Physical changes to our workplaces are abundant regardless of the market: Corporate, Commercial, Healthcare, etc. From six-feet-in-between floor markers to plexiglass divisions to swapping a huddle room for a home office, there have been both slight and significant material changes to our environments.
However, physical changes alone are half the equation. Behavioral changes within our workforces are even more noteworthy and, inarguably, more necessary. Behind successful adoption of these new behaviors is a suite of AV technology to support and reinforce desired actions. This is technology that has helped organizations to adapt to now as well as plan for and follow safe reopening protocols. Let’s take a look.
Cloud Everything. The meteoric rise of cloud-based UCC solutions cannot be overstated. Video conferencing (Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams) and other collaborative platforms have kept us connected and productive. How quickly the technology adoption curve flattened here. Now most of our scheduled and ad hoc meetings are over video. Full teams, from colleagues not normally ever on video to CEOs already booked on daily collaboration calls, adopted these platforms as daily tools. While we navigate workforces across in-person and remote, cloud conferencing will continue to be a fundamental bridge.
Digital Signage. Across nearly ever market, digital signage has become the tool to keep customers, employees, and visitors informed and reminded. This includes communicating security and prevention measures, repetitively disseminating health and safety content in real-time to reinforce appropriate conduct. While workplaces stagger in-office employees to accommodate social distancing, enterprise digital signage keeps everyone, regardless of location or shift, informed of necessary protocols.
Wayfinding. Wayfinding stations have allowed visitors to find their destinations rapidly, supporting social distancing and lessening personal contact. With buildings designating different paths for entry and exit to avoid bottleneck areas, wayfinding has purposefully directed visitors, reducing time spent searching or traveling in the wrong direction.
Temperature Kiosks. Health and safety are at the forefront of organizations’ initiatives for return to the workplace. Following CDC Guidelines to ensure safe environments requires unwell employees and customers to stay out of the general population and seek medical attention. Touchless Temperature Screening Kiosks reinforce this behavior, reading an individual's temperature and sending an alert when an above-normal result is detected, before entry to a facility is allowed. There are temperature kiosks that also provide mask detection.
Room Scheduling. Now twelve-seat conference rooms are four-seat and there are fewer huddle rooms where more than one person is huddling. Room scheduling is another cloud-based platform accessible from your own personal device. For people heading to a workplace outside their homes, booking spaces in advance for meetings isn’t an after-thought, it’s a necessity. Scheduling reflects occupancy across multiple calendars, including the physical panel outside the room. It can also alert building services that the room was used. There are several other digital workplace tools that help organizations analyze space design, seating charts, and schedules to help determine how best they can follow protocols for health and safety measures.
CDC guidelines on indoor spaces include considerations for ventilation, health checks, sanitizing, mask compliance, and density, among other aspects. Organizations understand that keeping business running and providing safe environments are equally critical. They also recognize that AV technology can help them to accomplish both.