Afgiftekantoor 9099 Gent X / P.508718/Bimestriel
Nr 46 September - October 2015
Reuniting Without Disuniting! Teamwork is not what it used to be! In the past, a meeting was organized and people would simply reunite. It’s not so simple anymore…
It is mostly due to the separation of collaborators. They are often far apart from each other, sometimes in different countries and different time zones.
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For Mobility to Really Be Everywhere BYOD Is Making Waves Inside The Meeting Rooms
Associations management Are we ready for tomorrow?
Mobility is everywhere, it is omnipresent. Of
There is a revolution inside the meeting rooms, and during seminars
By Panos Tzivanidis: Head of Events and Hospitality In-
became indispensable in our everyday business.
walls and finding a new home in the pockets of the speaker. In
«During the last international Associations Congress, I
and other conferences: the AV controller is disappearing from the a similar fashion, the presentation has been exported from the computer’s hard drive to the smartphone!
course, we are not talking about car traffic. We
ternational Olympic Committee.
had the privilege of addressing the audience about the
importance of “people networks” and understanding our
are talking about these objects that literally
The basics, easy to gain, are mainly the smartphone and the tablet. Let’s add the notebook to make it complete. But then...
main audiences and stakeholders.».
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A Meeting Without Constraints Is A Wireless Meeting! You consult your agenda… In two days, you will have to do a
presentation in front of the management staff. Pressure and stress are slowly building.
Preparing the content of a presentation is not an easy task.
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Creating Marketing Of Content!
Give Up The iPad and iPhone, The Hotel Will Impress You! Page 5
Don’t Get Lost in the Meanders of the Maze Page 17
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Being a Client Centric Business To be able to follow the quick evolution of the business world, businesses have to become
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client centric.
ince many products are becoming trivial, it is important to be one step above by having a good client experience. Worldwide competition forces businesses to answer to clients with very different needs and from various locations and cultures.
A Quick Development Clients are becoming more and more demanding now that technology changes the laws of what is possible by erasing more “impossibilities” everyday. This is the reason why any businesses are hurrying to set up solutions aimed to the client. A study on 315 business leaders, conducted by the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, has noted that 43% of organizations plan on developing this kind of strategy as fast as possible, in a single year. 31% of organizations plan on doing so in the next two years. Challenges are important. The study also revealed, and this is important, a lack of confidence in respondents in the capacity of their businesses to clearly define a vision and a strategy.
Participating In the Everyday Life According to the study, only 20% of strategies aimed at the client are lead by business leaders. The higher management is not implicated enough in the process. There is a distinctive “lack of leadership” in these strategies. The financing of the “client aimed strategy” is another problem: only 36% of respondents have both a team and a budget dedicated to make sure the strategy succeeds. Almost 20% have nothing at all. If top management doesn’t take control and financing is suffering, nothing will come of this strategy. The real challenge is not that leaders don’t know how to create a real “vision”. The problem is that they’re trying many different solutions because they’re afraid that competition might beat them. They work under the pressure of having to “find something” and jump from one solution to another in hope of finding the strategy that will have the largest impact. “Participating in the everyday life”, being part of the projects, working on the same tasks as collaborators during a full week (and not just a one day long visit), these are steps that will allow you to understand how to improve on the “client aimed strategy”.
A “Backseat” Approach In fact, if the vision is blurry, the strategies will be as well and higher management will have a hard time conveying the
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ideas to their employees. The clarity of the vision is cited as essential by 90% of respondents. For the vision to be clear, a deep understanding of the expectations of the clients is required. This understanding will provide a foundation that the business will use to form a clear vision to answer their clients’ needs. At Apple for example, project discussion
begins “at the bottom”. Engineers don’t start by talking about technology, they begin by talking about “friction points”, problematic points. The executives don’t talk about ROI and business models, they start with consumer grievances. The user is the focal point of the business. We all know the kind of results that this approach can create!
From Burnout To Bore out… We often talk about tips and tricks to be more efficient at work. What a healthy concern. But did you know that lots of people… are bored at the office?
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hat’s new is that we are preoccupied by these individuals; so preoccupied that we came up with a term to characterize them. The new term, “bore out”, is kind of the opposite of “burnout”…
It Is More Gratifying To Tire Yourself Out At Work Let’s not smile too fast, the bore out can have serious consequences on the health of the worker… and (obviously) of the business! In fact, if we believe Peter Werder and Philippe Rothlin, the duo who spotted the phenomenon for the first time in 2007, it is a “psychological problem caused by boredom at work”. We immediately think about a lack of work, but it can also be a lack of stimulation or the monotony of said work. Effectively, boredom can be as dangerous as overworking. It can lead one to depression, anxiety crisis, sleep deficit, and cardiovascular disease. In the “International Journal of Psy-
Left: Peter Werder, Right: Philippe Rothlin chology”, researchers estimate that the phenomenon touches a third of salaried westerners. We do not talk much about the bore out, much less than the burnout, even though these two “diseases” are seen in about equal parts. The main reason is the social acceptability: in these days of unemployment, it is more valorizing to overwork yourself than admit that you are dying of boredom at the office.
A Very Uneasy Feeling: Feeling “Under-employed”! Some categories of professionals are more affected by this phenomenon. In fact, any person that feels under-employed is susceptible to
developing a bore out with, primarily, civil servants. People with high qualifications (who have the impression of being employed below their competences) also fit into this category. Characteristics of tasks that lead to a bore out: monotone and partitioned. Often, this happens in a climate of “overstaffing”, where there is not enough work for everyone. By contrast, liberal professions such as business owners, or any job that requires creativity, are less subject to bore out. The notion of “task enrichment” is important. When one can directly see the consequences of his acts, the work automatically seems more gratifying. Both recruitment and management need to take bore out into account. Recruitment needs to focus on recruiting employees that are realistically adequate for the task at hand. Management, on its side, needs to privilege social recognition of the collaborator, while also creating team spirit and focusing on it.
Keizershoevestraat, 26 2610 Wilrijk - Belgium Tel: +32 478 948951 Fax: +32 3 2397516 Email: jp.thys@cbsmedia.biz Website: www.cbsmedia.biz Publication Manager Jean-Pierre Thys Editor Jean-Claude Lesuisse Translation Babel Ophoff Vertalingen Printing Lowyck Publisher Jean-Pierre Thys Keizershoevestraat, 26 2610 Wilrijk - Belgium Communications Business Solutions is published 5 times a year. Online registration forms on our website will be considered for a regular free copy. Subscription Print: 55 € (Belgium) – 60 € (Europe), 85 € (other continents). All reproduction rights reserved for all countries. Reproductionof the texts (even partial) is prohibited without permission of the publisher. Member ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Communications Business Solutions is available in print in french and dutch and online in english, french and dutch.
