The workplace is going Hybrid

Exploring the new reality of a hybrid workplace. One which allows the flexibility of employees working between home, office, and remote locations.

When asked how he would describe 2020, David Kerr, ET Group’s Unified Communications and Collaboration Specialist replies “exceptional and unprecedented.”

On any given workday in 2019, David would be designing and implementing Unified Communications solutions for a variety of large Canadian organizations. Fast forward to present day and his workday remains fairly unchanged. While most organizations found the requirements of social distancing a major challenge to their continued daily operations, ET Group did not. In his five years with the company, David has been a part of the ET Group team that works on designing, integrating, and optimizing clients unified communications and collaboration environments. The kind of hybrid environments that allow working from anywhere, whether at home, in the office, or completely remote.

Work is no longer about where you do it, it’s about what you do and how it gets done.

Hybrid is the future workspace

Organizations have mobilized work from home infrastructure and policies that have forever shaped the way we approach work. Now that the dust has begun to settle, they are collectively looking to the future once again. As companies explore shifting their workers back to the office. They are also envisioning what a flexible workplace might mean to their long-term workplace strategies.

• How will our workplace strategies and technology strategies need to change?
• How will our office evolve to integrate and include the remote workers?
• What technologies will support flexible working between the office, home, and remote locations?
• How will we enable our people to convene for group work?

David is part of the HybridX innovation team at ET Group. He has witnessed and assisted in the architecture of workplace communications firsthand. He is proud to share that, “We’re not afraid of doing remote work and using remote technologies. We’ve been demonstrating it for years. It works, I mean, we’re thriving.”

Workplace and tech strategies are changing

Having worked with many clients to implement their technology strategies to transition to an integrated modern-day workspace. David reflects on the success in leading others to their ideal connected and collaborative work environment, both physically and virtually. “We’re (ET Group) currently experiencing what we’ve been already living for the past few years. Covid has forced us (society) to put it into place now to some degree. By living it, it gives us great advantages in terms of being able to share the experience with others and see what the potential could be.”

“73% of employees want their company to embrace flexibility (working both remotely and in office) post COVID-19.”

Mckinsey Report – June 2020

David has noted the required changes that companies have begun making to their workplace strategies:

• Increased prioritization of workplace technology within business. Organizations need to have a technology strategy that can evolve for the future.
• Intuitive tools; Organizations should be able to define their desired user experience with the technology they are choosing.
• Reliable and user-friendly video communications. Organizations are now in a video first culture that requires high quality audio and visual performance along with an easy to use platform.

Prioritizing flexible, collaborative technology

David has also witnessed some setbacks for companies who did not prioritize flexible and collaborative technology tools within their operations. He remarks at the number of companies who were unprepared to work remotely this year. “It was really quite surprising to me but it’s not all that uncommon. It seems that some companies are still kind of slow to change and Covid has really exposed that.”

David listed some fundamentals items every organization will need for a hybrid workspace:

• Laptops – Companies should ensure their teams have laptops for mobility vs. desktops. HD built in cameras are critical.
• Webcams – Companies should ensure team members have working high resolution video tools for home offies.
• Secure Communications – Companies should invest in secure software and platforms to maintain privacy.
• Remote work connections like a VPN – Companies should invest in a virtual private network.
• Headsets or Audio Boxes – Quality sound and audio for meetings. Forget the basic headphones.
• Data Sovereignty   -Companies should be familiar with the location of their servers and data and be aware of any privacy laws relating to the storage of their information.

Challenges of going to a hybrid workplace

As part of ET Group’s HybridX innovation team, David works on identifying and resolving the human challenges of collaboration, communication, and connection using technology.  “There were a lot of users that weren’t ready for this. From the standpoint of some users – technology kind of makes them afraid.” Increasing team adoption, training, and comfort levels with technology is critical to overall success when transitioning to working flexible between the office and at home.

When implementing new technology into a hybrid environment, David notes some things to consider are:

• Get feedback from your team on their desired user experience and ease of use. What do they need from the technology to get their work done?
• Ensure you fully understand what the technology will allow you to do and not do. Research your options and assess reliability.
• Find a good consultant to work with your leadership team and determine the technology roadmap that works for your business. ET Group offers a human-centric approach to visioning, strategizing, designing, implementing, and evolving your technology roadmap as part of our HybridX offering.

