2006_July

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Target gives back over $2 million a week to education, the arts and social services.

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VOLUME 17 JULY 2006

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT DESIGNER FORUM DESIGN TRENDS BUILDINGS FURNITURE

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HEALTH SOHO OFFICE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY

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CLIPS

From the President We all are aware that commodity prices - metal, foam, transportation, etc. - have an effect on the commercial interiors industry. Recently we have seen price increases from all major furniture and floor covering manufacturers passed on to our clients. To be sure, short term financial effects will be felt, just as the glut of manufacturing capacity in this industry reduced costs immediately following 2001. But, as is the case with the vast majority of products offered in the marketplace today, our clients are probably paying less for a higher quality chair than they did in 1999 or 2000.

Corporate Headquarters 81 S. 9th St. Suite 350 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Ph 612-343-0868 Fx 612-332-5733 Toll Free 888-333-4664

Architects, Designers, Engineers and other innovators have begun helping us solve our ergonomic needs while helping us solve our environmental challenges. As the world gets more serious about renewable energies, we also get more serious about renewable products. Steelcase has introduced the most environmentally friendly chair ever manufactured with the 99% recyclable Think™ chair. Interface - a leader in the sustainability movement – has created floor covering that neutralizes all of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the life of the product.

This kind of creative reaction to scarcity will undoubtedly increase over the next several years. It’s part of what helps us deliver on our promise: Expect more. Pay less.

TCI-1 (Retail Store) 2470 West 79th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 Ph 952.885.7600 Sales Office / Showroom 1365 North Road, Suite C Green Bay, WI 54313 920.884.0265 Sales Office / Showroom 1020 John Nolen Drive Madison, WI 53713 608-257-0521

We are delighted with the response to our recent enhancements to CLIPS. In this issue, we are pleased to feature Tom DeAngelo from Architectural Alliance in our Designer Forum.

Sales Office / Showroom 2804 Rib Mountain Drive, Suite E Wausau, WI 54401 715-849-3131 Sales Office / Showroom 902 North Perryville Road Rockford, IL 601107 815-398-3300 targetcommercialinteriors.com © 2006 Target Commercial Interiors

Remember as always, if you would like any of the articles in full text form, please contact Megan.Sciera@target.com.

CLIPS is a service provided by Target Commercial Interiors to help keep you informed of industryrelevant trends, issues and ideas. We survey the literature, summarize key articles and present them in a digest format for your convenience.

Full text articles are available by contacting Megan.Sciera@target.com.

Sincerely, Joe Perdew, President

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CLIPS

From the President We all are aware that commodity prices - metal, foam, transportation, etc. - have an effect on the commercial interiors industry. Recently we have seen price increases from all major furniture and floor covering manufacturers passed on to our clients. To be sure, short term financial effects will be felt, just as the glut of manufacturing capacity in this industry reduced costs immediately following 2001. But, as is the case with the vast majority of products offered in the marketplace today, our clients are probably paying less for a higher quality chair than they did in 1999 or 2000.

Corporate Headquarters 81 S. 9th St. Suite 350 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Ph 612-343-0868 Fx 612-332-5733 Toll Free 888-333-4664

Architects, Designers, Engineers and other innovators have begun helping us solve our ergonomic needs while helping us solve our environmental challenges. As the world gets more serious about renewable energies, we also get more serious about renewable products. Steelcase has introduced the most environmentally friendly chair ever manufactured with the 99% recyclable Think™ chair. Interface - a leader in the sustainability movement – has created floor covering that neutralizes all of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the life of the product.

This kind of creative reaction to scarcity will undoubtedly increase over the next several years. It’s part of what helps us deliver on our promise: Expect more. Pay less.

TCI-1 (Retail Store) 2470 West 79th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 Ph 952.885.7600 Sales Office / Showroom 1365 North Road, Suite C Green Bay, WI 54313 920.884.0265 Sales Office / Showroom 1020 John Nolen Drive Madison, WI 53713 608-257-0521

We are delighted with the response to our recent enhancements to CLIPS. In this issue, we are pleased to feature Tom DeAngelo from Architectural Alliance in our Designer Forum.

Sales Office / Showroom 2804 Rib Mountain Drive, Suite E Wausau, WI 54401 715-849-3131 Sales Office / Showroom 902 North Perryville Road Rockford, IL 601107 815-398-3300 targetcommercialinteriors.com © 2006 Target Commercial Interiors

Remember as always, if you would like any of the articles in full text form, please contact Megan.Sciera@target.com.

CLIPS is a service provided by Target Commercial Interiors to help keep you informed of industryrelevant trends, issues and ideas. We survey the literature, summarize key articles and present them in a digest format for your convenience.

Full text articles are available by contacting Megan.Sciera@target.com.

Sincerely, Joe Perdew, President

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Hennepin County Public Works

Creative Collaboration Thomas J. DeAngelo, FAIA

Imagining architecture requires compelling personal vision.

Making architecture demands collaboration.

Restaurant Aquavit

Visioning and Collaborating. Imagining and Making. Inventing and Delivering.