Managing Creation… Possible? How to create new things? This is an essential question in a world where, let us admit, most ideas and objects
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copy each other to finally become a normalised offer that is not very profitable.
n fact, businesses often have large ideas, but sadly, they do not realize it! They simply lack a process to let them identify the best ideas to develop.
Prioritizing Ideas! In reality, ideas have to be prioritized, and only the best ideas should be financed. To reach this point, businesses have to focus on three key domains: technological developments, changes concerning the needs/habits of clients, and the adaptation of the competition to these changes. Concerning the technological developments, you need to know that clients opt for the best solution to their needs. A faster, cheaper, and better solution to replace the traditional way of doing things. Let’s think about, for example, mobile phones versus wired phones. A common problem is to be faced with a product that offers solutions that do not answer an important need. The business imagines itself as losing straight from the start; it estimates that there needs to be more innovation. This proves that innovation is
not the best strategy. Everything is relative: who knew that iPad would revolutionize the market when there were already notebooks and multiple screens, including the ones on smartphones? At first glance, the need was not really important.
Engage The Upper Management Client interviews are essential for understanding the most important needs and learning if a new product, an innovation, covers that need. Either way, a consumer product needs to be understood and used by a “normal” person. The development team is usually too “into” the product to detect its potential failures. For these teams, everything is simple, but it is not the case for everyone. It is useless to offer multiple possibilities if it is too hard
to access or switch from one to the other. This was one of the strengths of the iPhone, which allowed you, in one click, to go from viewing videos, to the camera, to reading or sending emails. Finally, it is important to engage the upper management in the process. This will give “body” to the different developments and will motivate the teams even more. Upper management also usually brings a new look on things, with a more typical user approach.
Steve Jobs and the iPad
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Lausanne? At The Pinnacle Of Congress Cities! It’s the city of Lausanne that hosted associations from around the world, from May 5nd to May 6th, during its International and European Association Congress 2015 which was held at the Swiss Tech
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Convention Centre.
livier Mathieu, Congress and Meetings Manager of the Convention Bureau of Lausanne, declared: “Hosting the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Olympic city, is recognized as a privileged destination by more than 60 international sports associations and federations. The presence of international associations has increased in a large number of sectors, from medical to research, passing by education and sustainable development.” More than 30 global and European headquarters are found in Lausanne, including Nestlé/Nespresso, Ferring Pharma, Nissan International, Adecco, Cisco, Logitech and Philip Morris. The reputation of Lausanne is not limited to the domain of sports, it is also reputable in the domain of scientific research. Lausanne is also the champion of sustainable development and is spotted with relaxation zones and green spaces. Despite this, the city has a very large and effective system of public transport. For example, their automatic metro, which travels on the strongest slope in the world, allows traveling by a combination of rail and walking.
It is a city built on a human scale where everything is accessible only a few steps away. In the heart of Europe, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, Lausanne is a compact city growing rapidly which perfectly fulfills your needs when it comes to conventions, meetings, incentives or other conferences.
Where We Meet Ideas The Swiss Tech Convention Center is located on a campus. With more than 24 000 students, many laboratories, multinationals, and dozens of start-ups, the two universities of Lausanne contain the biggest names in the world of science, culture and economy. The Convention Center was conceived to foster encounters and the exchange of ideas.
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Swiss-Tech Convention Centre
It is a meeting point not only for local decision makers, but also for visitors from around the world. From this point of view, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, located in the heart of the campus, is rated amongst the best universities in the world and has one of the most famous libraries in the world: the Rolex Learning Center, which has particularly audacious and creative architecture. The Convention Center is different from other major centers by its capacity and its modularity (number of flexible rooms). Its architecture allows many auditoriums to fuse together and the number of seats can be changed in only a few minutes. This adaptability is based on two mechanisms: a sliding-wall system and the “Gala Venue Technology”. The Convention Center answers to norms of sustainable development. It offers a Wi-Fi connection, a business center with 14 offices and a print shop, a VIP lounge with a kitchenette and a shower, seats with adjustable note-holders and power outlets, interpretation cabins, technical assistance during events, the iBeacon technology which allows to instantly download a multimedia documentation on mobile devices, and a catering service. Let’s speak numbers: the auditoriums can host 100, 330, 468, 1670, 2135 or 3000 places. Fifteen modular rooms, for small groups, are at the garden level.
There is also a banquet hall of 2150 m2. The Swiss Tech Convention Center adapts itself to your needs and allows to setup the “perfect” room for congresses, conferences, and events. It is made of three levels, each having its own ambiance. The technology, well hidden behind the walls, automates the changes of configurations. It is easy to pass, in about 15 minutes only, from a “theater” room, to a “banquet” room, or even a “classroom”. The Olympic Museum is so rich in possibilities that we will dedicate it its own article. The Lausanne Convention Bureau offers a very large range of services and propels Lausanne to the pinnacle of cities to host congresses, conferences, or events. Lausanne Convention Bureau Av.de Rhodanie, 2 1000 Lausanne 6 Switzerland Tel : 00/41/21 6137361 E-mail : contact@lcvb.ch Website : www.lcvb.ch
Creating Marketing Of Content! The International and European Associations Congress of 2015 was held in
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Switzerland, precisely in Lausanne, from Tuesday May 5 to Thursday May 7.
he event, organized by the “Associations Network” at the Swisstech Convention Center of Lausanne, was conceived to offer to the associations what they need to develop into entities that can satisfy, as much as possible, their members. This was done in the optic of researching and pointing out the real challenges that the leaders must face each day. Representatives from 210 associations and 130 exhibitors from the entire world were received by Damian Hutt, congress chairman and executive director of Associations Network.
each side of the fence. He has worked for a large European medical association, but he is now executive director of the PCO K.I.T.
Day after day during the congress, the participants chose and talked about their subjects of interest, whether that subject is associations, events, affiliations, marketing, or development. Dr. Viktor Joergens, former executive director of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held a speech in front of 200 000 virtual participants! This amount of virtual participation is the dream of every association! This also proves that it is now time to largely develop the organization of virtual offers or, if it’s not already done, to start organizing them as fast as possible! Viktor Joergens has sketched a very clear description of how they reached this incredible success, and he also mentioned what they learned during this experience. Panos Tzivanidis, head of Events and Hospitality at the International Olympic Committee, also held a speech on the theme of “Forming the Foundations for International Success” (for more information, consult the article dedDr Viktor Joergens
you will increase the intensity and the depth of your relationship. Interesting content will allow you to enter into a stronger relationship with your members or clients, whether this content is an event, a journal article, or a short video. It is crucial for the content to be as easy as possible to access. The heads of associations must make sure that their content stays pertinent by developing efficient content creating strategies, optimizing searches with keywords, and communicating properly.