David offers his take on additional challenges he has seen this year, “What I think is happening is a couple of things, one, sometimes whoever is making the decision makes it a challenge. It could be making the decision on the technology platform that we should move forward with, but there was really no consultation with the users in terms of what we really need. Which can definitely be a challenge and wreck user adoption or hinder user adoption. The other element is personal bias at times that gets in the way. So, it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m a Microsoft guy’ and that’s all I want to deal with’. I don’t really care about whatever else is out there, even if there are better tools. Other challenges are a lack of information around what technology you need to work better, which is what we’ve been trying to do at ET Group, share that info. “

Preparing your company for the transition

David shares valuable words of wisdom when it comes to integrating new technology into your business. “Organizations must lose the fear of failure”. This can cripple the ability to discover new things. He recommends keeping an open mind when it comes to trying new technology and stresses the need to consider your users when implementing new technology.

“I had the opportunity to work with my church, for example. There’s a lot of users there that just aren’t into this remote working space at all,” says David. “A proper understanding of the users (i.e. accessibility requirements, sights impaired vs hearing impaired, etc.) is crucial to seamless user adoption within an organization.”

Many businesses are still unprepared to implement work from home programs although we are at a time in history when technology makes it more possible than ever. With companies starting to reintroduce their teams back into the physical workspace amidst and post-pandemic, they are experiencing unique operational challenges within their industries. “ET Group is really taking the time to hone in on what we have not only experienced but kind of referring back to what we’ve heard from our customers.”

Work isn’t about where, it’s about what

HybridX (Hybrid Workplace Experience) makes it possible and beneficial to every team, organization or business that thrives on communicating, collaborating, and connecting anywhere in the world.

Work is no longer about where you do it, it’s about what you do and how it gets done.

ET Group has invested years into studying and fine tuning the design for the workplace of the future. ET Group’s strategies for collaborative work environments have kept people together even when apart. “What HybridX is really saying is there’s a new work experience, we want to hone in on what that experience is for you and what makes the best sense,” says David.

ET Group takes a strategic approach to designing innovative hybrid workspaces solutions. By applying human-centric design processes, we create seamless and powerful connections between the office, the home, and the remote worker.

Transitioning your organization to a hybrid work environment can seem overwhelming and costly. With the right tools and design process, your organization can experience a new level of communication, collaboration and connection while increasing your ROI (Return on investment) in the long term.

VIDEO: The future of work(ers) in brave organizations

On January 23, The Moment invited ET Group to join a panel discussion exploring the next generation of Organization Design and what that means for workers within the Future of Work. 

Watch the full panel discussion

Is your organization Brave?

To excel in the Future of Work, organizations must be brave. They must lead by embracing new team dynamics, distributing authority and decision-making, and enabling employees and customers with a strong voice.

https://youtu.be/iZm29QyRcto

Innovation and culture are integral to the success of organizations in these new conditions. Yet, corporate structures so often block employees from recognizing and responding to change. How can organizations tap into the creative and innovative skillset of its workers while embracing new ways of working?

The Moment and DesignTO co-presented “The Future of Work(ers) in Brave Organizations” as part of the DesignTO Festival in 2020.

The conference speaks to themes of:

“Teal” and self-organizing models
Dynamic and responsive operations
Self-aware workers and leaders
Organizations who are pushing the status quo, and leading in new and unique way

Featuring Simon Mhanna (The Moment), Michelle N Moore (ET Group), Peter Aprile (CounterTax), and Laura Zizzo (Mantle314).

‘The Future of Work(ers) in Brave Organizations’ was co-presented by DesignTO and The Moment. Event space and support provided by Teknion.

5 Tips for hosting effective large video conferences

If your team has been hosting large group video conference meetings because of COVID-19, here are some key insights to maximize your meeting potential.

By Tracy Smitten

Article based on our Webinar: Hosting Large Group Video Conferences Effectively. Download the webinar.

Amid the COVID-19 public health emergency and for the first time in our history, society has committed to maintaining physical distancing with a strong need to work together to find new ways to communicate, collaborate, and connect with each other.

For the last 4 years, ET Group has grown as a productive, self-managed, collaborative unit, while working almost entirely remotely. Our team’s operate regularly in large group video meetings. We host virtual team connects that run up to 5 hours in length, host large group town hall meetings with over 40 people, and collaborate daily in large group virtual settings. We continue to explore new tools and practices that can enrich our team’s virtual experience. Technology strategy and design help increase productivity, but it’s not all you need.

