Beyond the Meeting Room: Why UC&C Strategy Matters
Summary
Today’s workplaces rely on more communication tools, platforms, and meeting spaces than ever before. But when those pieces are not connected by a clear strategy, collaboration can quickly become frustrating for employees and difficult for IT and AV teams to support.
For many organizations, the challenge is not a lack of technology, but the complexity created when teams use different systems, workflows are inconsistent, and support needs continue to grow behind the scenes.
Unified Communications and Collaboration, or UC&C, helps organizations look at the full collaboration environment, including how people meet, share information, move between spaces, and use the technology available to them.
In this blog, we look at why collaboration environments become inconsistent, what a more strategic UC&C approach can solve, and how ET Group helps simplify the way people connect, meet, and work together.
Key Takeaways
- UC&C is not just about meeting platforms: It includes the rooms, workflows, devices, support models, and tools that shape the full collaboration experience.
- Meeting room issues often come from a lack of UC&C strategy: When rooms, platforms, and workflows are not aligned to how an organization actually works, employees lose time, internal teams face more support requests, and technology can create friction instead of enhancing collaboration.
- A strategic UC&C approach improves usability and adoption: The easier and more familiar the experience feels, the more confidently employees can use the tools available to them.
- Hybrid collaboration needs to work for everyone: Remote and in-room participants should be able to communicate clearly, share content, and participate naturally.
- Support and scalability matter long term: UC & C environments need to be easier for IT and AV teams to manage as rooms, locations, and workplace needs evolve.
Understanding UC&C
87% of businesses say UC&C improves customer interactions through faster responses and better collaboration, while 83% of workers say UC&C tools help them feel more connected, especially in remote and hybrid environments.
Unified Communications and Collaboration, or UC&C, refers to the tools, platforms, meeting spaces, and workflows that help people communicate and work together across locations, devices, and teams.
That can include:
- video conferencing and meetings
- messaging and calling
- content sharing and collaboration
- meeting room technology
- hybrid workplace experiences
In practice, UC&C is about making communication and collaboration feel connected throughout the workday.
That might look like:
- Standardization: moving between devices or locations without disrupting the experience
- Meeting Equity: helping remote and in-room participants collaborate more naturally
- Streamlined Workflows: simplified meeting join and seamless content sharing
- Reduced Meeting Fatigue: team members leave feeling informed, connected and confident, instead of frustrated and disengaged
- Consistency and Reliability: users can expect and trust the technology to perform as intended, without needing additional workarounds
As the modern workplace continues to evolve, UC&C plays an important role in making collaboration easier, more consistent, and more adaptable to different meeting types.

Where Collaboration Starts to Break Down
In many cases, the issue is not the platform itself. It’s the overall UC&C environment surrounding it.
As organizations scale collaboration across multiple rooms, offices, and workflows, small inconsistencies can quickly turn into larger operational challenges. One room may feel simple and intuitive, while another requires a different process to launch a meeting, share content, adjust audio, or include remote participants.
Why This Happens:
- IT overwhelm: IT teams are already managing infrastructure, security, endpoints, user access, email, calendars, and day-to-day support needs, making it difficult to proactively manage growing UC&C environments.
- AV and UC complexity: UC&C connects meeting platforms, AV systems, devices, software, network requirements, and user workflows, which can make it difficult to determine the right tools, integrations, and support model.
- Lack of standardization: Different teams may use different tools to accomplish similar outcomes, creating silos, scattered information, and inconsistent meeting experiences.
Over time, these differences create friction for employees and increase the support burden on internal IT and AV teams.
Challenges in UC & C Environments
These challenges often become visible across rooms, workflows, and support needs:
| Challenge | What Teams Experience | Business Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Inconsistent room setups | Meetings start differently across spaces | Lower productivity and user frustration |
| Multiple collaboration workflows | Employees struggle switching between rooms or platforms | Increased support requests |
| Poor hybrid meeting experiences | Remote participants feel disconnected | Reduced collaboration quality |
| Reactive support models | Problems are addressed only after disruptions occur | More downtime and recurring issues |
| Security and privacy risks | Teams experience vulnerabilities around information sharing and privacy | Reduced trust and increased business risk |
| Lack of long-term UC&C strategy | Technology evolves without consistency | Operational complexity over time |
In summary, IT teams are already stretched managing infrastructure, security, endpoints, and day-to-day operational demands. That makes it difficult to proactively standardize, support, and improve UC&C environments over time.
At that point, it’s no longer just a technology issue. It becomes a workflow and operational issue across the organization.