Panos Tzivanidis Group. He sailed through rough waters and explained that a long term adaptive relationship, based on mutual respect, can be a “winwin” for each side. The “marketing of content” is a very powerful strategy to construct and develop membership demands and relations through the creation and spread of valuable content. If you go further than just creating messages and if you interest yourself in your public by creating valuable content based on your interactions, Damian Hutt
The Associations Network unites in one entity business associations, professional associations, scientific and medical associations, as well as federations and other organizations in the sector. It provides support in management, development, and services that associations offer to their members. It succeeds at this task through education, the exchange of ideas, and by procuring any pertinent information, such as strategic information, reports and repertoires. The Associations Network is an independent organization which represents the interests of associations and maintains a clear relationship with providers. For more information: www.associationsnetwork.org Ben Hainsworth
icated to this topic in this issue). Panos has many years of rich experience in organizations and has seen the changing landscape that imposed itself in the sector (from “understand and adapt” to “accept and act”). Ben Hainsworth, executive director for Associations K.I.T. Group (of Berlin), has been on
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Associations management – Are we ready for tomorrow? By Panos Tzivanidis: Head of Events and Hospitality International Olympic Committee.
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uring the last international Associations Congress, I had the privilege of addressing the audience about the importance of “people networks” and understanding our main audiences and stakeholders. I believe is obvious to all of us that in order to form strong foundations for international success, we need to go beyond the known methods and ways of doing things. We need to understand better our existing members, the new members we want to attract and in general, what is expected from our associations and from us. In a world that communication methods and messages goes beyond geographical borders and cultures we need to ask ourselves if our association processes and even governance is ready for this new and fast paced environment. Is it still relevant? and if “yes”, is it relevant to the audiences we want? Is our association an “aging” one? and what are we doing to bridge the gaps, if any, with the younger generations? I know I am asking many questions and I could ask even more but I prefer to let you complete the list, with questions relevant to your association and it’s specific challenges. Below, I would just present you what I personally believe, encompasses the major challenges for the future and not only for the associations but for the events industry as a whole. It is also my guide and base for all discussions or even decisions around new projects, new processes and forward thinking, or as some like to call, “strategic” thinking. My simple guides are what I like to call the “3Ts” Time – Technology – Talent. All 3 equally important and you can put them in
Panos Tzivanidis any order you like. At the end you have to take all 3 into account as it is certain you will have to deal with all of them sooner or later (if you haven’t already) Time: We all know how time has become the most important commodity in our daily life. We never have enough time to do all the things we need or want. Very often we try to find ways to use time more efficiently in order to maximise its impact. Everyone struggles with time and we have to keep this in mind on everything we are doing in our associations and in our events. We are constantly asking our members, our participants, our exhibitors, our audiences, to “give us” their time. Their precious time!
The ultimate question is... do they consider their “time well spent”? We are asking our new and existing members to spend time for many things related to our associations and our events. As long as they consider their time well spent, they will continue contributing and on top, they will become our advocates attracting new members and participants. Equally with so many choices of events and associations related to their interests, “time well spent” will become the differentiation factor. It is exactly the same way we all decide which event we will attend. It is mainly on past experience of our own or of people we trust and their perception of “time well spent”. So keep in mind...
«Associations Congress» International Lausanne
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we are no longer in the period that people were networking and spending their time “pleasantly”. They now want every second to worth something and our role is to make them feel like that. Technology: Technology is moving so fast that is almost impossible to keep up with. And if we add the dimension of the new generations and how they use technology, the problem is even bigger. For international associations and global events, technology is actually a good “partner”. A partner that can help us reach more of our audiences, faster and better! So it is time to embrace technology and make it part of ALL new projects as well as the existing vital ones for your core services and offerings. Think, simple... technology in a way is global. Basically, no geographical borders, no cultural dilemmas and no time zones. With the above in mind, is obvious to me that technology should play a key role in all of your communications. Reaching your audience and members through social media, cloud
sharing environments, interactive libraries and other means, is a must! In no way I am implying you have to do all and be present everywhere. You have to carefully choose the means and media that are more adequate to your association and event. As far as how and which technology to use, careful consideration should be given to your audience and their needs, as well as the strategy for the future. Maybe the young talents have an important role to play in defining the necessary technology.... Talent: This is a point that some of you (I hope not too many) will not necessarily agree with me or maybe you will find me a bit too hard on all of us working in this beautiful industry. I do believe that we are not doing enough to attract young talent to our industry and even worse, we are not doing a lot to keep the talents that decide to join. I believe we are an aging industry, although we have many! young talents starting but not staying. We believe that past experience is the most important qualification for our industry. As a result, we try to recruit junior members with “at least 5 years of experience in
Panos Tzivanidis similar events or positions in an international association” . If we don’t decide to accept the young talents out of universities or colleges and trust them and empower them, I can’t see how we will move forward. The young generations are born and live in a multi tasking world. They were born with at least 3 devices (TV, smart phone & computer) dominating their life’s we like it or not. They are Panos Tzivanidis multitasking by nature and are constantly connected. Then, we are taking them in our industry
and we are asking them to do a simple, single and most of the times, repetitive task for some months or even years before we reward them with a more difficult but also ..... single, repetitive task..... Maybe it is time to stop trying to adapt them to our processes and way of thinking and rather help them understand the objective(s) and let them adapt our processes to their new reality. We might be pleasantly surprised with the outcome in all fronts. And in order to close, just a thought...... your future “buyers”, “members”, “participants”, “exhibitors” or whatever you want to call them, will definitively be living in an extremely fast and multitasking world. They will have minimum “past” experiences…. and the “now” will not even be relevant to them. They will be living too fast to comprehend “time” as we do.
So act now! Get talent to use technology, in order for our industry to “match” the time and the needs of the future.
Panos Tzivanidis
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Meetings, Seminars, Gala Nights… A Museum That Turns Heads! Along with its title of Olympic Capital, Lausanne is also proud of its Olympic Museum! And with reason: it is quite a unique building.
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n top of being a modern and interactive museum, it’s also a marvelous platform, on the shores of Lake Geneva, for all types of corporate events, such as seminars, team building exercises, and gala nights.
