Jabra Evolve 75 is wireless, has active noise cancellation

- New Evolve wireless headset designed for bustling open office environments

- First headset to receive Microsoft Skype for Business’ Open Office and Outdoor certification

- First Evolve headset to feature both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth capability

Source: Jabra. The Evolve 75 in action in an open office.

Jabra has extended their Evolve range of headsets for modern office workers with the release of the wireless Evolve 75. For the first time in the Evolve line, Jabra has combined wireless capability and active noise cancellation (ANC)* into a portable, compact package.

Taking its cues from the popular Evolve 65 and Evolve 80, Jabra listened to feedback to fill the gap between the two - a wireless model without ANC, and a wired model with ANC. The Evolve 75 has integrated the best features of these two industry mainstays, and also improves on them by offering unparalleled sound quality, portability and noise isolation.

Jabra says the headset is ideal for concentration and collaboration by remote workers, desktop  workers, corridor warriors - the ones who need to make calls in the corridors to avoid distracting others - and flexible hub (coworking space) workers. Patrick Khor, Jabra Country Manager, noted that workplace trends are towards open offices, hot desking, and workers who are out in the field most of the time but who still require a private space at the office when they return. At the same time, companies are doing away with expensive physical phones, adopting voice over IP (VoIP) solutions like Skype for Business or 'soft phones' that work via software instead - but laptop audio can fall short compared to physical phones, Khor said. 

He shared research conducted by Jabra** which showed that 78% of office workers believe their productivity is negatively impacted by on-site noise, while as much as 24 minutes is lost each day due to workplace interruptions. "Concentration and collaboration are not suited for today's open office work spaces. The least productive workplace is the open office," Khor said. "People are struggling to be as productive as they used to be."

Jabra has designed the Evolve 75 to tackle the problems of today’s open offices, by giving users their own virtual private space at the flip of a switch, while still maintaining the collaborative potential that open offices offer. In demonstrations of the Evolve 75 at the media briefing, using the headset as opposed to using the phone alone showed a clear difference in sound quality - vehicle noise in the background could not be heard when the headset was in use. This writer personally tried the headset and with ANC on it sounds like there is a bubble of silence around you.

"The mobile call comes to the headset, the laptop call comes to the headset. (It's) crystal clear sound," Khor explained. "We're blocking noise around you in the office."

Wayne Lee, APAC Lead for Product Management and Alliance, Jabra, introduced the headset as "the best wireless headset for concentration in the open office". The headset shuts out ambient noise, offers a better sound experience for both callers and the called, and can be connected to two devices at the same time. "We think design is one of the things that makes our product unique," said Lee.

Khor gives the big picture on Jabra and why Jabra headsets.

Certified by most major unified communications platforms such as Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, and Google Hangouts, the Evolve 75 is also compatible with Jabra Direct – Jabra’s cloud-based software for headset customisation.

The Evolve 75 is the only wireless ANC headset to boast Open Office and Outdoor certifications from Microsoft’s Skype for Business Certification Program. Due to the vast number of products endorsed for Skype for Business, the quality of these products ends up varying wildly. This has led Microsoft to introduce a new Skype for Business Certification Program, which brings with it more stringent requirements for certification.

The Evolve line - launched only in Q414 - has been very popular, Khor says, and grew 100% by volume from 2015 to 2016 with this year showing similar numbers to date. The Evolve 75 fits in between the Evolve 60, which is wireless but does not have ANC, and the high end Evolve 80, which has ANC but is wired.

Products seeking to get certified for Skype for Business must now pass two tests in the Open Office and Outdoor categories. To pass the Open Office test, a microphone must not pick up chatter from adjacent users, making it usable in crowded offices like call centres, where multiple people are speaking. Meanwhile, the Outdoor test pits products against several different noise profiles, ranging from a cafeteria to the inside of a car to a railway station. A certified headset should be able to effectively cancel out ambient noise and maintain audio clarity in all of the above situations. The

To achieve this, engineers at Jabra spent over four years developing a software solution that integrates both the boom microphone and ANC microphones to create a noise-free zone around the user, with the boom microphone as the centre point. All noise picked up by the ANC microphones in a 60-centimetre radius is recognised as background noise, and will be appropriately filtered out by the Evolve 75. The software can also recognise and transmit only when the user is speaking, ensuring optimal call quality.

