With growing importance and high quality standards of meetings today, the annual cost of those meetings for businesses is also growing. Meeting efficiency, saving time and using the correct tools in meeting rooms is high on the agenda in enterprises. To make optimal use of their workforce, companies are constantly looking for digital technologies to improve meeting quality and optimize collaboration. Meeting tech lies at the heart of digital workplace strategies and since, it’s all about remote meetings, BYOM is stepping in.

Meetings are better today, driven by technology

A staggering 72% of employees say that meetings are (much) better than five years ago, compared to less than 6% who say they have got worse. Not all meetings are good (see our previous research on “The Perfect Meeting”), so what has driven the change?

Technology actually lies at the heart of this change. 86% of people prefer meetings where technology is used. And fear of technology is less of a factor, with nearly four in five Baby Boomers (79%) saying they are comfortable using and experimenting with new technologies in a business environment. Our enthusiasm for technology is reflected in the number of devices we take to meetings: 72% of us take a minimum of two devices and 10% even take four (a laptop, smartphone, tablet and smart watch).

We already have the right tools to increase engagement

Technology is the driving factor for engagement in meeting rooms, boardrooms and huddle spaces. The top technical factors for increasing meeting engagement actually underline the importance of sharing information effectively via large displays in the meeting room, screen sharing for participants in the room and for remote participants and video(conferencing).

So, what’s next technology to invest in?

Almost 4 in 5 of us want to see a range of new technologies available in meetings within the next two years.

Voice recognition is the most sought-after. 40% of us want this now – rising to almost half of respondents from China, India and North America. Video filters (similar to those on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat) would be a popular addition to video-conferencing solutions. And 80% of us would like to control meetings using hand gestures in the next two years.

In fact, in three years’ time, the typical meeting will:

• Use voice recognition technology (say 75% of our survey)
• Use AR/VR to improve collaboration between in-person and remote participants (72% of respondents)
• Be coordinated or managed by bots/avatars (say 68%)

Yet, change is here already!

• Enterprises are embracing huddle

  With 80% that has at least one huddle space available in the offices and 53% that are very confident with tech actually prefer quick, efficient huddle meetings.

• Meetings are getting shorter

  78% prefers swift, time-efficient meetings with average lengths varying between of 31 and 35 minutes for a presentation, decision-making or brainstorm for an average meeting of 2-4 people.

• Video is becoming standard

  It is now normal to switch the video on in meetings to improve collaboration. 67% of us now regularly use video in meetings, rising to 79% of millennials. 77% believe that video will be standard in meetings within the next 3 years, rising to 94% in India and 91% in China. Even when we work in huddle spaces, the non-bookable workspaces for small, impromptu meetings, we prefer video. Nearly 9 in 10 of us (88%) prefer to use video-conferencing rather than audio-conferencing in huddle spaces.

• Most meetings now include remote participants

  Half of all meetings (53%) today include remote participants. And this number is more than likely to increase. 74% say the number of “all remote” participant meeting will increase in the next 3 years, and 69% say the number of mixed remote/in-person meetings will increase.
  
  

There is room for improvement though, with respondents saying they have used an average of six different conferencing solutions in the last six months and 55% agreeing that “it’s much more difficult for remote participants to follow remote meetings and to contribute than it is for those attending in-person”.

IT departments are faced with a real challenges in their digital workplace strategies. They need solutions to boost collaboration and meeting efficiency that will be versatile, connected and secure. Open to any user, both in-room and remote, without additional training and truly agnostic. Since users want to use their own devices, own tools and preferred video conferencing systems, the key to address these challenges lies in BYOM, Bring Your Own Meeting.

To find out more about today’s meetings or meeting in the future, download the white paper “The Future of Meetings”.

About the study

More than 1,500 white-collar professionals across Europe, the US, China, India and the Pacific were surveyed in April and May 2019 by independent research agency Savanta. The sample included Senior Managers, Heads of Department, Directors and C-Level executives aged between 21 and 65. A good spread of surveys were obtained across age ranges, gender, and organisation size.