Live The Olympic Experience! The Olympic Museum of Lausanne has everything you need! It is a piece of the Olympic life, even used by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) during important encounters, for example, between its president and heads of state. The museum’s rooms can be setup for a corporate client, local or international, to make them and their associates live the “Olympic experience”. As a matter of fact, many possibilities are available for businesses. The Olympic Museum has numerous trump cards. Here are three of them: the Gallery, the Coubertin Club, and the Tom Café, which, together, can host up to 700 people for a cocktail, and up to 400 for a seated meal. Do you want a breathtaking view of the Alps and the lake? The Gallery (280 m2) will suit your needs. It is a very original temporary exposition room that businesses can arrange to their desire for a private event. What if you prefer to impress with design and luminosity? The Coubertin Club is made of two parts and can host up to 250 people for a cocktail (190 for a meal). A modern, colorful place with a magnificent view is what awaits you at Tom Café. It is on the last floor of the Olympic Museum and it has one of the most beautiful terraces in Lausanne. The Tom Café is open during the day to visitors of the museum, but can be used privately at night.
Modular Rooms For Your Needs Business meetings and seminars usually find a perfect fit. The Olympia room,
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the Auditorium, the Art Lounge and the Forecourt will answer your needs. Do you have a small committee of 20 people or a legion of 500? Do you desire a themed program, a real “tailor-made” event? No problem! The Olympia room, very luminous, is conceived for small groups of 20 to 50 people. Is your group larger? Around 180 people? Choose the Auditorium! Your conventioneers will be seated in large leather chairs with tablets and international power outlets. The advanced technology is not forgotten: the three translation cabins are there for your use, just like the double screen and the projectors. Obviously, working is not everything. Let’s think about coffee breaks and other networking opportunities! This is where the Art Lounge comes in with its capacity to hold 200 to 250 people. Once again, originality will be present since this room proposes original expositions related to the Olympic universe. The Esplanade is close to the conference rooms, but outside in the park. It is situated at the museum’s entrance. This time, it is not only the view of the lake and the Alps that will you, but also the Olympic symbols (which surround the Esplanade). Finally, as watermarked all over this article, choosing the Olympic Museum is choosing a unique destination dedicated to sports, art, culture, Olympic values, excellence, respect and friendship.
The Olympic Museum Lausanne Switzerland Tel : 00/41/21 621 6720 E-mail : events.museum@olympic.org Website : www.olympic.org/museum
High Level Meetings in a Palace There is turmoil in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva in March 2015. The Hotel Beau-Rivage Palace must succeed, the challenge at stake is massive! The Palace will host the delegations for negotiations
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on the nuclear activity in Iran.
he perimeter is secured, an operation which is made easier by the positioning of the Beau-Rivage Palace on the shore of the lake. The Palace’s personnel, well trained, act very efficiently as usual. All the necessary infrastructures are available: the bedrooms are numerous and comfortable, the meeting rooms are private, air conditioned, and well equipped with all useful technology, Wi-Fi Internet is available everywhere.
Time for Negotiations! At least 12 meeting rooms of different sizes with natural lighting are at their disposition. The hotel can pamper more than 600 delegates. The Hotel Beau-Rivage Palace is ready. Time for negotiations! There will be many more after these.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, This palace can also meet the needs of all China, the European Union and Iran in the “Salle Forum” of the Beau-Rivage Palace meetings and events of businesses and associations, even while organized at the last minute in an emergency. The Swiss efficiency will room (capacity of 600 people in cocktail mode) the restaurant: “For the restaurant of Beau-Rido the job just right. will fit your needs. It is a real gem that hosted, vage Palace, a marvelous establishment with For seminars and conferences, the lounges of for example, the negotiations of the Lausanne which I share the culture of excellence, I conBeau-Rivage Palace (twelve of them!) allow for treaty and the wedding of Phil Collins. Its lit- ceived a menu “à la carte” and two full course complete focus tle sister, “La Ro- menus which tells the story of family, love, naon the content, tonde”, can host ture, the freshness of berries on the side of a getting rid of the road, the power of mushrooms close by the 400 delegates. prerequisite risks woods, and the souvenir of perfumes in a famiby passing them ly’s kitchen for simple and real pleasure.” Go Above and on to the hotel’s Beyond the employees. Many more places must also be mentioned: the Expectations For “The TerSushi-Bar Miyako, the deluxe French brasserie race”, the numrestaurant “Café Beau-Rivage Palace”, and the ber of particiAfter the work Italian restaurant “Accademia”. pants can reach day, it’s time Ernest Moniz, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian 200 people, but to unwind! The The Beau-Rivage Palace distinguishes itself Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Head of the some lounges Beau-Rivage Pal- sublimely by making its motto come true: Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi offer an extraorace has the best “go above and beyond the expectations of in the “Salon Elysée” of the Beau-Rivage Palace dinary intimatechnology avail- the clients”. What a program indeed… cy, perfect for able to allow its smaller groups (fourteen people can fit in the clients to receive sports coaching. “Elysée” lounge, which is perfect for private The room is completely equipped with the Le Beau-Rivage Palace chats). Some rooms are designed for confiden- “Technogym” technology, which includes cardiPlace du Port 17-19 tial conversations and offer adapted acoustics ovascular and weight loss equipment. It is even CH-1000 Lausanne for the participants to talk without having to use possible to train “connected” and to bring your SWITZERLAND any technology. Everything is designed so that coach with you on a USB key! E-mail: events@brp.ch you may find exactly what you need! After effort comes comfort… Culinary pleasWebsite: www.brp.ch For meetings with a larger public, the Sandoz ures shall take place and it will be very hard to choose what to eat with so many good choices at Beau-Rivage Palace.
“Salon Elysée” of the Beau-Rivage Palace
One of the best places to eat is the restaurant “Anne-Sophie Pic” with its two Michelin stars! These are the chef’s words about
Beau-Rivage Palace
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Reuniting Without Disuniting! Teamwork is not what it used to be! In the past, a meeting was organized and people would simply reunite.
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It’s not so simple anymore…
t is mostly due to the separation of collaborators. They are often far apart from each other, sometimes in different countries and different time zones.
