Only slightly less elusive than a needle in a haystack – How to choose the right meeting room solution

These days, researching and selecting the right meeting room technology can be a formidable task. For starters, there's the broad spectrum of cost to contend with; solutions can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $100,000 for immersive enterprise systems. In addition, the number of solutions available can feel confusing and overwhelming when it comes time to sit down and compare the features and benefits. And finally, like many of the IT investments, there's the existing legacy equipment to consider, which sometimes leads to a patched-together meeting room solution that works, but not always optimally.

All of these factors present significant obstacles to choosing the right system. However, there are also costs associated with getting by with obsolete or lagging meeting room technology: lower productivity due to the time spent struggling with older solutions, searching for files to share and gathering information that aids in smart decision making. At the end of the day, this all adds up to a sizable loss of productivity and efficiency.

Finally, you'll need to determine the who and how. Who will be permitted to initiate meetings? Will it be specific employees, designated departments or all knowledge workers? And how will users be able to schedule, start and participate in these collaborative meetings? At the risk of stating the obvious, strive to choose a simple meeting room solution, one with intuitive steps and straightforward workflows. Ideally, you should also set a goal to deliver consistent experiences regardless of whether users are at their desks, in conference rooms, working remotely on laptops or using their mobile devices while traveling.

The final step: Reap the benefits of streamlined collaboration

Once you have determined what your best meeting room option is, you'll have to roll out education and training to the workforce. (Hint: introducing some gaming elements to the training tends to enliven the process.)

You're finally ready to see just what better collaboration techniques get you. Here's a short list: a significant boost in operational efficiencies (better meetings often leads to fewer meetings), greater opportunities for innovation, the business agility that's necessary to compete in today's cut-throat environment, costs that are easier to manage and drastically improved business outcomes. It's not a stretch to see that better results boost morale and make for happier employees, and happier employees often lead to happier, more satisfied customers.

All that from choosing the right meeting solution.