Why UC&C Needs a Strategic Approach
When communication tools are designed and supported properly, they can make a meaningful impact.
As UC&C environments become more complex, organizations need more than individual room upgrades or platform decisions. They need a clearer strategy for how communication tools, meeting spaces, workflows, and support models work together.
What do we mean by strategic?
- User-driven and experience-focused
- Intentional
- Long-term / Scalable
- Oriented Around Business Goals
Outcomes
- Consistent
- Universal
- Intiutive
- Reduced risk
- Increased ROI
- Productivity and Engagement
A more strategic UC&C approach helps organizations focus on:
- Consistency across rooms and locations so employees can join meetings, share content, and collaborate without learning a different process every time
- Frictionless collaboration across tools including video conferencing, voice calling, messaging, scheduling, content sharing, recording, whiteboarding, and file sharing
- Better hybrid meeting experiences where remote and in-room participants can communicate more naturally
- Higher adoption and productivity by making collaboration tools easier, more intuitive, and more reliable
- Reduced support complexity by creating environments that are easier for IT and AV teams to manage over time
- Scalable, long-term value by aligning technology decisions with how people actually work
The goal is simple: create collaboration environments where technology supports the conversation instead of distracting from it.
That’s where a specialized UC & C partner can make a meaningful difference.

How ET Group Helps Simplify Your UC&C Strategy
At ET Group, UC&C is not just about deploying meeting room technology. It is about helping organizations create collaboration environments that are easier to use, support, and scale.
That starts with understanding:
- How do your people actually communicate across rooms?
- What tools and platforms are teams already using?
- Where does friction appear in the meeting experience?
- How consistent is the experience from room to room?
- What support challenges are IT and AV teams managing?
- How does the organization need its collaboration environment to evolve?
From there, ET Group helps brings the pieces together through:
- UC design and infrastructure to align meeting spaces, platforms, and workplace needs
- Interoperability across platforms and devices so teams can collaborate more easily across different tools
- User experience services to make rooms feel intuitive, familiar, and easier to use
- Security and compliance considerations for organizations operating in complex or regulated environments
- Analytics and productivity insights to better understand how spaces and tools are being used
- Platform licensing guidance to help organizations manage collaboration tools more effectively
- UC & C managed services to support communication environments as they evolve over time
Features like One-Touch Join can help reduce meeting friction by allowing users to start scheduled meetings directly from the room system. When implemented consistently across rooms, these experiences can make collaboration feel more familiar, reliable, and easier to use.
A strong UC&C strategy can also help organizations streamline the tools, platforms, and integrations their teams already rely on. This may include multi-platform access, interoperability services, AI-enabled note-taking, whiteboarding, scheduling, information storage and access, and integrations across meetings, chat, phone, CRM, and content management tools.
The result is a collaboration environment that feels more consistent for end users, is easier for IT teams to manage, and delivers stronger long-term value from the organization’s technology investments.

Building Better Collaboration Experiences
The right platform is important, but it is only one part of the collaboration experience.
For UC&C to work well, organizations need meeting rooms, workflows, support models, and platform strategies that are designed to work together. When those pieces are aligned, collaboration becomes easier for employees and more manageable for the teams supporting it.
ET Group helps organizations simplify that complexity by designing, deploying, and supporting UC&C environments that are built around how people actually work.

