Posts in category: News

Namebrand is a promotional product company that is doing things differently. Since its establishment in 2014, Namebrand has evolved from a promotional product company to a branded product design agency. Their primary focus is delivering high-quality products that convey a company’s message through tangible items. Unlike most companies in the promotional product industry, Namebrand is a disruptor with remarkable versatility. By partnering with existing product vendors or utilizing their own manufacturing facilities, they offer a diverse range of customizable options, ensuring they can transform intangible concepts into tangible products.

A Scattered Team 

With a dedicated team consisting of creatives, operations specialists, logistics personnel, warehousing experts, account managers, sales reps, and accountants, Namebrand has experienced steady growth over the years. However, the company faced challenges when it came to its physical workspace. In their previous location, the staff was spread out across five different spaces, occupying separate suites in two buildings. This arrangement often led to inefficiencies and hindered team collaboration, necessitating a change.

Moving Locations 

Namebrand embarked on the exciting adventure many growing businesses face, moving locations. Collaborating with OEC Workplace Consultant Cailey Ostrowski, Namebrand has transformed its workplace into a vibrant hub that reflects its brand identity and fosters collaboration among its talented team.

When Namebrand’s CEO, Kevin Felgate, decided to relocate, he considered the well-being and productivity of his team. Centralizing the company’s operations and creating a unified space that reflected its brand and culture became the vision. Danny Rosas, the Creative & Marketing Manager, set off to bring the Namebrand brand and company culture to life within a single building. To achieve this, Danny collaborated with the entire staff and Cailey to design a workspace that embodied the company’s vibrant energy and encouraged collaboration.

The Vision For The New Office 

With double their previous square-footage and a 20-30% increase in warehousing capacity, the new workspace provides ample room for the team. The office layout features a semi-open concept, with private offices lining the perimeter and workstations filling the central area. This design ensures everyone is easily accessible and promotes a sense of unity among employees who previously navigated multiple locations.

Working closely with Cailey, Namebrand created a space that is, as Danny describes it, “modern edgy.” Bold black accents are strategically balanced with natural wood tones and white elements, creating a visually appealing contrast throughout the space. Despite the open concept, Cailey and the Namebrand team found innovative ways to establish defined separation between departments. They did this through furniture configurations or spacial separation. These measures created a sense of structure within the open office, fostering a conducive environment for collaboration and productivity.

Working With OEC 

The collaboration between Namebrand and Cailey was a resounding success. Cailey’s deep understanding of the company’s culture, style, and brand allowed her to advocate effectively on behalf of Namebrand and ensure that every detail of the project aligned with the vision. The result is a workspace that reflects Namebrand’s identity, energizes its team, and supports its continued growth.

A Commitment To Excellence 

As Namebrand continues to lead the product design industry, its new office space exemplifies its commitment to excellence in its products and workplace environment. With its revitalized office space, Namebrand is ready to serve its clients with innovative and visually stunning promotional products. This further solidifies its position as a trusted partner in marketing and branding efforts.

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Responsibilities of the BSU Capital Planning and Space Management Team 

     Boise State University is continually expanding, and with that comes a plethora of logistics to manage. One key partner in campus construction, maintenance, and financing is the Capital Planning and Space Management Team (CPSM). This team supports university leadership in providing an environment for better learning. CPSM does this through capital planning efforts and budgeting processes to ensure multi-year plans and individual projects are aligning with the university’s strategic vision. To tell us more about the recent and future projects at Boise State, we met with Space Planner and Interior Designer, April Lanningham, and Relocations & Projects Coordinator, Lee Keily. 

     April and Lee are the members of the CPSM team who are directly responsible for designing spaces and getting people into those spaces. While April works on everything from high-level strategic plans to selecting finishes and furniture for new and renovated buildings, Lee is responsible for moving people, furniture, and equipment into those buildings. Their roles complement each other, and they work together closely to support the management of 5.9 million gross square feet of university space. 

     As April says, “We have an outstanding,  collaborative team of people working across campus. We accomplish complex renovations of old buildings that seem beyond help when the project starts. However, between our facilities folks, architectural and engineering department, and clients, it all comes together, which is very rewarding.” 

