This article has been authored by Ryan Holmes, AV Pre-Sales Architect | 12th May 2025
Today’s meetings often stretch across continents, time zones, office spaces, and different collaboration platforms (Teams, Zoom, Webex). Conversations take place from glass-walled boardrooms, at kitchen tables, on hot desks, mobile devices on public transport, and inside virtual breakout rooms—often all at once. This flexibility allows people to choose where they work based on what they need to achieve each day.
But with that freedom comes a challenge for organisations: how do we make sure every voice in the meeting is heard equally? That question lies at the heart of meeting equity, a critical concept in a hybrid-first world.
What Is Meeting Equity And Why Does It Matter?
Meeting equity isn’t just about getting everyone connected. It’s about creating an environment where every participant, whether they’re in the room or joining remotely, can take part meaningfully, contribute freely, and feel seen and valued.
When meetings aren’t designed with equity in mind, it’s often the remote participants who lose out. Those physically present in the room can dominate the conversation, non-verbal cues get missed, their ideas can go unheard, and decisions are at risk of being made without full alignment. The negative impact goes beyond the meeting itself, it affects your culture, creativity and productivity.
Meeting equity also matters for accessibility. It means recognising the diverse needs of your people, whether neurodivergent, hard of hearing, or with mobility challenges, and designing spaces that work for everyone. That might include features like adjustable-height desks, better screen positioning, easier physical access, or integration with hearing aid technologies to ensure every voice can truly be part of the conversation.
Hybrid is here to stay: 70% of employees want flexible work options to continue.
According to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, over 70% of employees desire flexible remote work options to continue.
The Business Case for Meeting Equity
This isn’t just about meetings; it’s about better outcomes. When people feel heard, included and valued, they’re more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay with the organisation.
The business benefits are clear:
- Faster innovation: A wider range of perspectives leads to stronger, more effective ideas.
- Higher engagement & retention: Employees who feel included are 4.6x more likely to perform at their best (Gallup).
- Stronger external relationships: Seamless hybrid meetings build better connections with customers, partners, and suppliers.
- Increased Total Employee Value: When people can contribute fully, their long-term impact grows.
Since mid-2020 many organisations have re-evaluated their office strategies. Traditional meeting spaces, regardless of size, often fall short when it comes to supporting equitable collaboration. Many leaders are now investing in dynamic spaces built for hybrid working.
By creating meeting spaces with intelligent technology gives remote participants a truly equitable experience. Giving everyone, at every level, a workplace that actually supports how they want to work – no matter where they are. As well as attracting people back into office too, when it makes sense for them.
Takeaway: Meeting equity isn’t just about accommodating remote work. It’s about rethinking how we design meeting experiences to support everyone. It doesn’t have to mean spending more, it means moving beyond outdated room setups and prioritising the diverse needs of all employees. Smarter, more inclusive spaces enable people to collaborate effectively and do their best work.
Hybrid Collaboration Is an Opportunity
This isn’t about recreating in-person meetings online. It’s about reimagining collaboration altogether by combining the best of in-person interaction with the scale, intelligence, and accessibility of digital tools. The future isn’t one or the other, it’s both. And it needs to be designed with equity at its core.
- In-person benefits: Relationship-building, body language, spontaneous creativity
- Virtual advantages: AI-enhanced summaries, global reach, asynchronous follow-up
How IT Leaders Can Drive Change
Meeting equity is fast becoming an IT priority. Technology plays a central role in bridging gaps, fostering inclusion, and unlocking collaboration that works for everyone. Here’s how.
1. Design Hybrid-Optimised Spaces
Meeting rooms need to evolve from static presentation zones into spaces that enable full participation.
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- Reconfigured layouts: Use eye-level cameras and displays so remote participants feel part of the room.
- Flexible spaces: From small huddle rooms to hybrid-ready boardrooms, offer the right setting for every meeting.
- Furniture: Consider sight lines of users in the room, V shaped tables increase screen and camera views substantially without requiring structural room changes.
- 360° cameras: Give remote attendees spatial awareness and connection.
- Optimised acoustics: Clear, reliable sound is essential for clear, inclusive conversations to help everyone stay focused and involved.
- Smart booking systems: Match meeting types to the right spaces, at the right time
2. Invest in Smart Collaboration Technology
Equitable meetings depend on technology that’s intelligent, intuitive, and inclusive. Key enablers include:
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- Microsoft Teams Rooms: Designed for hybrid meetings, with intelligent cameras, speaker tracking, and room layouts designed for inclusion.
- AI assistants: Copilot for Microsoft 365 summarises meetings, tracks actions, and streamlines follow-up.
- Digital whiteboards: Let everyone co-create, wherever they are.
- BYOD compatibility: Support any device, anywhere—without friction
- Noise suppression & smart microphones: Minimise disruption and let every voice be heard.
3. Drive Adoption Through Services and Enablement
Even the best tools won’t make a difference if people don’t know how, or why, to use them.
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- Help people feel confident and motivated to use new tools.
- Managed services: Monitor digital experience and keep tools aligned to changing needs.
- Digital Employee Experience (DEX): Use data-driven insights to identify friction points, support adoption, and proactively optimise collaboration.
- Behavioural nudges: Promote inclusive habits, like rotating facilitators or using hand-raise features to balance airtime.
IT Leaders: The Drivers of Equitable Meeting Experiences
Meeting equity is an ongoing commitment. It’s about designing experiences that grow and evolve, just like your people, your spaces, and your solutions. For IT leaders, this is more than an operational challenge, it’s a strategic opportunity. By leading the conversation on meeting equity, IT teams can help shape a more inclusive digital workplace that enhances employee experience, drives productivity, and delivers real business value.
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