Designing and Managing. Once closely connected, these aspects of the architectural design process today are too frequently segregated and even at times in conflict, due to increasing specialization and complexity in the building process. However in our most successful projects, these activities are complementary. Feedback, dialogue, and balance are essential to realizing individual vision. After all, our clients give meaning to our design vision. Our colleagues bring it to life. Our builders place it in the world.

St. Paul Companies

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota

2

Thomas J. DeAngelo, FAIA

DESIGNER FORUM

CLIPS

Principal, Architectural Alliance Cargill Center – University of Minnesota

I view designing real buildings, as opposed to conceptual or paper architecture, as a privilege rather than a right. In other words, we as designers have a responsibility to engage clients and colleagues, and we need their support to make successful architecture. Bringing clients and colleagues into the design process can be a difficult challenge. Designers often fear they may lose control of the design and compromise its integrity. But through careful communication and the fostering of mutual respect, the rewards can be significant for both designers and their clients.

At Architectural Alliance, we try to connect a passion for design with an optimism for how the community, our clients, and our colleagues can inform our ideas. I encourage the designers I work with to be creative and to develop their own voice through engaging the community and exposing their work and ideas to all parties involved in a project. Our commitment to engagement with clients and colleagues defines Architectural Alliance.

Tom is a Principal at Architectural Alliance, where he has directed the design of many of the firm’s public and commercial projects for over 25 years. Architectural Alliance, an 80-person architecture, planning and interior design practice won the AIA Minnesota Firm Award in 1994.

Tom has designed over 60 projects in his career and has received over 30 national, regional, and local design awards. His design work includes a diverse array of corporate and public projects including the design and campus planning of corporate projects such as Allianz Corporate Headquarters, Minnesota Life, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and St. Paul Companies. His public projects include the renovation of the St. Paul City Hall, Ramsey County Courthouse and Minnesota Children’s Museum. Tom’s design approach has resulted in the firm’s creative collaborations with architects of national and international acclaim, including the new Minneapolis Central Library with Cesar Pelli and the new Guthrie Theater with Jean Nouvel.

A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Minnesota, Tom has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota for eight years and has served on a number of national and regional design juries.

He currently chairs the University of Minnesota College of Architecture’s Continuing Education Program.

Architecture is a public profession driven by personal vision. Derived from individual talent and creativity, successful design becomes real through teamwork and feedback. There is, therefore, a complementary relationship between exemplary design and collaborative culture. By fostering creative collaboration with colleagues, builders, and clients we can make buildings that are more innovative, more enduring, and more sustainable.

In our own projects, we pursue creativity, management, and delivery with equal vigor. This philosophy has provided us the opportunity to contribute significantly to major creative collaborations like the new Guthrie Theater and the Minneapolis Central Library. And it has yielded strong and respectful relationships when we work as design lead with other architects throughout the country.

Minnesota Life

Making buildings is a public act. Creative collaboration, the balanced coupling of individual creativity with collaborative culture, recognizes that both the individual and the team are essential to compelling architecture.

CLIPS

designer forum

3

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Hennepin County Public Works

Creative Collaboration Thomas J. DeAngelo, FAIA

Imagining architecture requires compelling personal vision.

Making architecture demands collaboration.

Restaurant Aquavit

Visioning and Collaborating. Imagining and Making. Inventing and Delivering.

Designing and Managing. Once closely connected, these aspects of the architectural design process today are too frequently segregated and even at times in conflict, due to increasing specialization and complexity in the building process. However in our most successful projects, these activities are complementary. Feedback, dialogue, and balance are essential to realizing individual vision. After all, our clients give meaning to our design vision. Our colleagues bring it to life. Our builders place it in the world.

St. Paul Companies

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota

2

Thomas J. DeAngelo, FAIA

DESIGNER FORUM

CLIPS

Principal, Architectural Alliance Cargill Center – University of Minnesota

I view designing real buildings, as opposed to conceptual or paper architecture, as a privilege rather than a right. In other words, we as designers have a responsibility to engage clients and colleagues, and we need their support to make successful architecture. Bringing clients and colleagues into the design process can be a difficult challenge. Designers often fear they may lose control of the design and compromise its integrity. But through careful communication and the fostering of mutual respect, the rewards can be significant for both designers and their clients.

At Architectural Alliance, we try to connect a passion for design with an optimism for how the community, our clients, and our colleagues can inform our ideas. I encourage the designers I work with to be creative and to develop their own voice through engaging the community and exposing their work and ideas to all parties involved in a project. Our commitment to engagement with clients and colleagues defines Architectural Alliance.

Tom is a Principal at Architectural Alliance, where he has directed the design of many of the firm’s public and commercial projects for over 25 years. Architectural Alliance, an 80-person architecture, planning and interior design practice won the AIA Minnesota Firm Award in 1994.

Tom has designed over 60 projects in his career and has received over 30 national, regional, and local design awards. His design work includes a diverse array of corporate and public projects including the design and campus planning of corporate projects such as Allianz Corporate Headquarters, Minnesota Life, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and St. Paul Companies. His public projects include the renovation of the St. Paul City Hall, Ramsey County Courthouse and Minnesota Children’s Museum. Tom’s design approach has resulted in the firm’s creative collaborations with architects of national and international acclaim, including the new Minneapolis Central Library with Cesar Pelli and the new Guthrie Theater with Jean Nouvel.