Renovating The Liberal Arts Building 

    While the CPSM team looks five to ten years down the road, April and Lee focus on projects happening within shorter timeframes to ensure providing an environment for better learning. They are the boots on the ground turning a multi-year plan into physical spaces. One such space coming online after four years of planning is the Liberal Arts Building. Once the art department vacated the space that they had occupied for 30 years it fell to CPSM to work with campus leaders to prioritize new occupancy. The primary occupants of the renovated space will be the English department and the MakerSpace that will relocate out of the Library. In addition a handful of new classrooms will come online.  Construction is starting this summer with a goal open date of fall 2024. 

A New Residence Hall For BSU 

     Another upcoming project is a 450-bed residence hall for first-year students. The building will stand along the river near the library. Boise State has long been considered a commuter college. However, there has been an influx of out of state students attending the university. Combined with a general rise in the student population, Boise State needs more on-campus housing. With so many of the homes surrounding campus already holding students, creating affordable on-campus housing for students is more important than ever.  

BSU’s COVID Response At A Capital Planning Level 

     While April and Lee have had many projects to be proud of in recent years, their response to COVID stands out for them. Lee shares, “I think all of us should be very proud of our response to COVID and the university planning part of that. We put blood, sweat, and tears into planning how students could return to in-person learning. Many universities took heat for going completely online, but we had thirty-three percent of our faculty and students on campus. We spent a summer here nearly all alone putting the campus together for students to return in person. By doing so, we were a good role model for other universities who didn’t know what to do. We put our heads together as a team and decided what to do even when there wasn’t a budget.” 

BSU Embraces Hybrid Work 

    On the heels of COVID, the CPSM team is embracing the “new normal” of hybrid work on campus. With flexible work policies determined by each division leader some space  has opened up because of new remote positions. April and Lee’s job is to put that open space to work. To accommodate in-person and hybrid work, they are trying to make the work environment more collaborative. They are able to do this because of technology, privacy pods, and adding transparency with modular walls. Many staff members have given up their private offices and embraced hybrid work. They will heavily utilize the new technologies and amenities the CPSM team introduces. 

Providing An Environment For Students 

     When asked about their favorite part of working with the university, April and Lee agree that it is the people. Lee shares, “The staff are all focused on the same thing and are here for the right reasons. Kids who come through school are getting a great education. They are lively, young, enthusiastic, and want to get an education. They don’t often realize that we are working for them, but we are here to support their education and provide value to those paying for their education. It could be easy to lose sight of that in our field because we are a step removed, but we support them. We never lose sight of that as a team.” Through their ongoing efforts in providing an environment for better learning, the team prioritizes students needs and wants, as well as what is logistically best for the community.

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And Its Effects on Employee Privacy, Productivity, + Health

As employees head back to the office for the first time in years, they bring expectations with them. One such expectation is privacy. After years of working from home, many people have created private offices away from their families that allow them to be highly productive. As these individuals return to the office, many face unassigned workstations in open floorplans full of distractions and noises that greatly hinder their productivity. Part of creating a successful return-to-work strategy is providing privacy for employees; sound masking is one of the best ways to do that.

On average, noise distractions interrupt employees every 11 minutes. It can take up to 23 minutes for them to get back in the “flow”. 

What is Sound Masking? 

Sound masking is the process of adding low-level, unobtrusive background sounds to an environment to reduce the intelligibility of human speech and reduce noise distractions in that environment. When working correctly, sound masking sounds similar to airflow from an HVAC system. Many times, people do not even realize it is on. When turned off, however, the space can suddenly feel too loud or even eerie as every little noise becomes recognizable. While sound masking doesn’t make a room quieter, its specific frequency and amplitude create a blanket of sound that reduces how far speech can travel, making it unintelligible. By covering the human voice, sound masking removes distractions and protects privacy.

