According to American entrepreneur and best-selling author Keith Ferrazzi, in the average 12-person meeting, only four people think they are being heard. This means great ideas may never see the light of day and many people sit in meetings feel ignored or undervalued. This is not good for employee well-being, nor is it good for the business's bottom line. By creating inclusive meetings and workspaces, companies can capitalise on the rich diversity that has helped make South Africa the most advanced economy on the continent.
Charis Nicholas, Logitech's Head of High Touch End User Video Collaboration in South and Southern Africa, says: “Crafting a company culture where everyone feels engaged and empowered to speak up during meetings creates an environment where ideas can flourish and innovation follows. When you pair this with cutting-edge equipment that helps establish psychological safety and encourages inclusion, you end up optimising your company’s ability to operate at its full potential.”
To create inclusive meeting and office spaces, all you need is to:
Promote diversity and inclusion
Promoting diversity and inclusion involves empathetic leadership and, when done right, encourages the kind of environment where brilliant ideas can come from anywhere and be given space to thrive. This means understanding and respecting different cultures, religions, genders and backgrounds.
In a hybrid work environment, technology can also play a massive role in meeting equity. For example, by leaning into the chat function in remote meetings, virtual participants who do not get a chance to speak on the call can still get their ideas across.
Inclusivity, equity and equal access matters and, now as we work in many different ways – hybrid, remote and in office – being seen, heard and able to collaborate as your authentic self is paramount to employee and business success and happiness.
Using equipment like the Logitech Scribe, which enables anyone in the room to effortlessly share whiteboards, also means ideas can be shared efficiently.
Leverage technology to promote flexibility
The hybrid workplace presents unique challenges, with its mix of in-person and at-home meeting participants. For remote workers, it can be difficult to see all the in-room participants when multiple people are squeezed into a single video stream.
Hybrid meetings should feel natural, easy and inclusive for everyone who participates, no matter where they are. Equipment like the Logitech Sight, a tabletop, centre-of-the-room camera with intelligent multi-participant framing, provides both room context and individual speaker views for remote participants. That, in turn, gives all participants a better sense of being “in the room”. Additionally, Rally Bar is created for medium to large collaboration spaces, and Sight extends the capabilities of the front-of-room camera to pick up on conversations and non-verbals around the room.
Similarly, Grid View technology uses AI software and integrates with Microsoft Teams Front Row to create a more inclusive meeting experience by detecting faces and zooming in on each person to give them their own frame. This allows each person in the room to be seen better.
This all helps make for equitable meeting experiences in hybrid work scenarios. Logitech is leading with technology focused on “meeting equity” so that all meeting attendees can fully participate, regardless of their location, device, language or experience level. It’s about making sure that everyone is seen, heard, engaged and valued.
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