Does anyone out there need a Huddle?

So what is a Huddle? A Huddle or Huddle Room is a term being bandied about quite a lot at the moment, especially this year at ISE2016 in Amsterdam RAI, the world’s biggest audio visual showcase. But more importantly we are being asked by customers what it is and how it benefits them.

In the past, organisations often focused on designing an all-singing all- dancing boardroom packed with the latest technology with a motivation of impressing potential customers or new employees. Today, however, with our more connected world of Skype and WebEx the conferencing trend in business has shifted more towards the creation of multiple small huddle rooms for far wider internal access.

Huddle rooms are defined as small conference areas and is borne out of terminology used in Lean and SixSigma management strategies where collaboration and accountability is key. These rooms are typically equipped with audio, video and display technology, often used by groups who want to get together for more impromptu meetings to collaborate on projects.

There are a few key reasons why we see huddle rooms are the future of collaboration.

Firstly, people use huddle rooms because of flexibility, most institutions have multiple huddle rooms, so there is no need to schedule a room days or weeks in advance. Some organisations may use a room scheduling product like Evoko which in itself is flexible enough to deal with if an unexpected event comes up that needs to be resolved by an entire team, they can meet in the huddle room immediately and book out the available space. Additionally because most huddle rooms are equipped with communications technology, groups can even audio and/or video conference to a remote colleague, partners, etc.

We’ve all been in those large company staff meetings long David Brent style monologues, heavy eyelids and strained attention spans. To cut down on these more-often-than-not unproductive meetings, huddle rooms are being introduced to create a more intimate and vibrant meeting for smaller groups. Not only does this make each person in the group more valued and more involved in the communications, it keeps people on task and more attentive.

Equipment that is used in huddle rooms is much less expensive than equipping a large conference room as the cost of LCD panels and connectivity equipment has come down. This is one reason why huddle rooms are the future technology. In our current economic climate, businesses must find ways to lower their budget while still getting what they need out of their facilities. Huddles simply give more for less.

So what will your company need to get started when creating a huddle room?

Common elements include:

Some type of display, usually an LCD, LED monitor or television. The display is often mounted against a wall to maximize space. Although we are seeing a rise in reasonably priced Interactive Displays from SMART and VividTouch. We are also seeing Interactive Projection systems creating entire walls with digital post it notes like the excellent Nureva Solution.

A table or central workspace with chairs for people to sit around, normally with a conference phone and maybe some wireless input dongles like ClickShare so you can share any device whether its laptop, MacBook or Mobile device onto the panel.

A decent HD camera and microphone or some combination of the two that allows for communication with people outside of the room. Logitech do some very reasonably priced solutions and are worth checking out.

The exact components inside a huddle room will vary depending on the needs of any organisation. The ease of use, relatively low cost, and ability to drive more focused work, are all reasons why technology huddle rooms are the future of collaboration. Why not contact us today and we can advise you personally how to get the best from your own huddle spaces.

Posted By: Colin Birchall - 16-Feb-2016

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