Metropolis - April 2012

The use of technology is critical to our team. At the very beginning, we were not so involved with telepresence, but now I can say that we can’t see ourselves working without it.

Alexandra Inclan
team leader, Sales Resources Network
MONTERREY, MEXICO

I work out of the WorkLife sales office in Gurgaon. Almost a third of the time, I am huddled together in the project room with my team, doing critical thinking and project planning. We use media:scape, a big whiteboard, and an overhead projector to collaborate.

Ankit Agarwal

manager, Supply Chain

GURGAON, INDIA

An interesting new way that I would prefer to collaborate in our office is to have media:scape with a high-definition video camera. As the business grows in our region, I foresee a need for it in collaborating with our clients and other teams.

Amir Ahmad Khan dealer sales manager RI YADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Photos (clockwise from top left): Natalya Moya, Cheng Leong Koay, Khaja N. Wasif, Cheng Leong Koay, Jeff Dykehouse, Tobey Sanford

THE
WAYS OF
COLLABORATIVE
WORK

If you want to be more innovative, if you want to make decisions more quickly, you need your employees—your users—to bump into each other often. If you don’t see someone because you’re in your cubicle, you’re missing an opportunity. When you’re visible, you’re available—and that drives the connection. Collaboration happens spontaneously, not in a planned way.

Fabrice Gintz
category manager, Desking Portfolio
GRAND RAPIDS

When individuals and groups can search media together in real time, and share and compare their data from their laptops, it’s remarkable. In such a setting, information has a seat at the table and is very much a part of the team.

Lew Epstein
general manager, Advanced Applications
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA

We hope to spend one-third of our time supporting operations in our region and the rest of our time supporting operations across the globe. If we’re only supporting operations in our region, we’re not adding enough value to the system.