A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Minnesota, Tom has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota for eight years and has served on a number of national and regional design juries.

He currently chairs the University of Minnesota College of Architecture’s Continuing Education Program.

Architecture is a public profession driven by personal vision. Derived from individual talent and creativity, successful design becomes real through teamwork and feedback. There is, therefore, a complementary relationship between exemplary design and collaborative culture. By fostering creative collaboration with colleagues, builders, and clients we can make buildings that are more innovative, more enduring, and more sustainable.

In our own projects, we pursue creativity, management, and delivery with equal vigor. This philosophy has provided us the opportunity to contribute significantly to major creative collaborations like the new Guthrie Theater and the Minneapolis Central Library. And it has yielded strong and respectful relationships when we work as design lead with other architects throughout the country.

Minnesota Life

Making buildings is a public act. Creative collaboration, the balanced coupling of individual creativity with collaborative culture, recognizes that both the individual and the team are essential to compelling architecture.

CLIPS

designer forum

3

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environments of flexible office spaces clustered around atriums, interactive meeting lounges, and coffee kiosks.”

DESIGN

CLIPS

4

Office Space As A Cost-Cutting Tool: Less Is Less Ryan Chittum Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition); July 27, 2005, pB4 Summary: Improved technology and cost-cutting pressure are leading more companies to adopt strategies like telecommuting to reduce the amount spent on office space. This article discusses the results of a recent survey of the real estate directors of 50 major corporations who together account for more than two billion square feet of office space.

They were asked to rate their best options for cutting real-estate costs. The top choice of 37% of respondents was telecommuting and hoteling, up from 6% just two years ago. Among the additional cost-cutting strategies discussed in this article include consolidating multiple offices into fewer locations and trimming a floor or two of space.

The author cautions firms that cutting too much space can hamper the ability to expand when business picks up.

He ends the article by emphasizing the positive effects of hoteling and telecommuting, including the heightened ability to “lure new talent by offering a flexible workplace, including a day or two of working from home a week.”

Workplace Of The Future

The Gold Coast Bulletin; September 23, 2005, p78 Summary: This article looks at “the new thinking in workplace environment” that results from the latest style of office buildings in Australia. Gone are the days of vertical towers with an elevator core, corridors, boxy offices, formal meeting rooms, partitioned workstations and a copy room in back. In their place are open, light-filled environments of flexible office spaces clustered around atriums, interactive meeting lounges, and coffee kiosks.

This article touches on the collaboration that springs from these design trends and the problem-solving and the new-business generation that can result.

CLIPS

design

“In their place are open, light-filled

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environments of flexible office spaces clustered around atriums, interactive meeting lounges, and coffee kiosks.”

DESIGN

CLIPS

4

Office Space As A Cost-Cutting Tool: Less Is Less Ryan Chittum Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition); July 27, 2005, pB4 Summary: Improved technology and cost-cutting pressure are leading more companies to adopt strategies like telecommuting to reduce the amount spent on office space. This article discusses the results of a recent survey of the real estate directors of 50 major corporations who together account for more than two billion square feet of office space.

They were asked to rate their best options for cutting real-estate costs. The top choice of 37% of respondents was telecommuting and hoteling, up from 6% just two years ago. Among the additional cost-cutting strategies discussed in this article include consolidating multiple offices into fewer locations and trimming a floor or two of space.

The author cautions firms that cutting too much space can hamper the ability to expand when business picks up.

He ends the article by emphasizing the positive effects of hoteling and telecommuting, including the heightened ability to “lure new talent by offering a flexible workplace, including a day or two of working from home a week.”

Workplace Of The Future

The Gold Coast Bulletin; September 23, 2005, p78 Summary: This article looks at “the new thinking in workplace environment” that results from the latest style of office buildings in Australia. Gone are the days of vertical towers with an elevator core, corridors, boxy offices, formal meeting rooms, partitioned workstations and a copy room in back. In their place are open, light-filled environments of flexible office spaces clustered around atriums, interactive meeting lounges, and coffee kiosks.

This article touches on the collaboration that springs from these design trends and the problem-solving and the new-business generation that can result.

CLIPS

design

“In their place are open, light-filled

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The nature of employment is also expected to change as the percentage of contract workers rises at the expense of permanent employees. Companies will then assemble project-based teams with collaboration enhanced by virtual conferencing technology.

TRENDS

CLIPS

6

trends

Additional new technologies are discussed that the Office Team study anticipates will emerge in the near future. This article also devotes space to a discussion of the skills and talents that will be required as well as the levels of creativity and innovative thinking that will be expected at every level of the organization in order to create a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

7

CLIPS

Diane Domeyer Summary: Office Team recently conducted extensive research OfficePro; August/September, 2005, v65 i6 p12 and consulted leading experts to create a picture of what the office of the future will look like in 2020.