Protecting Speech Privacy 

The number one complaint among office workers is insufficient speech privacy. According to research, 53% of employees report having overheard confidential company information at their workplace.
Think of all the times you have unintentionally listened to someone’s private conversation. Not only is it uncomfortable and distracting, but it can also be devastating for compliance and legal reasons. When sound masking is appropriately installed, it creates speech privacy, especially in areas where people share highly sensitive information. By placing sound masking outside conference rooms and private
offices, organizations feel confident that their confidential conversations are staying behind closed doors where they belong.

53% of employees report having overheard confidential company information at their workplace.

Boosting Productivity 

On average, noise distractions result in office workers experiencing interruptions every 11 minutes. Then, it can take up to 23 minutes to get back into the “flow” they experienced before the distraction. Researchers found that employees can waste between 21.5 and 86 minutes daily due to conversational distractions. This results in poor productivity which can add to significant monetary losses for companies. When sound masking enters a space, employees gain a minimum of 2-4% in productivity and tend to stay at the company longer.

When sound masking enters a space, employees gain a minimum of 2-4% in productivity and tend to stay at the company longer.

Improving Employee Health 

Finally, poor office acoustics can adversely affect employee health. A National Library of Medicine study found that workplace noise negatively affects employees physiologically and psychologically. These effects include higher blood pressure and heart rate, which causes hypertension, leading to heart disease and stroke risk. Additionally, loud noises can cause headaches, digestive issues, and in the case of hospital workers dealing with constant alarms, fatigue, and inability to concentrate.

Workplace noise negative effects include high blood pressure and heart rate, headaches, digestive issues, fatigue, and inability to concentrate.

No matter the workplace environment, sound masking plays a significant role in privacy, productivity, and health. So, whether your employees are returning to the office or never left, if you are experiencing acoustical issues, sound masking may be the right solution for you.

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There is nothing like biting into a cut of high-quality, perfectly cooked steak. Thanks to locally owned company Agri Beef, more and more people are having this experience than ever before. To learn about their growing beef empire, we asked executive VP of Corporate Affairs Jay Theiler to tell us the story. Jay started with Agri Beef twenty-two years ago in a marketing role when the company was a ranching and cattle feeding operation. Since then, the business, and his role in it, have grown tremendously. 

Agri Beef’s Operations 

Agri Beef encompasses over one-thousand ranching partners across the Western United States. They are involved in every step of the beef lifecycle, including ranching, cattle feeding, and beef processing. Their company boasts four premium beef brands selling their meat to America’s finest retailers and restaurants. Additionally, they export to over 30 countries. Their most recent addition is the True West Beef processing plant in Jerome, Idaho. 

True West Sharing Ownership 

True West Beef is unlike any beef processing plant in the U.S. thus far because it is 51% Agri Beef owned, with the other 49% ownership comprised of livestock producers. During COVID, the industry faced shutdowns that severely stalled their operations. This backup in supply forced beef prices to drop, causing issues in the supply network. In this new ownership model, livestock producers will have a seat at the table and can help make supply decisions whether there is a disaster or not. 

A New Meat Processing Facility in Jerome, ID 

The facility itself is an impressive 270,000 square feet. It is built with practical sustainability, like recycling 95% of its water and using every part of the animal. True West’s dedication to total quality has also led them to apply the most advanced practices and food safety measures at their facility. They care about each animal’s well-being and treat their animals with dignity and respect throughout their lifecycle. The company is also socially responsible for the overall health, safety, and education of its employees and the community. They are investing in the community with plans to employ three to four hundred people and produce beef from 500 head of cattle daily. These new jobs will positively impact the surrounding economy, and new multifamily housing projects are already in the works. 

What Makes True West Unique 

Something unique about this facility is how many windows it has. The goal behind this unusual choice was to create transparency. Jay shares, “We have this long hallway where you can see into the plant. With so much stigma around meat processing, we are trying to create transparency and show what we do while also making it a better environment for our employees.” 

Another unique choice, as designed by Erstad Architects, was making the wings of the building look like ranch buildings. This decision was made as a nod to the company’s history and its 1968 founding in American Falls, Idaho. One side houses the offices and fabrication welfare area, while the other contains the processing or harvest welfare area. Both sides have a large cafeteria for employees with massive graphics stretching across the room. The Canyon room shows the iconic Twin Falls canyon and bridge, while the other has an extensive graphic and actual view of the Sawtooth Mountains. Outside is a large courtyard where employees can spend their lunch break when it’s not too windy. Employees designed these additions to make the facility a great place to work. 

