Logitech has released the results of its hybrid meeting survey, which uncovered common meeting habits of workers. Polling more than 1,000 white-collar workers in Singapore, the survey examines the state of current working arrangements, impact of hybrid work on meetings, challenges that employers and employees are facing with hybrid work, and sheds insights into how workers are adapting to the new way of working.
Despite organizations welcoming employees back into physical office spaces, Logitech’s report revealed that respondents remain hesitant in returning to the office, with less than one in 10 respondents (9%) preferring to work full-time in the office. More than six in 10 respondents (63%) continue to work remotely to some extent, either in a hybrid or fully remote working arrangement.
“With more organizations offering the flexibility of hybrid work arrangements, the frequency of hybrid meetings will increase. Business leaders will need to place greater emphasis into understanding the meeting habits of their employees and identify the gaps in the hybrid meeting experience. This will help facilitate a collaborative, connected and productive work environment,” said Bryan Lee, Head of Video Collaboration, Southeast Asia.
Meeting equity refers to an organization’s ability to ensure that all meeting participants have an equal opportunity to contribute to discussions, whether they are attending virtually or in-person.
Logitech’s hybrid meeting survey uncovered that during hybrid meetings, over 6 in 10 (68%) respondents who joined meetings remotely have replied to emails while others are talking, more than half (51%) have used social media, and 46% have browsed the web. Additionally, a small group of respondents have admitted to taking their meetings in bed (22%) and faked technical issues to get out of meetings early (10%).
Such behaviors could be the result of an uneven playing field due to unequitable hybrid meetings. 54% of employees who have joined a hybrid meeting virtually reported feeling that they had fewer opportunities to build rapport with meeting participants. Additionally, 39% agreed that their input would be valued more if they were attending the meeting physically instead of virtually, and 38% felt less included as compared to in-person meeting participants.
Levelling up meeting experiences for immersive and engaging discussions
Respondents highlighted that technical issues are the most significant challenges with hybrid meetings, with connectivity issues (56%) and poor audio quality (53%) ranking amongst the top concerns. 34% of respondents also shared that poor video quality was an issue they experienced during hybrid meetings. Ensuring high-quality video during meetings is critical for engagement, with 61% of respondents highlighting that it is easier to engage with virtual participants with their cameras on during meetings.
The survey also uncovered that 82% of respondents used their built-in computer webcam and that only 9% of participants were equipped with enterprise-grade webcams.
“The use of enterprise-grade video conferencing equipment versus built-in or off-the-shelf solutions can be a world of difference to the meeting experience, due to the various technical and performance limitations. At Logitech, we design video conferencing solutions that are purpose-built for the enterprise use, which can add a higher degree of immersion to hybrid meetings, replicating elements of in-person meetings for virtual participants as close as possible,” added Brian.
In addition, the survey revealed the critical role of video conferencing technology in solving the meeting equity problem. Over 6 in 10 respondents (61%) agreed that hybrid meetings are more engaging when video conferencing systems with high-quality audio and video output are used.
Logitech’s tips for creating more equitable meetings
Logitech sees meeting room devices, personal headsets and webcams as critical elements for the overall quality and experience of video meetings. There are several key aspects companies must focus on to create a more engaging environment and put virtual meeting participants on equal footing with their counterparts in the conference room:
- Equip: Provide teams with enterprise-level equipment such as in-room video conferencing systems, webcams, microphones, and earbuds. This enables organizations to build a consistent, reliable experience that is natively integrated with its ecosystem of choice. Video conferencing systems also provide remote participants with a full view of everyone in the office meeting room through multiple cameras with different perspectives, placing them in the best seat in the room and help them feel more included, leading to more engaging, collaborative meetings.
- Simplify: With employees constantly switching between in-office and home work environments, creating an easy employee experience by ensuring that the home office closely resembles their office set-up will emerge as a top priority for organisations. Companies will have to identify pain points for both in-office and virtual meeting participants when setting up internal hybrid meeting systems, taking into account factors such as usability and complexity of equipment and meeting set-ups .
- Empower: Fostering meeting equity requires facilitators and organizers to take an active approach to empower and encourage engagement from virtual participants. They have to practice active facilitation, minimize visual and audio clutter, and minimize side conversations.
The mix of remote and in-person participants, especially in hybrid work arrangements, creates unique challenges for companies wanting to run inclusive and participative meetings. Nevertheless, modern video conference technologies such as those from Logitech allow meeting organisers to make the world of work more equitable and productive.
