Video Conferencing Company Fuze Buys LiveMinutes, Raises $20M To Expand Into Team Collaboration

San Francisco-based video conferencing company Fuze is expanding its platform with the acquisition of an online team collaboration platform, LiveMinutes.


With the addition, Fuze is no longer focused only on online meetings, but is now also rolling out a new product calledFuze Spaces which allows colleagues to chat, share and comment on files, organize projects, and more via a web-based dashboard.

Source: techcrunch.com

Progressive workplace strategies (like remote work and distributed workforces) have provided opportunities for companies like Fuze to develop innovative, virtual solutions to the challenges that naturally manifest while working with off-site colleagues or clients.

Fuze’s new acquisition of LiveMinutes will allow them to add to their meeting service both document and screen sharing capabilities as well.  While many organizations are switching to physical collaborative environments, Fuze is ensuring virtual collaboration is also possible.

Stegmeier Consulting Group has seen clients first-hand struggle with implementing remote work strategies.  Often times the roadblocks that spring up come in the form of inadequate technological tools to handle the transition, resistance of employees to new ways of work, and middle-managers who are convinced they need to see and be within a close proximity of those they are responsible for.

On the technology side, Fuze certainly sounds like they are well experienced and positioned to provide clients with excellent collaborative software.  For help on the people side, contact Stegmeier Consulting Group.  Our consultants are familar with the resistance that comes naturally with change, and can provide a variety of services to engage them and help alleviate their concerns.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

 
https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

 

Designing for Health: Rethinking Workplace in Healthcare

To improve the bottom line, healthcare systems have made incremental changes to slow the historical escalation in healthcare costs. They have implemented lean/six sigma changes, improved patient safety, and developed better measures and matrix for patient outcomes. A different approach to patient care and communication has also enhanced results. Team-based, interdisciplinary problem solving is becoming much more prevalent in patient care.

Source: www.contractdesign.com

The issues facing the medical field has healthcare providers scrambling to balance costs without impacting the quality of care they can provide.  As this article describes, an increase in patients, an aging population, and rising costs has an already overloaded system pushed up against the wall.
To push back, providers have begun exploring different ways in which their administrative employees work to ensure efficiency.  One such opportunity for improvement lies in the design or layout of space.  Opening up an office layout, they’ve found, can serve two primary purposes.  The first, is to cluster employee seating to reduce the amount of square footage per worker.  This, of course, reduces the need for larger floor plates which provides a real estate savings.  In leftover spaces, focus rooms can be built-in to ensure adequate levels of collaboration and privacy are possible, as well.
The second reason behind implementing an open work environment is to establish a collaborative, team approach to healthcare. Working together, administrative staff, nurses, and even doctors can generate ideas and potentially solve problems faster than had everyone been working in isolation.  Again, the goals are better care, and lower costs — an office redesign in this mold can accomplish that.
Stegmeier Consulting Group has been fully aware of this shift in medical field space utilization for some time now.  Founder Diane Stegmeier recently partook in a panel discussion at the BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Conference in Cleveland, Ohio addressing this very topic.  If your organization (healthcare related or not) is hesitant to implement such a drastic change to the work environment for fear of employee resistance, contact SCG.  We can help your team develop a workplace and workforce strategy to overcome your current business challenges, and then prepare your employees for working in new ways.

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You’ve heard the term “change management” and may even know of a company or two that has applied some form of change management services to their project to relocate to a new workplace or redesign their current space. You can’t help but Read More

Here’s why Holland America’s new president ditched his water-view office

When Holland America moves to its new lower Queen Anne offices about 18 months from now, Orlando Ashford will lose the great view of Puget Sound that he currently has from his spacious executive office.

But as president of the Seattle-based cruise line, Ashford says the reason for the move – shifting the company to an open office concept to help the more than 1,000 employees work together – is worth it.

Source: www.bizjournals.com

Holland America’s new workplace change initiative is off to a great start. When an organization secures leadership buy-in (or leaders act as the catalysts for change, such as in Holland’s case) a new workplace strategy has a much higher chance for success.  Conversely, when leaders opt to exclude themselves from an initiative affecting the rest of the workplace, the more likely that resistance to change will manifest.

Individual contributors tend to mimic their leadership, and strive to obtain the career, status, and perceived perks that come with being a higher ranking official within the organization. If company executives can maintain their private offices with the stunning views, there will be little motivation for the rest of the workforce to transition to and work in an open-environment, for example.  The belief that space can and should be used as a currency, or as a reward, is still prevalent in many companies today.

