Hybrid, we use the term for many things these days. In biology, chemistry, engineering and even in the arts. We drive around with hybrid cars or bikes. And more recently, we have started to work and meet in a hybrid way. Before we get lost in the many interpretations of hybrid, let’s explore what hybrid meeting actually is. Because when it comes to equipping the workplace for hybrid meetings, there’s only one way forward, as the new research on hybrid meetings unravels.
The definition of a hybrid meeting:
“A hybrid meeting is a meeting where a part of the audience joins from the office and another part joins remote, enabled by audio and video conferencing technology with a strong focus on content sharing.”
Don’t be mistaken. A hybrid meeting is more than just a synonym for a remote, or virtual meeting. In a hybrid meeting part of the participants joins live & in-person from an office meeting room and another part joins remote - so from home or another location, like a coffee shop, the airport or even a satellite office. Hybrid is a unique blend of both an in-room component and a virtual online component with live video streaming and online presentation of content. It combines the best features of both meeting types: in-person communication and virtual meeting benefits for information sharing, recording and interactivity.
In hybrid meetings the focus is on seamless collaboration and on content sharing both in-room and remote. The ultimate aim is to make hybrid meetings as intuitive and straightforward as face-to-face meetings thanks to meeting technology: SWAPS and AV peripherals, video conferencing platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex and wireless collaboration technology.
Why do we have hybrid meetings?
When businesses opt to enable hybrid meeting in the workplace, they have several reasons, often related to time constraints, reducing budgets and their carbon footprint. But mostly these companies realise that they want to enable true collaboration and foster innovation even when not everyone is present in the office.
True innovation and collaboration happens when people meet, in one and the same space. When everyone is stuck at home or remote, it’s hard for a company to thrive, innovate and progress. It’s clear that the meeting room will make a comeback to enable exactly those meetings where physical presence in a room is required. Hybrid meetings bring at least part of the workforce together physically and enable easier virtual collaboration with remote team members. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s the next best thing.
Discover more on the 5 key benefits of hybrid working
Working with global project teams located all over the world and consequently in different time zones and working schedules, makes live meetings impossible.
The introduction of efficient, low-cost hybrid meetings in the new company culture are a great solution to tackle travel restrictions and answer the need for going green and improving sustainability.
More recently, lockdowns and quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have forced people to look for new ways of collaborating like home office, and more recently, in some regions, a shift towards hybrid work which makes social distancing easier to organise.
Click here to know more.