While we’re not completely out of the woods in regards to COVID-19, we are getting closer thanks to vaccines and a better understanding of how to fight the virus.
This progress has us thinking deeply and strategizing about how we can best serve our clients in a post-pandemic world.iv
Defining the new way of work
It may seem pretty straightforward to figure out how our clients are working, whether it be in the office, remote, or hybrid. A recent study by NSCA and MyTechDecisions showed that 50% of companies will have employees working from home 3-4 days per week now, as opposed to just 15% before the pandemic. So it’s tempting to make a blanket statement like “our clients are working remotely” and leave it at that.
But it’s not necessarily that simple. Let’s look at an example:
- Company A has employees work from home three days a week and in the office two days a week. It’s encouraged that they schedule all collaborative work and meetings for in-office days, saving independent work for remote days.
- Company B has their employees work from home two days per week and come into the office for a couple of hours on the other two days to attend meetings and work on collaborative projects, working from home the remainder of the day.
- Company C takes a “business as usual” approach, bringing employees into the office on two set days per week regardless of when meetings or collaborative projects fall.
While all of those are considered hybrid work arrangements, they will have very different technology needs. For example, we’re seeing huddle rooms take on different forms; what used to be a place dedicated for a group to a room that can serve multiple purposes depending on an organization’s needs that given day.
Learning how challenges and pain points have changed
Because of changes in work arrangements and business priorities, what our clients viewed as important technology to invest in before the pandemic is different from what they need now.
We pride ourselves on our ability to understand what our clients’ needs are in this ever-evolving landscape and identify any new challenges they will face. That’s a major adjustment from the previous role of an AV integrator, where we would traditionally advise clients on efficient technology and best practices.
With no predictability in today’s world, we have to be prepared for everything. Yes, we still need to be prepared to offer our clients the tools they need to equip their employees for remote work, like headsets, cameras, training, and more, but we have to go above and beyond that to truly be an effective technology partner.
Providing the service and hardware to support goals
Our goal is to continue evolving with our clients to provide the solutions they need now and in the future, and there are a few ways we’re doing so:
- Ensure that all clients have AV-enabled programs in the cloud or AV infrastructure that enable permanent remote work
- Simplify the process of shifting all meetings to collaboration software
- Keep remote work efficient through the right equipment
We’re doing so by being not only the technology provider our clients need, but the service partner they can trust. Through offerings like AV as a Service, we can help organizations maintain standard solutions across all rooms, facilitate consistent updates, and provide efficiency analysis and business analytics.
Through our future-facing offerings, we’re helping our clients prepare for a post-pandemic work arrangement that’s ready to for whatever comes its way.