Aside from offering superior noise cancellation, the Evolve 75’s 30m range for laptops (10 for smartphones) also allows for unmatched freedom of movement in the office. Offering dual Bluetooth connectivity, the Evolve 75 can connect to up to two devices simultaneously, letting users have one integrated communication solution for both their laptop and smartphone.

Jabra focuses on the growing unified communications space for enterprise headsets.Research predictions for unified communications include a US$37 billion market by 2018, and 86 million unified communications users by 2021. Khor said that the Singapore business is getting "this type of growth".

Open offices are unproductive. According to Jabra, 78% of open office worker respondents in a survey said that they are impacted by noise and disturbances, impacting productivity.

“The premise behind the open plan office is to foster collaboration and improve communication among employees. But despite their many benefits, they have become breeding grounds for unsatisfactory labour output,” commented Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra Business Solutions. “Interruptions from colleagues and the noise generated in these environments are negatively impacting workers and contributing to lacklustre performance. Increasingly, knowledge workers are being forced into isolation to do their jobs. The Jabra Evolve 75 provides businesses with an alternative solution to support an open office philosophy that’s conducive to better performance.”

Lee does a deep dive into the Evolve 75 headset.

Key features include:

• High-definition (HD) voice for crystal clear calls and music
• Superior active noise cancellation (ANC) 
• Integrated "busylight" clearly shows when the user is busy
• Wireless range of up to 30m away from the laptop and 10m from the smartphone
• Flexibility to connect two Bluetooth devices at the same time for calls and music – for example, to both a computer and a smartphone
• Integration with leading unified communications (UC) platforms including Skype for Business and Cisco certification
• Up to 15 hours of battery life
• All-day comfort leather feel ear cushions and an on-the-ear wearing style for all day comfort
• Discreet boom-arm: Boom-arm can be clipped into the headband when not on calls
• Listen-in: Easy to reach button on the ear cup allows users to hear announcements without removing the headset
• Optional charging stand

Jabra, part of the GN Group, is a leading developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions. The GN Group specialises in medical-grade hearing appliances, as well as audio devices for enterprise and consumer markets.

Interested?

The Jabra Evolve 75 is available at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$512.53 (inclusive of charging stand), or S$434.42 excluding the stand.

*ANC refers to the ability to switch noise cancellation on and off, as opposed to passive noise cancellation, which is cannot be switched off.

**Jabra knowledge worker survey 2015. 

Changi Airport's fourth terminal holds pre-launch open house

Source: CAG. CAG organises open house for Changi T4.

The Changi Airport Group (CAG) today invited Singapore residents to visit Terminal 4 (T4) even before operations begin. An Open House will be held from 7 to 20 August 2017 to give the public a glimpse of what to expect at the new terminal.

Construction of T4 started in early 2013 and was completed in December 2016. The 195,000 sq m, double-storey terminal can handle 16 million passengers a year – about 70% of the handling capacity of Terminal 3 (T3) although T4 is just half the size of T3.

Designed with a boutique interior décor approach, T4 is set to redefine the way passengers travel through a creative layout, streamlined clearance processes as well as the way it leverages technology and innovation for passenger processes and staff productivity.

“The public has been eagerly waiting to see how the new T4 will be different from Changi’s other terminals. At the Open House, we will showcase T4’s latest innovations in enhancing operational efficiencies and productivity, in addition to the terminal’s many unique features. The Open House visitors will be among the first to learn about and experience the innovations and ‘wow’ features at T4 – facial recognition technology, integrated duty-free shopping, kinetic art displays, a Heritage Zone, and specially curated sculptures, among many others,” said Poh Li San, VP, T4 Programme Management Office.

During the Open House, which will run from 9am to 6pm daily, visitors will be able to explore the various T4 points of interest via a specially created T4 Open House app. The tour route is expected to take between 90 minutes and two hours.

At various zones along the Open House route, they will be invited to play location-based in-app games where they can win e-vouchers for use at Changi Airport’s retail and dining outlets. Visitors can also take part in the Photo of the Day competition. A lucky draw will be conducted at the close of each day, with airline tickets from T4 airlines to be won. 

Interested?

The T4 Open House is a ticketed event, with free tickets. Apply for tickets online. Each person who signs up can register for up to six participants.A total of 200,000 tickets are available throughout the entire two-week Open House period.

Visitors can access T4 via the two major expressways – the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Visitors going to the Open House can also take a taxi or board a complimentary shuttle bus service from T3.

