2020 has seen us shift from a world of face-to-face interaction to a world of distance. Many people have spent months working from their homes, and as we begin to transition back to whatever the new normal will be, companies are beginning to make plans. They are trying to envision ways to encourage a safe work environment. As safety is considered, new ways of working are being considered and some of these include keeping a rotation of people working from home and keeping online collaboration meetings as part of the new regular routine.
The ad hoc collaborations using free platforms from home were good enough in an emergency situation, but as we move forward there are better ways to make remote work more secure and productive.
Each workplace needs to evaluate their answers to a number of questions:
- Who is coming to work?
- How often?
- Is anyone traveling?
- Do you need an alternate strategy to stay in touch with colleagues and clients in other locations?
The answers to these questions may lead you to consider making collaboration rooms a permanent part of your new normal.
For patient privacy (HIPAA), healthcare providers need secure collaboration rooms. In 2019, Middleton Family Medicine reached out to KTS as it expanded its office space. We assisted in the expansion and then were asked to come back to wire a conference room and staff break room to accommodate videoconferencing and collaboration meetings.
These collaboration rooms are able to accommodate larger video presentations and medical consultations as well as private telemedicine and group support meetings. In addition, they have space now for town hall style employee meetings when the entire staff is not able to meet together on-site. Read the case study for more details on the project.
Middleton Family Medicine created these collaboration spaces before the Covid-19 emergency began. Now, in the midst of the pandemic, they find themselves ahead of the curve.
As many different types of businesses are opening back up, they are looking more closely at collaboration rooms as secure venues to hold meetings. Designated collaboration rooms bring together the key players who are in the office with those working from home and with team members in other cities, states or countries. Many companies are rethinking how much travel they will require from employees for a variety of reasons. The concern about Covid-19 is at the forefront of these reasons, but the decreased cost and reduced carbon footprint are also part of the long-term conversation. Collaboration rooms provide the safety and security to make these decisions feasible.
Healthcare experts have cautioned us that what we are entering is a “new” normal. Collaboration rooms may make that transition easier as we all try to get back to business. If your workplace can benefit from a secure collaboration room to get things moving forward, contact KTS. We have the expertise to get your collaboration room up and running fast and with limited disruption to your workplace.