This article brings readers an overview of this vision. It’s going to be an increasingly mobile world, with WiFi, WiMax and future mobile technologies allowing employees to interact with each other virtually anywhere. It’s a world that sees the increasing popularity of instant offices available in commercial spaces that are wired and waiting to adapt to tenants.

trends

The Office Of The Future Presents A World Of Opportunity For Administrative Professionals

Microsoft Brings The Office Of The Future To Life OfficePro; August/September, 2005, v65 i6 p16 Summary: Microsoft has established the Center for Information Work (CIW), a prototype facility that showcases Microsoft’s vision of the future of computing in the office. This article brings readers the highlights of an hour-long tour that places participants in the role of managers and workers in an imaginary multinational company and shows them the growing role of technology in the office of the future. The new technology begins at the front door with biometric security access complete with both faceprint and fingerprint recognition. Some of the remarkable features participants then are confronted with: • Broadbench – a display of information that wraps around the user with 180 degrees of vision • A 360 degree videoconferencing camera that recognizes and focuses on whomever is speaking • Tablet PCs that wirelessly link conference room participants, participants in an airplane [also represented in the CIW] and the cab of a delivery truck • Instantaneous inventories identified by radiofrequency tags.

CIW presents a truly global workplace of the future that allows managers to organize and track information faster and more completely than ever before.

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The nature of employment is also expected to change as the percentage of contract workers rises at the expense of permanent employees. Companies will then assemble project-based teams with collaboration enhanced by virtual conferencing technology.

TRENDS

CLIPS

6

trends

Additional new technologies are discussed that the Office Team study anticipates will emerge in the near future. This article also devotes space to a discussion of the skills and talents that will be required as well as the levels of creativity and innovative thinking that will be expected at every level of the organization in order to create a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

7

CLIPS

Diane Domeyer Summary: Office Team recently conducted extensive research OfficePro; August/September, 2005, v65 i6 p12 and consulted leading experts to create a picture of what the office of the future will look like in 2020.

This article brings readers an overview of this vision. It’s going to be an increasingly mobile world, with WiFi, WiMax and future mobile technologies allowing employees to interact with each other virtually anywhere. It’s a world that sees the increasing popularity of instant offices available in commercial spaces that are wired and waiting to adapt to tenants.

trends

The Office Of The Future Presents A World Of Opportunity For Administrative Professionals

Microsoft Brings The Office Of The Future To Life OfficePro; August/September, 2005, v65 i6 p16 Summary: Microsoft has established the Center for Information Work (CIW), a prototype facility that showcases Microsoft’s vision of the future of computing in the office. This article brings readers the highlights of an hour-long tour that places participants in the role of managers and workers in an imaginary multinational company and shows them the growing role of technology in the office of the future. The new technology begins at the front door with biometric security access complete with both faceprint and fingerprint recognition. Some of the remarkable features participants then are confronted with: • Broadbench – a display of information that wraps around the user with 180 degrees of vision • A 360 degree videoconferencing camera that recognizes and focuses on whomever is speaking • Tablet PCs that wirelessly link conference room participants, participants in an airplane [also represented in the CIW] and the cab of a delivery truck • Instantaneous inventories identified by radiofrequency tags.

CIW presents a truly global workplace of the future that allows managers to organize and track information faster and more completely than ever before.

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furniture Who Says Office Furniture Has To Live At The Office?

BUILDINGS

CLIPS

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buildings

Office & Industrial Guide – Green Buildings Make Fiscal Sense – Rising Energy Prices Turn Spotlight On Conservation-Friendly Facilities Chris H. Sieroty Summary: This article explores the cost savings provided by conservation-friendly facilities in the age of unfriendly energy costs. A look at the headquarters of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency serves to illustrate the author’s point about how quickly extra costs in building “green” are paid back.

The Business Press; September 26, 2005, p23

The Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council bemoans the fact that the emerging environmentally-friendly building trend remains mostly in the government sector, but expects that rising energy costs will soon push the trend throughout the private sector as well.

“the headquarters of this public sector water agency in Chino, California has saved more than $800,000 a year in energy costs”

Knight Ridder Tribune News Service (Washington); June 23, 2005, p1

9

CLIPS

Since its erection in 2003, the headquarters of this public sector water agency in Chino, California has saved more than $800,000 a year in energy costs and plans to be energy self-sufficient soon. The agency originally expected to realize a return on its design and solar panel costs by 2013 but will see it next year instead.

Summary: One look at modern looking “industrial chic” lofts and the cozy living room look of Starbucks seems to confirm the notion that the great divide between office furniture and home furnishings no longer exists. This article looks at nine new office furniture offerings found at June 2006 NeoCon event -- the contract furniture industry’s premier trade show -- that have definite home potential, including: • A rocking footrest designed to fit under a desk that provides foot and leg support to ease pressure on the lower back while promoting healthful movement • An LCD screen framed and matted to resemble a painting, complete with access to a databank of over 50,000 digital images licensed from art libraries, photography collections and individual artists that allows an “evolving art” display • A new chair by designer Don Chadwick with a suspension seat, easy adjustments and a smaller footprint than the Aeron chair.

Karen Klages

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furniture Who Says Office Furniture Has To Live At The Office?