The “Presence Disparity” Of course, it is out of the question to let distance sap the efficiency of teams! The problems are more and more complex and require the engagement of the most talentuous of elements. However, businesses always tend to consider “virtual teams” as a necessary evil instead of added value. Despite the new technologies, the leaders estimate that it is hard to efficiently connect different virtual teams. After having analyzed the phenomenon, researchers from Steelcase have detected that this state of affairs is linked to what they call “presence disparity”: when collaborators work from a distance, they do not have the same experience as when they physically work in the same room. The experience of the long distance workers is different, and can even be disastrous. Presence disparity has harmful consequences for the business: it drives to a physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion in the participants. In reality, meetings are “mixed”: the people present in the meeting room work with physically present and virtually present colleagues. The virtually present colleagues use many methods to communicate: text messages, chats, emails, etc. The results of this course of action are easy to predict: sources of distractions are multiplied, mental blocks are created, and conflicts and other
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ful: some teams use technologies that were meant to be used for personal communications on smartphones, tablets, or laptops. Also, audio and video communications of bad quality are major obstacles to an efficient long distance collaboration. Another hiatus: the difficulty of content sharing culminates during the use of mobile or compact devices.
misunderstandings arise. Chaos sets itself in.
Video to the Rescue The use of video diminishes, even erases completely, the presence disparity. Be care-
Businesses use telepresence and videoconference more than ever. Be mindful of the positioning of the devices! While you can put videoconference equipment in a corner and it will function perfectly, it probably won’t give you the expected results. It has to be integrated into the space. Video delivers indispensable information.
Many research centers, such as the “Center for Brain and Cognitive Development” of the University of London, underlines that visual contact is at the base of human interactions, both from a biological and cultural point of view. Seeing a person activates specific brain zones, the “mirror neurons”. However, these neurons have a better reaction in face to face contacts, less during video contacts.
“Read the Intentions of Others” What is the use of these mirror neurons? They allow for “reading the intentions of others, which leads to empathy and a common understanding”. The University of Northwestern has demonstrated that visual contact between doctors and patients allows for better results for the patients. No matter which culture, human beings search for the visual contact that makes communication richer and favors relationships of trust. We want to “read” the thoughts of our interlocutor, even if it is a subconscious decision. Additionally, in some cultures (in China, for example), people understand non-verbal messages better than in other cultures. We understand that the “non-verbal” profusely helps international teams to comprehend each other since it helps in reducing linguistic obstacles. This means that if you read confusion in the eyes of your partner, you can notice that you were not understood and can… reformulate your sentence. Thus, visual information makes us better communicators.
that the participants are not looking at the other people (for example it might look like they’re looking behind you). As soon as we talk about videoconference, other than the relative efficiency, we evidently think, spontaneously, about the economy it is going to bring to the business by limiting the need to travel. This was the historical reason for the deployment of videoconference. Although, the 94% (!) of the interrogated people answered that its main advantage is in its productivity gain for the business. 87% of people underline the faster decision making, and 87% also mention the reduced
amount of travel. Real professional needs generate the growth of the videoconference, the video quality must be perfect so as to reveal every little detail. One last advantage? Videoconference stops multitasking! Multitasking means, as everyone knows, doing multiple things at the same time (for example: checking your emails or writing text messages when you’re supposed to do something else). Only 4% of videoconference users multitask while… 57% of phone call users do so. Conclusion? The phone becomes a handicap while the videoconference becomes an advantage.
The Pitfalls To Avoid There exists pitfalls that can make videoconference unsuccessful. The way we are perceived on screen is one. Bad lighting? Camera in a bad position? The damage is done. This worry of looking our best is shared by 72% of people, and it distracts them from acting as natural as they would if they were in a face to face situation. The correlation is there: they are less engaged in communication if they are distracted. The layout of the room is of utmost importance. During telepresence, participants instinctively look at the screen instead of the camera. If the camera is not well positioned, it gives the impression
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Motivation and Engagement of Employees Requires a Well-Conceived Environment When a collaborator is not engaged, or “totally disengaged”, he is less productive, sometimes even a
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nuisance.
his is apparent from a recent global study by Gallup, which underlines that this is the case with… 87% of employees.
Yahoo: Getting Back To The Office! The costs this state of disengagement has brought about are considerable. We estimate that at least 500 billion dollars per year are wasted just in the United States alone.
By contrast, engagement creates added value for the business and even reduces the number of accidents. These statistics explain one of the reasons which caused Marissa Mayer, new CEO of Yahoo in 2013, to ask her collaborators to “come back to the office”. Collaborators’ sharing the same space seems to be a major factor in successfully countering disengagement. Nonetheless, it is clear that employees are no longer happy with the workplace of yesterday! They need a workplace that lets them reach maximum engagement in their tasks. Another
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study shows that the people who are most satisfied with their work environment are also the most engaged. It is a matter of designing workspaces that favor physical, intellectual, and emotional wellbeing.
Moving Freely and Changing Postures Physical wellbeing used to be analyzed ergonomically, postulating that work forced an employee to assume a sitting position, facing a computer screen. Since then, the notion of movement has been introduced with mobile peripherals. Moving around generates physical and mental dynamism: changing postures stimulates the mind. 97% of the most engaged collaborators move freely and change their posture all day long. This requires another approach, with other supports for the sitting position. As employees work longer days, they need to be offered a wide range of inside and outside spaces, allowing for a multiplicity of postures and motivating them to move about. We also need to account for the aging of population and, while we are at it, change lighting and acoustics inside the workplace.
solving, and creative innovation. We treat a lot more information than in the past, we often work at “multitasking”, our focus gets disrupted (on average every three minutes): this all leads to a higher rate of error. It is sometimes necessary, during high-focus tasks, to wait more than twenty minutes before being really able to dive back into the complexity of the task. This means that the workspace has to be studied and conceived in a way to limit stress and maximize reflection. On its side, neurosciences underline that quantity and quality of social interactions greatly affect emotional wellbeing. Disengagement happens when people don’t have enough quality social exchanges. Work teams are separated most of the time, sometimes even on several continents. This is why collaborators need spaces that enable them to communicate and establish visual contact with their colleagues.
Watch Out For “Presence Disparity”! We need to avoid the phenomenon of “presence disparity”, which is characterized by the fact that people who are not physically present are disadvantaged, either visually or aurally. Quality videoconferences can help with this problem. Additionally, stress is the enemy of creativity and that creativity is the engine of innovation.
We “Multitask”!
Finally, workspaces need to respect the equilibrium between group areas and individual areas for concentration and reflection.
Intellectual wellbeing needs to be approached through the analysis of the workload that encompasses information processing, problem
These different areas will be linked to each other and will take into account the different work styles and methods of reflection.
Mac in Businesses? A Heresy Signed Big Blue! IBM, the society that launched (in 1981) the famous PC XT, has thrown the cat among the pigeons and has
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proposed the deployment of Macs to businesses of today.
are are the people that jump from PC to Mac and regret it. There is a multitude of advantages according to the people we contacted.
