Jabra

Exploring intelligent whiteboarding and Picture-in-Picture

Nov. 8, 2021 - Creativity and innovation are often born out of interpersonal connection and serendipitous encounters, with whiteboard scribblings and marathon brainstorming sessions having long been the birthplace of industry-altering ideas. However, as hybrid work changes the nature of togetherness, we must use platforms and tools designed specifically to facilitate the creative process and stay innovative in the future, regardless of where we’re working.

Innovation on the brink

About six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, a joint research project from Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group, and KRC Research showed that European business leaders had reported a drop in innovation around core products and services. This decrease was in large part attributed to a lack of fruitful connection within teams, as they were forced to work in ways that either challenged or completely cut out their traditional channels of communication.

Collaboration technologies will boost inclusivity in hybrid work

Now, as we transition into hybrid working, where employees will split their time between multiple locations, one of the most pressing questions for leaders and IT decision makers will be how to recreate real-life encounters in the virtual world. More importantly, they need to do so in a way that equally values the ideas and contributions of both remote and in-office workers.

Of the 5,036 global knowledge workers surveyed in our recent Hybrid Ways of Working 2021 Global Report, 84% said they believe that collaboration technologies will help create a more equal and inclusive workforce. The top reasons for this increased inclusivity are:

1. Helping provide equal access across different work environments (44%)
2. Helping employees feel comfortable with virtual workspaces that are accessible anywhere (42%)
3. Helping make everyone feel included and represented in meetings (41%)

Collaboration technologies such as professional video solutions and unified communications platforms got us through the remote-only period of the pandemic and will continue to lead us into a hybrid future. But as we move forward, we will need more innovative tools to bridge the physical-virtual divide.

How video enables hybrid work creativity with whiteboarding

Whiteboards are a hub for idea-generation and collaboration. And traditionally, when everyone would be working in the same room, we wouldn’t give them a second thought. But as soon as we were working remotely, we realized how essential they were to the creative process.

Because we know how important in-person collaboration is for creativity and innovation, we should do everything we can to encourage it, while still making sure that remote participants are full and equal members of the process. To bring that physical whiteboard into the virtual world, intelligent video solutions allow you to share your whiteboard content in real time, so everyone in the meeting can see what’s on the board, whether they’re in the room or not. Rather than having all meeting attendees join on their computer just because some are joining remotely, you can get the best of both worlds: in-person creativity and hybrid-level flexibility.

Picture-in-Picture brings hands-on creation to virtual environments

A recent study published in Scientific American showed that with the right tools and strategies, remote work can be better for innovation than in-person meetings. It found that the issue for the “vast majority of leaders” was that they “tried to pursue innovation during the lockdowns by adapting their office-based approach of synchronous brainstorming to videoconference meetings.” When teams are using tools that were not designed for idea-generation and brainstorming, they often fall short.

But this is changing with intelligent video experiences like Picture-in-Picture, which allows the camera to send off two video streams simultaneously: one which allows the user to select an area of interest for one stream and still be present themselves in a second stream.

Designed specifically to facilitate innovation and creativity in virtual environments, Picture-In-Picture enables users to showcase ideas, model product designs, and present creative concepts more easily and effectively.

Video is changing the way we work, think, and innovate, and will continue to open up doors for effective collaboration well into the hybrid future.