BUILDINGS

CLIPS

8

buildings

Office & Industrial Guide – Green Buildings Make Fiscal Sense – Rising Energy Prices Turn Spotlight On Conservation-Friendly Facilities Chris H. Sieroty Summary: This article explores the cost savings provided by conservation-friendly facilities in the age of unfriendly energy costs. A look at the headquarters of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency serves to illustrate the author’s point about how quickly extra costs in building “green” are paid back.

The Business Press; September 26, 2005, p23

The Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council bemoans the fact that the emerging environmentally-friendly building trend remains mostly in the government sector, but expects that rising energy costs will soon push the trend throughout the private sector as well.

“the headquarters of this public sector water agency in Chino, California has saved more than $800,000 a year in energy costs”

Knight Ridder Tribune News Service (Washington); June 23, 2005, p1

9

CLIPS

Since its erection in 2003, the headquarters of this public sector water agency in Chino, California has saved more than $800,000 a year in energy costs and plans to be energy self-sufficient soon. The agency originally expected to realize a return on its design and solar panel costs by 2013 but will see it next year instead.

Summary: One look at modern looking “industrial chic” lofts and the cozy living room look of Starbucks seems to confirm the notion that the great divide between office furniture and home furnishings no longer exists. This article looks at nine new office furniture offerings found at June 2006 NeoCon event -- the contract furniture industry’s premier trade show -- that have definite home potential, including: • A rocking footrest designed to fit under a desk that provides foot and leg support to ease pressure on the lower back while promoting healthful movement • An LCD screen framed and matted to resemble a painting, complete with access to a databank of over 50,000 digital images licensed from art libraries, photography collections and individual artists that allows an “evolving art” display • A new chair by designer Don Chadwick with a suspension seat, easy adjustments and a smaller footprint than the Aeron chair.

Karen Klages

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CLIPS

Get The Most Bang For Your Ergonomic Buck

HEALTH

CLIPS

10

Karen Wormald Office Solutions; July/August, 2005, v22 i4 p28

Summary: This article explores the wide variety of ergonomic gadgets available but cautions that none of them will work unless users meet their equipment half-way. Tips are offered on: • Arranging work surfaces • Making chair adjustments • Sitting properly • Dealing with documents • Relating to one’s monitor • Proper keyboarding techniques.

The article ends with a list of online resources for helping readers develop body-friendly habits and make their workspaces as ergonomically comfortable as possible.

Lisa Kanarek

Avoiding A Pain In The Neck

health

Office Solutions; May/June, 2005, v22 i3 p51

Summary: Ergonomics affects the body, attitude and productivity of employees.

This article provides readers with a step-by-step guide to making their offices more ergonomically friendly. The author begins with recommendations about work surfaces, keyboard height adjustments and PC monitor stands. She then focuses on the various aspects of chair adjustment, including lumbar support, seat and back height, tilt mechanisms and the like. Also addressed are lighting options that ease eyestrain and fatigue, useful computer accessories that help users avoid injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, and a discussion of headset systems that reduce neck strain.

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CLIPS

Get The Most Bang For Your Ergonomic Buck

HEALTH

CLIPS

10

Karen Wormald Office Solutions; July/August, 2005, v22 i4 p28

Summary: This article explores the wide variety of ergonomic gadgets available but cautions that none of them will work unless users meet their equipment half-way. Tips are offered on: • Arranging work surfaces • Making chair adjustments • Sitting properly • Dealing with documents • Relating to one’s monitor • Proper keyboarding techniques.

The article ends with a list of online resources for helping readers develop body-friendly habits and make their workspaces as ergonomically comfortable as possible.

Lisa Kanarek

Avoiding A Pain In The Neck

health

Office Solutions; May/June, 2005, v22 i3 p51

Summary: Ergonomics affects the body, attitude and productivity of employees.

This article provides readers with a step-by-step guide to making their offices more ergonomically friendly. The author begins with recommendations about work surfaces, keyboard height adjustments and PC monitor stands. She then focuses on the various aspects of chair adjustment, including lumbar support, seat and back height, tilt mechanisms and the like. Also addressed are lighting options that ease eyestrain and fatigue, useful computer accessories that help users avoid injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, and a discussion of headset systems that reduce neck strain.

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soho

Wired And Ready To Go; Mobile Teleworkers Phone It In With WiFi, Cells And Broadband; Numbers Rising Carolyn Said Seattle Post-Intelligencer; August 1, 2005, pE1

Mingling With The Office Remote Fiona Smith The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand); September 10, 2005, pG1

SOHO

CLIPS

12

Summary: Telecommuters sometimes feel isolated and cut off from their colleagues and companies. Companies, in turn, fear that distance involved with telecommuting will harm relationships between telecommuters and their managers and colleagues. This article explores the efforts made by a number of Australian firms to strengthen the relationship between telecommuters and the office. Deloitte’s Australian headquarters, for example, has a “fly home Friday,” where employees are encouraged to return to the accountancy’s headquarters on Friday afternoons and for social drinks afterwards. IBM, with more than one-third of its 10,100 staff telecommuters, launched a program that includes face-to-face business meetings as well as social events that involve the whole family.