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How Interactive AV Technology Can Make Ottawa (& Other Cities in Canada) More Efficient
Summary:
Interactive AV technology helps public services in Ottawa and other major cities in Canada work more efficiently, improves accessibility in public spaces, and increases civic engagement. Command and control centers keep people safe, while virtual town halls and digital wayfinding reduce wait times, streamline services, and support bilingual and accessible communication. AI-enabled video conferencing with features like automatic transcription, smart framing, and real-time updates can also make communication more cost-effective so agencies can allocate funding to other priorities.
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How Interactive AV Technology Can Make Ottawa (& Other Cities in Canada) More Efficient
Interactive AV technology is reshaping how the Canadian government delivers services to the public. From advanced videoconferencing systems and touchscreen displays to self-guided translation services, tools like these make spaces more accessible and let people work more efficiently, too.
In Ottawa, even those who haven’t adopted AV in-house are still benefiting from it. Command and control centers keep people safe, while virtual town halls let them actively participate in democracy. Even the eGate machines at the airport add value by helping people get from point A to point B faster.
Technologies like these have the potential to be life-changing in the public sector. We’ll show you how agencies and offices are using them, what they’re doing for accessibility, and how they help increase civic engagement over time.

Current AV Trends in Ottawa’s Public Administration
The most effective AV strategies don’t start with fancy equipment. In the public sector, it starts with someone identifying a problem, like long wait times, that technology can help solve. When the problem defines the opportunity, technology becomes a solution instead of just a costly gamble.
Command and Control Centres
Command and control centres are mission-critical spaces that bring teams, data, and communication systems together to support faster, more informed decision-making. Correctional facilities, emergency response teams, and government agencies need to know they can rely on their AV 100% of the time.
Equipment Examples
| Use Case | Best Pick | Why |
| Best for Tight Budgets | Samsung 55″ VMT‑U Series 4K | High-brightness 4K LED display that delivers clear visuals for continuous monitoring |
| Best for Features | Custom AV design by ET Group | Best option for command and control centres that have advanced security needs (e.g. government) |
| Best for Customization | Crestron CP4 Video Wall Control System | Seamlessly manages multiple live feeds, sources, and presets across large environments |
Virtual Town Halls
Virtual town halls let residents and staff participate in council meetings without having to travel across the city or even really be present in it. They gained popularity during COVID but continue to be a useful tool for getting more people involved in live polls, discussions, and Q&A sessions.
Equipment Examples
| Use Case | Best Pick | Why |
| Best for Tight Budgets | Logitech Rally Bar Mini | All-in-one video bar, plug-and-play, good for small/medium rooms |
| Best For Features | Poly Studio X70 | Premium sound and 4K video, AI framing, built-in conferencing apps |
| Best For Customization | Crestron Flex UC-M70 Kit | Modular system with touch controller, scalable for large council chambers |
Digital Wayfinding
Digital wayfinding signs and interactive maps vastly outperform static signs every time because of the way they grab and hold attention. They’re perfect for providing high-visibility, realtime updates or navigational markers that help them find their way through complicated buildings like hospitals, government offices, and shopping malls. Voice prompts, translations, and braille on buttons make them more accessible.
Equipment Examples
| Use Case | Best Pick | Why |
| Best for Tight Budgets | ViewSonic 32″ Commercial Display | Compact, cost-effective, good for tight indoor spaces |
| Best For Features | Samsung OH55F Outdoor Display | 55″ high-brightness, weather-rated, reliable in all conditions |
| Best For Customization | LG 55″ Transparent OLED Touch Display | Eye-catching, customizable, suited for creative public spaces |
How AV Can Help With Accessibility and Efficiency
Ottawa is expected to lead in the push for a safer, more accessible world because it’s the capital of the country. But in today’s environment, most people also want to know that the city is using taxpayer money responsibly and working to limit waste along the way. AV can help agencies achieve both goals.
Accessibility
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) makes it mandatory for government offices, employers, and many other public services to actively seek out and remove barriers to access. The Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which is expected to come into effect this year, builds on these standards even further. The Official Languages Act forces agencies to serve people in English and French.
With modern AV, you can:
- Activate real-time captions and/or translations in council meetings and town halls
- Cast live updates to all digital signage at the same time at once in seconds
- Make screen readers, voice prompts, large-print screens, or and other assistive tech available
- Set wayfinding signs up in multiple languages to meet the needs of Ottawa’s diverse population
- Integrate hybrid participation tools, like remote voting, polls, or Q&A, for people with mobility issues
Systems like these can be very complicated and often involve software integrations or advanced networking strategies. We strongly recommend working with an AV design company like ET Group if you want to prioritize accessibility but don’t necessarily want to spend more than necessary on it.
