The Power of Updated Hardware Systems: How To Reduce Disruptions and Foster Meaningful Work

by | Nov 15, 2023 | Podcast | 0 comments

Ophelie Harbonnier
Ophelie Harbonnier

Ophelie Harbonnier is the Business Solutions and Briefing Manager at Poly, an audio and video product company that merged with HP’s portfolio of hybrid work solutions. As a user experience specialist, she redefines technology interactions by fostering accessible and enjoyable experiences. As a seasoned presenter, coach, and trainer, Ophelie works with organizations to deploy technology devices within platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • [0:00] Introducing user experience evangelist Ophelie Harbonnier, who talks about office work experiences
  • [7:46] The difficult transition from remote to in-person work 
  • [9:35] How to minimize distractions using hardware technology 
  • [18:42] Ophelie explains how strict return-to-office policies can lead to bankruptcy
  • [25:04] Recommended technology for boosting productivity
  • [30:13] What is the Expensify Lounge experiment, and how can companies implement something similar?
  • [41:16] Redefining office spaces to accommodate evolving work priorities 
  • [46:14] The future of technology and work

In this episode…

According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, employees alternate between 22 separate apps up to 1,200 times daily, undermining focus, increasing stress, and lowering productivity. This is exacerbated by stringent return-to-work mandates in uncomfortable and distracting office spaces. As work standards adapt to accommodate flexibility, how can you foster inviting employee experiences?

With deep knowledge in the technology experience, Ophelie Harbonnier advocates for adaptive hardware like noise-canceling or hands-free headphones that integrate seamlessly with various apps and software. This reduces interruptions and strain from context-switching. When it comes to enhancing office spaces to entice workers, many employees feel guilty for utilizing available relaxation spaces equipped with amenities. Instead, Ophelie recommends integrating lounge areas with snacks and drinks to encourage intentional conversations without disrupting workflow. 

In today’s What The Teck? episode, Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly invite Poly’s Business Solutions and Briefing Manager, Ophelie Harbonnier, who shares technology solutions for modern workspace challenges. She talks about business bankruptcy caused by strict return-to-office policies, the difficult transition from remote to in-person work, and how to leverage hardware to increase productivity.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Global Teck Worldwide. 

We are a full-service online retailer of professional headsets, webcams, and speaker phones from top manufacturers. 

Since 2002, Global Teck Worldwide has provided affordable, high-quality communications equipment and customized telecommunications services to organizations of all sizes.

Our specialists have invested hundreds of hours in technical training, certifications, and seminars to assist customers with purchasing decisions. 

We have served thousands of customers in a variety of industries with value-added services, including ergonomics, employee work accommodations, and hearing-impaired services. 

If you are a government agency, small business, or Fortune 500 company, contact us at https://circuitloops.com/contact-us/ to discover a solution that fits your communication needs.

Episode Transcript:

Rolando Rosas 0:00

So LinkedIn recently did a whole redesign. If I’m coming out of college, I’d want to be there you got in probably an organic coffee shop and deli and we got this nice little patio kind of French gardens of sort. This is killer.

Dave Kelly 0:12

Have you heard of the Expensify luxury lounge experiment,

Rolando Rosas 0:17

what they wanted to do with bring office workers back to the office. So they had a genius idea of making an ultra Uber work slash lounge that they dropped the current $250 million on just two weeks ago, the company behind that, closed it down, they had pressed cappuccinos serve that 5pm They would do a saber of Sham pain. Forget about it. People were not working. They were having fun. What struck me we were announced. No way. Welcome to What The Teck?, your gateway to business strategies and tech secrets, shaping today’s workplace. You know, Dave, I was listening to a podcast from Steve Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO. I don’t know if you’ve caught that podcast before. But fascinating. He had Michael Easter author of a book, I want to say it’s called the comfort the crisis of a comfort or comfort crisis and brain scarcity. He talked about a lot, a lot of fascinating things. But in there, they were talking about productivity, how productivity in the office is diminished by noise. And he was talking about it from like a historical context. And but but get this that wasn’t even the most interesting part. The most interesting part was he was talking about the stress that the workers feel and is expressed as a result of noise distractions inside an office. And you’re specifically talking about open office environments where you know, there is no blocking of noise. It’s just there, everybody’s talking about it. But what he also said was fascinating was that workers who even self reported that they had no problems with other colleagues in an open office environment in terms of noise levels, when they were measured. The cognitive stress load that came as a result of that was measurable. So even though they didn’t feel like anything was happening, there was actually a measurable result that actually occurred from noise and distraction insider regularly. You

Dave Kelly 2:28

know, it makes sense. I mean, I know a lot of people don’t like to complain. So maybe that was folks that were like, you know, it’s background noise, I’m stronger than that, I can block that out. But it’s interesting that even those people that fights real, that just fight to stay in their own lane and focus on their own business, even they’re being affected by

Rolando Rosas 2:46

Well, you know, that’s, that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to talk to our guest today, who has a ton of experience on the enterprise side talking to clients and what the user experience is like, what can improve the user experience so I’m, I’m like a sponge today. I’ve got my notepad here, I’m ready to go. I can’t wait to see what she has to say. And we’ve got a couple of things that you know, I’d love to get her reaction on some video. So if you’re listening to this, or watching this on YouTube, or else any any other platform, I invite you to use your headphones because we’re going to present some videos as well as some sound effects and you’ll get the full experience if you have something like headphones or something plugged into your ear. Now, Dave, you know, we’ve had we I want to give some big props before we bring on our guests we had on Mr. Sandeep, formerly the president of blackberry, he had a stint there. He was wonderful talked about his time and blackberry talked about about his experiences growing a smartphone company, like Ericsson that became Sony Ericsson and competing in that space prior to the iPhone taking over the development of Bluetooth and the origin stories. He corrected me several times. I wanted to give him the moniker of grandfather of Bluetooth but he said no, I can’t take credit for that. I was on the team my boss was the one that actually put in all the work into that. And you know the other person we want to give big props. big big big props is melt Miss Helen Polise tick tock. She wouldn’t call herself a grand fluence are all though that’s the thing that’s coming out. That’s the new phrase there. I don’t think of her as a grand influencer. I think of her just as a straight up influencer, just crushing it today. So she still is one of those people you got to keep an eye out on because he is really doing some some just amazing things on Tik Tok with almost a million followers. Yeah, that’s

Dave Kelly 4:36

crazy. And listen, if you want to check out these episodes, both of these can be seen on our website circuitloops.com Or of course you can find them on our other socials where we’re putting out shorter content easier to digest. But if you want to check out these two interviews, check them out@circuitloops.com

Rolando Rosas 4:53

All right, let’s give a proper introduction to Ophelie Harbonnier. Hopefully I am not butcher pouring in. And if I am when she comes on, she can smack me down and correct me on my pronunciation. So let me tell you a little bit about her. Our guest hails from Poly, which is now hp, which used to be at some point Plantronics. So Poly and HP company, she’s a true luminary in the field of user experience, renowned for her mission to redefine interactions with technology. Her extraordinary journey is a testament to her ability to simplify complex technology, translating it into accessible and enjoyable experiences for all as a seasoned presenter, Coach and Trainer. She works with organizations to help them with technology devices, and deploy them with platforms that are very popular like Microsoft Teams and zoom. So join me in inviting and bringing out the guests out of our green room ofili come on out of the green room. Tell us where you’re joining us from today.

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