Here are 5 key tips we have learned to make your next meeting more effective.

 

 

 

 

1. Identify the technology you will need

What are the technology platforms, tools, and equipment will need to use. Make sure to choose a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Webex that can take advantage of large groups using settings like gallery view. Equipping all of your team’s participants with the best audio and video equipment available will maximize everyone’s experience. This will ensure that everyone is on the same playing field, limiting technology issues and creating a more engaging experience for all.

2. Define your meeting roles

It is critical to establish a few base roles to ensure you create clarity and the ability to run a smooth meeting. Who will be the meeting hosting? Who will be facilitator to guide and hold space for the conversation? Who will be scribing and taking notes? Who will be responsible to manage the technology?

It may sound like a lot of roles but they are key to your success!

Host: Establishes the meeting context and the meeting objectives
Facilitator: Guides the conversation, keeps the meeting in check and on-time, while allowing the group to focus on the content.
Scribe: Takes notes and documents the meeting.
Technology Manager (Optional): Ensures the meeting is set-up, handles tech issues, and records the call if necessary.

3. Put together the structure for your meeting

What is the purpose of your meeting? What do you want to get out of it? What do you want people to experience?

Establish a structure for your meeting to make effective use of time and increase the clarity and expectations for participants. Create your meeting objectives, meeting milestones, determining meeting length, and choosing your facilitation style.

4.  Choose your meeting practices and processes

Determine the level of engagement you plan to invite from your participants.

Check-in’s are a fantastic way to establish everyone’s place in the meeting. Asking a question such as, how are you arriving and what do you expect out of today’s meeting. It helps people feel engaged and not lost in such a large virtual group.

However, in a large group setting it can be tough to manage this in a timely manner. Instead, ask your participants to write their check-in via the chat window or using a collaboration platform like Webex Teams or Slack.

Use practices that maintain involvement and engagement from your participants. Send out periodic meeting polls or pose questions that participants can answer in the chat window, rather than out loud. This can also help manage time in a large group while involving everyone.

It is important that you use practices and processes that create an environment that invites everyone to participate. So that it is not the One-to-Many experience that so often plagues large group settings. This is one person speaking to a large group.

5. Understand the mindset of your participants

Understanding the mindset of your participants is key to an effective meeting. What mindset are participants potentially arriving into the meeting with?

Are they arriving with confusion surrounding the meeting? Are they unclear of why they are invited? Are they feeling excited or down?

As a host or facilitator, it is your job to gauge the room and ensure you can manage the group, shift gears if required, and draw the best out of everyone.

 

We would love to hear about your experience in the comments

We have sought and found virtual meeting techniques that enhance human connection.  We have found video conferencing can be extremely productive! We thrive when we can bring harmony to our work and workplace with technology.

We would love to hear about your experience with remote working and how the 5 core elements of Effective Video Conferencing have worked for you. Contact us and let us know how you do!

Register for our upcoming webinar series

In an effort to help organizations and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are launching a series of webinars to offer our expertise.

 

WEBINAR: Supercharging your virtual collaboration experience

WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 2020
TIME: 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
LENGTH: 45-Minutes

Rich virtual collaboration presents key challenges and opportunities. This webinar is for you whether you are new to collaborating remotely or you have been doing it for years. We will discuss key tools, processes, and technology that will help supercharge your next virtual collaboration experience.

You’ll get to see, learn, and participate in a virtual collaboration session hosted by seasoned experts from ET Group (Workplace Technology Integrator) and Nureva (Creators of Visual Collaboration Technology)

RECAP: The rise of self-managed organizations at IDS2020

With our world rapidly evolving, the way we work together is beginning to fail us. We are encountering complex challenges that require new ways of working, innovating, and designing solutions.

Traditional hierarchical paradigms were designed for organizations of the past, born during the industrial revolution. Today, they are still the most predominant view of business leaders around the globe. The rapid advancement of our society, culture, and technology has caused massive shifts for how new generations of workers want and need to work together.

“I was incredibly disillusioned with corporations and having worked in organizations that stifled my own creativity and others, I said there has to be a different way. I began collecting different practices and ways of working that could help us.”

Dirk Propfe, CEO, ET Group

Progressive business leaders have recognized this reality and have discovered that creating networks of self-managed teams may hold the answer to unlocking the potential that helps us to design a better future.

