As the workplace—and work style preferences—continue to evolve, it is more important than ever for companies in every industry to be flexible and agile. A bad AV experience can kill the momentum of a meeting, so it’s important to keep AV equipment up-to-date and in good working order, to provide the best experience for team members working from any location.
Decision-makers are looking for the newest ways to keep employees productive and efficient. However, convincing executives to make large investments in new AV technologies that will support the modern workplace can still be difficult.
In this blog, we’ll explore ways you can convince your executive team that this is the time for an AV experience overhaul.
Do the Groundwork Before You Hit the Boardroom
Businesses built on agile AV technology are most successful, but research conducted by the Harvard Business School found that 70% of change efforts fail due to insufficient buy-in from the C-suite. Here are some things you can do before you ever step into the boardroom to give your pitch a better chance at success.
- Use language everyone can understand. As you prepare your presentation, make sure you aren’t using acronyms, slang, or shorthand that your executive team won’t understand. Try running your presentation by a friend or colleague to make sure you use accessible language that will help build trust.
- Socialize ideas to build support. Before you pitch your AV investment plan to the C-suite, ask others for their opinions about what AV technology they need and what might be missing from your project or presentation. If people have some ownership over what you are proposing, they’ll have your back.
- Take responsibility. If you believe in your AV investment proposal, stand up for it. For the C-suite to back your project, you have to stand behind it, too. Don’t be afraid to follow your hunch and show that you can deliver what you promise.
Outline the Benefits of New AV and the Downsides of Outdated Tools
When you are ready to make your case to the executive team, Robin Hamerlinck, Senior Vice President IT and CIO at Shure, recommends emphasizing the detriments of bad AV technology, such as:
- Remote users may be unable to contribute if they cannot clearly hear meeting participants throughout the meeting room
- Remote users may introduce background noise into the meeting
- In-room participants might not be able to tell which remote user is speaking
- Participants may not be able to mute and unmute fast enough
- Users may have difficulty accessing meetings or technology features because of outdated AV endpoint software
Once you’ve laid out the problems caused by outdated AV technology, you can move on to the benefits of investing in an updated AV experience. The value proposition of AV investments include:
- Users can benefit from the contributions of all meeting participants, regardless of where they are joining from
- Users can seamlessly join meetings from personal and group workspaces
- Audio disruptions are mitigated, creating more efficient meetings
- Participants can clearly share their opinions and expertise, no matter how they join the meeting
- Clear video and audio can capture the nuances of speakers’ expressions and intent
- Teams can eliminate the meeting fatigue that comes from poor audio and video quality
- Companies can improve client relations with confident and professional interactions
- Meetings can be recorded with clear and intelligible audio for future reference
Have a Plan to Maximize the Benefits of Your New AV Technology
The final step to getting executive buy-in for your AV investment plan is to make sure you have the right processes and solutions in place to maximize the benefits of your new tools. A positive return on investment will only improve your chances the next time you need executive buy-in for a technology investment.
Efforts that will maximize the success of your AV investment include:
- Education and training for users so they can operate the new technology more effectively
- Dedicated meeting spaces that are optimized for your new tools
- Standardization across your collaboration spaces so users have a consistent and familiar experience no matter where they are meeting
Brian Goez, Regional Solutions and Consultants Manager for Legrand | AV, emphasizes the need for a strategic deployment of AV solutions that can create workplace communities where employees can thrive no matter their location. He recommends having an open dialogue with the decision makers and focusing on standardization. This will help to create space for upgrading AV to meet the new hybrid workforce model and conferencing expectations.
Partner with PSNI Integrators to Make the Best AV Investments
Integrators from PSNI have the expertise to help you develop a strategy that will get your executive team behind your next AV investment project. Find your nearest PSNI integrator today.