Efficiency
Efficiency in government is about good stewardship. Citizens expect agencies to avoid waste by preventing duplication and streamlining workflows, but they also don’t want changes like these to impact service timelines or make it impossible to get the help they need.
Today’s AV systems can help you:
- Push updates out to one, some, or all of your AV equipment
- Activate automatic AI note-taking or transcription services for convenience
- Lower the cost of paper, ink, printing, and photocopier maintenance over time
- Give people faster access to accurate info and/or automatic services
While AI isn’t in a place where you can “set it and forget it,” it does spare people mundane work so they can focus on what really matters instead. Get an insider look at how AI is shaping work at this link.
How Cities Can Leverage AV to Improve Civic Engagement
It isn’t always easy for governments to get people to engage with the civic systems designed to serve them. Low voter turnout has been a constant in some ridings for decades, and political leaders struggle to connect with the constituents who need them the most for a variety of reasons.
Language, literacy, transportation, health, and even income barriers can all prevent people from doing their civic duty or taking part. Consider a single father with three children under five—he may want to vote, but lack the time to cast a ballot because life gets so busy.
To turn challenges like these around, cities need to make civic life more accessible and more available to residents. Smart meeting tools like Cisco Webex open up new opportunities for people to join in from home and help level the playing field a bit.
Step 1: Meet People Where They Are
The easier you can make it for people to participate, the more likely they are to take part. If they can hop into a meeting on a topic they care about from anywhere, it’s easier for them to justify the time investment.
Videoconferencing tech that lets people join from their own devices is the answer. People can follow along from home on a mobile device or join in on their lunch break.
But to offer this level of flexibility, you’ll need:
- Live streaming equipment: Professional camera systems, encoders, and streaming software that broadcast council meetings and zoning hearings directly to YouTube, Facebook, or the web.
- Digital signage networks: Centrally controlled displays at OC Transpo stations, community centers, and libraries let you get eyes on important alerts more efficiently.
- Recording and captioning systems: Automated recording solutions with AI-powered transcription and bilingual captioning (English and French) let people review on their own time.
- Hybrid meeting platforms: Videoconferencing setups with Zoom Rooms or Microsoft Teams integrations give participants the power to contribute to town meetings and Q&As.
Taking simple steps like these shows residents administrators want to hear what they have to say. Making services and processes more human-centric by improving accessibility ensures that no one is left behind.
2. Go Beyond Broadcasting
You can’t broadcast without AV equipment, but that doesn’t mean it’s all you need. Interactive features and systems that let people touch, click, or take some kind of physical action increase engagement while helping you collect vital info about the people you serve.
Consider options like:
- Interactive displays: Touch-enabled screens and interactive whiteboards in libraries, service centers, or major transit hubs that let residents access services or browse resources
- Audience response systems: Live polling hardware and software that delivers a result to every participant’s device pulls each person into the conversation.
- Interactive Q&A platforms: Let participants submit their questions or comments, then have someone respond to them. Or, open the floor up to everyone.
- Video walls and collaboration displays: Large-format displays in council chambers or operation centers display video feeds, data tables, and participants more clearly on the screen.
Modern AV systems turn passive viewers into active participants. When residents can submit questions from their couch or vote on budget priorities from their phone, engagement stops feeling like a chore and becomes just another part of daily life.

Get Interactive AV Right With ET Group
Interactive AV technology is quickly becoming a standard in cities like Ottawa. It has the power to help the government streamline workflows and reach more people, but that can only happen if you design and integrate it around the way you work and the services you deliver each day.
ET Group has successfully designed, implemented, and supported AV systems in mission-critical spaces like the Ontario Court of Justice and Correctional Services. From initial strategy to procurement, roll-out, and ongoing support, we know how to design systems for maximum value and reliability.
Book a Discovery Call today to learn more.
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Workplace Trends 2025: Insights from WORKTECH Academy’s World of Work Report
Looking Back on the Year’s Defining Workplace Trends
At the start of 2025, WORKTECH Academy released its global report The World of Work in 2025, outlining the trends set to shape organizations around the world. ET Group was proud to contribute insights to that report — sharing our perspective on how hybrid collaboration, human-centric design, and AV technology were evolving across industries.
Now, as the year comes to a close, many of those predictions have not only proven accurate — they’ve defined how workplaces have transformed. Across our clients and projects, we’ve seen firsthand how these ideas have come to life, influencing how teams connect, collaborate, and design spaces that truly work for people.