The author notes that 38% of Australian and New Zealand organizations have implemented flexible working/teleworking programs for employees, with knowledge-based and skills-based sectors leading the way. Distrust of employees by managers, the limited availability of broadband and cultural opposition continue to keep the numbers of full-time remote workers low, with small- and medium-sized businesses proving to be the most inflexible about allowing telecommuting. Only increased information about efficiencies and productivity gains is likely to change this picture soon.

Sun Microsystems, for example, has an iWork mobilework program that has grown to include 13,900 of its employees [43% of its workforce] and 115 flexible office locations worldwide where mobile workers can hotdesk or simply check in. Sun’s real estate savings are nearly $70 million a year and the company is even happier at the increases in employee satisfaction and productivity.

The key to their success is in their well-developed telework program and the policies, procedures and planning that sustain it. Among the components noted here are initial employee surveys to determine if remote work is suitable for the person and appropriate to their line of work as well as the careful process of setting goals and measuring performance and productivity.

This type of program gives Sun and other cutting-edge companies a distinct advantage over the majority of organizations where telecommuting happens unofficially and human resource policies and programs have not caught up with workplace reality.

“The key to their success is in their well-developed telework program and the policies, procedures and planning that sustain it.”

13

CLIPS

Despite the evidence that shows greater work efficiency, real estate savings and boosts in morale, many companies have been resistant to telecommuting. Instead of a nation of home-based workers, this author sees the Australian workforce fragmented into four different types of workers: fully mobile workers, occasional teleworkers, home workers and the office-bound. Because of insufficiant data on teleworking in Australia , the author looks to Europe to get a clearer picture of teleworking trends. There, occasional teleworkers are growing at a rate of 40% annually. This represents only 5.5% of the workforce, however, and the numbers for the other categories are still very small: those who telework most of the time amount to only 0.22% of the workforce [with a growth rate of only 2%] and mobile workers – those who spend more than 10 hours per week away from home and office – range from 6% [Finland, Germany] to 8% [Switzerland] of the workforce.

Summary: With cell phones, broadband at home, WiFi, virtual private networks and instant messaging, employees can work from anywhere – home, client office, commuter train, coffee shop and airport. This article explores the new growth in telework. While percentage growth in the overall market is only in the low single digits, the growth of telework among top technology companies – Sun Microsystems, IBM and Cisco Systems to name a few – has been phenomenal.

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soho

Wired And Ready To Go; Mobile Teleworkers Phone It In With WiFi, Cells And Broadband; Numbers Rising Carolyn Said Seattle Post-Intelligencer; August 1, 2005, pE1

Mingling With The Office Remote Fiona Smith The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand); September 10, 2005, pG1

SOHO

CLIPS

12

Summary: Telecommuters sometimes feel isolated and cut off from their colleagues and companies. Companies, in turn, fear that distance involved with telecommuting will harm relationships between telecommuters and their managers and colleagues. This article explores the efforts made by a number of Australian firms to strengthen the relationship between telecommuters and the office. Deloitte’s Australian headquarters, for example, has a “fly home Friday,” where employees are encouraged to return to the accountancy’s headquarters on Friday afternoons and for social drinks afterwards. IBM, with more than one-third of its 10,100 staff telecommuters, launched a program that includes face-to-face business meetings as well as social events that involve the whole family.

The author notes that 38% of Australian and New Zealand organizations have implemented flexible working/teleworking programs for employees, with knowledge-based and skills-based sectors leading the way. Distrust of employees by managers, the limited availability of broadband and cultural opposition continue to keep the numbers of full-time remote workers low, with small- and medium-sized businesses proving to be the most inflexible about allowing telecommuting. Only increased information about efficiencies and productivity gains is likely to change this picture soon.

Sun Microsystems, for example, has an iWork mobilework program that has grown to include 13,900 of its employees [43% of its workforce] and 115 flexible office locations worldwide where mobile workers can hotdesk or simply check in. Sun’s real estate savings are nearly $70 million a year and the company is even happier at the increases in employee satisfaction and productivity.

The key to their success is in their well-developed telework program and the policies, procedures and planning that sustain it. Among the components noted here are initial employee surveys to determine if remote work is suitable for the person and appropriate to their line of work as well as the careful process of setting goals and measuring performance and productivity.

This type of program gives Sun and other cutting-edge companies a distinct advantage over the majority of organizations where telecommuting happens unofficially and human resource policies and programs have not caught up with workplace reality.

“The key to their success is in their well-developed telework program and the policies, procedures and planning that sustain it.”

13

CLIPS

Despite the evidence that shows greater work efficiency, real estate savings and boosts in morale, many companies have been resistant to telecommuting. Instead of a nation of home-based workers, this author sees the Australian workforce fragmented into four different types of workers: fully mobile workers, occasional teleworkers, home workers and the office-bound. Because of insufficiant data on teleworking in Australia , the author looks to Europe to get a clearer picture of teleworking trends. There, occasional teleworkers are growing at a rate of 40% annually. This represents only 5.5% of the workforce, however, and the numbers for the other categories are still very small: those who telework most of the time amount to only 0.22% of the workforce [with a growth rate of only 2%] and mobile workers – those who spend more than 10 hours per week away from home and office – range from 6% [Finland, Germany] to 8% [Switzerland] of the workforce.

