Remote office communication / interaction techniques

[Kiltie]

We're on the point of activating a new project office 500ish miles from our base operation.

If people aren't communicating well, it could end up as a disaster.

I wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation recently and had any thoughts or pointers.

Both sites are open plan. Everyone (on either site) will have two screens and a head set.

I wondered about collaboration type systems which would enable video conferencing on one screen and sharing desktops on the other for marking up documents and drawings.

Any tips or recommendations wold also be great.

[andy-xr]

We use Blue Jeans for more interactive stuff, Skype otherwise if it's just a catchup

[boxst]

Some form of instant messaging is invaluable. Skype actually works quite well and also allows screen sharing etc..

[sjg]

Microsoft Lync works great for this. Included in almost all Office 365 tiers if you don't want servers or infrastructure yourself.

You can get staggeringly good video quality from a sub-£100 webcam like the Logitech 930e. They just released the CC3000e for £700 which is ideal to stick in a meeting room that already has a TV or projector screen on the wall. Works with Lync, Skype and others.

Skype works OK for this peer-to-peer for free, once you want to do things like multiparty calls including video and screen sharing you're into premium account territory which gets pricey (and IMO, you may as well go Office365 for Lync at that point).

[Steve Campbell]

I work in a very large organisation & we use Office Communicator (OC). I think it's a microsoft tool.

Since it's first introduction (about 2yrs ago), it has been widely adopted to the extent I now think it's part of our DNA in terms of communicating. We use it all the time without thinking. It allows us to "chat" with anyone online via a typed conversation, for 1:1 it has video so if you have a desktop webcam (or inbuilt) you can see each other for a face to face real conversation & during both options, the opportunity to share screens, swap control etc etc.

No idea on it's application in a smaller company but it has revolutionised the way we communicate in my company.

[eliot]

Steve Campbell said:

I work in a very large organisation & we use Office Communicator (OC). I think it's a microsoft tool.

It is, although replaced with Lync described above.

I work in a team of 12 people and we are all home based and use Lync for all communications - its very good.

[godskitchen]

I have set something similar up for a client.

The above suggestions are what I would recommend also. I would add one thing though.

I set up a large screen in each office, 50", and displayed the other office on it. It's far easier to communicate if Sally on site one can look at the big screen and see that Jane from accounts is at her desk at site 2. Not practically expensive and cut down on a lot of messages being unanswered.

[bga]

Another vote for Lync. Most of our clients use it and it has made it much easier to work across time zones and locations.

Most projects involve 3 continents and the ability to deal with people f2f, albeit virtually, addresses some of the challenges of distributed working.

In my own company we use Skype & google hangouts (we are google apps based) and while they are useful and offer similar benefits to Lync they are not as stable.

[essayer]

I work at a large global company and they make very extensive use of a conference bridge system - so meetings are generally conducted entirely on headset and where necessary one of the participants will share their desktop via livemeeting. In addition Communicator is extensively used. These are older technologies but I believe MS Lync does all this too.

If I was doing it for my own company I would get everyone a headset, it makes things a lot easier and hour long conference calls don't become a painful experience! With wireless ones you can go to the loo as well

[Countdown]

We use Lync as well (roughly 10 offices, 1000 employees across the UK).

Works fine. Also lets you know how long somebody has been away from their PC

[GlenMH]

essayer said:

With wireless ones you can go to the loo as well

From experience (of someone making this mistake) make sure you know how to mute your microphone if you are going to do this...

[Kiltie]

Thanks for all the replies folks - very useful.

godskitchen said:

I set up a large screen in each office, 50", and displayed the other office on it. It's far easier to communicate if Sally on site one can look at the big screen and see that Jane from accounts is at her desk at site 2. Not practically expensive and cut down on a lot of messages being unanswered.

That's a fantastic idea snd I'd never have thought of it.

[jammy_basturd]

You'll want to look at this: https://talky.io/

[sjg]

godskitchen said:

I have set something similar up for a client.

The above suggestions are what I would recommend also. I would add one thing though.

I set up a large screen in each office, 50", and displayed the other office on it. It's far easier to communicate if Sally on site one can look at the big screen and see that Jane from accounts is at her desk at site 2. Not practically expensive and cut down on a lot of messages being unanswered.

This is the idea of "presence" in Lync and other UC systems - to convey someone's availability or willingness to talk. States like away (not at your desk), on a call, in a meeting, etc usually mean there's no point in trying to call - so you email, or in Lync you can tag that person so you're alerted when they're available again (which I tend to use as a reminder to call them).

Lync in particular is very good at this as you don't usually need to change presence yourself - it will look into your outlook calendar to set "in a meeting", and inactive or away states from screen lock or screensaver. It will go to Do Not Disturb automatically if you're presenting in PowerPoint so you don't get a notification on screen during the presentation.

The "window to another office" is a nice concept though when you have two locations, just to see what's going on, but presence is a lot more granular than who's at their desk!

A colleague wrote a great post that explains all Lync can do from a non-techie perspective:

http://blog.thoughtstuff.co.uk/2012/05/what-is-lyn...

[rog007]

Whilst these are great technical and process offerings, don't forget the people and culture angle. Your leaders and senior managers have a key role in improving communications and ensuring that the operation's vision is shared by both teams. Select the heads of both sites well and make sure they have a personal relationship that involves face-to-face as this is what will make the technical solutions a success or not. Good luck!

[GlenMH]

rog007 said:

Whilst these are great technical and process offerings, don't forget the people and culture angle. Your leaders and senior managers have a key role in improving communications and ensuring that the operation's vision is shared by both teams. Select the heads of both sites well and make sure they have a personal relationship that involves face-to-face as this is what will make the technical solutions a success or not. Good luck!

+1 - this is way more important than the technology selection.