Global study shows employees lack the tools to focus at work

Plantronics has announced the results of a global Oxford Economics study on the effects of open workplaces on employees. The research studied what workers want from their office environments, and what managers need to do to enable the highest productivity and satisfaction from their people.

Oxford Economics interviewed more than 1,200 senior executives and non-manager employees from many industries and functional areas. Respondents came from the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, India, China, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. The study also included detailed interviews with executives who are taking steps to deal with these business collaboration and productivity challenges in their open offices.

Key findings were:

• Workers just want to work. The ability to focus without interruptions is a top priority for employees when it comes to office design; access to amenities like free food is far less important.
• Technology integration is a work in progress. Employees are expected to be connected to the office all the time—but only 40% say the devices they use at home integrate seamlessly with their work tools.
• Constant connectivity breeds compulsive behaviour—and could lead to burnout. More than one-third of employees say they use their tech devices primarily out of habit or compulsion, fear of missing out, or social pressure.
• Managers don’t see the problems. Nearly two-thirds of executives say employees are equipped with the tools they need to deal with distractions at work; less than half of employees agree.

“Noise and distraction have a big impact on productivity,” says Edward Cone, Deputy Director of Thought Leadership and Technology Practice Lead at Oxford Economics. “These are issues that companies can address—but first they need to acknowledge the problem.”

The report lists the following recommendations for employers, to help their employees work more productively, which is something the report says workers want to do:

• Begin a dialogue with employees about what is working and what needs to change regarding office design, working remotely, and technology use
• Ensure employees have the tools and devices needed to work from anywhere
• Give employees the quiet time, spaces, and tools required to conduct focused work
• Encourage everyone to disconnect after hours, to find a balance between work and life

Since employee satisfaction and productivity contribute directly to an organisation’s financial success, this research concludes that a well-designed office space, integrated technology, and better work/life balance are well worth the effort.

Interested?

Download the paper

How leaders foster an open workplace

Workplace engagement prospers when open communication and relationships are strong. Forrest Bell, an outsourced sales and marketing firm based in the UK, highlights that being open in the workplace means having the capacity to talk freely, (yet respectfully and constructively) about needs, opinions and concerns as well as being able to listen receptively to (rather than just hear) new ideas, questions and feedback.

The firm believes that having a culture of openness is hugely beneficial in the workplace because it helps to build trust and advance initiatives, activity and projects that involve more than just one person. It also ensures transparency and simplifies how things are done in an ever-changing business environment.

Forrest Bell has listed key techniques that a good leader can use to encourage openness within their team:

Don't assume people hear what you say
Forrest Bell believe that it's totally acceptable to ensure the other person got your message clearly by asking something like "So what do you think of that idea…" or "Any initial thoughts on how we proceed with this…"

In return, don't assume you hear what the other person said. Forrest Bell recommends checking with the other person to validate what you think you have heard using phrases like "Let me make sure I've got this right…" or "So what I'm hearing you say is…"

Be honest, but do it skillfully and tactfully
Blunt, straight-talking managers frequently close down relationships leading to loss of productivity and motivation. Instead, Forrest Bell recommends that the leader ensures they express their message in a manner that people will be receptive to by using techniques such as making the audience the starting point of conversation, asking for feedback on an idea and if there are any issues to address. Never blame or accuse but instead encourage a problem-solving exercise.

Encourage employees to express their needs
It's better for employees to open up and articulate their needs as opposed to keeping them under wraps and trying to meet them at the expense of others. This can be done via proactive feedback in 1 on 1 sessions or in a group setting such as monthly meetings. Forrest Bell believes it's important to give thanks and recognition every time. Forrest Bell's Managing Director Rebecca Bell strongly believes in this exercise and often runs 1 on 1 meetings, breakfasts or dinners with the team to make it possible for them to express their needs.

Remove judgment
Forrest Bell believes that in most cases what the other person is saying is true for them. The firm suggests not judging prematurely or saying something without thinking, even if you disagree or know what they are saying is inaccurate. Let them finish and then talk it through. This will maintain trust and ensure they come back to you next time rather than going to someone else.

'Walk the job' on a regular basis, but don't encroach on people
Forrest Bell advises leaders to stop by and ask their team how they are or if there is anything they can do because this shows them that they genuinely care. One of the mottos of the company that is regularly used in passing is that, 'People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.' If something is on their mind they will be more than likely to bring it up and then you can schedule a time to talk it through. However, invading their workspace and talking specifics will appear blunt and micromanaging – even if you have good intentions.

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