Measuring Vibrancy, Not Attendance
This year, one of the clearest shifts we saw was the move from tracking occupancy to measuring vibrancy — the energy, connection, and sense of purpose that make workplaces come alive. Organizations have moved away from headcounts and toward creating environments people want to be in.
Spaces that balance collaboration and focus, and that support spontaneous connection, have become the most valued. For hybrid teams, vibrancy — not presence — has become the new metric for success.

From Activity-Based to Relationship-Based Work
The transition from task-oriented design to relationship-based workplaces became a defining trend throughout 2025. Instead of structuring spaces around activities, organizations began designing around relationships — how people connect, share ideas, and build trust.
At ET Group, this shift was evident through our Hybrid Discovery Experience (HDE) workshops, which help teams uncover how connection and culture truly form. By designing for relationships first, we’ve helped organizations create spaces that strengthen collaboration and belonging across hybrid environments.

Creative and Hybrid Leadership
The leaders who thrived in 2025 were those who embraced clarity, empathy, and creativity. As hybrid work matured, the most effective leadership models were built on trust, transparency, and shared accountability.
ET Group’s self-managed structure continues to reflect this evolution. Our distributed teams operate without traditional hierarchy, and this model has proven that creativity and autonomy can go hand-in-hand — unlocking innovation and resilience in a changing world of work.

Rebuilding Mentorship in a Hybrid World
Early predictions pointed to the decline of informal mentoring — and we’ve seen this play out. The challenge for many organizations has been to recreate those moments of connection in a hybrid context. This year, structured mentorship programs, reverse mentoring, and open “virtual office hours” became key ways to sustain learning and growth.
Access to leadership — not proximity — has become one of the strongest predictors of engagement and retention, particularly in hybrid and distributed teams.

Designing for Meaningful Connection
2025 has reinforced a truth we’ve long believed: technology should enhance connection, not replace it. Across industries, organizations have prioritized inclusive meeting systems and platforms that ensure every participant feels seen and heard.
At ET Group, this philosophy drives our AV design — creating spaces where technology blends into the background so that human connection takes the spotlight.

The Digital Everywhere
As workplaces became increasingly flexible, technology followed suit. This year, the idea of “digital everywhere” became reality — with meeting tools extending beyond boardrooms into lounges, collaborative zones, and informal spaces.
ET Group’s platform-agnostic approach supported this evolution, helping clients ensure consistent, seamless collaboration experiences across Teams, Zoom and Webex — wherever work happens.

Digital Detox and Wellbeing by Design
After years of hyper-connectivity, 2025 saw wellbeing emerge as a strategic priority rather than a perk. Many workplaces introduced biophilic, tech-free zones that encouraged employees to rest, reflect, and reset — a necessary balance to our always-on world.
This aligns with ET Group’s human-centric design philosophy, where wellbeing, comfort, and connection are integral to performance and creativity.

Data-Driven Experience
Throughout 2025, data continued to shape the modern workplace. Organizations used analytics from room usage, support tickets, and employee feedback to refine experiences and drive efficiency.
ET Group’s Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM) tools have played a crucial role in this shift — helping clients gain real-time insights into how spaces perform, ensuring reliability and continuous improvement.

Building for Resilience and Sustainability
As extreme weather and uncertainty grew, so did the focus on resilient and sustainable design. In 2025, many organizations shifted from short-term retrofits to long-term strategies built around adaptability, energy efficiency, and circular practices.
ET Group has championed this evolution through remote support, e-waste reduction, and hybrid work solutions that minimize travel — proving that sustainable choices and smart design go hand in hand.

