For industry leaders of all shapes and sizes, powerful collaboration technologies work in tandem to build more connected and engaging hybrid work environments.
When it comes to today’s workplace, COVID feels like a waning threat to office productivity. However, organizations all over the U.S. are still struggling to bring people back into the office and to create a cohesive and high-vibe work environment for both in-office and remote workforce. Accomplishing both these goals falls squarely on the shoulders of AV/IT managers, who have the tough task of finding and implementing technology that will not only attract employees to the office but also build morale for workers—all while making the experiences of all employees consistent and dynamic.
The AV/IT team at Sharp Business Systems (SBS)—the direct business-to-business sales division of Sharp Electronics Corporation—is trying to make this goal easier through showrooms across the U.S. designed to illustrate smart office technology that elevates the work experience and addresses the needs of the modern hybrid workforce.
Supercharging Office Displays
The stars of these showrooms are Sharp and NEC displays demonstrated in various vignettes, from conference rooms to common spaces to training rooms to breakrooms. SBS has standardized Mersive Technologies’ Solstice Platform in these environments to maximize the use of each display, creating a more engaging, unifying, and informed hybrid work experience via Solstice’s collaboration capabilities, operational analytics, and digital signage.
“Mersive Solstice helps us supercharge our displays and show organizations how to use them in more ways and get more utility from the technology,” Chris Chopp, national director of Visual Solutions for Sharp Business Systems said. “Each of our primary showrooms includes multiple Mersive Solstice Pods.”
SBS uses the Solstice platform for simple wireless presentation, collaboration, and conferencing applications, alongside peripherals from Bose Professional, Huddly, Yamaha UC, and others. While SBS looked at other collaboration offerings for its showrooms, it chose Mersive Solstice for its unmatched features. Solstice’s multi-participant content sharing, control, and markup improve user engagement and meeting productivity. The intuitive Solstice app plus app-free sharing options also give users choice and flexibility in the meeting room.
“SBS showrooms are great examples of how technology can help a workplace become a destination,” Erica Carroll, director of Product Marketing and Training at Mersive said. “People walk into these innovative environments and it makes them think about how their work life could be richer and more empowered than working at home alone. A large part of that is through effortless connection with coworkers and therefore a more exciting and impactful experience.”
Connecting Beyond the Showrooom
Sluss+Padgett’s Atlanta HQ is a great example of this in a real-world, non-showroom environment. Industry leaders in commercial mechanical, plumbing, and control systems, Sluss+Padgett strives to improve the lives of its customers, employees, and community while providing value to each project.
Eric Sluss, chief executive officer of Sluss+Padgett, endeavored to create a more cohesive hybrid work environment for the Atlanta offices. “When COVID hit, we didn’t have a technology piece where we could continue our contractor training,” he said. “After COVID, we continued to grow and began to outgrow our training facilities. We needed to upgrade to support anywhere from 30 to 50 people at a time during training.” Additionally, Sluss wanted to update conference rooms and executive offices with better business solutions.
“To make the workplace a destination again post-COVID, Eric had to rethink his office to make it more interesting and collaborative,” Chopp said. “Even though not everyone is in the office all the time, this technology brings people together and makes it the place to be.”
SBS delivered a state-of-the-art training room that includes Sharp commercial displays, Biamp speakers, a multi-angle camera system, Yamaha UC microphones, and Mersive Solstice Pods. The solution perfectly serves the needs of workers both in-office and off-site.
“One of our superintendents used to spend more than two hours a day in Atlanta traffic just to get to our facilities. He was frustrated. With the new setup, our team can log in from anywhere, saving time and money. Additionally, we now use the training room all day, every day,” Sluss said. “Getting connected via Mersive Solstice is so much easier than our previous solution, which was a disaster to get logged into. Now, everything just works.”
Analytics Inform Room Use
Mersive Solstice Cloud is a secure cloud portal that allows administrators to easily manage Solstice Pods. Solstice Cloud also includes in-depth operational analytics, which is a big advantage for SBS showrooms. This meaningful data empowers both Sharp and potential customers to better understand, optimize, and determine ROI on their Solstice-enabled meeting spaces. They can categorize Solstice Pods; collect and analyze data such as peak meeting hours, average meeting duration, and more; and leverage those insights to optimize current spaces and plan future ones.
“Our customers want to know: ‘Are we using that space?’ and ‘How are we using that space?’ Mersive Solstice’s room analytics data is both valuable and impressive in this regard,” Chopp said.
Digital Signage for a Hybrid Workforce
Mersive Solstice Pods act as digital signage players and are compatible with a wide variety of digital signage providers, including 22Miles, Appspace, Carousel Digital Signage, and others. The one-two punch of Sharp displays and easy-to-manage and secure Solstice Pods supercharges SBS showroom displays with powerful digital signage that shows customers how they can unite their hybrid workforce and reinforce corporate messaging.
“With today’s hybrid work scenarios, not everyone is in the office at the same time, so visual communications have to be more impactful. We have to overcome businesses thinking they can run to a big-box store to buy a residential TV for their conference room,” Chopp said. “The reality is, you need purpose-built displays designed for 24/7 operation that excels at signage. They are brighter, have a less glossy finish, and often have better image characteristics for visual communication.”
SBS uses office space in its showrooms to illustrate how visual communication can drive home corporate messaging and get everybody on the same page. This ultimately helps alleviate remote workers feeling disconnected. “Whether the message is about employee appreciation or recognition, the result is more camaraderie. People feel like they're a part of something,” Chopp added.
Sluss+Padgett, for example, has a large Sharp display in the lobby that showcases the awesome work that the company is doing. There is also digital signage in the break room. Not only does this signage communicate to employees things that are happening within the company, but it also personalizes the experience for office visitors.
“If we have customers coming to the office, we can put their name up on the display to welcome them, which provides a very nice personal touch that makes them feel at home. It’s also great for recruiting people,” Sluss said. “In the break room, if one of our guys goes back to get a cup of coffee and they see something on the display that makes them feel closer to the team, that’s a win.”
Integrated with the help of SBS systems architect Doug Harris, these supercharged systems are sophisticated but not overly engineered. “There is no learning curve, and anyone can use them,” Sluss added. The solutions are so effective that Sluss+Padgett sister companies in Douglasville, Georgia and Tampa, Florida, have plans to create similar office solutions.
Chopp summed it up: “Return on investment is obviously important when it comes to office technology. In the case of the hybrid work environment, however, it’s more about return on objective. Now more than ever, there is a strong case to be made for amplifying your displays to deliver on the objectives of team-building, welcoming visual communications, and an inviting work environment that makes the office a destination.”
