In today’s always-evolving technology landscape, it can be hard to keep up with what’s outdated, what’s new and what’s up-and-coming. On top of that, how do you pick and choose which solutions are right for your organization? When new technologies emerge in the space, such as interactive displays and touchscreen whiteboards, how do you drive adoption across your teams? In an effort to answer these questions and more, we teamed up with T1V to construct several tips on how to choose and properly implement new interactive technologies in the workplace. Let’s take a look!
Tip 1: Choose a solution that suits your company’s needs
Before investing in new technology, it’s important to establish a purpose – do you want to increase communication between employees, better inform visitors, establish collaboration between branches, or all three? The clearer your goals are, the easier it will be to find technology that will give you your desired outcome.
When exploring new technology, ask yourself:
- How large are your teams? It’s important to identify a solution that is ideal for your organization as a whole, but also for your internal teams. Find a solution with the ability to scale and grow as you do.
- What technology/programs do your teams already use? It’s a good idea to choose something that complements this, rather than replaces it entirely.
- How long do you want the solution to last? Are you looking for a permanent display to grace your lobby for years to come, or a traveling exhibit that will need constant updating? Either way, future-proof technology is the way to go. Invest in software-based technology that is easy to update and you won’t be disappointed.
- In-house or remote? Is the primary purpose of your technology to increase communication within the physical space, or incorporate remote members? Depending on the structure of your workforce, different solutions will prove more efficient.
Tip 2: Determine where technology can be repurposed
Technology plays a huge role when designing new spaces. New spaces can no longer be built for a single purpose – they need to fulfill multiple needs for an organization to prove flexible and efficient. When incorporating new technology, it’s best to consider the environment, both the physical space and the people who will be inhabiting the area, as well as what you want to accomplish with the technology. Is the primary purpose internal or external facing? Is there a way you could have both?
T1V offers several multipurpose solutions including:
- Interactive Timeline – Educate new employees and visitors with an interactive timeline of company milestones. On a mobile wall or table, the Interactive Timeline can be brought to tradeshows and customer-facing events, while living in a corporate lobby between shows.
- Interactive Map – Showcasing offices, projects, events or accomplishments by location on an interactive map is a great way to inform visitors in a welcome center or lobby – as well as keep employees updated on new installations or achievements.
- ThinkHub – ThinkHub BYOD-friendly collaboration software is a powerful tool which consolidates all the moving pieces of a brainstorming session – the people, ideas, content, and devices. While ThinkHub is often used for internal collaboration, it also serves as a way to showcase information to visitors and to connect remote participants.
- Digital Signage – When people think about digital signage, advertising comes to mind. Digital Signage doesn’t have to be external facing – it can just as easily and effectively communicate internal messaging such as upcoming events, employee accolades and more.
- Analytics – Analytics can be used to identify where and how people interact with your technology. You can use this information to adjust your solution to align with your primary goal, as well as identify new ways to repurpose the technology.
Tip 3: Take advantage of semi-custom software
Semi-custom solutions are hard to find – many software-based solutions are “one design fits all” or fully custom, which means $$$. Semi-custom allows you to work with existing software applications, and customize/rebrand on top of them. So you’re getting a tailored experience for a fraction of the price. This is especially important for external facing solutions, where you want to make a memorable impression.
Tip 4: Support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
With the amount of technology that’s available these days, it’s important to find technology that is compatible with multiple platforms. Simply put, BYOD means employees are encouraged to work from their personal devices – be it laptops, smartphones, tablets or any other mobile device. By providing employees the flexibility to use the devices they are most comfortable with, corporations reduce overhead expenses, provide greater mobility to its workforce and increase productivity. According to Inc. Magazine, one in five small businesses are already achieving productivity gains of more than 30 percent by adopting mobile work styles. Workers in the U.S. save an average of 81 minutes per week by using their own devices (Cisco study).
Tip 5: Capture analytics to measure success
In order for your technology to achieve its desired effect, it’s important to understand your audience and how they are interacting with your solution. Analytics can help you identify when and how your technology is being used so you can see the improvement and make any necessary adjustments.
With ThinkHub, we recommend capturing the following metrics to ensure you are making the most of your solution:
- System Active Hours by Room/Day/Week
- Most/Least Used Rooms
- Device Connectivity – number/type of devices used by Room/Day/Week
- Average System Active Hours per Meeting Session
- Average System Touches per Meeting Session
- Built-in App Usage (Note, Sketch, Web Browser)
- Total ThinkHub Canvases Created by Day/Week/Month
- Total ThinkHub Canvases Saved by Day/Week/Month
- Total ThinkHub Canvases Emailed by Day/Week/Month
Tip 6: Partner with an A/V integration firm for design & installation
In order to get the most out of your new technology, your collaboration spaces need to be designed and implemented by professionals. Leveraging the expertise of an established and certified A/V integrator will ensure the interactive technologies you have chosen for your organization are properly installed and will work well in the space. Integrators can also help you determine which systems work well together and complement one another to minimize technology glitches along the way.
Tip 7: Conduct training to drive user adoption
You did your research, you found which interactive solutions best suit your company’s needs, goals and budget – now it’s time to get your teams to actually use the technology you deployed. So often we run into clients who have great technology in place, but their teams do not leverage them simply because they have never taken the time to learn about them. Quick training courses, typically conducted with your A/V integrator, will give your teams hands-on experience with the new technology. The more they know about the tools you have in place and how to use them, the more likely they will be to consider them a crucial part of their daily routines.
Have other tips to add to our list? Tell us on Twitter at @agt_video and @T1V_Interactive!
