For a lot of us, the quick shift to the entire family working and attending school from home one hundred percent of the time really threw a wrench in our well-oiled routines. At first, many got by with the video and audio solutions cobbled together in a rush. However, as time marches on these makeshift home office setups can affect productivity and one’s ability to stay engaged in their work. As we begin to take the long view on remote working, it’s perhaps time to consider more permanent solutions.

The Right Gear for Your Working Style

Personally, I’ve been working remotely for some time now (13 years actually, but who’s counting…) and am fortunate to have a dedicated workspace and have fine-tuned my device needs over the years. I’m the Product Marketing Manager for Trio conference phones – so naturally, that’s what I like to use in my home office for long training calls and all-hands meetings. If you’re surprised by the use of a conference phone in a home office environment, I’m here to share that the boardroom devices of today are more flexible and feature-rich than you may realize.

Of course, audio-only SIP calls are a breeze by either dialing the number or using the company directory, but you can also pair it with a mobile phone via Bluetooth to access your contacts.

Advanced Noise Blocking Capabilities

Whether you’re working from the office or your home, all background noise is unwanted. The NoiseBlock feature is also a great feature for home environments where rowdy kids, barking dogs, and delivery trucks. NoiseBlock uses advanced machine learning algorithms and advanced noise suppression to decipher between speech and non-speech sounds and automatically mutes the microphones. When speech is detected, the speaker automatically unmutes – eliminating the dreaded, “you’re muted” comment halfway through your most brilliant contribution to the meeting.

Video Collaboration at its Best

Poly Trio 8300_WFH_Poly BlogIn addition to the advance noise blocking features, the Trio 8300 also offers a rich audio experience that allows me to feel less fatigued during long or back-to-back meetings. I also regularly present trainings and webinars and the audio fidelity is notably superior coming from the Trio 8300 versus an integrated laptop microphone. And, since COVID-19, remote working has become the new normal for most, resulting in video calls stepping in as the next best thing to meeting in-person. Regardless of which UC-based video collaboration platform you use, you can hook up the Trio as your mic and speakers to add premium sound quality to your video calls.

And, yes – laptops do have an integrated mic, speakers and camera, but they aren’t great quality and don’t offer a very dynamic experience.

If You’re an Executive or Manage a Team, Consider This:

Here is what my home office looks like. Yes, I removed the clutter of papers and water glasses that typically adorn my desk. But the rest is my actual setup.

Trio home office_poly blog

With the setup shown here, I participate in a host of video and audio conferences. You only need three simple things to install a conference phone in your home office:

  • A dedicated workspace
  • Ethernet (PoE)
  • Power supply (we sell optional power supplies if you don’t have a PoE switch)

Simply ask your IT administrator to provide you with the configuration you’ll need to connect to your platform.

When I worked in the office, I had a variety of different tools for different reasons or experiences – I do the same in my home office. If you want to learn more about setting up your home office, visit https://www.poly.com/us/en/solutions/workspace/work-from-home