First, we needed our office space itself to have the kind of flexibility that enables employees to cycle in and out of the office as needed. That meant getting rid of assigned seats – and, by extension, getting rid of cubicles and offices. This new design enabled employees to use shared work space. They can come into the office, sit right down in an open work area and start working and, the next day, take that same work on the road while someone else uses that work space, without either of them missing a beat. To foster a culture of collaboration, we developed a variety of conference rooms in different sizes and for different uses to help people work better, together.
Another important aspect was working to help ensure
collaboration tools were made available. Whether in an office or on the road, workers need access to important data anywhere, anytime, from any device. A Cloud file-sharing solution or a Cloud-hosted virtual desktop allows users to do just that. It’s also important to think how remote workers can better collaborate during meetings. While for some meetings a simple phone call can be appropriate, when visuals, such as charts, get involved, you can’t leave your workers who are scattered across different locations with only half (or less) of the information being shared. Leveraging a unified communication system using devices such as interactive whiteboards, teams across the country and globe can share and edit various formats of information in real time, as well as return the full range of interpersonal communication – including facial expressions, gestures, and the like – to the conference room.
