There are a lot of features that affect the ambiance of where teams work. By walking into any room, all of our senses get activated. We look around at the general size of the room and the furniture layout. And there might be some decorations on the walls. If there’s a dramatic change in temperature, we’ll notice that right away, as well as any strange sounds too. Or even total silence!

We may not always be thinking specifically about the acoustics of a space, but part of us still picks up on those subtleties. When we need a productive environment, noise distractions can be major problem. So what’s the solution? Sound masking.

Problem-Solving with Sound Masking for Office Work

Most business owners and stakeholders start with this question: Does sound masking really work? Well, it just depends. How sound masking works for different sites can be broken down into a few different functions. With a sound masking system for office buildings, what you’re really doing is creating a more comfortable and calming environment.

Spending our working hours in an area that’s dead-quiet can become a little unnerving. By incorporating a little background noise, it quickly becomes easier to focus and relax.

Imagine two employees are briefly chatting about their weekend plans. Their conversation shouldn’t be distracting to other people making phone calls at their desk or doing other work. Plus, you don’t want people to be worried about eavesdropping. Sound masking is an simple way to minimize all of those concerns. You're building a "buffer" to help keep all of those chats and other noises more confined.

Looking at Different Sound Masking Example Sites

One of the primary interests in getting a sound masking solution would be for customer service and privacy purposes. This is especially true for call centers. If you have an open office space with multiple conversations going on at once, you’d like everyone to be able to clearly hear the person on the other end of the phone. Part of this comes down to having good audio equipment for your office phones. But this is also related to sound masking. You don’t want callers to have to repeat themselves to get their information across to your employees at the office. It’s also important that those callers can’t listen in to other people speaking in the room.

Sound masking helps make it easier to communicate in confidence. This is true for banks and pharmacies too. Other people waiting in line shouldn’t be able to hear what’s happening at the counter. A sound masking solution that's streaming through your overhead audio system can help quiet that dialogue.

On the flip side, you might want to use your overhead sound solution to communicate directly with people in the building—not to mask noise. A lot of industries have a need for overhead paging systems. Service companies can share announcements or alerts to employees when a customer needs assistance. Or think of healthcare facilities that need to reach someone who could be anywhere in the building.

Some retailers even use overhead paging systems in addition to their sound masking. That way, you can hop on the intercom to share quick updates about your current promotions. Then you'll just switch back to your ambient music or sound masking setup whenever you’re done.

ETD—Your Boise Telecommunications Company

Does sound masking really work and does it make sense for your site? It’s all about creating a custom solution. Whether you’re dealing with one room—either large or small—or you need to tackle the whole stretch of the building, let us help!

Enhanced Telecommunications and Data works with clients all throughout the Idaho Treasure Valley, as well as the rest of the state and into Eastern Oregon. If you’re ready to learn more about sound masking, please don’t hesitate to send us a message. We’d be happy to answer your questions.