Furnishing The Facility 

There is a mix of office furniture solutions throughout the office and processing plant. The vision was to design a space that felt open, so private offices with a glass wall and individual workstations made their way into the design. In the main office, many cow murals liven up the space. Additionally, a large training room is put to good use training staff. Out in the plant, the furniture needed to withstand the occasional hosing off, so the OEC design team took special care of selecting furniture specifically for that purpose. “Jen and the OEC team were very good listeners to what we were trying to achieve in the building. They were responsive and understanding of our budget constraints, which we greatly appreciated.” 

Free Samples 

The commercial kitchen adjacent to the large conference room is where the business’s work meets its clientele. “We have some of the most recognizable customers and chefs, including Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, and Michael Mina, who want the highest quality beef. We wanted our facilities to showcase that we understand our customers and their business. When they visit, we will show them the plant and then take them to the test kitchen and cook up samples. Sometimes they bring their chefs out and cook themselves.” 

Trailblazers In The Industry 

Building this new plant has been a big step for Agri Beef. Through shared ownership with livestock partners, sustainable practices, dedication to their employees and the surrounding community, True West is becoming a trailblazer in the beef industry. Most importantly, they are proud of their work and excited to share it with people locally, nationally, and globally.

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Half of all meetings these days are spent on video. Employees want to work and hold meetings in spaces where they look better, sound better, and can hear better. Here are four design principles Steelcase has learned in their research to keep in mind when developing collaboration spaces employees love to use:

1. Consider room layout so everyone faces the camera. This may mean shifting orientation to the long wall instead of the short wall in a room.
2. In enclosed spaces, center the camera in the room to ensure everyone at the table is in the field of view.
3. Limit the spread of sound and atmospheric noise and echoes. Consider fabric wall treatments, carpet, panels, and softer seating. Acoustic fabric panels opposite the technology in the room will help with sound
   absorption.
4. Provide multi-faceted lighting of the space, people, and background. Avoid lights that are directly behind the individuals on camera.

One more tip. If you make your technology easier to use, the more likely your team will be to use it. Get as close to one touch technology as possible.

See you in the office!

Scott Galloway

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Whether or not you have ever heard the term “digital signage,” chances are you have seen it in use. In today’s fast-paced environment, companies, schools, hospitals, and government organizations use digital displays to share information in various ways.

Whether displaying maps of campus or showcasing the latest product launch, digital signage is a cost-effective way to communicate with a broad audience. It can also improve customer experience, and enhance brand awareness. This article will discuss the benefits of using digital signage players in different settings.

Commercial Offices:

Have you ever seen a large video wall display in a commercial office building? The lcd video wall both captures your attention and conveys information in a visually engaging way. Talk about making a great first impression!

For this reason, digital signage displays are becoming increasingly popular in commercial offices. They offer a dynamic way to communicate with employees, visitors, and customers.

We know psychologically that the brain processes visuals faster than text, so individuals are more likely to remember what they see. By leveraging quick imagery provided through digital displays, businesses can make a lasting impression on viewers in a fraction of the time.

Some of the content companies are showing through this technology includes company news, event promotion, product showcases, and providing wayfinding information. By using digital signage players instead of traditional paper-based signage, companies can save time and money and share unlimited messages. Administrators can update digital signage in real-time to support quick changes. This allows businesses to communicate important information to their employees or customers whenever needed.

Education:

Digital signage players are an excellent tool for educational institutions to communicate with students, faculty, and visitors. Schools and universities often leverage digital displays to share schedules, promote campus events, display important safety announcements, and show maps or directions to specific buildings or rooms.

Digital displays also make a difference in the classroom by displaying educational content, such as videos and presentations. Using interactive digital signage, teachers can conduct quizzes; students can collaborate on group activities, share their comments and responses on display, and see real-time information like stock market updates.