When We Sing Their Praises The first and main advantage of a Mac is that you can work without worrying at all. System crashes are extremely rare. The most popular saying heard is “I turn on my computer, and I work on it until I close it”. All of the work is done without any problems. The security is maximal and automated, because Time Machine automatically saves what changes on your hard drive every hour. The OS updates, even major updates, are also very secure. The update to Yosemite is transparent for the user, who finds his files immediately after. Ergonomically, Mac excels in producing minimal functioning noise: even the external hard drives we plug in are noisier! The connections are “intelligent”. Are you adding an additional monitor to your 27 inch iMac? Plug it in and it will work automatically without having to search for drivers. You want to add yet another monitor?
Do the exact same thing and you will now control three monitors! The reliability is important and the loss of value is minimal. A six year old iMac can still easily sell for many hundreds of euros.
Convincing Solutions! It is probably all these reasons, on top of others (Mac sales raise more than the industrial average –which is a large success–, 24 million Mac have been sold in 2014 versus 21 million in 2013), which drove IBM to launch a cloud service for businesses that desire to integrate Mac, going along with Apple and IBM’s previous decision that aimed to make applications exclusive to iOS (iPad and iPhone) for businesses. This accord will become even
more enticing as soon as the iPad Pro, announced by Apple, will be released. Effectively, IBM proposes to large businesses a delivery and management service for Mac OS computers. The tools dedicated “Mac at Work” (the name of the cloud service) will assemble administration and management tools for a Mac network as well as iOS terminals. These solutions will also be compatible with personal Mac computers brought to the office (BYOD) and will evidently simplify the job of the IT team of businesses. Big Blue explains that this new service, delivered via cloud, will profit from its own experience of internal Mac deployment. Let us note that IBM’s commercial power is nothing to scoff at: they work with more than 100 000 businesses in the world!
After IBM, It’s Cisco’s Turn to Love Apple! At the very beginning of September, the news was heard like a rolling thunder in the sector of communication
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businesses: Apple and Cisco signed a partnership deal.
n a few or many words, we’re witnessing the largest network equipment supplier put a priority on the iPhone and iPad!
Improving iOS Integration – Business Network This partnership is also an observation of today’s state of the computer world: mobile devices and “apps” are now replacing traditional computer programs. Cisco indicates that “Around 30% of professional voice calls are made from a mobile phone”. Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of the Cisco collaboration group, adds: “Together, Cisco and Apple have the solutions to closely integrate mobile devices and apps with business networks, since each business conceives and manufactures hardware and software”. This collaboration could have larger consequences, because according to Trollope, “Apple and Cisco want to improve the capacities of collaboration tools, widen the integration between the iPhone and office phones, and allow for a stricter control of mobile traffic in the business”. This partnership must be seen as a “winwin” operation: IT suppliers need to be
able to answer the invasion of iPhones and iPads in businesses (the famous BYOD) AND Apple continues striving for more credibility in the business world and looks forward to achieving that goal (for more information, take a look at IBM’s agreement that allowed many professional iOS apps to break into the market).
Improving the Performances
Left: John Chambers - Right: Tim Cook Having a snowball effect, more and more businesses should, during the rush, opt for Apple terminals. Especially since Apple just announced the iPad Pro, which means
it is going to be available on the market soon. Tim Cook joined the president of Cisco John Chambers on stage to announce the agreement. One of the key aspects of this partnership concerns the routing of iPhone calls to the business networks. It will notably be possible to follow and record calls for security and conformity reasons, just like calls from the office phones. “This type of integration was not possible up to now”, announced Cisco. “Additionally, the connection on a private network is better and more stable than on a typical cellphone network”. The partnership can improve the mobile performances of iOS devices in the workplace in at least two ways. First, it will be possible to give priority to data depending on the application used. For example, in a hospital, if a doctor communicates by videoconference to a patient via an iPad, the data of this session will be prioritized over the typical video sent by a patient in the next room. This is done to ensure that the doctor has a better flow of data transmission. We will also be able to rationalize larger data flows that require more bandwidth (for example, large software updates) by putting the contents of the update in cache in a network closer to the users.
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Change The Life Of Your Meetings!
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What if you decided to change the life of your meetings? You should give a closer look to interactive boards!
he reasons are multiple and the benefits show up rapidly. Imagine a meeting room where information has to be shown to everyone without projecting the contents of the laptops. Necks are stretched out, people are pushing each other to, finally, barely catch a glimpse of a graphic or another. It is not really the best way to collaborate!
An interactive board has the magic power of transforming a meeting room into a digitally connected room. This increases collaboration and knowledge sharing. Mobile workers can connect to this room from their laptop or tablet to save time.
The Magic Board
The Criteria of a Good Choice
Let’s take the same room, but this time, with a paper flip chart. OK, it’s already better. People stay in place but… they take notes as fast as possible. The collaborators that are physically missing the meeting get nothing out of it… These meeting rooms are now old school. They were very useful in the past, but are now obsolete. Today’s meeting rooms are places where we discuss strategies and ideas that help the business answer to the needs of clients and stock holders. They are rooms where we can develop ideas and find solutions to increase productivity. The information that is shared within its walls has to be savable, manageable, and easily sharable. This is where the interactive board comes in: it converts everything that is written in a digital format that is easy to manage.
Notes from the meeting can be recorded and distributed subsequently by email or by traditional paper. In reality, the flexibility of use of an interactive white board allows participants to focus on the content of the reunion instead of finding a way to record the information given. But how to make a good choice? Some criteria are essential. The ease of use is the first important criteria: it HAS to be possible to use without reading the instruction’s manual. To write on the board, a stylus is very useful. It allows for more control and precision than your index finger. Connectivity is also very important today: the board must be able to
connect to another meeting room. It should also be possible to connect it to a conference system. Connecting it to a computer or a tablet is now obligatory. Then comes the size of the board. It needs to not be too small, but it also needs to be adapted to the general size of the meeting room. Finally, the maintenance. Here, different formulas can be checked, but in every case, one needs to opt for a solution that will guarantee that no matter what happens, your business will never be stuck without its communication tool for a long time.
A Meeting Without Constraints Is A Wireless Meeting! You consult your agenda… In two days, you will have to do a presentation in front of the management staff. Pressure
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and stress are slowly building.
reparing the content of a presentation is not an easy task. This is yet another reason why you should not have to worry about the presentation system! By the way, does your business have a wireless presentation system?
your smartphone! Since many users can have access to the system at the same time, passing from one to the other only requires a click. This results in an ideal interactivity during discussions!