Stegmeier Consulting Group views leadership behavior as an incredibly important Critical Influence that has the potential to make or break a new workplace strategy.  And while it may be difficult to approach the C-Suite from within the organization regarding this, our team is well-versed in conveying business cases for new ways of work to individuals at all levels.  Let Stegmeier Consulting Group help put the “lead by example” mantra to work for your company.

The 4-day Workweek is Real … for employees at these companies

A 4-day — or compressed — workweek is offered as an option to at least some employees at 43% of companies, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. But only 10% of those companies make it available to all or most of their employees.

It’s a perk more likely to be found at small companies, 14% of which make it available to all or most of their workers, while only 5% of large companies do the same.

While the concept of a compressed workweek isn’t new — it’s been common among nurses and emergency medical personnel, for instance — it’s not the norm for most jobs….

Source: money.cnn.com

Interested in a sure-fire way to attract and retain the best possible workers?  Ask yourself this: is your organization harnessing the power of flexible work arrangements?

We recently discussed that an organization’s flexibility with work schedules is one of the top factors that can lead to higher employee morale.  With a talented, more selective generation entering the workforce, offering an extra day off weekly or an ability to work from home when desired, will likely give your organization a recruiting edge over the competition.

Of course like with any change, a divergence from the traditional Monday through Friday, 9-5 work week will bring questions.  What day, or days, can we close early or give our employees off completely?  Who is the best fit for remote work?  How do we even decide which flexible working arrangements work best for us?

Fortunately, Stegmeier Consulting Group has the ability to answer these questions and more.  Utilizing our proprietaryFlexMatch Assessments (which can be customized to your organization) we can help arm leaders with the ammunition needed to determine the most suitable candidates for working remotely or participating in a flexible working arrangement.  We can then help review and craft policies related to the program, as well as establish training for individuals new to remote work.  We also specialize in developing training for managers, who under these new circumstances, would have to learn to lead individuals they can no longer see in-person.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Barclays publishes work happiness factors

Good work-life balance and flexible working conditions are two of the top ten factors when it comes to happiness in your job.

That’s according to research from Barclays, launched ahead of its debate on youth employability on 15 April. The thing most likely to make people happy in their job was getting on well with colleagues – 26% of respondents cited this. It was closely followed by having a good work-life balance (24%) while flexible working conditions were seventh on the list (15%). The bank surveyed 2,000 people aged 16 and over.

Source: flexibleboss.com

The team at Stegmeier Consulting Group prides ourselves on delivering unsurpassed change management services that can improve workplace productivity while simultaneously helping to reduce costs.  We’re excited to announce this article affirms our work is also improving another important factor: workplace happiness.

 

The customized solutions that we are able to deliver a client touches on almost every one of the top ten factors that Barclay’s cites in their study as being most important for high worker morale.  Some of the parallels are quite obvious, such as when employees rank work-life balance and flexible working conditions as being of utmost importance to ensure happiness.  Often times, clients bring us on to assist with revamping a flexible work policy, or a work from home program.  

 

Other impacts of our work on this list may not be as clear cut, but they do exist. For example, employees cite getting along well with colleagues as the #1 happiness-factor.  In order for strong workplace relationships to be built, organizations most likely have policies and protocols developed that allow not only for employee communication and collaboration, but for privacy when necessary as well.  The importance of these workplace guidelines can be seen especially in instances of organizations with more modern, open designs.  Stegmeier Consulting Group has helped numerous organizations develop policies and protocols, many of which focus on proper etiquette, in these new collaborative workspaces.  The aim truly is to make sure everyone is getting along!

 

When beginning a change initiative, keep in mind that the morale of your employees can be affected by any decision you make as well as how that decision is communicated (for instance, are your employees finding out about the change through proactive communications from leadership, or through back channel rumours?).  Partnering with Stegmeier Consulting can give your organization the ability to engage your people, keep them focused on the positives of your new strategy, and hopefully keep them happy as well.

Hireside chat: The magnetism of a great company culture

Culture is the soul of your company; it’s intangible but not nebulous. In fact, it’s all around you. While you can’t quantify culture like a headcount or swipe it like a touchscreen, you can feel it. It can be the difference between an open office space and rows of beige cubicles. It can be the sound of employees collaborating or heading to lunch together. It can be an animated GIF sent in a company-wide email and the barrage of playful responses it generates. It can be giving employees the license to be themselves.

Culture is much more than a place and its perks; it’s about creating an ethos that empowers, inspires, and, ultimately, attracts. And if you do it just right, you will be known for it.

