Empowering Your Employees
In the Workplace
Learn why implementing dedicated quality audio equipment has become ever more critical for improving collaboration and meeting productivity.
Is your organization committed to Hybrid Working and Audio Standardization?
The use of non-standardized audio communication equipment can significantly disrupt meeting room communication and hinder productivity. Lack of user familiarity, leads user error, the need for increased support calls to IT, lost meeting time and disruption. In addition when audio equipment lacks standardization, it can lead to inconsistencies and incompatibilities, with some devices producing high-quality sound while others may lack clarity or volume. This could result in certain participants not being heard or understood correctly, leading to confusion, misunderstandings, frustration, and the need for constant repetitions.
Discrepancies and non-uniformity will always reduce efficiency. When there is no standard equipment for technology across spaces in your offices and schools, you'll waste time and money. More resources will be spent trying meet the needs of a particular system along with a great reliance on IT staff to help with devices and connectivity if they are all different.
Furthermore, troubleshooting any technical issues becomes more complex without a uniform standard, causing unnecessary delays and interruptions in the meeting. Therefore, standardizing audio communication equipment is crucial for smooth and efficient communication during meetings.
Not everyone of us is an AV expert, we all face issues in dealing with new technology and set-ups.
The best way to overcome this is through standardization of workplace technology in meeting room and collaboration environments, to create more engaging meetings that don’t force users to waste time from setting-up technology or dealing with tech-related issues and enhance the user experience in the long run.
With the future of work continuing to evolve, hybrid meetings remain essential not only for internal collaboration and productivity, but also with external parties. With that, dedicated quality audio equipment that improves collaboration and meeting productivity has become ever more critical.
When you’re preparing for a major meeting or presentation the last thing you need to worry about are the settings of the conference equipment. After all that should be a non-issue.
However, meeting rooms come in all different shapes, sizes, and configurations, and often have different needs. Many organizations have implemented audio products from a variety of different manufacturers, meaning troubleshooting can quickly become a nightmare.
*IDC Infobrief, sponsored by Shure, The Hidden Influencer: Rethinking Audio Could Impact Your Organization Today, Tomorrow, and Forever, doc #EUR150735523, July 2023
Maintaining existing systems, installing upgrades, and adding new technology will also become ever more difficult when all AV rooms and spaces operate differently and on different systems as every different technology set-up calls for different types of servicing and maintenance.
Using non-standardized audio communication equipment in differently sized meeting rooms can lead to significant problems. In a small room, an audio device designed for larger spaces might create echoes, feedback, or overly loud volume, causing audio discomfort and disrupting communication. Conversely, in large rooms, equipment intended for smaller spaces might not provide sufficient volume or coverage, leading to participants straining to hear or missing parts of the discussion entirely. Furthermore, irregularities in the quality and type of equipment used across rooms can complicate the process of troubleshooting any issues that arise. As such, these inconsistencies born from non-standardization can result in inefficient, ineffective communication, ultimately affecting meeting productivity.
Non-standardized audio communication equipment can be a significant challenge for IT departments. This is because disparate systems require different maintenance procedures and troubleshooting methods, making it complex and time-consuming for IT teams to manage and resolve issues. It can also lead to compatibility issues between different systems or devices, further increasing the potential for technical difficulties during conferences or meetings. The burden of training users on multiple systems also falls on the IT department, leading to additional resource strain. Resulting in a significantly increase the workload of IT departments, reducing their efficiency and potentially leading to longer downtimes when issues arise.
The first step is to develop a relationship with an audio expert. You may already have someone that fits this bill, but it is still helpful to find an integrator you trust. You need a company who is willing to spend the time with you to truly understand your needs, and who knows the technology.
Here at Shure we set the standard for audio excellence and provides market-leading solutions and support to bring more simplicity, clarity, and coverage to conferencing.
Then look at your rooms and see what technology is currently in place and conduct an inventory and assessment of the current equipment. This involves understanding what audio devices are in use, their brands, capabilities, and the audio quality they deliver.
Look at your rooms and reflect on what works, what’s missing and what’s too much. Bring your end-users in at this step and gauge their feedback on the space and how it is being used. This information will provide a baseline for what needs to be improved or replaced.
After assessing the current state, define what the standards for audio communication should be in terms of quality, ease of use, and compatibility.
Factors to consider might include preferred brands, required features (like noise cancellation or echo reduction), and which devices need to work together seamlessly.
The goal is to ensure the highest possible sound quality across all meeting spaces while minimizing technical difficulties.
Next is to understand the room types and identify what functionality you need in each space.
Once you have clearly laid out your needs for each room, your integrator can identify technology that fits those needs.
Implementing high quality audio can eliminate the pain points associated with hybrid meetings and instead have a positive impact on collaboration, productivity and decision making.
The MXA902 is more than just a microphone; it’s the first integrated AV conferencing ceiling array microphone and loudspeaker for small and medium-size meeting rooms.
Because the MXA902 mounts overhead, it provides more consistent sound quality throughout the room than a sound bar mounted on the wall.
The MXA902 has all three things needed for exceptional audio in small to medium size spaces.
First, there is an advance array microphone with single zone automatic coverage technology. It captures every participant in a 20 by 20 foot area right out of the box.
Second, the onboard Intellimix DSP room eliminates annoying echo and room noise and adjusts talker levels automatically. Everyone is heard clearly no matter where they sit.
Finally, the MXA902 has a built-in wide-dispersion loudspeaker that delivers robust sound throughout the room without the need for external speakers and amplifiers. Remote participants and program audio playback are easy to hear.
With its revolutionary integrated design, he MXA902 is quicker to install than individual microphones, loudspeakers, and signal processors. One network cable with PoE+ is all you need.
The MXA902 Integrated Conferencing Ceiling array is the ideal solution for AV Conferencing in small to medium-sized meeting rooms. It’s the fastedst way to better sound.