Inclusive and Neurodiverse Workplaces
This year marked a growing commitment to neuro-inclusive design — workplaces that recognize different sensory needs and communication styles. From acoustics and lighting to interface design, organizations embraced accessibility as a standard, not an afterthought.
At ET Group, inclusivity remains central to how we design AV systems and spaces. By designing for the extremes, we help make work more accessible for everyone.

Managing AI Responsibly
As AI adoption accelerated in 2025, organizations faced new challenges around ethics, transparency, and trust. The companies that succeeded treated AI as a partner — enhancing creativity, decision-making, and collaboration, not replacing human insight.
ET Group continues to explore AI-driven analytics to simplify complexity and improve hybrid experiences responsibly — ensuring technology empowers people at every level.

Looking Ahead
The trends predicted at the start of 2025 didn’t just arrive — they defined the year. They’ve reshaped how organizations think about leadership, culture, and technology, proving that the future of work is deeply human.
At ET Group, we’re proud to have contributed our perspective to WORKTECH Academy’s report and to have seen these ideas brought to life across our client projects. As we look ahead to 2026, our focus remains the same: designing hybrid workplaces that blend innovation with purpose, and flexibility with human connection.
Book a discovery call today to learn how we can help your organization use AV technology more effectively.
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Is empathy the missing link in tech integration for hybrid?
Building the hybrid workplace requires technology integrators to pay more attention than ever to human behaviour. Canada’s ET Group is using the principles of design thinking to make empathy central to the development process.
In a world where technology is always evolving, it’s so easy to get distracted by all the bells and whistles, and forget about what actually matters: the user.
This is a huge problem, especially when it comes to creating hybrid workplaces, because when human behaviour is not taken into account, there will be more problems created rather than solved.
However, we are able to avoid this problem by using design thinking. And a crucial element of design thinking is empathy. Empathy allows us to focus on the human experience, and really understand the true needs and desires of the user; even some they weren’t aware they had. Through walking in their shoes, we see the problem from as many perspectives as possible. We are able to identify all of the gaps and explore many different approaches to finding the long-term hybrid workplace solution.
That’s not to say that it’s always an easy process. The idea of a deep discovery phase can be off-putting for some clients. They assume that it’s going to be too time consuming. But that’s actually not the case. By taking the time to listen to an organization’s story, we get to the best solution much faster than if we had simply installed whatever tech is new or trendy. Plus inviting clients to be so involved allows for deeper and more trusting relationships, because they feel truly seen and understood.
Discover more reasons why empathy matters every step of the way when using design thinking, and how it opens the door for more creative and inclusive solutions by reading our latest interview with WORKTECH Academy here.
ET Group is a Corporate Member of WORKTECH Academy. This article is the third in a series on the role of design thinking in technology integration for the hybrid workplace. Read the first two articles here and here.
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Can design thinking unlock technology integration for hybrid workspaces?
When it comes to the topic of moving to a hybrid workplace, it’s clear that the key to making it happen is through technology. One of the biggest challenges companies experience today is how to integrate technology successfully into their current systems and processes. Is design thinking the answer?
Designing a hybrid workplace
As companies look to quickly adopt new solutions to enable their hybrid workforce, organizations are struggling to find harmony between the technology tools themselves and the people driving the organization forward. Without a people-centric perspective, companies lack the right balance that is needed to find success to the hybrid workplace.
Could it be that a new approach is required to unlock technology integration in the hybrid workplace?
For the last several years we have been pioneering an approach known as design thinking with our global clients and experiencing huge success. Design thinking is a human-centric approach that seeks to put people at the centre of the solution they are creating for and develop solutions with the user in mind. Design thinking really hones in on the process of discovering and defining every aspect of your business, and looking at it all from every possible perspective. We want to know who your people are, what they do, and why they do it.
WORKTECH Academy interview
We sat down with WORKTECH Academy and explained our approach on the principles of design thinking and why it helps integrate technology successfully in the hybrid workplace.
Check out our full interview with WORKTECH Academy to learn all about Design Thinking, and how it can help bring your technology to the next level.
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ET Group was recognized for transforming our ways of working. Here’s how we did it.