Source: mashable.com

Culture plays such a large role in workplace change initiatives that our founder, Diane Stegmeier, actually included it as one of her “15 Critical Influences” that can affect the success of implementing a new strategy. 

In this article, it is not difficult to see why.  The example company referenced had allowed a culture of distrust to manifest, and employees seemed to lack faith in and respect for their leadership.  When implementing a new workplace strategy, a challenge that could involve altering both how work gets done and in what type of environment, communication and strong leadership are a must to achieve employee buy-in.

When partnering with an organization, one of the first steps Stegmeier Consulting Group will often take is to perform a Critical Influence Analysis.  By conducting this analysis, our team will get a feel for your culture, as well as the 14 other factors that could make or break your workplace change.  Using the results, we’ll then develop recommendations and strategies to move forward appropriately.  Stegmeier Consulting does not offer canned solutions to any client.  Our work, which can involve surveys, communication plans, and program guides, is based on your organization, and what we learn about what it’s like to be part of your team.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

The top 5 issues affecting interior design today

Interior design is undergoing its most drastic transformation since the sustainable design revolution of the 1990s. Advances made in creative methods, the application of data, neuroscience and health, and building performance are demanding new interior design leadership.


Designers who have mastered the skills to create functional and beautiful spaces are reshaping the interior landscape, from historic preservation and adaptive re-use to innovation in newly constructed spaces to meet the needs of changing working-and-living prototypes. Design entrepreneurs have moved the delivery of their services into cyberspace and are practicing their profession in a mobile, connected community. 

Source: inhabitat.com

Functionality is just one of many aspects being taken into consideration in today’s contemporary office designs.  No longer does a phyical workplace exist solely as a place for employees to “do work”.  Instead, organizations are increasingly using workplace designs to trumpet who they are, what they do, and what they stand for.  

A common theme is the use of branding within the workplace.  Designs that relate back to a company’s product or service engage employees and enthrall visitors.  We highlighted Coca-Cola’s Toronto headquarters in a recent article, but similar approaches can be seen in workplaces such as CSXNPR, and Goodyear Tire.

At the end of the day, however, interior designers will be pressed to answer why their new concept is in fact more efficient and will allow for increased productivity – even if one of the goals of the project was to decrease the amount of needed space!


It is at this juncture where Stegmeier Consulting Group can provide our knowledge and over 13 years of experience working with organizational change initiatives to prepare and train individuals to effectively use their new environment.  We serve as an insurance policy of sorts for design firms and corporations to make sure new workspaces are being used correctly, and that productivity does not drop during or after the transition.  If your organization is interested in partnering with Stegmeier Consulting Group for these purposes, or is in need of assistance in selecting the proper design firm for your workplace strategy, contact us.  

Collaborating Online Is Sometimes Better than Face-to-Face

If you’re embracing online collaboration as a necessary evil — the only way to work with an increasingly dispersed team of global or remote workers, for example — then you’re doing it wrong. Online collaboration is not a second-best substitute for face-to-face work: It’s a complement with its own perks and benefits.

Source: hbr.org

It’s interesting for our team at Stegmeier Consulting Group to see so many workplace change initiatives boil down to organizations attempting to enhance the communication abilities of their employees.  The open office environment, for example, seeks to encourage collaboration and “spontaneous interactions.”  Office restacks (or redesigns) often will seek to strategically relocate certain departments within a close proximity of one another in order for them to work closer together and streamline business processes.  With a growing trend focused on improving teamwork and collaboration, instituting telecommuting programs that allow for work to be completed off-site may seem counterintuitive. 

In truth, teleworking does not need to be viewed as a roadblock to refining an organization’s communication capabilities.  Instead, it can be looked upon as an opportunity.  As this article points out, one can consider the assemblage of a virtual team for instance.  Imagine an employee at location A working more regularly online with colleagues located at locations B, C, and D.  The intermixing of skill sets of employees who may otherwise never meet is a perfect chance to breed inspiration and new ideas.  And depending on where your employees are located, it’s feasible to think your organization’s projects are being worked on and passed along 24/7.    

At Stegmeier, we recognize that remote workers collaborate differently and that this shift in work-styles can be scary for many managers.  Similarly, many senior leaders may feel remote work is a necessary evil, in order to corral heightened real estate costs, but are concerned of its effects on communication, productivity, and corporate culture.  If either of these scenarios describes your organization, there are a number of ways we can help ready your workforce.  We encourage you to visit our website to learn more about our services and the clients we have helped in the past.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change