, zero-latency audiovisual and unified communication solutions, excellent lighting and shading, the right climate, and furniture designed and arranged for both comfort and efficiency.” At the same time, remote employees need to have an equally easy work set-up experience to their in-office colleagues. “We speak a lot about high-impact spaces at Crestron – those big, complex rooms where important information is shared and vital decisions are made,” says Hintze. “Everyone needs to see and be seen, to hear and be heard. That’s why we’ve developed (and continue to refine) speaker-tracking cameras and systems that can follow a conversation around the room, constantly presenting the remote viewer with a head-on look at the individual who’s speaking, showing their every gesture and facial expression. The remote worker should feel as much a part of the ‘room’ as the in-person attendees.” Creating a seamless meeting experience Crestron offers tools to help businesses improve the office and meeting experience with meeting solutions, including video conferencing, collaboration and presentation technologies. Attendees at the Crestron Masters event in Madrid, Spain, in May 2025 can get hands on training with these solutions. The new Crestron Modern Workplace Certification at that event will offer even more opportunities and a similar learning track will be available at InfoComm in Orlando, Florida, in June 2025. “It’s an opportunity for workplace designers, salespeople, consultants and on-site IT and “ Everyone needs to see and be seen, to hear and be heard”
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