Everyone wants to work at a place where they feel valued. Where you have the freedom and power to make real change. Where you feel like you have a voice and a purpose. At ET Group, these are only a few of the reasons why our employees love coming to work everyday, and are the driving force behind one of our greatest achievements.
By Ciara Williams, ET Group
In December, 2021, ET Group President and CEO Dirk Propfe traveled to Las Vegas to attend the Inaugural Tony Hsieh Award gathering, and accepted the Tony Hsieh Award on behalf of our organization. The award, presented by the Greenlight Giving Foundation & Keith Ferrazzi, honours the life of the late Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh and the ways that he continues to inspire organizations to be innovative, authentic, and create better ways of fostering connection. Tony believed that there was always room for improvement and that above all else, people come first.
For ET Group, it is an extreme honour to receive this award, and to be seen for all of the hard work and dedication that was put into transforming our ways of working to be more empowering, inclusive and ultimately life-giving.
While accepting the award, Dirk gave an emotional and eye-opening talk about all of the ways ET Group stands out, and why our way of working is not only different, but essential to our success.
You can watch his talk here:
Dirk begins by telling a personal story about the two life changing experiences that inspired him to transform ET Group into what it is today.
A stark awakening in the Galapagos Islands
The first experience details his time visiting the Galapagos Islands, where he witnessed a lot of awe and beauty, being surrounded by so much life. But there was also a lot of ugliness. At the time, he was developing a deep interest in topics such as sustainability and climate change, and while in the Galapagos Islands, he couldn’t help but notice the litter and environmental abuse that could only have been caused by us as human beings.
He became painfully aware that the world is all interconnected, and that we need to pay attention to how we as a species are affecting the broader ecosystem that others call home, too.
However, rather than letting the ugliness bring him down, he chose to find inspiration in its place. Instead of wallowing in despair at the destruction of this beautiful ecosystem, he asked himself “how can I best contribute to creating a more life-giving world?”
This one question led him down a path of introspection and discovery. and he found himself soon embarking on another adventure: Sweden
Schooled in sustainability
Dirk enrolled in the Master’s Programme in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability at the Blekinge Tekniska Högskola school in Sweden, with the intention of discovering how to create more viable ways of working and living. While attending this program, he was able to learn and unlearn many things about himself and others as human beings. He cherishes the opportunities he had to learn about and experience different ways of being and working that “truly energized and amazed [him].”
For example, while visiting a company in London during his thesis research, instead of simply observing them like he had planned, he was warmly invited to participate and collaborate in a strategy session. He felt seen and heard, like his voice mattered. He truly valued the opportunity to learn something that was never taught in business school, or any other organization that he had been to before, which is that:
“We can all come together, co-create and be part owners of what we’re going to bring out in the world.”
This was the feeling that he held onto when he returned to ET Group and began laying the foundation to create what is now a life-giving environment that our team thrives in.
But what was the reason?
In 2016, Dirk saw ET Group as what could only be called a toxic workplace. We were your typical corporation that harvested an unhealthy and unsustainable working environment. There was in-fighting, debt and extreme egos everywhere. Decisions were made in a hierarchical fashion and for many of our employees, working at ET Group was just a job. A job that was losing people rapidly.
Dirk knew things had to change fundamentally, or else see ET Group disappear.
When he came back to work, he was ready to make those changes. And it started with asking one very important question:
“How can we create a more life-giving organization?”
After getting to experience a taste of what a life-giving organization could be, Dirk proposed a major shift in the ways that ET Group operated. In order to create a more healthy and innovative environment, he introduced new company structures inspired by his studies of Teal Organizations and Holacracy. ET Group implemented a self-organized approach to team management, self-set salaries and a promise to create safe spaces for everyone.
This means that everyone on our team is self-managed, as well as credited and compensated for their hard work, not just the leadership roles.
Because there are no “leadership roles”. That was made very clear by Dirk, who, even though he has the title of CEO, made sure that this fundamental shift in the company was supported by everyone, using what became ET Group’s Generative Decision-Making Process.
These examples are only a small snippet of the long list of key practices that ET Group has committed to, in order to keep ourselves in line with our human-centric way of life. You can find the rest of our organization’s cultural practices, toolkits and values in our handbook.