Summary: With cell phones, broadband at home, WiFi, virtual private networks and instant messaging, employees can work from anywhere – home, client office, commuter train, coffee shop and airport. This article explores the new growth in telework. While percentage growth in the overall market is only in the low single digits, the growth of telework among top technology companies – Sun Microsystems, IBM and Cisco Systems to name a few – has been phenomenal.

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A Creative Corporation Toolbox

OFFICE MANAGEMENT

CLIPS

14

Business Week; August 1, 2004, p72

Summary: Concern has been expressed in the business press about the low levels of innovation recently seen in US, European and Japanese companies. Despite huge sums spent on R&D, fewer than 5% of all new projects meet or beat targets for return on investment. This article discusses a radical approach to innovation based on new cutting-edge research from a range of leading innovation consultants that can help to build creative corporate cultures and boost innovation “hit” rates.

The article uses Apple iPod’s success to illustrate ways in which a company can “change the game” on seven of ten identified types of innovation. It then uses examples in the computer and passenger airline services to illustrate ways to take advantage of the “competitive innovation landscape.” Common mistakes that impede innovation are discussed, including companies confusing R&D with innovation, consumer marketing with consumer understanding, and innovation with technology. The article ends with a recounting of key lessons learned from the few successful innovators, including: • Opening up networks to outside contributors • Scattering designers throughout the different functional areas of a company • Hiring more anthropologists and social psychologists • Changing incentives • Turning the innovation process upside down by making consumer needs the beginning of the process rather than designing products and trying to create a need for them.

Unused Vacation: Problem Won’t Go Away

office management

Barbara Rose

Seattle Times; August 14, 2005, pG3

Summary: While most of us need little urging to get out of the office, over one-third of workers never use all their time off. As this article notes, “Lean staffing, always-on technology, demanding clients and a hypercompetitive business environment make it tough to get away.” Even when employees do get away, many – particularly managers – stay plugged in to the office via phone, email or intranet.

Bianca Torres Progressive employers know that productivity and morale can suffer if employees fail to take enough time off to recharge and gain fresh insight and perspective. These employers are beginning to take action to ensure that all the company’s workers achieve a better work/life balance. The author applauds efforts like those at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where “vacation police” prod employees to schedule true work-free breaks. They show their seriousness by including a new work/life balance score in managers’ performance reviews. Departing employees are told to relax, have fun and leave their cell phones and Blackberry’s behind.

The Baltimore Sun; August 17, 2005, p1K

Experts Say That Healthy Relationships At Work Are Key To Job Satisfaction And The Smooth Operation Of An Office; When Colleagues Connect

The author notes that not all co-workers can or will become friends. Annoying behavior, inappropriate dress, or any of a host of inconsiderate activities can detract from the ability to do one’s work. At this point experts suggest finding a polite way to address the problem or asking the boss to intervene.

The way workers interact depends on their workplace culture. In offices where workers sit in rows of cubicles it can be difficult for people to learn anything personal about each other. Other places can be very competitive, making trust a difficult state to achieve. Within this context the author talks about the nature of friendship and the positive outcomes that result. The article ends with a list of typical personalities that exist in the workplace and offers readers ways to identify and deal with them.

CLIPS

Summary: Many people spend more time with their co-workers than with their spouses or families, making getting to know office colleagues an important aspect of the job. Workplace experts believe that possessing a healthy relationship with co-workers increases job satisfaction and boosts office morale. The article explores the reasons for this, noting, for example, that the spirit of teamwork helps one deal with job pressures and makes one less afraid to ask for help or ideas from others.

15

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A Creative Corporation Toolbox

OFFICE MANAGEMENT

CLIPS

14

Business Week; August 1, 2004, p72

Summary: Concern has been expressed in the business press about the low levels of innovation recently seen in US, European and Japanese companies. Despite huge sums spent on R&D, fewer than 5% of all new projects meet or beat targets for return on investment. This article discusses a radical approach to innovation based on new cutting-edge research from a range of leading innovation consultants that can help to build creative corporate cultures and boost innovation “hit” rates.

The article uses Apple iPod’s success to illustrate ways in which a company can “change the game” on seven of ten identified types of innovation. It then uses examples in the computer and passenger airline services to illustrate ways to take advantage of the “competitive innovation landscape.” Common mistakes that impede innovation are discussed, including companies confusing R&D with innovation, consumer marketing with consumer understanding, and innovation with technology. The article ends with a recounting of key lessons learned from the few successful innovators, including: • Opening up networks to outside contributors • Scattering designers throughout the different functional areas of a company • Hiring more anthropologists and social psychologists • Changing incentives • Turning the innovation process upside down by making consumer needs the beginning of the process rather than designing products and trying to create a need for them.

Unused Vacation: Problem Won’t Go Away

office management

Barbara Rose

Seattle Times; August 14, 2005, pG3

Summary: While most of us need little urging to get out of the office, over one-third of workers never use all their time off. As this article notes, “Lean staffing, always-on technology, demanding clients and a hypercompetitive business environment make it tough to get away.” Even when employees do get away, many – particularly managers – stay plugged in to the office via phone, email or intranet.