Not Expensive, Well Adapted To BYOD
The IT Team Won’t Need To Help
There are many reasons to go wireless. It is not an expensive investment, which is already a good argument in its favor! Let’s begin with the obvious: there are no cables. You will never have to get up to change projector connections. A cable, by its nature, is always in the way. It is not very aesthetic and you always get your feet caught in it! We now live in a “mobilcentric” world. The BYOD is everywhere in our daily life since more and more collaborators come to work with their own devices. Your meeting room needs to be able to host all these modern devices, which includes notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. You also save money that would have been spent on a wireless controller: you will only need to install an application on
Some wireless presentation systems can function at long distances, which makes them compatible with large auditoriums and conference rooms where users are at
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a good distance from the projector. Imagine cables in these conditions! It is also possible to show many sources on the same screen, which can be really interesting for educational sessions where it may be useful to do “side by side” comparison. Equally important is the simplicity of it all. No need for an IT team to be present during the reunion when the only thing that needs to be done is to open the computer (or the tablet or…) and connect it to the network. Launch the presentation application and it’s done. The IT team can work on other tasks. You can also make your existing projector or system wireless by connecting a Wi-Fi mini-adapter (also inexpensive) that creates a network accessible by your devices. These adapters are so small that they can fit in your jacket’s pocket!
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Hosting a Videoconference Properly Conceiving spaces realistically adapted to videoconferences is at the same time simple and complicated. You
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need to take into account many factors that have nothing to do with technique or its characteristics.
few important criteria must be taken into account and a lot of them come down to common sense. Indeed, if you place yourself in the user’s seat, you will quickly understand what you need to do.
For Them To Stay “Dynamic”! It is indispensable to place the microphone and the camera very meticulously. Everyone needs to be in the field of view of the camera and everyone needs to be perfectly audible in the microphone. The camera has to be placed in a way that when the participants look at the screen (or the screens), it gives the impression that they’re looking at the camera (very impor-
tant so that the speakers feel like they are looked at). To not have the “news presenter” effect, make sure that everyone can move while still being in the camera’s field of view. You need to assure that the participants can adopt many different postures and stay “dynamic”. Amongst other positions, the participants need to be able to stand. Since meetings usually have a few pauses, it is useful to have space in the room to allow participants to take a break or have a private talk without needing to leave the room.
Keep The Colors Neutral! The rooms, ideally, need to be identical, or at least very similar: same tools, same technologies, and same
decorations. This will help the teams develop a team spirit. As participants can make an intervention then leave to go prepare a later intervention, put in the work room a permanent video connection to allow the people that leave for a few minutes to not lose track of the ongoing
conversation. It is very useful to foresee the possibility of hosting videoconference groups of different sizes. Not every session is with full teams: some sessions could be subgroups or coworkers working in groups of two. A modular solution is recommended. When it comes to the lighting, every “harsh” lights need to be removed as they increase the contrast, burning whites and “blocking” blacks. Nothing is worse than the risk of blinding a speaker or to make him uncomfortable. A uniform, neutral lighting is recommended. It is also recommended to wear neutral colored clothes, no deep blacks or bright whites.
Videoconference Is The New Voice! Many of today’s businesses opt for videoconferencing because of the growing numbers of collaborators that work from
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home or are travelling.
he phenomenon is also amplified by drastic economies which cut into the travelling budgets, and by a very important characteristic of the videoconference: the quickness of decision-making.
The User Experience Is Essential To be useful and cost-effective, the videoconference must be used regularly, if not permanently. If people hate using it, its deployment is a failure and the investment has turned into a loss (little or no return on investment). This is where the user experience comes in. The most important point is the ease of use. No matter how complex the technique to be used, it is indispensable that it be completely intuitive. We live in a world w h e r e
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everything is compared to the “apps” of tablets and smartphones, which totally comprise and integrate the phenomenon. Yes, indeed, the users want solutions and “applications” that leave all the technical stuff aside.
The Pleasure of Unified Communications The videoconference needs even more clarity because it is still associated by the public, for historical reasons, with a complex system of uncertain results. Yet, starting a videoconference can be done by the simple touch of a button, ex-
actly in the same way a phone call is made. The management of the system needs also be easy for the IT services. It must be possible to administer it in a simple manner. Mobile workers must also be able to benefit from the videoconference. In the train, in the airport, in conference rooms, or in their hotel rooms, their tablets, PC and smartphones are to allow direct access to their colleagues, partners, or clients. It is now possible to integrate them into institutional videoconferences through unified communications systems. A telepresence or a videoconference of high quality can include connections towards mobile devices. We are now at a point where barriers between proprietary systems are being dismantled.
BYOD Is Making Waves Inside The Meeting Rooms There is a revolution inside the meeting rooms, and during seminars and other conferences: the AV controller is disappearing from the walls and finding a new home in the pockets of the speaker. In a similar fashion, the presentation has been exported from the computer’s hard drive to the smartphone!
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n fact, it’s the general equation of the system’s management that changed when it became possible to control the AV systems with personal devices such as smartphones or tablets. For the first time, it’s the user who is in control instead of the device imposing its rules!
leads to a natural tendency for them to be more motivated than if we imposed other devices on them. This all comes down to one being more efficient when he is able to rely on a frequently used device. In any event, as of now, there are some solid tracks we can follow.
Embrace It Instead Of Trying To Block It
Increased Engagement
It’s the BYOD (“Bring your own device”) phenomenon that has generated this adaptation of the existing material towards all the mobile peripherals. It is far from easy to adapt all this material: the road to full adaptation is covered in obstacles. There are two possible reactions: either we completely stop and prohibit the BYOD, or we accept it and do our best to integrate it. These two different approaches have been tried around the world, and they show that it is pointless to try containing the growing BYOD wave. It seems better to embrace it with smart solutions. It is important to note that people feel more confident when they use their own peripherals, which
The sharing of content is a good example
of increased engagement. Simple solutions can be used as interfaces. The act of receiving information is crucial. It is entirely possible to send information to people, even if they are not actually present at the meeting or in the same building. Collaborative work is also facilitated as long as presentations are not limited to the intervention of a single person, and it is possible to setup devices allowing a dialogue between many integrated devices. Another important aspect of increased engagement is the personal archiving of information. Often, information must be consulted multiple times to follow ideas developed by the speaker. The participants in the meeting have the possibility to examine anterior presentations “on the fly”, allowing them to find complementary information that will allow a higher degree of collaboration. Of course, the archiving of the different meetings or events will also be done on the company’s shared network.
