The shift to hybrid working is more than simply splitting employees’ time between their homes and the office.
It is a revolutionary opportunity brought to light by the pandemic that has the workforce yearning for a balance that integrates their lifestyle comforts into the office environment.
The pandemic has effectively democratized the hybrid workspace, and today, it commands a visible presence in the enterprise environment. Cloud video conferencing platforms like Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx, and Zoom have improved the quality of video and audio, thus improving productivity and enabling cost-effective collaboration.
However, the hybrid workforce has also enabled a series of innovations that redefine the enterprise workplace by offering an ecosystem of multiple locations or “hubs”.
The Migration back to “The Office”
The office has become a place of Consensus, Community, and Experiences.
Consensus
Major decisions or significant changes require consensus, and consensus requires time and proximity. Consensus cannot be reached through a virtual call and needs a team to be in the same room for a certain amount of time.
Community
We are ingrained with the notion that the most valuable results are obtained through community-based decision-making. Working from home has deconstructed this process by interrupting the face-to-face necessary to cultivate culture and create a sense of community. And this is why we stay with an organization.
Experience
We explain design or subtle creative concepts more clearly during face-to-face conversations than through a video screen with co-workers.
The office segmented into “Hubs”
Arrival Zone Hub or Lobby
Using technology to invite people into the organization’s home and the use of storytelling on video walls and digital signage directing the visitors throughout the campus.
Transitional Zone Hub
The Transitional Zone Hub is the middle ground between the lobby and where we conduct business. This zone can help set up the employee’s day and features an entertainment and relaxation area. It can feature daily specials offered at the staff cafeteria and provides a hub to book boardrooms. Digital signage, sound masking, and corporate branding are featured here.
Convergence Zone Hub
The use of technology can maximize productivity by gathering people in groups and integrating the things we would otherwise find at home. Personal UC and conferencing, focus rooms, digital signage for ordering food and listening to music.
Advanced Collaboration Zone Hub
This zone purports the view that technology enhances collaboration and creates work-product in a hybrid workforce. This area focuses on advanced collaboration by including Microsoft Front Row and AR. Areas specific for ideation, SCRUM/Agile, and problem-solving, as well as casual collaboration with audiovisual elements and conferencing/briefing centers.
Outside Zone Hub
This zone helps create a community and have fun while working using technology. The area can include an outdoor amphitheatre and corporate venue enhanced by outdoor meeting or gathering spacing. Added outdoor music and ambient sound are also featured.
Global Enterprises and Hybrid Work
Today, global enterprise organizations look towards hybrid work and what it will look like. From any business perspective, the strategies and investments will form the basis for comprehensive and proactive security and a collaborative model that adapts to wherever work gets done.
Hybrid Work and a Diverse Workplace
Hybrid work can offer a competitive advantage by leveraging their access to remote workers based on skills and not geographic location. Equiped with the various tools necessary for the hybrid work environment, employers can use these to create a more diverse workplace. By casting the recruitment beyond commuting distances, global enterprises open doors to a workforce with varied experiences and cultural backgrounds.
Security and Meeting Equity
Security and Meeting Equity are where a robust and comprehensive AV&UC installation can mitigate potential challenges related to hybrid and remote working. Security and the concept of “meeting equity” are real potential issues for global organizations.
As we migrate to working collaboratively with various meeting spaces globally, all participants must be ensured a safe and secure environment where equity of voice, presence, contribution, and especially experience are part of the solution.
Today’s relationship with the office
The pandemic has changed our relationship with the office, and the new relationship cannot be fully functional without the use of technology. Over 93% of companies agree that the pandemic has been the most significant driving factor for AV&UC adoption and that these tools are essential to their hybrid work policy (Netscout).
Many businesses, including global enterprises, have survived the pandemic due to the implementation of audiovisual and videoconferencing tools, and ignoring this reality could potentially signal a setback for many organizations.
Global best-in-class AV and UC solutions.
Interested in creating efficient, engaging, and collaborative environments for employees globally? GPA’s 200 offices worldwide can serve and support simple, scalable, and standardized workplace technology solutions for global enterprise organizations.
With close to 20 years of experience navigating the challenges and complexities of workplace technology solutions on a global scale, GPA understands that your most valuable assets, your people, are critical to the success of your organization. And, it is through their collaboration, communication, and engagement that this success is ensured.
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