Bianca Torres Progressive employers know that productivity and morale can suffer if employees fail to take enough time off to recharge and gain fresh insight and perspective. These employers are beginning to take action to ensure that all the company’s workers achieve a better work/life balance. The author applauds efforts like those at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where “vacation police” prod employees to schedule true work-free breaks. They show their seriousness by including a new work/life balance score in managers’ performance reviews. Departing employees are told to relax, have fun and leave their cell phones and Blackberry’s behind.

The Baltimore Sun; August 17, 2005, p1K

Experts Say That Healthy Relationships At Work Are Key To Job Satisfaction And The Smooth Operation Of An Office; When Colleagues Connect

The author notes that not all co-workers can or will become friends. Annoying behavior, inappropriate dress, or any of a host of inconsiderate activities can detract from the ability to do one’s work. At this point experts suggest finding a polite way to address the problem or asking the boss to intervene.

The way workers interact depends on their workplace culture. In offices where workers sit in rows of cubicles it can be difficult for people to learn anything personal about each other. Other places can be very competitive, making trust a difficult state to achieve. Within this context the author talks about the nature of friendship and the positive outcomes that result. The article ends with a list of typical personalities that exist in the workplace and offers readers ways to identify and deal with them.

CLIPS

Summary: Many people spend more time with their co-workers than with their spouses or families, making getting to know office colleagues an important aspect of the job. Workplace experts believe that possessing a healthy relationship with co-workers increases job satisfaction and boosts office morale. The article explores the reasons for this, noting, for example, that the spirit of teamwork helps one deal with job pressures and makes one less afraid to ask for help or ideas from others.

15

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case study

technology

Summary: Recent survey results from Salary.com and AOL show that employees spend an average of two hours in an eight hour day surfing the Internet on company time, resulting in $759 billion a year in wasted salaries. Internet monitoring software is hitting the market in response to this situation, but most companies aren’t taking a “Big Brother” approach to monitoring office Internet usage. Rather, they are after trend information that will help them understand the overall problem and develop company policies and procedures that promote proper office Internet usage.

Layton Technology has just released ObsurferPro, an Internet monitoring and reporting tool that creates clear and concise reports that allow even non-technical personnel to evaluate office Internet surfing trends, create rules that effectively manage Internet access and help to enforce corporate policies and procedures. This article discusses the finer points of this product offering and notes the entry point of $295 for 50 PCs includes 60 days of email and telephone support.

employees spend an average of two hours a day surfing the internet

17

CLIPS

CLIPS

Business Wire (New York), September 12, 2005, p1

TECHNOLOGY

16

Layton Technology Helps Organizations Tackle Workplace Productivity Challenges With The Introduction Of ObsurferPro

Celebrating 30 years of bicycle innovation, Trek is best known for the technology that contributed to Lance Armstrong’s 7-year domination of the Tour de France. Their headquarters addition in Waterloo, Wisconsin needed to support the Generations X and Y workforce with ultimate flexibility - from wireless laptop connectivity, to desks, storage and panels that can be rearranged by employees to suit their immediate needs.

By applying the appropriate workplace performance concepts, Target Commercial Interiors delivered a fast track project, developing all product, finishes and color palettes, and project managing through the final installation and move-in.

Clips 6.06

7/21/06

11:59 AM

Page 19

case study

technology

Summary: Recent survey results from Salary.com and AOL show that employees spend an average of two hours in an eight hour day surfing the Internet on company time, resulting in $759 billion a year in wasted salaries. Internet monitoring software is hitting the market in response to this situation, but most companies aren’t taking a “Big Brother” approach to monitoring office Internet usage. Rather, they are after trend information that will help them understand the overall problem and develop company policies and procedures that promote proper office Internet usage.

Layton Technology has just released ObsurferPro, an Internet monitoring and reporting tool that creates clear and concise reports that allow even non-technical personnel to evaluate office Internet surfing trends, create rules that effectively manage Internet access and help to enforce corporate policies and procedures. This article discusses the finer points of this product offering and notes the entry point of $295 for 50 PCs includes 60 days of email and telephone support.

employees spend an average of two hours a day surfing the internet

17

CLIPS

CLIPS

Business Wire (New York), September 12, 2005, p1

TECHNOLOGY

16

Layton Technology Helps Organizations Tackle Workplace Productivity Challenges With The Introduction Of ObsurferPro

Celebrating 30 years of bicycle innovation, Trek is best known for the technology that contributed to Lance Armstrong’s 7-year domination of the Tour de France. Their headquarters addition in Waterloo, Wisconsin needed to support the Generations X and Y workforce with ultimate flexibility - from wireless laptop connectivity, to desks, storage and panels that can be rearranged by employees to suit their immediate needs.

By applying the appropriate workplace performance concepts, Target Commercial Interiors delivered a fast track project, developing all product, finishes and color palettes, and project managing through the final installation and move-in.

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Page 1

Target gives back over $2 million a week to education, the arts and social services.

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VOLUME 17 JULY 2006

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT DESIGNER FORUM DESIGN TRENDS BUILDINGS FURNITURE

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HEALTH SOHO OFFICE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY