Colorado Real Estate Journal -

Connect and Share at the Pace of Ideas

Increasingly, work is an activity, not a place. Even more often, it’s a group activity: sharing progress, touching base, comparing notes and considering multiple points of view. To make these group activities efficient through effective communication and creative problem solving, an uninterrupted exchange of information is essential. At its essence, this is collaboration.

While it can sometimes be overused, no one argues that there is real value in collaboration. The key to supporting collaboration in particular environments is understanding how the organization’s culture affects specific needs.

Haworth has found that there are four basic ways that workers are likely to collaboratively interact. While workers are likely to exhibit all four, one style is likely to stand out as preferred – best supporting their primary responsibilities and choices. At the risk of over generalizing, some broad strokes can be drawn to help understand how organizational culture and collaboration needs intersect:

A primarily collaborate culture tends to be open, friendly and sharing. This culture prefers to meet in social spaces and emphasizes the value of teamwork. Team spaces should be free-form and allow for a mix of activities.

A culture that is predominantly in the create mode is dynamic, entrepreneurial and creative. This style prefers to meet in strategic thinking spaces so key spaces should be designed for creative problem solving.

Allowing for presentation space will also be important.

A primarily control culture is structured and formal so presentation space is most important. With a hierarchical structure like government or a major manufacturer, information may be most often delivered in a scheduled meeting or formal presentation.

Compete cultures are resultsdriven, competitive and goal oriented. The emphasis is on tactical execution. Spaces must allow workers to focus mostly on independent tasks, but informal connection spaces are important too.

It’s important to note that culture may not be uniform throughout an organization. In order to support and enhance performance, the key can be understanding what brings different cultures together.

For more on this subject, and collaboration as a whole, Haworth has a white paper called Collaborative Spaces, available on Haworth.com.

When coworkers get together to get work done, and truly collaborate, ideas need to take center stage – not communication tools. With that in mind and as a seamless tool that helps collaboration, I’d like to introduce you to workware.

Haworth’s workware helps users view and share content, as well as connect with others, using a digital interface. These products provide power and data connections in a variety of configurations and finishes, coupled with a unique sliding access door. Workware can be integrated into all culture types – informal café settings, open plan workspaces, project rooms, conference rooms and learning environments.

Designed by the Haworth Design Studio, workware products provide solutions for monitor placement, power and data connectivity and user control of monitor access. With options for wireless or wired connectivity, workware removes technological barriers that often hinder collaboration at work.

Users simply plug in or launch software on their laptop to connect wirelessly to external video displays. It’s that easy for groups to connect, share content and keep ideas flowing.

Simple, secure connections with wired or wireless options configure automatically to most laptops and monitors – single or dual. Control can switch from one participant to the next with a simple touch for wired users or a click for wireless. Quad view allows up to four wireless users to share content simultaneously on one display.

Wireless security is important to everyone. With workware, wireless connectivity is built upon your existing network infrastructure, taking advantage of your existing firewalls and other security features.

Additionally, each session generates a unique 4-digit login code and remote users are limited to presenter access to guard against eavesdropping.

The discrete, low-profile design for workware features an elegant sliding door and multiple finish options ensure a clean, crisp aesthetic. This holds true in a variety of culture type settings: tactical execution, presentation, social, and strategic thinking spaces.

We also like to call it BYOT – bring your own table. Workware configurations are available in two sizes – wide or narrow – to allow easy retrofitting into existing furniture applications.

This modular approach also makes future upgrades a snap.

At Haworth, we understand that nothing about work today is one size fits all, especially when it comes to culture and collaboration. So, workware provides scalable options for connecting and sharing: • Cable sharing – content sharers pass a cable from one user to the next.

• Cable sharing with touch control – up to four users pass control by touching a button, no cable passing needed.

• Wireless sharing – an unlimited number of users can share content using on-screen control.

• Wireless sharing with wired cable back-up – this combines wireless sharing with wired backup.

Haworth’s workware product line also includes workware monitor mounts with options available for table or wall mounted (on drywall or moveable walls) displays.

Workware is up and running at our Denver showroom, 1515 Arapahoe St., Tower 1, Suite 100.

Please come and experience it soon.