ET Group has been on a journey adopting self-management and new ways of working for the last 3 years. During this time we removed a traditional power hierarchy and implemented self-managed practices, processes, and principles that radically changed the way our company works together.

What happened at IDS2020?

https://youtu.be/XkVbk21jTWA

In January, we were invited by the Interior Design Show 2020 to bring together a Future of Work panel with 5 business leaders whose organizations are on the journey of self-management.

They shared key insights that can help organizations shift the way they’re working along with helping them understand why their organizations are making the move, how they’re bringing the concept to life, and the impact it creates on design and innovation.

We are sharing the 1 hour recording of the IDS2020 panel in hopes that the insights can inspire your organization to begin a journey of its own.

“The biggest shift from a traditional organization to a self managed organisation is that we don’t have a person boss. Instead there is a purpose boss. For The Moment our purpose is to empower people to lead change and co-create a thriving human future. That is a big purpose but as long as we are working towards, we maintain alignment.”

Erika Bailey, Innovation Designer, The Moment

Who are the panelists?

The panelists are part of organizations that are on the journey of self-management. They are passionate about the future of work, new ways of working, and designing their organizations to enable the highest potential of people.

• Innovation Designer, Erika Bailey, The Moment
• CEO & Talent Attractor, Dirk Propfe, ET Group
• Source & Lawyer, Peter Aprile, Counter Tax Lawyers
• Paralegal, Joyce Zoka, Counter Tax Lawyers
• Author and Scale Coach for Founder CEOs, Brent Lowe

AWARD: AV Industry’s 40 Influencers Under 40

 

Podcast appearance: the shift to self-managed organizations

The CEO Edge Podcast brought to you by MacKay CEO Forums provides valuable insights and practical advice from Canada’s top CEOs and trusted advisors.

Link to the podcast

Give it a listen:

ET Group shuns typical business mentality, and they’re growing because of it

The following contains excerpts from an article written by Commercial Integrator.  Click here to read the full article.

---

By eliminating traditional MGMT structure, ET Group Toronto starts a conversation across the AV industry and finds clients who want to know—and spend—more.

Think about the last time your company faced a major decision. Chances are the CEO, president or someone else in a cushy corner office had the final say, whether it was the possibility of working on a project or changes to employee benefits.

At ET Group Toronto, there isn’t any sort of management structure to get in the way of a good idea—or employee empowerment. In fact, while Dirk Propfe has the CEO title on his business cards, he’s one of 40 or so decision-makers who have equal footing in the company.

ET Group started this transformation to self-management about two years ago and earned a 2018 NSCA Excellence in Business Award for differentiating strategy for approaching business in a way that hasn’t been seen before in AV circles—and could be difficult to replicate.

And, while ET Group officials say the transformation will never fully be complete, the early returns have been good, to the tune of a projected 20 percent revenue growth in 2018 and more clients who are signing on as long-term fixtures rather than one-and-done ET Group customers.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/29dzhzD

 

 

4 ET Group Policies That Will Shock Traditional AV Business Leaders

The following contains excerpts from an article written by Commercial Integrator.  Click here to read the full article.

---

Imagine having the power at work to make whatever decision you want, doing whatever job you want and getting whatever salary you want. At ET Group, there’s no need to imagine it. It’s a reality as part of the self-management AV business structure that’s been in place for the past two years.

Here are a few ways the Toronto-based company is setting itself apart from its competitors—and winning industry awards and attention in the process.

No traditional roles

While some employees carry traditional titles, such as CEO and chief strategy officer, the whole philosophy of and approach behind ET Group’s transformation is about inclusion and equality.

There’s no traditional AV business management team, only project teams focused on drumming up new work for the flourishing company and nurturing long-term relationships with clients and prospects.

Multiple roles for many

As part of the transformation, ET Group eliminated all management roles, all commissions and some HR functions that are considered standard and necessary in most AV businesses.

ET Group no longer has employees who come to work every day and do the same thing or who follow a particular job description. They instead “energize” particular roles, whether it’s for a day, a week, a month or a year…

Continue reading the full blog on the Commercial Integrator website: https://bit.ly/29dG509

What we learned from our first design sprint

Over the last several years we have had a burning desire to build out our Advisory Services after many years of working with clients that need a fully baked A/V Strategy prior to undertaking massive office change. Many companies pull in A/V technology companies after offices are nearly complete. A/V Strategies are critical in the early stages, often informing how offices should be laid out and how technology can be used to help people collaborate, innovate, and be more efficient.