Give Up The iPad and iPhone, The Hotel Will Impress You! Leave your iPad and iPhone aside for a minute, there are more interesting ways of entertaining yourself in the halls of a hotel!
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e’re talking about large and shiny digital displays that inform the clients of the potential of the hotel and the region.
Maximum Involvement Of The Clients As a matter of fact, the goal is to give to travelers information that they can’t obtain on their own such as “tips and tricks” of insiders on the hotel, specific advice on restaurants and attractions, pictures taken by clients, art by local artists, etc. To not take the users out of their comfort zone, most of the displays are touch screens that react to finger slides just like their iPad. The clients of hotels need all the information they want instantly, at hands reach, and on touch screens”. With these displays, hotels can analyse on a daily basis what their clients research and propose information that is targeted to their interests. The involvement of the clients
is maximised because the information can be refreshed and modified in a few minutes, compared to paper media where the slightest error will take a long time to correct.
A Famous Example! Of course, a lot of hotels link their displays to their Facebook pages and can interact with their clients at any given time, as well as inform them on promotions and events of the day. Every update and Facebook photo immediately appears on the digital displays. These screens are becoming popular in hotels of every category and price level. Hotel managers state that the displays are the best way to communicate with the “tech savvy” clients because they grab their attention more than a booklet or the dialogue of a receptionist. They attract younger clients (generations X and Y) particularly well, who are more used to these technologies.
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For Mobility to Really Be Everywhere Mobility is everywhere, it is omnipresent. Of course, we are not talking about car traffic. We are talking about these objects that literally became indispensable in our everyday business.
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he basics, easy to gain, are mainly the smartphone and the tablet. Let’s add the notebook to make it complete. But then...
more devices, we need to think about USB distributors that allow us to charge, on the same outlet (hotels are usually cheap and don’t have many outlets), a smartphone, the backup battery, a tablet, and, for example, a camera and a Bluetooth headset.
A Wild Treasure Hunt After... it’s a real treasure hunt. The businessman must thoroughly search to find every accessory that he needs. More and more, we reason in terms of “solutions”; in this case, “apps”.
The Well (Too Well!) Hidden Treasures Communicating better? That is one large task! Let’s take another look, since it’s sadly so frequent, at the hotel room with only a wired internet connection. It is impossible to connect smartphones or tablets... unless you have a small accessory that plugs in and creates a personal Wi-
We desire to protect, we want a device that holds at least a day’s charge of battery, we would like to more effectively charge, communicate, clean, listen, write, print, etc. For each of these categories, there are accessories. It is a matter of knowing it, searching for them, and finding them. Protection includes sleeves, covers, screen protectors, and travel bags. Here again, it is the most accessible catego-
ry, unless we have precise ideas about colors and materials. Battery life touches many categories. You may need additional batteries for back-
up, of course, but you also need adapters (think about all the different power outlets in the world), as well as the car charger cable. On top of this, because there are
Fi network (secure network!) in the room. And... who knows about this accessory? Asking the question is answering it: almost nobody! Taking photos with your smartphone or your tablet is now simpler than ever. But the memory on these devices is limited: they reach capacity very fast. This means you will need options to transfer your data, either a USB drive or a portable hard drive. You will also need to think about backup, a general save of the content you create while on the go. If we look at something that is not the USB drive, the cloud (Dropbox, for example) is a good idea, but it requires an Internet connection (preferably Wi-Fi if the files are large). To communicate better, you must also adapt to what you wish to do. It is very simple to type a text on your smartphone (or tablet)... as long as you have a wireless keyboard that allows for a natural typing motion. If you don’t, you’re going to have a headache, since on-screen key-
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every keyboard, a real nest for germs and bacteria. Excellent solutions exist in dry or humid formats. You just have to find the products adapted to your devices and then make a smart choice. During trips, you will probably listen to music or watch a movie. Wireless headphones and headsets will give you the most comfort. Additionally, if your smartphone is in its case and you are busy doing a task, you can answer an incoming call without having to take it out.
boards are designed to write SMS or short messages, not more. You wouldn’t use a bicycle on a highway!
Lastly, a final point that is less important now that most transport businesses have QR Codes, printing. We all know that traveling with a personal printer can be cumbersome and heavy. However, there are situations where having a paper copy is a must. Business centers are not always open and their material may not be compatible with your material. Additionally, there exist very light and small printers that could help you.
Real Germ Nests! Cleaning products are a must. It’s good for morale (also for the image you project of yourself to others) to have a screen with no fingerprints, and it is also more hygienic. Same goes for the portable keyboard that is, like
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Don’t Get Lost in the Meanders of the Maze Finding your way easily and efficiently in a big company, inside a convention centre, on a campus, in a hospital or in a hotel can be
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quite challenging.
ou might be amazed at how much time people lose finding their way. Not only does it increase the amount of time necessary to get to where one needs to go, it also creates stress and, of course, causes appointments to be delayed or even missed. Indeed, there is nothing worse than being “on the spot” and dropping the ball knowing that you are one step away from reaching your goal.
Real Interactive Location Application Obviously, signs on the floor can be helpful, with coloured and/or numbered ‘routes’ prominently marked on the walls or floors and which have to be followed to reach the right destination. However, this method can be doomed for aesthetic reasons as it can get a lot trickier when a large number of destinations have to be displayed. In those cases, the use of digital signage, with a digital display, is a valuable alternative. In their most advanced version, these touchscreens are equipped with real inter-
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active location applications and do not simply disseminate static information. The visitor enters his or her destination (name of the room they are looking for, auditorium, exact or approximate address) and can see it immediately, along with a ‘roadmap’ to follow. The display thus indicates the destination as well as the visitor’s current location. If the destination is on a different floor, the application will indicate it in a very clear and visual manner on interactive 3D maps which the visitor can also zoom in on to find his or her bearings.
The Safest Solution for the User With certain applications, the visitor, once they are on their way, can simply scan a QR code on the digital display to refresh the data and obtain a new guide that takes into account the visitor’s current location. This is achieved thanks to the interaction between digital signage and smartphones, a very safe solution for the user. Obviously, other interactive kiosks will be present in strategic places, making it possible to set the record straight, if necessary.
As a top-of-the-line solution, some establishments can also design and create specific apps intended for both iOS and Android which visitors can download to their phones. In these cases, GPS guidance is used. Last but not least, one can also… print (well yes, paper still has its use) the route to follow right by these interactive kiosks. As a more basic solution, printed maps of the site, available at the reception, can come in handy when the buildings or structures are not too sophisticated.