Monthly Archives: December 2023

If machines can learn, what future value do people bring in a time of rapid advances in AI? It’s about developing uniquely human skills so you can do things computers can’t.

Learning is essential in today’s workplace and we need to help people learn as a regular part of their jobs. But the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on workers’ ability to learn and grow. Remote work made it more difficult for employees to engage in face-to-face training and professional development opportunities.

While there are plenty of high quality online training resources, employees also need to engage in informal learning and mentoring opportunities that happen through casual conversations and serendipitous interactions in the office. According to Future of Work Strategist Heather E. McGowan,

“Long gone are the days when you could ‘dine out’ on the education you got in the early part of your life. With the twin forces of technology and globalization meeting the mega trend of expansive human longevity, our thesis is now reality. In the past we learned one time in order to work; now, we must work in order to learn continuously.”

Heather E. McGowan

A recent survey by the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies alumni (mostly young professionals working in global organizations) reported working from home was harming heir opportunities to learn from each other and more experienced colleagues. They said the inability to easily consult with more experienced colleagues for advice or observe how others deal with situations, prevented them from developing their own skills.

1. Learning impacts retention.

The ability for employees to learn and grow in their career plays a major role when it comes to retaining talent. Many companies are failing.

56% of employees and 68% of business decision makers say there are not enough growth opportunities in their company to make them want to stay long term.

55% say the best way to develop their skills is to change companies.

“Learning is the new pension. It’s how you create future value every day.”

Heather E. McGowan

These insights guide the design of both informal and structured learning experiences:

2. Learning happens everywhere.

Learning is not limited to training rooms. High-performing, adaptable spaces deliver learning opportunities for in-person and remote participants when they include mobile technology. Analog tools and flexible furniture that fosters face-to-face interactions.

3. Learning is a never-ending journey.

Rather than thinking of learning as episodic, like attending a conference or training session, it’s more about nurturing a culture that encourages experimentation and has a tolerance for ambiguity and failure – an organization that’s prepared to try things and learn from what went wrong without assigning blame. That’s an attitude and culture that’s opened to taking risks because they’ve calculated risk and recognized it’s a learning opportunity.

4. Future focused organizations need a learning mindset.

To scale innovation and growth, employees need to be continuously sharing and learning from each other. By bringing people together in collaborative and creative ways, the workplace can help people build strong networks and enable a learning mindset. 

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The earlier you bring design, facilities and IT together to consider how furniture, lights, video and audio will intersect, the more seamless the hybrid collaboration experience will be for in-person and remote participants.

1. Consider the rooms layout so everyone faces the camera.

That may mean shifting orientation to the long wall instead of the short wall in a rectangular room. Seating in arcs or orienting everyone to face the camera helps improve communication, eye contact and focus. Tiered seating in larger spaces can help everyone’s face be seen on camera. Includes plenty of personal tables for individual devices. In the open, consider seating with a high back or a built-in screen for added privacy. Furniture with pegs, hooks and storage keeps cords, personal belongings, and equipment out of the way.

2. In enclosed spaces, center the camera in the room to ensure everyone at the table is in the field of view.

Avoid excessive on-video motion and distraction by eliminating pathways around the space from the camera’s view. Privacy film can be applied to glass to hide what’s happening on the screen from passersby. In open spaces, position the camera to avoid views of aisles, corridors, or adjacent co-workers. Conversations and movement will be distracting.

3. Focus on speech clarity and privacy, as well as limiting the spread of sound, atmospheric noise, and echoes.

Fabric wall treatments, panels, carpet, and softer seating can help absorb sound in hybrid collaboration environments. Acoustic fabric panels opposite the technology in a room can help with sound absorption. Ensure audio settings with noise suppression. Set speakers to default to low while still allowing for adjustments. Consider secondary microphones in settings where people are sitting far apart.

4. Provide multi-faceted lighting of the space, people, and background.

Multi-directional lighting is best to avoid harsh shadows. Lighter colored surfaces within the space promote light distribution. Dimmable options provide the ability to adjust based on the needs of the space. Diffused lighting is preferred over direct downlights. Avoid placing directional downlights directly over peoples’ heads, which can cause dark shadows on faces. Consider programmable light modes in spaces optimized for video meetings.

5. Help people see what’s happening and stay engaged.

Logitech’s Scribe camera for whiteboards and Microsoft Surface Hub digital whiteboards and built-in-context camera help people see what’s happening and stay involved. Steelcase Flex Media Cart untethers technology and makes it moveable for better hybrid collaboration.

6. Create a more inclusive experience.

Microsoft Teams Front Row layout and Logitech’s Grid View camera setting place remote participants in more natural sizes and locations on screen, and frame each in-room participant in their own personal window. Tables and chairs need to be positioned to maintain natural sight lines between those in the room, those who are remote and shared content.

7. Use intuitive furniture and technology together.

Microsoft Teams or Zoom Rooms spaces enable on-touch to join while AI-enabled cameras auto-track and auto-frame Ocular tables make it easy to know where to sit to be on camera.

8. The amount of eye contact and face sizes in video chats is often unnatural.

Especially in a one-on-one conversation. The size of someone’s face makes you feel like your personal space is being invaded which puts you in a hyper-alert state.

9. Seeing yourself constantly in video chats is fatiguing.

You would never want to stare in a mirror all day. It’s stressful.

10. Movement is limited in Hybrid Collaboration.

Video can keep us stuck in the same spot. People perform better cognitively when they can move.

11. We have to work harder in video chats to interpret people’s non-verbal cues.

When we can only see someone’s head and shoulders, it is harder to know why they are making a certain facial expression or gesture.

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