Chris Wheeldon from Two Raven Consulting Services was brought on board to help us undertake our Service Design Sprint. This is an interview we conducted with Chris on his experience hosting our sprint and what was learned.

What is a service design sprint?

The short answer is that it’s a way for a team of 4 to 7 people to create a new service for their business in just five days. It was designed to be a fast and inexpensive way to innovate.

The longer answer is to unpack the term into three parts:

Design is a people-oriented approach to creating. Done properly, it steps back and looks at the big picture realizing that the whole, is more than just the sum of the parts. Putting oneself into the shoes of others is a key element. In a workplace, these others include the occupants, the service support people and those who approve changes – financial, legal, managerial, etc. Thinking like a designer means considering an ecosystem of people, not just one or two.

“Service design, as the name suggests, specifically creates new services and improves existing ones. It thinks about the journey of the customer and the touch points that people encounter as they interact with a service, and looks for ways to improve the effectiveness and experience of those touch points. Service design changes negative or neutral experiences into positive ones by remembering that services are parts of a system and that people who use a service do so because they want to get something done.”

How does it differ from a more traditional process?

Design sprints differ in several ways from conventional methods of innovating.

They deliver results quickly – solutions can emerge in as little as a week – and rely on the members of the team to do the work of understanding the problem and creating a solution. Because of this they are much less expensive than the traditional consultant model. Most companies can learn how to run sprints on their own. This reduces the cost of innovation and dependency on outside consultants.

Design sprints can be an effective way to bond siloed departments around a common challenge. Their co-creative approach builds an enduring sense of ownership and empathy within the team – they understand one another better and care more about shared concerns.

Sprints enable companies to work like startups, who have what’s often called a “fail fast” mentality. What this really means is that through a sprint process they start with a minimal solution, learn quickly what works and what doesn’t and can easily adjust course to suit. This lets companies move towards the right outcome with smaller investments of time, energy and money.

Can you talk about the process you undertook with ET Group?

It started as a conversation – to understand what they wanted from a sprint and whether it was the right model for their stated objective of building an advisory business.

The sprint was run over four workshop days plus an interview period and looked something like this:

Defining the challenge

The first day was about framing the initial problem to be solved. The team started by sharing what each person knew about the challenge and its environment. This is the start of empathy within the team – sharing what everyone knows and assumes. This helped them decide who they needed to interview.

Insight-gathering interviews

The team conducted several interviews over the next week and a half, mostly with visionary leaders that they knew. They were exploring what these people experience now and what their struggles are when planning for AV services. The team amalgamated all this learning into an overall map of customer experiences, including the most painful parts.

Co-creation +first test + lean start-up

Building solutions came next. Each person on the team came up with a solution to address one or more pain points, then shared it with the others. Then, each person added their own thoughts. No critiquing was allowed. After everyone had shared their ideas, each person drew a final version of their solution. Then they all voted on what they liked about each proposed solution.

With these ideas fresh in their minds, the team developed their Minimum Valuable Service. The MVS is unique to Service Design Sprints and is a map of how they want the customer to interact with their new service. In contrast to other types of mapping – value stream, swim lane, etc. – it starts off by identifying what the customer is trying to achieve at each step, then describing the tools they are going to apply to meet those needs. It’s minimal because everything not essential to addressing a pain point is parked for later.

Finally, the team ran a test of the new service and gathered feedback. This is really an on-going process but at this early stage the question is whether the customer even values the solution. If not, then a new solution can be quickly built and tested with the information they already have on hand. By designing and running simple experiments that become more sophisticated over time, the team will get to the right solution that they would not have seen from the outset.

Was there an “a-ha” moment that led to surfacing their goal?

What’s interesting is that at the beginning the team doesn’t know exactly what their goal is – only a general one. The process encourages them to have questioning minds and discover those unmet customer needs that are the source of true innovation.

Why would you encourage others to try it?

Service design sprints are akin to project management in that they aren’t specific to any industry – they’re a way of looking at re-building services with an outward-facing, questioning mindset and using a team-based approach to create better ways of doing things. By applying an approach that uses experiments to produce the evidence that decision-makers need to perceive the value of an innovation, it can potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on a new initiative.