The answer for this client was to build an office around technology that enhances user experience. For most clients, this looks like more phone rooms and small conference rooms to have a video call without disturbing the open floor plan, implementing a Smart Building that can deliver on sustainability and data integration goals, and creating a mobile application that acts as the employees interface to these new technologies.
To manage the task at hand, TAD focused in on three goals: bringing people together, filtering mass information, and increasing well-being.
In the shift to hybrid work, colleagues are separated both physically and digitally by software applications that do not interface with one another. TAD implemented a single-pane-of-glass to consolidate the substantial number of apps that often exist at a company into one global mobile application. The mobile app is just one of the user interfaces, along with intranet dashboards and digital signage, that is connected to the IOT platform. The app does not only reconcile data from the disparate building systems (BMS, Facility Management, AV, IT, Security, etc.), it also brings people together through unique features like colleague finders, employee services, and shared knowledge centers. These user interfaces increase information access throughout the company and allow employees to “take it with you” from mobile, to desktop, to digital signage within the environment.
Bringing technologies together in this way can result in employees being inundated with messages and alerts, creating fatigue when trying to decipher between which messages are critical and which messages are simply distractions. We look to combat this problem by automating processes wherever possible, such that systems work in the background providing just-in-time information. For example, a visitor management system moves guests through security procedures and alerts the host once they arrive. Other automations include predicting information that the user may need, as in the meeting invites that include agendas, directories, wayfinding, and video-conferencing information all in one place.
The digital campus is not just about efficiency, the company also wanted to focus on colleague well-being, which has been shown to increase employee retention and productivity. To deliver on this objective, we made work and life tasks easier and provided opportunities to rest and renew. Access to amenities within the building are aided by wayfinding that includes “points of interest” like daycare facilities, physical therapy, counseling, and ATMs. Colleagues can place an order through their mobile app and pick it up at the coffee bar, cafeteria, or local restaurant. Fitness classes provided in the wellness center can be tracked in the mobile app as well, and at the end of the day employees can disconnect from all their company notifications with the click of a button.
The flexibility and interconnectivity afforded by a tech-based design means that employees can adapt to the rapidly changing office environment without going back to the drawing board. They can take that first step out the door in the morning and get back to work.
