If predictions hold up, about 75 percent of the workforce will be returning to the office over the next few months. So how do we prepare those spaces for maximum engagement and collaboration? Answering that question was one of the goals of the AVI-SPL VIBE Event: The Intelligent Workplace: Putting AI, Automation, and Data to Work for You, Today. Over the course of an hour on October 20, our panel of thought leaders talked about the issues that affect workplace productivity and engagement. That panel included:
- Tom Nyhus, director, Cisco practice, AVI-SPL
- Chris Bottger, Americas workplace experience strategy for Webex devices at Cisco Collaboration
- Rick Mullins, senior director, workplace strategy and design, CBRE | SiteREADY
Workplace trends
Nyhus set the stage for the panelists by sharing stats about what companies plan to do to welcome workers back to the office. The conversation addressed strategies for an engaging, safe experience at the office as well as for those who continue to work from home. During the talk, Bottger spoke about Gartner’s five factors that influence an engaging work experience.
Mullins added his perspective that engagement happens when people can work in a way that opens up their productivity and creativity. Technology solutions are the tools that can make that happen.
Safe return to the office
The conversation then moved to a safe return to the office. Mullins touched on what CBRE is doing to help its clients by addressing the ways furniture, floor plans, and technology can support their safety. Some of that technology includes wireless access points and occupancy sensors.
Bottger expanded on this point by talking about the health issues people deal with when working from home. One of those includes air quality. They also include sensors for a safer workplace. Bottger went into the ability for Cisco solutions to provide information about air quality and occupancy. He also described how a company can enforce its on-site social distancing policies via video conferencing.
Bottger also brought up the value of data gathering for driving real-time user behavior. He explained how organizations can influence employee engagement, including for those who are working from home.
New ways of working
The panelists continued on the theme of employee engagement, referencing the actions their own companies are taking. Mullins made the point that those who don’t return to the office won’t necessarily be working from home. They’ll find remote locations where they feel safe. He predicts companies like Google and WeWork will give them that consistent connectivity and feel of safety. With that possibility in mind, companies will have to address how they make connections to those remote work spaces. Other topics discussed included:
- What is meant by collapsing real estate
- Security on the network
Value AVI-SPL brings to organizations
Nyhus then steered the conversation to AVI-SPL’s role in creating the kinds of engaging experiences companies need to thrive. Mullins and Bottger offered perspectives that include AVI-SPL’s ability to lean into the possible.
“Partnering with companies like Cisco and AVI-SPL really enhances our ability to deliver to our clients an incredible solution, an amazing strategy, a long-term roadmap,” said Mullins. During his response, he talked about:
- The latitude that comes with offering clients a variety of solutions
- Post-COVID upgrades
- Capabilities reviews
Next, Bottger emphasized AVI-SPL’s expertise as an integrator across a wide range of technology applications.
“You really want a partner like AVI-SPL and a platform like Symphony that takes that in and that orchestrates that at scale all across the world.”
At the end of the event, our panelists took questions from the virtual audience.
We look forward to giving you the information you need to create a better workplace. Tell us about your challenges at the link below.
