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magazine
12
Office design
or output on demand, and even the
stationery cupboard has been sacrificed.
“The average workspace costs £9,200 a
year,” explained EMEA Facilities Manager
George Coffin, “so I don’t want to waste
space with stores. If someone wants
stationery they can order it and have it in
two days.”
Open plan has its critics, but it does
foster a more informal, collaborative
atmosphere – not even directors have
their own office – and Plantronics
has done a lot to reduce the problem
of noise. There is a big selection of
alternative workspaces; it has installed
sound masking technology, acoustic tiles
and sound absorbent panels behind the
large prints that add colour and interest
to the décor; and if all else fails wireless
headsets give wearers the freedom to
move to quieter areas.
A variety of meeting rooms can be
booked in Outlook
Touch-down
benches with
personal lockers
below and sound
absorbent ceiling
above
The inexpensive Jabra PRO 900 series
is designed to help professional office
workers make the switch from handsets
to headsets and enjoy an increase in
productivity of up to 85%. Currently,
just 7% of office workers use a headset.
The range includes two affordable DECT
wireless headsets designed and priced for
first time headset users: the Jabra PRO
920 for desk phones and the Jabra PRO
930 for UC softphones.
www.Jabra.co.uk
Also meeting the needs of office
workers (and call centre agents),
Sennheiser has launched the Cir-
cle Line of single-sided (SC 230)
and dual-sided (SC 260) wired
headsets. Combining afford-
ability and call centre standard
durability, the headsets
feature a reinforced metal
headband, noise cancelling
microphone, HD wideband sound and
ActiveGard technology, which detects
unsafe audio levels and compresses the
signal to keep sound peaks at a safe
and comfortable level. Another useful
feature is the patent pending Cicleflex
dual-hinge ear cup that adapts itself to
the shape of the user’s ears for all-day
comfort.
www.sennheiser.co.uk
Plantronics’ latest Bluetooth headset,
the Voyager PRO HD, is targeted at
on-the-go professionals. Its standout
feature is Smart Sensor technology that
recognises when the headset is being
worn and automatically transfers calls
to it – and back to the handset when
it is taken off. All you have to do to an-
swer a call is place the headset on your
ear, or press a button if it’s already
on. The £89.99 headset can also
be used to listen to music, GPS
directions or social media plat-
forms and email using Vocalyst
Voice and Text Services.
www.plantronics.co.uk
What’s New
in Headsets
Alternative workspaces
Where Plantronics’ offices look radically
different from most is in the touch-
down working areas, meeting rooms and
cubicles that provide alternative work
settings for teamwork or time alone to
think or write. These include break-out
areas (with drum kit and pool table);
winged sofas; enclosed pods; a selection
of meeting rooms bookable through
Outlook; cubicles or ‘monk cells’, which
can be used just one hour at a time;
touchdown benches; and soft seating
areas perfect for informal meetings.
The design and IT template created
by Plantronics and Maris Interiors is now
being rolled out to the company’s offices
in Germany, Italy and Holland with some
scope for customisation in the artwork
and furniture used. Happily for Welsh
manufacturing, all have decided to stick
with the orangebox seating products
selected by the UK.
Back inWootton Bassett, Coffin
is working on the next phase of the
project, which includes infrastructure
changes like solar panels on the roof, and
modifications to the existing set-up, such
as sound masking controls that adjust
decibel levels according to ambient noise
and higher desk screens to minimise
distractions.
Significantly, the extra panel is glazed
to ensure team spirit is not compromised.
This is very important because, for Coffin,
improved communication between
colleagues is one of the hallmarks of
Plantronics’ Simply Smarter Office.
“More people are coming into the
office than ever,” he said. “Before people
wouldn’t see each other for weeks, now
you have a 40 second walk to see anyone
in the building – there is a lot of face-to-
face interaction. Before I didn’t know who
the engineers were: now I have lunch
with them.”
...Continued.