AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 19, 2020 — Vyopta, a leading provider of Collaboration Intelligence, today released additional results of a recent survey focused on how companies plan to support in-person work during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. IT and Workplace teams are now tasked with helping teams stay productive while ensuring social distancing guidelines are being followed by those coming back to the office.
As of mid-October, less than 15 percent of office workers have returned to their offices in New York City, the largest office market in the United States, according to Partnership for New York City. According to a study by Wakefield Research commissioned by Envoy, 73 percent of U.S. employees fear that being in their workplace could pose a risk to their personal health and safety. It’s not clear when, if ever, offices will return to their previous level of activity.
“Companies are making progress in determining how and when to bring their workers back into the office, with gradual and part-time returns becoming normal in offices that are now socially distanced,” said Nick Wiik, Senior Product Manager of Workspace Insights at Vyopta.” And a number of them, like those in the pharmaceutical, hospital, and supply chain verticals have never left. They need a way to ensure safety protocols such as social distancing are being followed as well as implement contact tracing should an outbreak occur.”
Vyopta’s survey found:
Workspace Data is essential.
- 91% say it’s important to have actionable data like space occupancy and space booking details to improve how employees reserve and use workspaces
- 67% are currently able to provide actionable data to improve how employees reserve and use workspaces (33% are not!)
Office usage and design will change.
- 28% plan to change layouts of desk assignments/furniture
- 24% will specify or alternate days/times when individuals/teams can come to the office
- 22% will change conference and huddle room layouts and furniture to provide for more space
- 12% plan to invest in sensors and people count technology to determine space occupancy and if social distancing guidelines are being maintained
Companies plan technology investments to support the future of work.
- 36%: More video collaboration endpoints in conference rooms to support video meetings with staff in the office and remote workers
- 32%: More video collaboration software licenses to maintain remote work capacity
- 17%: More softphone licenses to support remote voice usage
- 12%: Sensors and people count technology to determine space occupancy and if social distancing guidelines are being maintained
“Vyopta’s insights correlate to what we’re seeing from customers in terms of how businesses are rethinking workplace to support health, innovation, outcomes and sense of community,” said James C. Waddell, Executive Vice President, Cognitive, a leading provider of technology-enabled optimization services for Corporate real estate.
Vyopta’s survey, titled “The Next Phase of Remote Work: Managing UC and Workspaces in the Next Phase of the Pandemic,” was conducted in July and generated 327 validated responses. The majority of respondents work for organizations with more than 1,000 employees; all manage, oversee, or advise UC, technology budget, and/or facilities planning or management for their company.
Additional Resource:
Ensuring Social Distancing for Safe Office Re-entry
About Vyopta Incorporated
Vyopta, the Collaboration Intelligence company, is a global leader in comprehensive monitoring and analytics for Collaboration Performance Management and Workspace Insights. By integrating insights from multi-vendor Unified Communications & Collaboration vendors and IOT devices, Vyopta helps organizations deliver the best UC user experience and optimize their UC and real estate investments. Vyopta helps hundreds of organizations worldwide spanning 20+ industries monitor 6 million endpoints and over 10 billion meeting minutes a year.
Vyopta Workspace Insights brings user attributes, collaboration activity, and calendar booking data into one flexible, customizable, and visual experience that empowers companies to proactively avoid social distancing risks with actionable data and ensure compliance by reviewing trends.
Media Contacts:
Angela Shori
Sr. Manager, Brand & Awareness
[email protected]
Jodi Holzband
[email protected]