Transforming a small traditional conference room into a collaborative huddle space

CUSTOMER

Collaboration Solutions, Inc. (CSi) is leading the collaboration revolution by seamlessly offering a complete spectrum of collaboration solutions: design of collaborative workspaces and furnishings, audiovisual (AV) services and conferencing solutions, Microsoft Skype for Business and Microsoft Office365 platform adoption, custom collaboration software solutions, and products that span the complete range of digital experiences. CSi is a multiple Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Communications, Collaboration and Content, Application Lifecycle Management, and Cloud Productivity.

CHALLENGE

Transforming traditional office space into highly collaborative environments is a challenge many organizations are addressing. Collaboration Solutions Inc, a key AVTEQ solutions provider, partnered with AVTEQ to transform a client’s small, under utilized conference room into a mixed-use collaborative huddle space.

The client had a conference room that was shared between the finance and marketing departments. The room had a small round conference table with seating for four people. On one wall was a 40” Dell display mounted about six feet high with multiple cables running from the display to the table. During work sessions, presenters had to carefully walk over the cables, and people sitting at the table had to re-adjust their chairs to see the display.

Both departments complained the room was not conducive for productive meetings. Teams tended to not pay attention to the presenter while using their own devices, and they felt uncomfortable with the presenter talking down to them. The table had a small surface space, making it cluttered while people tried to work and use their mobile devices.

In addition, the current technology made videoconferencing with customers and remote teams cumbersome due to lack of connectivity or dropped calls. Someone in the meeting normally just used his or her laptop to connect with a remote location.

SOLUTION

To provide a highly collaborative environment for the client, it was important to understand how each department would use the room. Based on these discussions, Collaboration Solutions and AVTEQ worked together to provide an overall solution to transform the traditional conference room into a collaborative huddle space.

The first step was to recommend the technology solution that would best meet the client’s needs. Considering the size of the room and the diverse uses by each department, it was recommended to replace the existing display with a 55” Microsoft Surface Hub.

The Surface Hub provided an all-in-one solution for enhanced collaboration and videoconferencing while eliminating all the cables of the current system. To better accommodate the department teams, the display was mounted on AVTEQ’s height adjustable mount. Now with a touch of a finger, the presenter could move the display up or down with ease.

The next step was to consider the ergonomics of the furniture design solution:

• Social - the furniture should allow teams to easily collaborate at the table as well as interact with the Microsoft Surface Hub.
• Physical - individuals should have clear line of sight to the display and the ability to adjust the height of the chair.
• Cognitive - the solution should be flexible to adjust to the different personalities of the varying teams to ensure maximum productivity.

AVTEQ’s custom huddle table was the perfect solution. The teardrop table’s shape was designed to provide clear line of site of the display for everyone sitting. In addition, the bar height table, which could easily seat four to six people, brought the team eye level with the presenter. The bar height, along with the foot rail, provided marketing’s creative teams to stand or sit, as well as enabling more impromptu gatherings.

As a finishing touch, Highmark InTouch height adjustable chairs were added.

RESULTS

The newly designed huddle space is now two functional collaborative rooms in one. Both the finance and marketing teams have noticed improved teamwork and communication across departments. In addition, the Microsoft Surface Hub has provided tools for teams to be more innovative and productive.