In classrooms especially, information retention is a significant focus. Research shows that people are more likely to remember information that elicits an emotional response. When teachers share imagery that evokes emotions such as excitement, empathy, or curiosity, their students are more likely to create a connection with the content and remember what they learned. By using digital signage players, educational institutions can improve campus communication and classroom engagement.

Healthcare:

In healthcare settings, digital signage players can provide patients, visitors, and staff critical real-time information. It can also boost the trust and credibility of the hospital. It is no secret that hospitals are often stressful places full of uncertainty.

When hospitals display information professionally and with visual appeal, viewers are more likely to trust and believe that information. So whether the goal is to put people at ease or teach them pertinent health information, digital signage plays a crucial role.

Other helpful uses for digital signage include displaying wait times so patients know how long they may have to wait for assistance. Wayfinding information helps visitors discover where their loved one stays in the building, and learning where amenities like the café, gift shop, or hospital services are, just got easier.

Internally, administrators can use remote managing to update digital signage to give essential training and presentations to hospital staff. By using digital signage players, healthcare facilities can improve communication with patients and staff to improve the healthcare experience for everyone.

Government:

Government agencies increasingly use digital signs to improve communication with citizens and visitors. When capturing people’s attention, nothing does better than digital signage. Digital signage grabs viewers’ attention with its display of motion, color, and other visual elements. It keeps them engaged with your message.

Displaying real-time schedules and routes on a digital display is ideal for public transit. There are many distractions in these environments, so the display needs to be attention-grabbing.

Governments use digital signage for many purposes. They share community events at their various sites, promote tourism, and communicate emergency response and disaster relief. This ensures that the general population is able to view this information quickly and easily. Government agencies are improving their communication and engagement with citizens by using digital signage players.

Digital signage can help capture someone’s attention and make them remember your message. It can also help you emotionally connect with your content. By using digital signage players, businesses, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and government agencies can improve communication, engagement, and the overall experience of their audience. Is digital signage right for your organization?

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If you are struggling to decide which video conferencing system to standardize on, we can help. Right now, the two most prominent video conferencing solutions are Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Each has its benefits and drawbacks, and you are guaranteed to have different opinions among staff on which reigns supreme. So how do you decide which system is best for your company?

What Both Zoom and Teams Can Do

First, let’s focus on the similar features each program offers. Both programs provide video conferencing services with tools to help teams collaborate. On the conferencing side, they each offer meeting rooms, record sessions, and provide transcripts. Each meeting host can share these recordings with invitees and save them to Google Drive.

Zoom and Teams each offer whiteboarding capabilities for meetings and chat features. However, Team’s offerings are much more robust, allowing you to use gifs, stickers, and more from its taskbar. The two platforms have excellent sharing functions that enable remote screen control when someone struggles with tech issues. Both programs also integrate exceptionally well with other video conferencing device technologies like camera bars.

Differences Between Zoom and Teams

Now, let’s move on to some of the significant differences. To begin, Zoom was created first and foremost as a video conferencing tool. It excels at hosting online events and webinars, streaming to social media, and hosting large amounts of people even when their internet connection is poor. It provides sharp video and audio for hundreds of people in real time.

In contrast, Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one tool that offers video conferencing, meeting tools, and a robust chat feature.

Integrating With Other Products

While both programs have similar functionalities, each stands out in different areas. For starters, Teams integrates seamlessly with other online Microsoft products and is already available if you have Microsoft 365. This integration allows meeting collaborators to work on the same document and have it updated automatically.

In contrast, Zoom pairs with over a thousand different apps and has similar collaboration functionality with Google Sheets and other products. However, it updates slowly for shared documents.

International Collaboration

Both programs offer translation functionality if your company works with teams internationally. With Teams, you can get live translation in over 40 languages. You can select a message in the chat and translate it into your preferred language. With Zoom, there are only 12 language translations currently supported.

Internal vs. External Meetings

Regarding connecting to the meeting, Teams is excellent for in-office meetings with staff who have the app. Outside meetings can be challenging to join if the meeting participant still needs to get the Teams app or access to Microsoft Edge or Chrome. Meanwhile, Zoom sends guests one link that quickly and easily logs them into a meeting.

