Planning and designing virtual office spaces means more than arranging a physical room. It means having a virtual meeting space that works for those attending from the corporate office and those logging on from remote locations.
Virtual meetings are now common, but you don’t want remote attendees wondering if anyone is listening and you don’t want those attending in person to appear anonymous.
Plan your space so you come across confidently and gain respect as a trusted resource.
Prepping for the Virtual Meeting
There’s a reason why lighting and sound design have their own separate categories at the Oscars and other award shows. Okay, you’re not a Hollywood type, but if you’re in finance in a city like Irvine or an analyst for a corporation in Burbank then you want your surroundings to boost your credibility and not detract from it.
If you come across as a shadow or you sound like you’ve got marbles in your cheeks then you’re going to have little impact when you comment or share vital information.
You don’t need sophisticated solutions, but make sure you have good ergonomic lighting and a microphone that serves you well.
See your environment as others see it—and that means the background.
Photo: Trendway Volo Wall
For the corporate office, use architectural walls or backdrops on existing walls for a pleasing view. This is especially important if you’re onboarding new employees.
Use structures like the Obeya Architectural wall or a cubicle like the Friant System 2 Workstation that comes in a variety of colors.
What about the home office?
Look like the talented professional you are without spending much money.
Photo: DARRAN Chameleon Screen
Desks are often against walls in home offices so make sure your background doesn’t have clunky-looking doors or flimsy curtains. You can easily install a cubicle partition or use a pleasing space divider that sits on the floor. Look into the DARRAN Chameleon Screen or the Snowsound PLI Divider Panels.
Remember to use task lighting to provide the right amount of light.
This simple fix will make your on-screen environment look great.
Photo: Snowsound PLI Acoustic Divider Panels
Virtual Platforms
In a PC Magazine survey, Zoom tops the list of Best Video Conferencing Software for 2023.
Why Zoom?
It has “rich features,” is easy to use, and is good for organizations of all sizes.
BlueJeans comes in second. The company was acquired by Verizon a few years ago and works well for organizations that use different operating systems. It gets ranked high for quality audio, too.
Intermedia AnyMeeting scores third place. It includes an AI-powered Virtual Assistant which “delivers reasonable high-quality transcriptions of video meetings.”
TechRadar ranks Zoom in 1st place with Microsoft Teams coming in 2nd, followed by Google Meet.
Virtual Meeting Communities
Now for a different look at virtual meetings.
Ever think of becoming a Spatian? You can be online and work with others on the same projects and documents.
Spatians are “a new generation of creators, ambassadors, educators and trailblazers” guiding users in “immersive experiences in the Metaverse.”
Look through the Spatial platform and see how “augmented and virtual reality” is used “to improve remote collaboration.”
The company was launched in 2016 and has a “long-term mission of accelerating a future where people can enjoy meaningful, productive interactions without sharing the same physical space.”
The design is meant to capture people’s creative expressions and gestures and make it easier to know how users interpret what’s in front of them.
Spatial co-founder Jinha Lee says Zoom fatigue set in because users had to be 200 percent focused, but they couldn’t work with each other to accomplish tasks.
Being only spectators got old.
Virtual spaces are also geared for events where “the future is hybrid,” according to a December 2022 write-up on BizBash, “The Future of Events: It’s About Flexibility and Choice.” The ultimate goal is establishing “parity” so there’s no difference in attending virtually or in person.
Quick Tips for Virtual Meetings
In a corporate office, you need a space to work from. Browse through the 2010 Office Inspiration page for ideas on furnishings and appearances for a videoconferencing space. You can also get ideas for planning a new space or refreshing an older one.
Need media tables?
Photo: Rouillard Zetti Fit Table
For compact areas, consider the Rouillard Zetti Fit Table or the Krug V2 Modular Table for larger spaces.
Photo: Krug V2 Modular Table
Ensure everyone’s comfort with quality, ergonomic chairs and media tables that offer plenty of surface area to work on.
Successful meetings of all kinds need objectives. Send out a simple agenda ahead of time and give people time to chat and greet each other before getting involved in the heart of the meeting’s details.
Be sure to let employees who work a hybrid schedule or fully remote schedule to occasionally facilitate the meeting times. Remote participants need to fully see the faces of in-room attendees, the shared presentations, and also have any of the documents handed out while seeing content created during the meeting.
Get Needed Input
Office environments continue evolving so plan your space with the team at 2010 Office Furniture. They’ve earned the respect of clients who are known among Southern California’s most respected large corporations, small businesses, and leading not-for-profits.
Contact them with your project needs.
Read Also: Liven Up Your Virtual Meeting Rooms and Physical Meeting Spaces
Main Photo: OFS Obeya Architectural Walls
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: DARRAN, Krug, OFS, Rouillard, Snowsound, Trendway