How To Avoid Proximity Bias Using Hybrid Meeting Camera 2023

‍Proximity bias is a hot topic today in hybrid work setups. It is a notion that business owners/employers are giving more opportunities and promotions to those who work in the office compared to employees who are in remote work.

Related: Video Conference Camera: Effective Remote Work Management 2023

Corporate politics affects how employees succeed and advance on the corporate ladder. It is common already for the past decades that employees who are close to their “bosses” are most likely to be given a favor. It is just augmented in the future of work we have now.

In this article, if you’re a business owner, you will have an idea of how to ensure everyone’s career development is successful without leaning toward proximity bias.

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Proximity Bias = Inequality In Hybrid Work

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Productivity is one of the factors that clouded the perspective of some business owners. Of course, who doesn’t want their employees to be productive right?

With this notion, according to Harvard Business Review, 49% of managers think that employees who work on-site are more dependable, efficient, and productive than those who work remotely.

Moreover, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) discovered that 67% of 800 supervisors overseeing remote workers regarded them as more easily replaceable than on-site workers, and 42% occasionally neglected remote workers when assigning tasks.

This may explain why remote workers are not succeeding in their career development goals despite being productive and efficient.

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Effective Steps To Break Proximity Bias And Promote Career Advancement In Hybrid Work Setup

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Here are the steps on how to ensure in-office and remote workers’ success in terms of career advancement:

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Evaluate your team members based on the results they produce

To measure productivity in a hybrid work setup, instead of focusing on who spends most of the time in the office, evaluate your team members/employees through the tasks they’ve accomplished and the results they produce at the end of the month or weekly.

Request each of your team members to present their deliverables, and review both their output and self-assessment together. You might realize that a co-worker whom you interact with in-person and consider efficient may not match the quality of work produced by a remote colleague with whom you have limited personal connection.

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Create an environment where trust and transparency are valued

You can do this if you let your employees choose their preferred workplace whether in the office or work from home. In this way, you inculcate a mindset that you can trust them and that they can be productive even if you’re not seeing them.

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Communicate using Coolpo video conference cameras

One of the things that you need to implement first thing first in the future of work is open communication. You need to instill in their minds that it is important to communicate about their tasks, their goals, their frustrations, and whatnot.

You can effectively do this using an AI-powered, easy-to-set-up, and secure-to-use Coolpo video conference camera - Coolpo AI Huddle Pana, Coolpo AI Huddle Mini, and Coolpo AI Huddle Mini Lite.

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• Coolpo AI Huddle Pana

The AI Huddle Pana is a 360 conference camera that has 4 smart microphones with up to 15ft pick up, an all-surround speaker, and supports 1080p video conference solutions.

It has a Dual Positioning Technology where AI automatically detects active meeting participants through their gestures and voices. It is recommended to use it when there are 3-15 meeting participants in a small-medium sized conference room.

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• Coolpo AI Huddle Mini

The AI Huddle Mini is a gesture control video conference camera. It supports up to 4k video conference solutions and has a 6-microphone array system that lets you experience crisp audio.

Its Frame Master and Division Master allow up to 7 meeting participants with individual frames. It is recommended to use it in a small-medium conference room.

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• Coolpo Mini Lite

The Mini Lite is an auto-framing video conference camera that is compact and easy to bring anywhere. It also supports up to 4k video conference solutions and has 120-degree FOV. 

If you want the best video conference experience with your team members, download our CoolpoTools.

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Set a 1:1 meeting once a week/month

To ensure remote workers remain visible, schedule video calls using your Coolpo device and establish a shared Google Docs agenda for both managers and direct reports to review and update. Keep a record of action items to track progress.

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Conclusion

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In conclusion, taking action to reduce proximity bias in hybrid work setup involves promoting awareness and understanding among managers and employees about this issue. This can be done by creating policies and procedures that treat all workers equitably, regardless of their physical location. 

Additionally, high-tech such as video conferencing and collaboration tools like Coolpo AI Huddle Pana, Coolpo AI Huddle Mini, and Mini Lite can help remote workers feel more connected to the team and less excluded. 

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