Jabra highlights the role of technology in driving collaboration in virtual meetings

The study carried out by Jabra next to the London School of Economics reveals that, when people use professional technology, both in the meeting room and remotely, an improvement is achieved 56% in the quality of the interventions.

Jabra, together with the London School of Economics (LSE), has explored how technology influences perceptions, behavior and productivity in virtual meetings.

All over the world there are more than 572 millions of people working on computers from an office or through virtual collaboration, and millions of hours are spent every week in online meetings. However, many of these meetings are held in environments that are not conducive to collaboration or productivity.

In the report Hybrid Ways of Working 2023 Global Report from Jabra, It is revealed that only the 15% of offices are fully equipped with specific technology for meeting rooms, and around the 60% of workers still rely on cameras and microphones built into laptops. This raises the question to what extent technology influences meeting behavior and the ability to collaborate effectively..

Answering this question has taken more than a year of Jabra's work using the facility to study human behavior in a controlled environment in the Behavioural Lab de la London School of Economics (LSE). The goal was to understand the biopsychological impacts of technology used in daily work and how it affects collaboration and inclusion in meetings..

The experiences in work meetings are holistic and must take into account all participants. When everyone started teleworking during the pandemic, most organizations provided employees with headsets and webcams for online meetings. However, The quality of this technology varied and was often inadequate. In fact, only the 19% of workers use a personal and professional webcam.

By analyzing how technology affects the quality each person experiences in a meeting, and to what extent a level playing field across devices influences everyone's overall perceptions of collaboration, study sees significant improvements when all participants in a meeting use the same standard professional equipment, compared to audio and video built into the laptop or lower quality equipment.

Concretely, you experience a 27% more clarity, and 16% more trustworthy, and 35% more expressiveness and a 47% of perceived improvement in the quality of contributions.

In addition, Those who work remotely are the ones who most often face the biggest technological challenges in hybrid meetings. The study has revealed that, when using headphones and professional cameras, Overall call clarity improves by 18% among remote workers, while meeting room participants also value remote users a 32% more in terms of expressiveness.

The latter showed almost double (84%) level of perceived participation, when comparing hybrid workers who used professional computers with those who used laptops with integrated hardware. Besides, remote participants also trust a 22% more in others when joined remotely using professional technology.

These results reveal increasing levels at which remote workers can show up and contribute to hybrid meetings, as well as the advantages that the appropriate technology can provide them.

Professional technology in the meeting room

The study has shown that, when people use professional technology both in the meeting room and remotely, those who join remotely report an improvement in 56% in the quality of the interventions.

Although nothing can replace face-to-face interaction, the second highest scores for collaboration, right after in-person meetings, obtained by remote participants who rated users of conference rooms equipped with professional video equipment. The tests were carried out with the video bar Jabra PanaCast 50 and personal camera PanaCast 20.

These results show that technology can bridge the gaps between meeting participants separated by physical distance.. According to the study, Any company that aspires to hold inclusive meetings should prioritize updating their meeting spaces to support equitable collaboration.

“High-quality technology has a profound impact on the effectiveness of remote collaboration. Our research shows that when companies invest in professional equipment, for both in-room and remote participants, can achieve notable improvements. “These results underscore the critical role of technology in optimizing the meeting experience and fostering successful hybrid collaboration.”, explains Holger Reisinger, Senior Vice President, Large Enterprise Solutions, Jabra.

Design and methodology

The study was designed with the support of the LSE Behavioral Lab and was approved by the scientific ethics committee of the London School of Economics.

The group was made up of 88 participants of 15 nationalities. A wide range of psychological approaches and measures were used in the study, from self-assessment ratings to capture participants' opinions and feelings, to very objective and sophisticated eye tracking, analysis of facial expression and biological indices of arousal and cognitive load that were assessed using skin conductance and endogenous blinking. Data were collected and analyzed using the software iMotions.