No matter what your preferred work style is, the new reality is that almost every meeting will have at least one remote participant for here on out. Knowing this, organizations need to prioritize meeting equality to make sure that every meeting participant — whether in-person or remote — can be seen and heard. When a hybrid meeting room is set up correctly, the meeting experience should feel as natural as a normal in-person conversation. 

We know that due to proximity bias, 49% of workers are more likely to ask the opinion of those they physically work with over their remote colleagues. This concept can have real-world repercussions on employees’ career growth and their overall happiness with their role. 

Proximity bias was top of mind for many employees in 2022 when 42% of workers said they feel concerned that working remotely will impact their career progression and 49% of workers said that they feel they will not be able to build relationships with leaders or be visible to executive team members when working remotely.  

Achieving meeting equality is a critical step towards changing the mindset of employees and employers alike, which will reduce proximity bias and create the potential for hybrid and remote work to be a viable choice for even the most ambitious professionals. Meeting equality is about more than just making sure everyone is in frame, it’s about inclusivity and using technology to enhance human interaction and connection. 

Tools to help improve meeting equality

Organizations are realizing the importance of hybrid meeting technology, but only 36% of employers have upgraded their video meeting technology since the start of the pandemic to account for the changing environment. Equipping organizations with immersive video conferencing technology that allows participants to clearly hear and see each other regardless of their location is a critical step towards achieving meeting equality. Let’s take a closer look at some of the Owl Labs products that are designed to do just that. 

Meeting Owl 3

The next-gen Meeting Owl 3 is the most intelligent 360-degree video conferencing device on the market and combines a friendly user experience with best-in-class, AI-powered video and audio streaming that can be adapted to any space, for any use. Its all-in-one camera, mic, and speaker ensures that every meeting participant is both seen and heard equally, no matter where they are located. 

Whiteboard Owl

The Whiteboard Owl is a dedicated whiteboard camera that enhances the view of the whiteboard so remote participants can fully participate in discussions by clearly viewing the whiteboard. In addition to showing the whiteboard, the Whiteboard Owl makes the speaker transparent, which allows remote participants to see everything even when the speaker is standing in front of the board. 

Owl Intelligence System (OIS) 

Our OIS is what gives Owl products their wisdom. It learns over time to more quickly identify and feature speakers, enhance the smoothness of speaker transitions, improve zooming capabilities, and pickup on audio from speakers who may be seated farther away from Owl devices. 

Expansion Mic

Our Expansion Mic helps to create inclusive hybrid meetings by ensuring that all participants can be clearly heard, even if they can’t be in the same room. The Expansion Mic connects to the Meeting Owl 3 to extend its audio pickup range by 8 feet, allowing organizations to create an effective hybrid meeting experience in large rooms. A Meeting Owl 3 connected to an Expansion Mic has a total audio pickup range of 26 feet! 

Achieving meeting equality should be a priority for any organization that supports hybrid and remote employees. When used together, Owl Labs’ fleet of hybrid meeting technology provides organizations with the tools they need to make sure everyone has a seat at the table, no matter where their chair is.