Price Point Comparison

The price point is another essential consideration when comparing the two systems. Each has a base-level free version available. These versions give around an hour of free meeting time and can hold up to one-hundred participants. Moving up the levels, however, Teams is more budget-friendly per user and offers a fair amount of storage.

Which Platform Should You Choose?

As you can see, Zoom and Teams each have their perks and drawbacks. So, when choosing which video conferencing software is best for your organization, you must decide what is most important. Microsoft Teams has many fantastic options if your goal is better productivity and employee collaboration. If you want to make your external meetings and events great, Zoom may be your best choice.

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BR Wealth Management

Most of the time, when wealth management is mentioned, the first thought that comes to mind is managing portfolios. That is not the case at BR Wealth Management. Managing Principal of BRWM Brian Randolph and Client Associate Hailey Duncan sat down with OEC to discuss how their exciting new office project is setting their business up for success.

What Makes BR Wealth Management Unique

Unlike most financial advisory firms, BRWM focuses on blending investment management with financial planning. “We call the combination of those two pieces wealth management, and that combination gives our clients the best financial outcome,” says Brian. For anyone walking in their door for the first time, BRWM has a solution that fits everyone’s needs. However, they first ensure they are the right fit by learning about the client’s goals, objectives, and concerns before developing a plan to help. The company is unique in its multi-generation aspect of wealth management. “Most of our clients are second or third-generation clients, and we hope to be a quasi-family office for them and their future generations.”

Teamwork plays a critical role at BRWM. While each member of the six-person staff has a different specialty, they all work together to serve a family unit. This collaboration allows them to give their clients the best service possible and makes the staff feel like one big family.

A Blessing In Disguise

What BRWM did not expect recently was the sudden need to move that family to a new location. “Our lease was ending,” says Hailey, “and we had to find a new location quickly. However, what started with a move based on necessity quickly became an opportunity to design a space that better fit our needs. It was a blessing in disguise.” Fortunately, the new space offered BRWM a clean palate. “I wanted a welcoming space that felt like home but was still a great place to work. We wanted more open space, light, plants, comfortable seating, and individual spaces for people to work privately or collaborate in the open. Cailey [Workplace Consultant] and the OEC team helped us flush that out,” says Brian.

The company was working under a tight timeline, but with Cailey’s help, they met all their deadlines.

What started as a potentially stressful experience was quickly fixed by Cailey and OEC.

Hailey Duncan, Client Associate

Hailey shares, “Cailey covered the different types of furniture we needed and showed us all the possible finishes. We landed on some light veneer for our desking and a lot of blue, soft seating that looks
modern and reflects our branding.”

The Difference Between Offices

The old space BRWM worked in was old, dated, and had the classic wealth management feel with dark colors and rich mahogany. While the offices are roughly the same size, the new layout gives staff privacy within their own offices as well as conference rooms and spaces for open collaboration. One such space, the lounge, is Hailey’s personal favorite, while Brian loves the informal conference room.

Fortunately for me, helping clients meet their financial goals is my passion, so this job doesn’t feel like work. Being in this space is great because it’s both welcoming to older generations and innovative and fun enough for younger ones.”

Brian Randolph: Managing Principal

Ready For Growth

Now that they are settling into their beautiful new office, BRWM is ready to dive into growth mode. “Our main focus for the next decade-plus is on growth and continuing to serve our multiple generations of clients,” Brian shares. “Fortunately for me, helping clients meet their financial goals is my passion, so this job doesn’t feel like work. Being in this space is great because it’s both welcoming to older generations and innovative and fun enough for younger ones. It brings in the technology we need for conference calls and the comfort of having casual conversations and sometimes heated or difficult conversations about the decisions clients need to make over time. This is a great space, and we’re looking forward to growing in it while we help our clients reach their goals.”

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What should be an organization’s goal when developing collaboration spaces? At OEC technology, we believe the most important part of installing new technology is ensuring employees understand and use it easily. If your room is too complicated, it won’t get used, hurting your business.

