7 Tips for Deploying New Interactive Technologies in the Workplace

Tips to Consider when deploying Interactive Technologies in Workspace

In today’s always-evolving technology landscape, it can be hard to keep up with what’s outdated, what’s new and what’s up-and-coming. On top of that, how do you pick and choose which solutions are right for your organization? When new technologies emerge in the space, such as interactive displays and touchscreen whiteboards, how do you drive adoption across your teams? In an effort to answer these questions and more, we teamed up to construct several tips on how to choose and properly implement new interactive technologies in the workplace. Let’s take a look!

CHOOSE A SOLUTION THAT SUITS YOUR COMPANY’S NEEDS

Before investing in new technology, it’s important to establish a purpose – do you want to increase communication between employees, better inform visitors, establish collaboration between branches, or all three? The clearer your goals are, the easier it will be to find technology that will give you your desired outcome.

DETERMINE WHERE TECHNOLOGY CAN BE REPURPOSED

Technology plays a huge role when designing new spaces. New spaces can no longer be built for a single purpose – they need to fulfill multiple needs for an organization to prove flexible and efficient. When incorporating new technology, it’s best to consider the environment, both the physical space and the people who will be inhabiting the area, as well as what you want to accomplish with the technology. Is the primary purpose of internal or external facing? Is there a way you could have both?

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SEMI-CUSTOM SOFTWARE

Semi-custom solutions are hard to find – many software-based solutions are “one design fits all” or fully custom, which means, Semi-custom allows you to work with existing software applications, and customize/rebrand on top of them. So you’re getting a tailored experience for a fraction of the price. This is especially important for external-facing solutions, where you want to make a memorable impression.

SUPPORT BYOD

With the amount of technology that’s available these days, it’s important to find technology that is compatible with multiple platforms. Simply put, BYOD means employees are encouraged to work from their personal devices – be it laptops, smartphones, tablets, or any other mobile device. By providing employees the flexibility to use the devices they are most comfortable with, corporations reduce overhead expenses, provide greater mobility to its workforce, and increase productivity. According to Inc. Magazine, one in five small businesses are already achieving productivity gains of more than 30 percent by adopting mobile workstyles. Workers in the U.S. save an average of 81 minutes per week by using their own devices (Cisco study).

CAPTURE ANALYTICS TO MEASURE SUCCESS

In order for your technology to achieve its desired effect, it’s important to understand your audience and how they are interacting with your solution. Analytics can help you identify when and how your technology is being used so you can see the improvement and make any necessary adjustments.

PARTNER WITH AN A/V INTEGRATION FIRM FOR DESIGN & INSTALLATION

In order to get the most out of your new technology, your collaboration spaces need to be designed and implemented by professionals. Leveraging the expertise of an established and certified A/V integrator will ensure the interactive technologies you have chosen for your organization are properly installed and will work well in the space. Integrators can also help you determine which systems work well together and complement one another to minimize technology glitches along the way.

CONDUCT TRAINING TO DRIVE USER ADOPTION

You did your research, you found which interactive solutions best suit your company’s needs, goals, and budget – now it’s time to get your teams to actually use the technology you deployed. So often we run into clients who have great technology in place, but their teams do not leverage them simply because they have never taken the time to learn about them. Quick training courses, typically conducted with your A/V integrator, will give your teams hands-on experience with the new technology. The more they know about the tools you have in place and how to use them, the more likely they will be to consider them a crucial part of their daily routines.