ET Group developed 3 fundamental practices to create a more life giving organization: self-organizing around purpose, self-set salaries and distributed ownership and safe space practices.
1. Self-organizing around purpose
Dirk’s first move was to get rid of the traditional hierarchy model. Having owners, managers, or “senior” staff creates inequality, making people feel like their opinions don’t matter.
Now at ET Group, we have self-organizing and self-managing teams (or circles). Our teams are created and organized around how they each contribute to ET Group’s overall purpose: to bring Harmony to Work and Workplace with Technology. In line with Holacracy, each team makes our own decisions regarding how we are best able to meet this purpose, without having to wait for C-Suite approval. Every team member has equal say in what goes, and has equal opportunity to share ideas or concerns.
This freedom allows us to spend less time competing with each other, so we can be more productive and collaborative while ensuring that our clients are getting everything they need and more, because that’s why we’re here.
2. Self-set salaries and distributed ownership
One of the most unique aspects of working at ET Group is our self-set salaries and distributed ownership. In the past, ET Group was owned and governed by only 3 individuals. Today, the company is owned by 70% of our team members.
But owner or not, who is anyone else but you to say how much you and your contributions are worth? When compensation is directly tied to the value and contributions an individual makes to an organization, you begin to see a drastic evolution in the responsibility and ownership that they feel towards the company. As Dirk says, “you have agency for your own life, and we respect that.” This is why we have implemented self-set salaries to encourage personal growth among our employees and let them know that we do see that value in them.
We take pride in the things that we own, and there is an abundance of pride at ET Group; in ourselves as individuals, in each other and in our work.
3. Creating safe spaces for everyone
At ET Group, we don’t hire roles, we hire people.
For this reason, we encourage our team members to bring their whole selves to work, not just their work selves. We don’t believe in hanging up your uniform (metaphorically or otherwise) at the end of the day. When you leave behind parts of who you are under the guise of “professionalism”, you leave behind creative ideas, lack energy and miss out on opportunities to make real connections, which is already challenging in an increasingly hybrid world.
We recognize that everyone is unique, and it’s because of all of the different personalities, perspectives and talents within our team that we are able to thrive at what we do. Sometimes that means that some of our people hold more than one role, because we don’t believe in restricting ourselves.
When we say that our people are our greatest asset, we mean it. Which means taking care of each other. For example, our human-centered way of life means checking in with each other – really checking in with each other – at the beginning and end of every meeting. If someone is having an off day, we want to know so we can empathize and proceed accordingly. We don’t move on until everyone gets to say how they feel, or what they need.
Our Team Connects allow everyone to take part in companywide decisions, and anyone can bring anything to the table. No secrets or hidden agendas.
Too good to be true?
It probably sounds that way, but it really works! Our Employee Net Promoter Score is always over 50 points, and our retention rate is 95%. At ET Group, our team members want to work, so it makes sense that today, our profitability is 2.5x the industry standard, allowing us to have 4x the growth we had in 2016.
The results speak for themselves. As Dirk says:
“This story we’ve been telling ourselves on what it means to be human wants to be retold; life is not about how I can succeed or be better than others. It is about seeing and appreciating each other as wonderful beings with different gifts, talents, and dreams. It is about being in service of each other, and life itself to create beautiful things together. As a collective, it is imperative we shift the narrative and realize what makes us truly happy and fulfilled is to be in service of each other and the planet as a whole.”
There is always more to the story
Becoming who we are today was a necessary and conscious change, and not an easy one at that. It required – and still requires – being always open to trying new things. Sometimes those things fail, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve failed, it just means that we’ve learned, and only become better for it.
“Every day, we put conscious effort into challenging ourselves to make systematic, consistent change. That requires effort every day. Every day requires navigation towards what you feel is the right thing to do, versus our cultural autopilot. It requires steeping yourself in the practice of evolution.”
All of this is just a sneak peak of what it’s like to work at ET Group. To hear the full story, check out Dirk’s full speech for more details about why we love our organization!
We also encourage you to visit our ETG Way Handbook and learn about more of ET Group’s innovative and forward-thinking practices.
And before you go, ask yourself:
How can YOU create more life-giving ways of working?
Stay connected with us:
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Follow Dirk on LinkedIn
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