BYOM Offers Flexibility

With simplicity and ease of use being the goal, BYOM or “Bring Your Own Meeting” is essential in any organization. Why? BYOM simplifies complex control systems by running all the technology in a room with a single laptop. This allows employees to run any meeting from their device, regardless of the meeting type. This flexibility is important because employees are comfortable and in control when hosting a meeting using their devices. Employees in control are more effective and more inclined to collaborate in hybrid meeting environments.

What to consider when selecting technology:

• Standardization + BYOM
• BYOM Exclusively
• Cost for Each System

The Importance of Standardizing

While BYOM offers flexibility, standardizing on one operating system like Microsoft Teams or Zoom is still a good idea. The main benefits of standardization include ease of training staff to use a single system and IT management of that system. Training a team and managing licenses for a system is much easier if standardized. The primary drivers of standardization are current limitations on technology. While collaboration room technology is improving, it still lacks the ability to flip between platforms. While you may like both Teams and Zoom, the camera bars on the market cannot support both simultaneously. To create the best experience, choosing one is crucial.

BYOM + Standardization

To circumvent this flip issue, standardization in conjunction with BYOM gives users the best of both worlds. If a company standardizes on Teams, they can reserve a room from their calendar, share a Teams meeting, and join that meeting with one touch. If they want to reserve the room without creating a Teams meeting, the room is still reserved, but they can manually connect their device to the camera and microphone bar while hosting, say, a Zoom call. Both options allow the user to access the full functionality of the technology while supporting their precise need.

Choosing The Best Technology For You

When bringing new technology into your space, consider a few things. First, do you want to pick a platform or go BYOM for everything? This is a question about functionality and deciding what works best for your team. Second, there is a cost associated with every platform you choose, so consider how many rooms you will be supporting. Ultimately, the goal is understanding and ease of use for your teams, so choose the technology that will help you succeed.

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OEC Academy and Internships

In the summer of 2022, OEC had a problem. The summer was booked full of project installations, with too few installers to do the work. To find help fast, OEC turned to personal connections with high school students looking for a summer job. In no time, jobs were installing on time thanks to extra help from these short-term students.

Connecting With Local Schools

To avoid falling into the same situation in 2023, OEC developed a free four-month training course, “OEC Academy,” for high school students interested in the trades. Then team members from OEC construction and furniture connected with CTE instructors around the valley, inviting their students and visiting classrooms. By February, the program had students ready to learn and to vie for a paid summer internship.

OEC Academy

OEC Academy happens one night a month, and students from all over the West Ada School District gather at OEC’s downtown Boise showroom. Here, the OEC construction and furniture teams join forces to teach students everything from basic measurement and hand tools to heavy equipment, safety, how to read blueprints, and even building. Group challenges and games earn students points, and at the end of the academy, at least one participant will be offered a paid summer internship.

While this program has been an excellent way to expose high school kids to different trade options, they need more depth of experience to excel in the workplace.

Working With West Ada To Create Internships

That is why OEC asked West Ada CTE teachers what they needed to help equip students after
graduation. The teacher’s answers were loud and clear, internships. There is a big, wide world full of trades, and students need to know all their options to make their decisions easier after graduation. Internships are the perfect way for students to broaden their horizons and for businesses to find talented young workers. Through their CTE classes, many students are OSHA 30 certified, so they are already cleared to go on various job sites, making it even easier for businesses to work with them.

OEC asked West Ada CTE teachers what they needed to help equip students after graduation. The teacher’s answers were loud and clear, internships.

Real-World Experience

Through the West Ada program, companies interview students and selected them for an internship. Once selected, the students are spend certain days at a business. During those days, they go to the business for the time they would be in class. Their internship hours give them credit toward class; while they get real-world experience. Thanks to these internships, students gain exposure to multiple career options, and some even have jobs lined up after graduation.

Local Businesses Can Help

Not every child wants to go to college. Some love the hands-on problem-solving that working in the trades provides. As our community grows, we need skilled tradesmen and women to support us. Luckily, as we have learned at OEC, businesses can significantly impact raising the next generation in the trades. Whether it is creating a four-month training program like OEC Academy or partnering with a local school district, we can all make a difference in our community’s lives and economy.

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